It's Always Sunny in California...eh? L'l bit! A Photo Tri

[jenseib]

Hello all!

Welcome to my newest trip report! This time I totally went out of my comfort zone and took a trip to Disneyland!

 

Who am I? Well I am Jen.

 

 

Why did it take me 45 years to get to California? Well that is a good question. One reason was airfare. Every time I priced it….. I cringed. Secondly, the length of the flight also scared me a l’il bit! I tend to get anxiety when I sit for long periods. I have the same issues with car trips too.

And of course I have a husband who always talks of going, but then just can’t quite get up the nerve to go so far away and out of HIS comfort zone.

 

Finally my real chance came this year. We have talked of going off and on many times, but I kind of knew that unless I went first and gave it the official OK, there would not be much of a chance to go as a family in the future.

 

A work conference came up…. I jumped on it! ….This was my chance!!!!!

I told Skip about it, he said yes, I fainted…picked myself back up, and immediately booked airfare. And you are not even going to believe this! Air was the same (actually a L’il bit cheaper) than flying to Florida. This was meant to be, as in the past, air was always super high.

 

The next thing I did was contact my best friend since 3rd grade, Stacy. She lives in the LA area and I wanted to let her know I would be coming out and possibly, if it worked for her, we could get together. She jumped at the chance too and soon we had a few small plans set in place, with her picking me up from the airport and giving me a tour of the area.

 

Another thing about these conferences…they make you room with other people in most cases. Luckily I knew a few people who had signed up. When it came down to who being able to go, only one of my co-workers could make it work. Cass!

 

 

She posts on the Disboards and she is actually the one I contacted when I was looking into this career choice. We had never met, but I knew I liked what she wrote and from talking to her online, she seemed to be a pretty fun person and I figured I would get along OK with her. Boy! Little did I know how well we would hit it off!

 

Cass I talked via facebook and decided we wanted to come in early and stay an extra night. We also needed hotels for those nights and I went with her suggestions. We ended up getting the Disneyland Hotel for the first 2 nights for a pretty decent rate and then the Grand Californian for our last night. The conference was putting us up at the GC as well and we figured it would be nice not to move to another hotel that last night.

 

Then there was life at home. I had to make arrangements for Claire, my 9 year old. My husband shocked me once again and said he would do most of it and just have his mom help out when he was working. He is a dairy farmer and works right here at home and his mother also lives next door, so it would work out nicely. I was completely shocked at how well everything was falling into place.

 

Plans were in place and we just had a very short time to wait till we were both on our way to Sunny California!

[bert425]

cool. . .can't wait to see all your awesome pics!

 

(when was this trip taken? How recently?)

[jenseib]

cool. . .can't wait to see all your awesome pics!

 

(when was this trip taken? How recently?)

 

Welcome!!!!

 

It was Feb 22 to March 1

[DoinItForTheFame]

Oh this is going to be awesome!!! I can't wait for the next update!

[jenseib]

Oh this is going to be awesome!!! I can't wait for the next update!

 

Welcome! I will get it up tomorrow morning!!!!!

[robbalvey]

Yes! Another TR! Thanks for posting!

[WFChris]

Can't wait to see your impressions of our cute little Disney parks

[jenseib]

Yes! Another TR! Thanks for posting!

 

Thanks for joining in!!!!

[jenseib]

Can't wait to see your impressions of our cute little Disney parks

 

I will be honest as I go along. And at first I didn't have the "Disney" feeling. I think because I am so used to WDW, but it really did grow on me a lot and I came home raving about it and now my husband has mentioned several times that we should go there next year. That is a HUGE step in progress for him!

[jenseib]

Feb. 22, 2014, Saturday.

 

My flight was for very early on the 23rd……I mean really early….6:45 AM. I live near Toledo, Oh, but I was flying out of Detroit, MI, which is about an hour away. After trying to figure out who would take me to the airport at such an early hour, I decided to just get a hotel near the airport on Sat. night. My Mom said she would drive me up and her and my youngest daughter, Claire, would spend the night and then drop me off at the airport in the early AM.

 

I warned Claire the night before that we would not be leaving for the hotel till late afternoon, but of course she was ready to go at noon. The hotel had a pool and that was all she could think about.

Finally 4:30 arrived and my Mom came over and picked us up and I took over the driving and we set my phone to get us to our destination.

 

If I remember right, it was raining and pretty much crappy weather. I was so excited to be getting away to warmer temperatures. Soon we arrived at the Courtyard near the airport and I got us checked in and we found our room and took our overnight bags to it. I took a couple of quick pictures while Claire immediately changed into her swimsuit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then headed down to the pool. She was pretty excited to be the only one at the pool and she splashed around and had a good time while Mom and I sat and relaxed.

 

 

 

 

 

I sat and took a look out the window and I thought it looked neat.

 

 

And then I saw it!

 

 

The planes went right over the place and I swear at times it looked like it was just missing the roof.

 

 

We let Claire swim about 45 minutes, but Mom and I were starving. We talked Claire into getting out with the promise of coming back after dinner.

 

We got her dressed and drove down the road to the Bob Evans we had passed coming in. Had the weather been nice, we could’ve walked there, but it was much too cold and yucky outside to do that today.

 

We had a great meal and I got a mushroom burger and coleslaw….big mistake. My stomach started bloating up right away. I never even thought about the coleslaw till later. I should’ve stayed away from it.

 

We headed back and I took Claire for a swim and this time the pool was packed. She swam a bit, but she was frustrated with all the people so we headed back to the room to get her showered and ready for bed. We watched TV and soon I drifted off. I woke to find Claire still up after 11, so I turned the TV off.

[jenseib]

Feb. 23, 2014, Sunday

 

I slept for about 3 more hours after I turned the TV off and woke with my stomach really hurting. I tossed and turned, but by 3 or so I just couldn’t take it and found the keys to the car and went out and dug through my suitcase for some antacid. That did help quite a bit.

By then I gave up on trying to get anymore sleep. I knew I would have to be up in about an hour to shower, so I just jumped in then and started getting ready. Claire also barely slept that night and I think it was because she was worried about me being away for a week.

 

After we were all ready and the car was packed back up, we headed over to the airport. I think we got there just before 5.

I drove, so I jumped out and got my suitcases out and gave Claire plenty of hugs and kisses and left them then to check my bags in. It was right after that I realized I still had my big bulky winter coat. UGH! My plan was to leave it in the car and just wear my sweatshirt. Now I would have this stupid big thing taking up space!

 

I went through security, which wasn’t too bad, though I had to have my head patted down. I think it was because I was wearing a barrette in my hair. They asked if I wanted to do it in private and I said no. LOL

After that I found a spot and jammed my big coat in my carryon.

I found the store and bought a diet coke and a few power bars and ate one while I waited.

 

 

I read emails and posted on facebook.

I watched this girl from afar. I swear this is the girl from Hardcore Pawn. She looked so much like her and a guy was talking to her and he took her picture. I also heard her mention the name Josh, which is what I think her brothers name is (Skip has since told me her brother’s name is Seth). I snuck a couple of pictures of her.

 

 

 

I even walked to the window to see if I could see her better, but I couldn’t. My apology if this is not her to whoever it is.

 

Our plane was here and I did get a shot of that.

 

 

Soon it was time for one last potty break and time to board. I got on it to find the 1st row with a vacant seat and I went to sit there for the extra leg room. The flight attendant told me my carry on had to go in the next bin back and my backpack had to go in the overhead as well for takeoff and landing, but I could have it then while flying. I thought about it and decided that would work and be worth it for the extra leg room and aisle seat.

 

As I sat there, a guy with a Seeing Eye dog came on and he sat across the aisle from me.

 

 

The flight was great and I did well with the length. I had worried about these longer flights, but I listened to a book on my phone and it went by well enough. We were arriving in Denver about 30 minutes or so early, which was great as I had a transfer and worried about the time. I didn’t want to be running to the next gate.

As we came down I tried to peer a bit out the window and it seemed like we were in the clouds forever and then we touched down. Holy cow, that wasn’t clouds, it was fog! It was very thick and eerie.

 

We proceeded to our gate and I was the 3rd person off the plane. Wow, that was neat. I let my 2 row mates go first because they were worried about their connecting flight as well.

I was happy to have enough time to use the restroom and then go to my next gate and stand a stretch a bit. Skip timed it perfectly and called me then and I talked to him a few minutes.

 

I took a shot of my next plane.

 

 

Soon they were calling for us to line up and then to board. Once again I got the same exact front row aisle seat. I loved this spot. The only downer was I couldn’t see out the window very well.

As we flew along I could tell there was some very beautiful scenery, but I couldn’t reach over 2 strangers to get pictures. It did look like we flew over canyons and mountains and from the l’il bit I could see, it was gorgeous.

 

After a few more hours it was time to land again and once again we were running a bit early. I turned on my phone and a second later Stacy texted that she was just leaving her house. I told her I just landed but still had to get off and get my bags and she said she would probably be there about the time I got my bags.

 

I was the first one off the plane this time…..that just seems so weird! But I must say I really liked it too.

I headed down to baggage claim and no signs of the bags coming out yet, so I stepped outside. AHHHHHH! Warmth! It was so nice to be outside and not freezing my fanny off!

After a few minutes I headed in and waited for the bags. I texted back and forth with Stacy and she had just parked. My bag came out at that same time so I grabbed it and headed outside to wait. I texted her that I went back outside and the next minute she came out to join me. She had been going in one door as I walked out another. We chatted a minute and hugged and then went to her car, which was just across the street in the garage. We loaded her trunk and off we went. She was there such a short time that they didn’t even charge her for parking, which was nice. Everything was timing out great!

We then were on our way towards Venice Beach and I pulled out my camera and my phone and took some pictures as we drove along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palm Trees!!!!!

 

 

 

Getting Close!!!!!!

 

 

How strange is this? A ballerina clown, not something you see daily in my neck of the woods.

 

 

I was expecting to see some really bad traffic, but actually it wasn’t too bad. Stacy said it was really good this day and not the norm. I do think they all drive crazy in CA though. At times I just shut my eyes. LOL.

As we approached the Venice Beach area we started looking for parking, but Stacy’s favorite free lot was full. We went through anyways and some big SUV was trying to squeeze into a spot that would’ve been perfect for Stacy’s car. Oh well, we went on and looked at some more lots. Everything seemed to be full, which she said is also not the norm. I guess all the traffic that was missing on the roads were parked at Venice Beach. We did find an alley that had parking and we were able to squeeze into a spot. I was amazed at how narrow this alley was and still allowed parking.

 

 

It even had meters, so I knew parking was allowed, but it just was crazy! We put in enough for just over 2 hours and we headed towards the beach. Lunch was needed by me and Stacy was hungry too.

 

The view from our parking spot.

 

 

 

My first look towards the Pacific ocean!

 

 

 

There it is!!!!! The Beach!

 

 

We are now officially at Venice Beach! We started to walk down the main walkway….I think it is called the boardwalk, though it’s not a boardwalk in the way I would think of one.

 

There were lots of people on bikes.

 

 

You can rent bikes here by the hour.

 

 

Stacy told me how the vendor spots are put up for a lottery and you then get that location for so long to sell your wears, or whatever it is you plan to do there.

 

The Beach looked so pretty and we planned to walk over to the water later after we had some lunch.

 

 

 

If course we checked out some of the strange people walking up and down as well.

 

 

This caught my eye right away.

 

 

Of course the guy there tried to sell me a smaller version of that.

 

We found a spot to eat and for the life of me I can’t remember what the name of the place was. We could sit inside or out and we chose outside. It was so nice to be eating a meal OUTSIDE in February!

My view from my seat.

 

 

These people were setting up to play and they had the strangest instruments.

 

This was also in my view from the table.

 

 

We made our orders and caught up with each other and the food came out very fast. Stacy had a breakfast platter, while I went with the chicken Quesadilla. It was very good too.

 

 

After lunch we moved on and walked around just taking in the sites. I just loved these lifeguard shacks and I kept taking pictures of them.

 

 

 

 

After a bit, Stacy wanted to get an ice tea and a place she liked was right down a side street. Before doing so, she wanted to show me this really strange house.

 

 

Yep! That’s not something you see every day.

 

 

 

They had a sign on the door to tell people not to disturb them too. I found that funny. Why have such an outrageous house and then not want to be disturbed. LOL. I suppose people were ringing their bell at all hours of the day and night.

 

 

This sign was out by the house too, so I had Stacy take a picture.

 

 

This vine covered house was across the street and I thought it looked really neat too.

 

 

I thought these palms really looked neat as well.

 

 

And another look back at the strange house.

 

 

We then ducked into the shop where Stacy wanted to get her tea. I don’t drink tea and it smelled like coffee in there so I went outside to wait for her and watched these guys a bit.

 

 

 

We continued walking down the street. Stacy had told me about some semi-famous people who worked the area. Well famous to Venice Beach….and this guy was one of them.

 

 

I think his name is Harry Perry, but I could be wrong. Anyways, he used to have a different persona, but changed it a few years back to this one now.

 

There were a lot of shops and attractions along the way, including some freak shows.

 

[jenseib]

We next headed towards the beach.

A look back….

 

 

 

This Skate park was fairly new and we stopped to take a look.

 

 

 

Again, I really loved these lifeguard shacks!

 

 

And it was so neat to see the boats out on the water.

 

 

A pier off to my left.

 

 

It was still a little bit foggy here today. I believe this is Paradise Pier off in the distance. Stacy pointed out a few things and I could see part of a Ferris wheel and roller coaster. She said there was construction going on over there and it was really a mess to get over there at this point, so we didn’t even bother going there.

 

 

Another “Bay Watch” shot.

 

 

We watched these guys jogging….not something very easy to do in sand…and we had to laugh as it appeared his knee had more coverage than other body parts!

 

 

And who can resist taking pictures of the ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course you cannot come all this way and not at least wade in the water, so I handed Stacy my camera and I went in.

 

 

 

This is my cold look…and yes the water was pretty darn cold.

 

 

Actually this is a picture of me taking a picture of the birds with my phone which I posted a few up from here…..

 

 

Stacy took this shot, which I love.

 

 

And then a few goofy close ups of me.

 

 

 

We then trudged through the sand to head back towards the car. I didn’t take pictures then because it was hard work walking through the sand.

 

This is my last shot at Venice Beach, and I believe this house was where snapchat was for a while, but it appears they are no longer there.

 

 

We then walked back to the car and headed on our way. We had perfect timing as the meter had just about 5 or 10 minutes left on it.

Our next stop was going to be Stacy’s apartment.

[jenseib]

Thanks for sharing this thread with beautiful pictures, this is great place to go touring.

i like it

 

It was such a neat place and great for pictures!!!

[jenseib]

As we cruised towards Stacy’s apartment, I took pictures. I am not sure of the exact order of things, so I might have some of my phone pictures out of order in here, but only those who know the routes we took in CA would be the wiser. LOL.

 

 

 

One thing I had not realized about California was that it has so many mountains and hills. I don’t know why this never dawned on me before, but it just hadn’t. I found it very beautiful.

 

 

 

A quick shot at gas prices…..which really weren’t a whole lot higher than Ohio at the time.

 

 

As we passed this building, Stacy said she really thinks this is the building that they use as “General Hospital”, but I don’t watch that show, so I really have no clue. She wasn’t sure either, but she said it really looked the same.

 

 

And this is Stacy’s apartment, which I thought looked really cool.

 

 

Her building is actually historic and it used to cater to many stars back in the day…. One being William Randolph Hearst. He had a suite there (I believe it was 2 stories and several bedrooms) and he basically housed his mistress there. The suite now is used for special events and we did check to see if it was open as there was an event the night before, but it was closed and we were low on time, so we decided to skip seeing if we could get in there.

 

We pulled into the parking garage and headed through a small courtyard. It was so pretty.

 

 

And then she took me to the front of the building and showed me that courtyard….WOW!

 

 

 

 

Her lobby was pretty dark, so I didn’t take any pictures, but it is huge. Also they are filming a movie in her building right now so they had rugs covering the floor and the pillars were wrapped to protect it from any damage with equipment coming in and out. Furniture was moved to one side and there were some lighting type things stored in a corner as well.

We took the elevator up to her floor and it was a little creepy. I must say tower of terror came to mind. The elevator doesn’t always line up with the floor right so you might need to step down or step up to get in it.

 

We got off at her floor and were laughing away and her boyfriend, Mark, opened the door as we approached. We asked if he heard us coming and he sarcastically said no. LOL. We laughed as we knew we had been a bit loud talking and laughing.

Stacy gave a quick tour of the place and then a look out her balcony.

 

 

 

She walked her dog real quick and then we headed back out to sight see a bit more and then meet her boyfriend, Mark, at Universal Studios, where he works at dubbing sound to match the mouth movement in films. (I am sure there is a much more technical term for it).

 

This fountain was in her small courtyard and I snapped a quick picture.

 

 

One of my goals was to see the Hollywood sign and Stacy said you could actually see it from near her place. We drove through a ritzy neighborhood just a few blocks from her house. I believe this is called Hancock Park.

 

 

She told me that movies are often shot in many of these homes and also some of these palm lined streets are used in movies as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Off in the distance you can see the Hollywood sign. Actually with the naked eye you could see it better than the camera was picking it up.

 

 

A little closer.

 

 

Stacy drove me over near her old building. She just recently sold her condo there. She has a lot of tales to tell about that place. She had an old lady neighbor who could give the wicked witch a run for her money.

 

 

I had to take a picture of the Melrose sign. I never really watched the show…but I think everyone knows it.

 

 

And then we passed the Paramount Studios.

 

 

 

It’s so weird how these studios are just randomly in the middle of town.

 

Stacy tried to get me a closer look at the Hollywood sign. I just kept taking pictures one right after another. I was sure one would turn out decent. LOL.

 

 

 

 

This one is probably the best one I got.

 

 

She even dropped me off along the road and then drove up and turned around to pick me up so I could try some shots, but there were too many trees in my way.

 

 

We then set off again and I believe this is the Capital record building if memory serves me right.

 

 

And then we passed the Hollywood Tower and as any good Disney fan should know, this was the inspiration for Tower of Terror…..Ok, I actually forgot till I saw it that there really was a Hollywood Tower! OOPS!

 

 

 

 

We soon were passing the Hollywood walk of fame with all the stars on the side walk!

 

 

 

We found a parking spot and got out and of course my search was on! There are a LOT of stars but soon I found the one I was looking for!

 

You wouldn’t even believe how hard it was to get a picture. So many RUDE people walking all over his star!!!!

 

 

I was so happy to have found it and we then made our way down to see the Chinese Theatre and I took pictures along the way.

 

Notice the creepy Mickey in the corner of the picture. Also a bad imitation of Captain Jack Sparrow. They had tons of people dressed up as characters along the way and you could get your picture taken with them for a fee.

 

 

Minnie just does not look right.

 

 

They did have a dead ringer for Michael Jackson and Johnny Depp though.

We passed the Dolby theatre and they were setting up for the Oscars for the following Sunday. They had bleachers out front and Stacy said they closed the road down and put the red carpet right there.

 

 

 

And the theatre is just down the road.

 

 

 

And this is the first one I see!

 

 

 

There was quite a few people looking around and we searched and searched the names. I swore Walt had one here, but I think I was wrong. After I got home I looked it up and didn’t see his name on the list.

 

I did however find another one of my favorite stars.

 

 

There were a lot of names that I didn’t recognized too. It was really interesting. I had heard that sometimes they move these around so that the more popular ones are easier to get to. I am not sure if that is true or not, but some did look like they could be dug up and moved.

 

We soon were running out of time so we headed back towards the car.

 

Again we passed the Dolby Theatre.

 

 

 

And I took a few shots as we walked.

 

 

Yes, this is where Jimmy Kimmel is filmed.

 

 

And my favorite star once again.

 

[jenseib]

As we walked back to the car, Stacy would point out different places and what some of them were. I know this place was something, but I don’t remember what.

 

 

 

This place totally cracked me up. The Rusty Mullet.

 

 

Totally creepy.

 

 

And we were off once again and heading towards Universal.

 

 

 

 

Soon we arrived at Universal.

 

 

Technically, we were not sure if we could take pictures, so I put my big camera away and had my point and shoot ready. I also took phone pictures, so as I post them they may not be in the correct order, but I think I used the phone first then switched to the point and shoot.

 

We were let in and given passes and found a spot to park. We then went to Stacy’s BF’s building and he had to come and let us in…..basically because we went in at the wrong spot. LOL.

We both had to use the bathroom and then her BF showed me where he worked and what movie he was working on right now. I forget the name, but something like under the stairs and it was a kids movie out several years ago and I believe they were adding a foreign language to it. He said the movie is awful and after watching it over and over it’s even worse. LOL.

 

Once we had used the restroom he took us out to a golf cart and we started carting around, with Stacy and I on the back and Mark as our chauffer.

 

I took a few quick shots as we set off. The sun was not my friend today.

 

 

We also drove right by the stage where they were setting up the stage for the Voice. I am not sure why it had been taken down, but it was quite the project going on and we did peek in there later and it looked like a big mess to me.

 

I believe these were props in storage.

 

 

This was a set used in a lot of movies and they just change things around for each movie.

 

 

 

 

I believe this was a western set.

 

 

Be careful!!! There is a Jaws set here somewhere!!!!

 

 

 

It was super hilly here and we got some great views.

 

 

Not very good pictures, but we just passed Whoville.

 

 

 

They also pointed out a few stars offices. I forget which ones were there, but Stacy has gone to some for meetings in the past.

 

I missed the hotel as we drove by…but you should all recognize the creepy house at the top of the hill…..Can anyone say psycho!!!!

 

 

And we went up to the top of the hill and around the house and I got a side shot.

 

 

This set is from War of the Worlds.

 

 

Those are airplane parts. Good thing I didn’t see that earlier this morning.

 

 

Kind of funny to see the War of the World set with the Psycho house in the background.

 

 

As we rode around we did see the parks backlot tour come around and at times we had to wait for the tram to go by.

We then came to this hill and wow!!!!! What a view!

 

 

At this point a tour tram came by and noticed us on the golf cart and we heard comments like “They must be VIP’s”. We just laughed at that one. Sure, we are celebrities! Take our picture!!!!

I then decided to pull out my point and shoot since the people on the tram were taking pictures in this area anyways.

 

I took more pictures of the gorgeous view.

 

 

 

 

Mark pointed out Warner Bros. And he said off in the distance was Disney Studios, but I could never make it out where he was exactly pointing.

 

 

 

On we went then.

 

 

This lot is super hilly and we were going up and down hills constantly.

 

There’s a tram on tour.

 

 

At one point we went by the Jaws set but it was completely drained out and they weren’t sure if it is going under maintenance or of it’s going to be demolished for something else. I did not take a picture though…probably because it looked very creepy.

 

This area used to be an amphitheater but it has been torn down. Stacy was bummed about that as she has seen some great concerts here and she said it was a great venue. But I was excited for the reason it was torn down. Something new is coming to Universal Hollywood! Something I will enjoy!!!! Harry Potter!

 

 

No one seems to have the official word on what ride is coming, but the way I have read it, it sounds like Forbidden Journey and the Hogwarts castle.

 

 

As we drove by here you could see people leaving and entering the park part of Universal.

 

 

I believe this was also part of the Harry Potter construction.

 

 

Another quick shot of the fabulous views.

 

 

The golf cart would really pick up speed when we went downhill.

 

 

In that past picture you can see the backs of signs along the road. Each sign had a name of a movie made by Universal.

 

Universal has its own fire department.

 

 

Squeezing between stages.

 

 

 

 

Mark gave lots of info as we went around too. He was a great tour guide and of course Stacy had some info on things as well. I was really thankful for such a wonderful tour…and day!

 

 

While we were there we worried about running late for dinner, so Stacy called our restaurant and moved the dinner reservation from 5 to 5:30. Mark asked if we wanted to see a few other things, but we knew we had limited time so we headed out towards the restaurant and Mark was going to close up his stuff and meet us there.

 

As we buzzed down the road….again with hardly any traffic…we went by the other side of the Hollywood Tower and I took a couple really quick shots as we whizzed by.

 

 

 

We were making really good time and we drove by Paramount at one point and Stacy said there was a cemetery in there as well for many old stars.

 

It is called the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but I think Stacy told me it was named something else previously.

Since we made good time, we went around the block to go and see if it was still open. I know this sounds weird, but when Stacy and I were young, we used to love to go to cemeteries and look around at the grave sites and names. Sadly, as we pulled up they were shutting the gate and I looked at my watch and it was just a few minutes after 5, so we assumed 5 must be the closing time.

Since I have gotten home, I looked it up to see if I recognized any of the people buried there. There are a lot of names I do not recognize at all, but here are a few I did…. Cecil B. DeMille, Marion Davies (who was Hearst’s mistress…. the one who had lived in Stacy’s apartment building), George Harrison, and this one I found kind of funny….. Terry (1933–1945), dog actress, best known for playing Toto in The Wizard of Oz. Terry has a cenotaph (empty tomb); following her death in 1945, she was buried on owner/trainer Carl Spitz's ranch in Studio City, Los Angeles. The grave was subsequently destroyed during the construction of the Ventura Freeway in 1958.

 

Since it was closed, we gave up on that idea and then slowly made our way to the restaurant. Dinner tonight was at Osteria Mamma, a favorite Italian restaurant of Mark and Stacy’s. Stacy said Mark will use any excuse to go there and so he decided it was important for me to try it and to sweeten the pot, he said he would treat me as well. Hey, I have no problem eating Italian, and when it’s free, it even tastes slightly better.

 

We arrived early since the traffic was pretty good and we found a parking spot right alongside the place, so we stood outside a few minutes and chatted and then headed in. The place was practically empty. We were seated at a corner table near the window and we talked and Stacy told me what she liked from the menu and gave me suggestions.

 

Stacy ordered her favorite appetizer which I believe was called Carpaccio Di Filetto, Fillet mignon carpaccio with arugula and Grana Padano cheese. She had been telling me about this all day long. I was leery because the meat is raw!!! I just found that really weird. But she insisted it was good and I wouldn’t get sick. LOL. Now I like my meat pretty red, but raw always seems unsafe to me.

 

Mark soon joined us and our appetizer was brought out. I did try it and it wasn’t bad. I had to work past my mental fears, but it was pretty good, but not something I would rave over, but still good. We also got bread, and I am a breadaholic and ate way too much of that.

 

For dinner Stacy and I both ordered the Spaghetti Meno Male, Fresh tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella. She ordered hers first and then I said I would like the same thing. When they brought it out, they brought just a serving for her and an extra plate for me. LOL. We quickly told them no, I wanted my own plate, there is no sharing going on tonight.

I am sad to say that we were talking so much that I just didn’t think to take pictures and when I did, I had eaten half of my portion. I fixed it nicely and then took a blurry shot.

 

 

This was to die for! I would come back here at any time. Very good food and a friendly staff. Since we had been the only people in there for a bit, the staff was falling over backwards to serve us, but by the time we were ready to leave, the place had really filled up.

 

We did have Mark take 1 picture of us with our phones. Mine was awful. I have learned that when we do flash pictures on my phone the flash goes into the case and makes them foggy. This was the result.

 

 

Finally it was time to go. I still had more activities planned for the evening. We walked outside and I thanked Mark for the dinner and wonderful time at Universal. He said it was wonderful meeting me and Stacy and I started laughing. She told him quickly he had met me about a year ago when they both had come to Ohio. I am not surprised he didn’t remember as he met so many people that trip and it was a stressful time for them.

 

We said our good byes and we headed off to Disneyland Resort. Stacy had debated on what would be the best route and the best way to get on the freeway. I programed my phone and she had printed out directions, so we figured between the 2 we would be fine. We jumped on the freeway and it was a little heavier with traffic tonight. As we went along she pointed out a few spots, but since it was dark, it was harder to see.

Stacy pointed out something Disney, and I took a crappy phone picture as we drove by.

 

[jenseib]

After we got a little further down the freeway the traffic lessoned up a bit and we made some decent time getting to DLR.

I had been texting Cass off and on throughout the day and she seemed to have a hard time getting to DLR. She was using the Disneyland Express and she had to wait an hour to get on after she landed. It took her forever to get there and her texts were brief, but I could tell she was frustrated. I now let her know that we were on our way.

 

As we got off the freeway my phone told us to turn one way but the signs pointed the other way. Soon it was shifting us around in a residential area and then out to another road.

It kept telling us to turn on a certain road and we would never see it and then it would recalculate and again the phone would tell us to turn on a street we would never find. I think we were a bit tired and the roads were not marked very well.

We came up to a main road and made a U-turn and headed back, and then all of a sudden it told us we had arrived at our destination. Um????? No we didn’t. There wasn’t a driveway or anything. We just started laughing so hard. Should I just get out and pretend I am there?

We found a driveway a little ways down the road that didn’t appear to be marked but as we went in we found we truly were at the right spot. We told them at the gate who I was and that I was checking in. Stacy said she was just dropping me off, but needed to find a bathroom.

In the meantime Cass had texted to see if we had arrived yet and I responded with “we can’t find the hotel, but we are close”. LOL I swear it was like a sitcom with us trying to find the place.

 

 

We pulled up to the hotel and Stacy told the Valet that she had to use the bathroom and they took her keys to hold on to in case her car had to be moved before she came out. We grabbed all my luggage and were just laughing away as we walked up and then I saw Cass standing there out of the corner of my eye.

I walked over to her and said hi and we hugged and I introduced her to Stacy.

 

We all walked in and Cass started telling me about her day. I had to laugh because she ended all her questions and points with eh? Cass is from Canada and I knew she probably would say it, but it still made me chuckle. She even then said “I say eh a lot”! LOL.

She also said the typical words like “about” in Canadian style.

We walked in and Stacy went to find the restroom and Cass told me how long it took her to get to the resort. She said she had to wait an hour for the bus as they only run on the half hour and she landed at 1:30. Then she was the second stop on the bus, and she was one of the last to get on. They still had several stops to make, but the bus was full already so it had to stop at each stop and tell people that they would have to wait another hour before the next bus came. She said people were not happy, and I agree, I would be pretty darn mad myself.

Then when she finally made it here, she checked in and dragged her luggage to the room only to find it only had 1 king size bed and it was VERY small. Nope, that won’t work.

So back to the lobby she went and they found her a different room and this one had 2 beds and was much nicer….except when she looked at her room key, it had my name on it now. She decided to wait and get that fixed once I arrived.

 

So we walked to the check in desk and I checked myself in and we each got a new room key with our correct names on them. Good grief! I sure hope this wasn’t a sign of things to come!

 

Stacy met back up with us and I said my good byes to her. I must say, if I had to leave and go home at this point, the trip was already worth it. She gave me such a fantastic tour of the city (not something she would do for just anyone) and we had such a wonderful day together.

It was really weird saying good bye to her after all that fun, and yet knowing I had a whole bunch more fun in store for me the rest of the week.

 

Stacy left and Cass helped me drag my bags to our room. I believe we were on the 7th floor, but the room numbers do not have anything to do with the floor you are on and I found it confusing. I think we were in room 2522 (or it might have been 2225). Whatever the number was I trained myself to remember it by my kids ages. Michael had just turned 25 and Paige would be 22 in June.

 

We arrived at the room and I dumped my stuff off in a corner. Cass said she didn’t mess up the room so that I could take pictures, so I did that right away and quickly.

 

 

The headboard behind the bed is so awesome. There is a switch to turn it on and it lights up and twinkles.

 

We had a couch in our room and though I didn’t check, I think it converted into a bed.

 

 

 

 

We had a vanity area outside the bathroom.

 

 

Neither of us drinks coffee, so we ended up putting that on the floor and out of the way.

 

Inside the bathroom there was another vanity and to the right of that is the bathtub/shower.

 

 

We found out the next day when we took showers that the head rotates in a circle.

 

 

To the left of the vanity there was a door and that is where the toilet was.

 

 

We found out later that week that many of the rooms are configured differently and not all have the extra vanity outside the room. Some do not have the enclosed separate toilet room either. This room was actually perfect for us. We had enough space and room for privacy.

 

I took a quick look at the view too.

 

 

Wow! That is beautiful to see.

The old fashion Disneyland sign is near the monorail slide.

 

 

I took a picture of my pillow on the bed, but I don’t think I ever got a close up on the one on Cass’, but hers said “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and mine continued on.

 

 

Cass told me about her day and that she had gone to the parks and it was insanely crowded. Dapper Days were going on and tons of people were here. Dapper Days is when people dress up in old style clothing. I think they have some events as well.

We had heard a few CM’s say it had never been as busy as it was this weekend for Dapper Days.

Cass said she checked out a few single rider lines and they were all insanely long with waits of an hour or more.

She gave up and went for a walk to an outlet mall.

 

I now had dilemma. I was tired, but there were so many things yet to do. And it was still fairly early. I believe around 8 PM. Cass wanted to go to the hot tub, which sounded wonderful to me. But I had yet another Cali friend, Keri, who was in the parks tonight. We have been Dis and facebook friends for several years though we haven’t met in person yet. I was lucky enough to meet her daughter in WDW a few years ago after my first Disney Cruise when she was in the college program and she worked at CRT. This was going to be my only chance to meet Keri most likely. Keri and I also had been texting off and on throughout the day too. She wanted me to hurry up and come over and join her at the Mad Tea Party. I must admit, I have never had a desire to go to this. Everything on youtube that I have found shows it to be a dance party with loud music…and not my type of music. I texted Keri and let her know that I was going to jump in the hot tub for a bit and then see how I feel and then I would try to get over to California Adventure before it closed.

 

With that said, we changed into our suits and I grabbed my point and shoot camera and we headed back down to the pools. I took some crappy/blurry shots on the way.

 

 

The entrance to the pool.

 

 

The towels.

 

 

We set our things on a lounger and I think Cass went into the regular pool first and I took a few pictures and then settled in the hot tub.

 

 

 

One of those windows with a light on is our room.

 

 

 

The hot tub was HOT!!!! I felt like I was being boiled for soup. I noticed a few other people make comments about it as well. Cass joined me after a bit and then she went back to the regular pool for a bit too. I stuck my toe in the regular pool and that was way too cold for my liking.

 

After we were boiled thoroughly we took a walk around the area.

 

I now know where Goofy’s Kitchen is.

 

 

The monorail slides….as it appears that all the slides at the onsite resorts…. closes at 5 PM. I wasn’t a fan of that. We basically knew we would never have a chance to go on it unless we cut out some of our limited park time.

 

 

I sure wish my tiki torch shot came out better. It was really pretty here.

 

 

Continuing our quick walk we found Tangaroa Terrace which is the quick serve restaurant here. I didn’t think it had much of a selection and we did eat lunch here one day and I was not all that impressed with the choices or the food I got.

 

 

 

Back to the lobby!

 

 

Cass had to show me these cute teacup chairs and of course I made her take a picture of me in them.

 

 

I loved the carpet here as well.

 

 

We headed back to the room and got dressed again.

 

I texted Keri and told her I would meet up with her, but I still had to pick up my ticket. She said they were still there, but getting tired and to let her know when I arrived.

 

Cass set out with me as she was hungry and she was going to stop at Earl if Sandwich. Downtown Disney is connected to the Disneyland Hotel and very easy to get to.

 

 

Cass and I separated as she went to get her sandwich.

 

 

One look back at the hotel and I went on my way.

 

 

 

I found the Lego Store!

 

 

 

 

 

Build a Bear.

 

 

It was insanely crowded from Dapper Days.

 

 

I made it to bag check and went through there fairly fast.

 

 

And my first look at the entrances.

 

 

 

I knew the parks faced each other and were close….but WOW!!! They are really close!

Cass had told me that Guest services were on the other side of California Adventure, so I headed that way. I passed the ticket line, which was extremely long. I have no clue why so many people were in line to get tickets at this hour of the day.

 

I made it to Guest Services and it was deserted for the most part.

 

 

They were closed too! Why do you close Guest Services before the parks close? There was a guy standing outside and he was helping a couple who were complaining about something. I am not sure what it was, but I think it had to do with the crowds that day.

I waited my turn and then told him I was here to pick up my ticket and showed him my voucher. I had a voucher for 2 day hoppers that I got through my job. Cass got the same one and had no issues picking hers up earlier in the day.

This CM told me I could not pick it up today, it had to be picked up on the day it was scheduled for. I told him, yes, I know….today is that day. He looked clueless but said he would check inside. I waited….

 

 

He came out and told me the tickets were not in there, and I told him I needed them tonight. He told me that the park was only open for an hour or 2 more, so why don’t I want till tomorrow and I told him no; I am meeting someone inside tonight. He went back in and came out and told me my will call number was not a valid number. I then explained that this number was directly from Disney and this is the exact email they sent me and that’s the only number it had. I basically read it line for line. He went back in again and finally came out with a ticket.

I am not sure what the issue was, except that I don’t think he was familiar with this type of ticket as it wasn’t a normal will call type of ticket.

 

With my ticket in hand, I went over to the entrance and used my ticket for the first time and entered my first Disneyland Resort park.

 

My first site inside was Carthay Circle.

 

 

I am going to admit it…I wasn’t wowed. I really should’ve gone to DL before CA, but I was on limited time.

 

I texted Keri to let her know I was in the park and where to find her. As I waited for her response, I hung around the hub there and took some pictures.

 

 

 

[cfc]

I was there for a couple of days in December and had a great time (even though it was a bit rainy one day). Some of those old LA apartment buildings are quite beautiful.

[WFChris]

You mentioned not being able to find Disney, but it's actually in the very first picture you posted below the comment! I have outlined it for you here:

(The yellow building is Disney, the one next to it is a hospital, and the rest of the prominent ones in the box are all studio buildings. And yes, the water tower has Mickey on it (but no 'Hollywood Studios Mickey Ears' lol). Farther to the right would be their animation building.

[jenseib]

I was there for a couple of days in December and had a great time (even though it was a bit rainy one day). Some of those old LA apartment buildings are quite beautiful.

 

They do have some fabulous places with so much history. I was amazed at how many buildings had a story.

[jenseib]

You mentioned not being able to find Disney, but it's actually in the very first picture you posted below the comment! I have outlined it for you here:

(The yellow building is Disney, the one next to it is a hospital, and the rest of the prominent ones in the box are all studio buildings. And yes, the water tower has Mickey on it (but no 'Hollywood Studios Mickey Ears' lol). Farther to the right would be their animation building.

 

Thanks so much. Someone on another board gave me a general idea, but you outlining it makes me actually see it and understand it. Thats weird that there is a hospital right there in the middle of it all.

[jenseib]

While I waited for Keri’s response, I decided to get a photopass picture. This is the only time I stopped for a picture, so these are redneck versions of what they took.

 

 

 

I thought this was a dumb pose…but oh well.

 

 

I used this border since I would be taking classes this week and graduating as well.

 

 

I hadn’t heard back from Keri yet, so I decided to head towards the music.

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t too hard to find the Mad Tea Party.

 

 

 

 

As I walked around I looked for Keri or her son, who I knew was there today as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then got a message from Keri…come to the Little Mermaid ride…ok that sounds easy enough, except I didn’t pick up a map when I came in and I had no clue how this park was laid out….so I just started walking.

 

 

My second Hollywood Tower of the day.

 

 

 

I stopped and asked a CM where to go and she pointed me in the right direction.

 

 

Keri texted me and said they were watching the World of Color from the front of the Little Mermaid ride, so I pressed on.

 

I slowed down just slightly to get a couple pictures of Carsland as I passed by.

 

 

 

Finally I spotted them and we hugged and said hellos and she introduced me to her friend that was with her. She told me her son had left already, and we were sad I couldn’t meet him, as I feel like I know him as well from all she posts about him on facebook.

 

We chatted and watched WoC from afar. It wasn’t a great location, but it did give me a nice enough view to know I enjoyed it. I think when I had arrived it was more than half over.

 

 

 

This is where we were standing.

 

 

More World of Color.

 

 

They had some fire balls and even from this distance they were quite warm….I had to wonder how hot they were to the people closer to them.

 

 

 

They sure named this show appropriately….lots of color!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course we had to get a picture together before the night ended…and again they are phone pictures and it has the messed up flash.

 

 

 

When the show ended Keri and friends headed out, but I decided to hang back. I just hate walking like hearded cattle with the crowds, so I took pictures instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the crowds thinned a bit I made a restroom stop and then worked my way to the exit.

 

 

 

I also found where the Grand Californian entrance is when I was walking out. I knew the resort was close, but I had no idea how it was basically right up against the park. I was impressed.

 

As I exited the park, I had a decision to make. Disneyland was still open till 11 and I believe it was close till 10:30 now. Should I go over and take a quick look? I wasn’t sure, so as I exited I asked if I needed a hand stamp. I had been told that DLR uses hand stamps to re-enter the parks and I wanted to be on the safe side if I decided to head across the way. I was told no, a stamp was not needed and I exited with the crowds.

[jenseib]

I made my decision quickly…yes I needed to go over to Disneyland and at least see the Castle. I would be a fool not to, right?

 

 

I was amazed at how many people were doing the exact same thing too.

When I entered they asked for my hand stamp, but I told them that I was told I didn’t need one and they let me in with no issues.

 

 

I took a look down Main Street and got a glimpse of the castle.

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised. So many people warned me at how small this castle is, and though it is smaller, it was actually much bigger than I expected it to be.

 

 

I walked down Main Street to get a closer look and stopped and tried to do an artsy picture that really didn’t turn out the way I wanted it too, but hey, I had been up for almost 23 hours straight at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

I glanced over towards Tomorrowland.

 

 

And a look back towards the entrance.

 

 

At this point I was fading fast. Being up for 23 hours was really taking its toll on me.

 

 

 

 

 

Before I left though, I had to check if Walt was in the park….and of course he was.

 

 

 

As I was heading out, the big Cheese himself was walking by. I tried for a couple of pictures, but it was so dark there and I wasn’t quick enough to switch on the flash.

 

 

 

I headed back towards the DL hotel and this time the walk seemed a little longer.

 

 

As I walked back I thought about my first park experiences and I had mixed feelings. CA did not give me much of a Disney feeling at all. DL gave me only a slight one. Of course it was late, I was rushed, and I had been up for many hours. It did get better throughout the week, but I never had the same feelings that I get at WDW. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, I just feel differently about WDW, most likely because that was my first and only Disney park experience for many years.

 

So after my trek back through DTD, I arrived at the DLH and made my way back into our building, which by the way was the Fantasy Tower, which also was the main building with the lobby.

 

 

I headed back to the room and tried to be very quiet as I entered as to not bother Cass. I sure didn’t want to annoy the heck out of her on our first day together. But I barely got in the room and she asked me how the night went, so she wasn’t asleep yet, or only just falling asleep. We talked a bit and I told her what I did and then she told me her sandwich from EoS was awful and she ended up throwing most of it away. That was such a bummer. I love EoS too and I hope it was just a fluke. It would be sad to see them going downhill, or this branch just not producing the quality we’ve all come to love at WDW.

 

After chatting a bit, I went out like a light. It had been such a long day and the bed was comfy (and it was ALL mine…no husband to share with) and I just sank right into it and let the dreams take me away….a L’il bit!

[jenseib]

Feb. 24, 2014, Monday

 

I believe it was this morning…..around 3:30 AM….that I heard my phone pinging. I quickly grabbed it and turned the sound off and went back to sleep.

But that didn’t last too much longer. Around 5:45 or so I gave up on sleep. I slept well till then, but then I woke and my body knew what time it was at home (8:45) and this was sleeping in for me on that time.

I grabbed my phone and went under the covers to see who had been messaging me in the middle of the night. I was 2 of my co-workers, who I message back and forth with daily and they were just chatting, so I replied and looked at facebook a bit and my emails as well. Cass then asked after a bit who was messaging me at some God Awful hour in the morning and I told her. Cass went back to sleep for a bit I believe, but I knew it was useless for me so I got up and showered. When I got out, Cass was checking her email and I told her I was going to take a walk and possibly get a quick bite to eat.

 

So I headed towards the elevator and took this picture while I waited. One was out of order the whole time, but there are 3 of them and most times they came in a timely fashion.

 

 

I headed out the front entrance and took some pictures.

 

 

I noticed this resort had a convention center too and I saw many people going in.

 

 

I just want to note that the area I was standing in was a smoking area…it was out of the way, but I noticed a lot of the other smoking areas were in highly populated areas, and many at the Grand Californian were actually right next to doors.

 

This is a view of the entrance you drive in from.

 

 

And this beautiful fountain surrounded by flowers.

 

 

Another look at the entrance.

 

 

Palm trees! It was so nice to see Palm trees and flowers after looking at snow for 2 months solid.

 

 

A further back view of the entrance of the hotel.

 

 

This is looking at the conference center from the same spot.

 

 

 

The fountain.

 

 

Ahhhhh! Flowers!

 

 

 

 

One thing to take note is that parking at the Disneyland resorts is not free like it is at WDW. I believe it is $15 a day if you have a car onsite.

 

That little booth in this next picture is Bell Services.

 

 

 

 

I walked in on the conference center side. I loved this carpet.

 

 

The carpets actually reminded me of Disney Cruise lines as they always seem so bright on the ships too.

 

This was the hall that connected the resort to the conference center.

 

 

There was this huge shadow box with all sorts of old Disney memorabilia.

 

 

I spotted my sons name.

 

 

This is looking at Steakhouse 55.

 

 

A look at the pretty staircase to the next level.

 

 

 

Continuing on my walk…..

Steakhouse 55’s waiting area.

 

 

A quick trip in the bathroom.

 

 

More of Steakhouse 55’s waiting area.

 

 

Always look up.

 

 

I went up a level and got this ceiling picture as well.

 

 

I walked around on this floor next to scope out things.

 

 

I believe this room is used for special events and conferences now…..someone told me during our conference that this used to be a restaurant…Stramboli’s.

 

 

I loved all the artwork on the walls in the hall.

 

 

 

 

I headed outside and took a picture of the doors leading into the Sleeping Beauty Pavilion.

 

 

A glance over at the monorail slide.

 

 

And down to the main level for some more walking.

 

 

A look back up from where I had been.

 

 

Green plants just made me so happy. It was nice to see so much GREEN!!!

 

 

I wanted to get a diet coke, so I headed in that direction.

 

 

But I stopped on the bridge for another shot of the slide.

 

 

 

I believe I still had about 5 minutes or so till they opened so I just hung in the area.

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

I just love these flowers!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

I believe I then went in and bought my diet coke and the food smelled pretty good, but I didn’t want a full breakfast. I decided to just have my power bar that I still had in the room.

 

 

 

A peek at the Adventure Tower. This was the tower that our original room was in.

 

 

 

 

And of course it isn’t Disney without a few topiaries.

 

 

 

Cass is not a Minnie lover so I took this picture and posted it to facebook and tagged her. LOL

 

 

I then headed back to the room.

 

 

I finished getting ready for the day and then I took this picture of our carpet.

On a side note, when I took a shower this morning I noticed the shower head rotated. It was the weirdest and coolest thing. Cass mentioned it to me too and she even took video of it!

 

 

I believe this is when we decided to head down to bell services to inquire about how to get our luggage over to the Grand Californian the next day. (I could be wrong, but my pictures make it look like this is what we did now).

 

I think this is a picture of some art in the hallway.

 

 

This map of the park is in the lobby and it is really neat.

 

 

Out to the front to talk to bell services.

 

 

We found out it was easy to do and we could just drop them off in the morning and it should only take a few hours to arrive over to the GC. Of course they could not guarantee a time of delivery, which did make us a bit nervous as we would need to change before our first conference meeting.

 

While we were out there I took a few more pictures.

 

 

 

 

This is the gift shop….and I swear it was never open when I wanted to go in there.

 

 

As far as the resort gift shops go though, this one was the biggest and looked to have the best selection. I did get in there finally a few days later, but didn’t have much time to browse.

 

Now following my pictures, it appears we headed back to the room for something…though I have no clue why. Perhaps I forgot something.

 

 

They had these cute doors on each floor and we later found out it leads to a staff elevator.

 

 

We finally were ready and made our way through DTD to the parks and bag check. We were on a mission to get to CA as fast as we could for early entry. My suggestion to you is to get there fairly early!!!!

We did a speed walk so there are no pictures from our walk.

These are the crowds that met us.

 

 

Another tip…when you get through bag check do not enter the closest lines. Those were extremely long. We made our way to the other end and the lines were not too bad at all. And then Cass spotted a line with only a couple of people in it. At first we weren’t sure if it was a real line or not…as why would no one be in it? But we lined it up with a turn style and sure enough it was a line so we went into that one.

 

 

A CM started walking through the line with some sort of scanner and when she scanned my ticket she said I needed a picture. I wasn’t sure what this was. Cass then told me that they are now taking a picture of each person to match it with the ticket, so if your ticket scans and doesn’t show your picture they know you are not using your own ticket. We also had to sign our tickets. I signed mine, but later found out I was supposed to print my name. It wasn’t a big issue for most, but when someone tells me to sign something I write my signature. At a later point, one CM told me I had to pull out my license because she couldn’t read my signature and I was supposed to print my name. She was the only one who made a big deal over it; no one else ever said a word.

 

Cass had her picture taken the day before so now we were both good to go. Soon they started letting us into the park a bit earlier than opening and we handed our ticket then to the person running the turn style for her to scan it to allow us in.

 

My first look at California Adventure in the day time.

 

 

We quickly made our way towards Carsland to the next rope. The advice given to both Cass and I were to stay wide and right. When you go to Radiator Springs it will funnel all down to the right and those on the right tend to get in faster.

 

I took this picture and got a nice photobomb. Seriously I have no idea how this lady got in there as she was on the other side of the roped off area.

 

 

We were on the right side and just about the 2nd row back from the rope. While we stood there I took a few pictures.

 

 

 

Here they come!!!!!!!!

 

 

That gas hose was going to be the new “rope” to take us back to Carsland.

 

 

 

They had to untangle it a bit.

 

 

And we are waiting!!!!

 

 

And waiting!

 

 

That lady in front of us was not even going to Carsland…..when we were let in, she veered off to some other ride.

 

 

This is a good sign…the welcome committee is here!

 

 

 

 

And then they slowly walked us back towards Carsland. At one point we saw the people who used the Grand Californian entrance walking in too, but we were several steps ahead of that group.

As we walked, some people started pushing their way in front of us. It was really ridiculous how families are pushing their way through people with kids and then getting separated and trying to get the rest to cut in front of everyone else.

We kept walking fast and yes we tried not to let people in front of us if possible. At one point part of a family got between Cass and me. So after being frustrated with them and they were trying to get together I just walked around the guy as best I could and caught up with Cass and now his family was together.

At one point some pushy ladies stepped on my feet to get by and I really thought if they needed to be that far ahead that they were stepping on people’s feet….then let them!

 

As we approached the ride the fire truck came out (sorry I can’t think of what his Cars character name is) and he basically made it clear to all those on the left that you had to go right and it got a bit more crowded then.

All in all we didn’t get too far behind though.

 

A CM led us into the queue so there was no running through it to get to the front. This part was orderly.

 

 

See the ladies following the CM? They are the ones who were stepping on the feet to get up front. I guess they achieved their goal.

 

 

As we walked through we could see some empty cars going by. How exciting!!!!

 

 

I tried to snap pictures as we walked through, but we were going at a pretty good pace.

 

 

 

Getting closer!

 

 

 

The CM’s are ready for us.

 

 

Time to start loading.

 

[jenseib]

I believe Cass and I ended up being within the first 20 in line.

 

 

We didn’t make it in the first set of cars, but we did make the first car of the 2nd set.

 

 

And we’re off!

 

 

We go out just a little ways and then stop again for a seatbelt check.

 

 

I took a picture of Cass then! She always has cool poses on rides. Half the time I look like I am hanging on for dear life.

 

 

The ride starts out slow with a leisurely drive around the outside.

 

 

 

 

Once we went inside it was much harder to get pictures. I should’ve brought my other lens which works better in dark areas, but I will confess right now….. I let that lens sit in the room the whole trip and never once put it on.

 

 

Someone went tractor tipping.

 

 

This part always made me laugh when the green jeep would call the van “hippy”. (Yes I will admit I am terrible with the car character names). It was so funny because the way he said it sounded just like my oldest daughter Paige’s dad. He would call people that and said it in the same tone.

 

 

 

 

Time for a new paint job.

 

 

 

 

Time for the big race.

 

 

 

We then race another car and go outside on some bunny hills and turns. This is so much fun. Better than test track, but with a similar feeling. We laughed and giggled and our hair whipped all over.

 

 

I believe we won the race, though I am not positive, but it was so much fun. I am not sure what these things are sticking out of the walls. I assume some car part. Again I have only seen Cars 2 at the movies and only bits and pieces of the original Cars movie. Claire likes it, but not super into it, so we don’t own the movies.

 

 

We get stopped here and then the cars take turns going to the unloading area.

 

 

 

We go to get off and I gracefully trip! Yep, I had my bag looped around my foot so it would be safe in the car, but when getting out it becomes quite hazardous. Plus I have big elephant feet on top of that. Ok, I have issues getting off rides…I’ll admit it. My feet always tend to trip over something. Well my wonderful new friend was so worried about me that she burst out laughing! Which of course makes me laugh and then I have a harder time getting out of the dang car! And of course it then led to Cass reminding me all the time to be careful when I got off rides, always followed by a laugh!

 

We then went to look at our picture. I look like a big goof. I am blurring out Cass because she hates her picture taken. (and she looks a bit goofy here too )

 

 

I look like I am peeling my skin off my face! LOL. I was really trying to pull my hair out of my mouth.

 

We then exited the ride. That is such an awesome ride and I think one of my Disney favorites now.

 

 

We then walked over the Luigi’s flying tires. We passed this on the way….isn’t it so cute.

 

 

 

 

 

The queue was super cute, but we whizzed through most of it.

 

 

 

We only had to wait a short time so I took a few pictures of the people on it before us.

 

 

 

How cute are these bushes?

 

 

Once we got on we did a lot of laughing. We were not very good at controlling it and we would lean one way then the other but not always at the same time. It was a good fun ride, but not something either of us felt the need to do over and over.

 

We next made our way over to Radiator Springs Racers again. We decided to try the single rider line this time.

I clicked this quickly as we walked by.

 

 

The single rider line was completely empty. Those in standby still had a very long wait though.

 

 

The ride was basically walk on for us. No one in front of us and we were soon called to join a car…with both of us being in the same car, Cass in the front and me in the back in the same spot I was last time.

 

Cass took this picture of me. It was a typical look I had….on my phone posting to facebook, texting or messaging friends, or checking emails. LOL

 

 

This time around I took pictures with my phone.

 

Waiting to get our seatbelts checked.

 

 

Cruising around

 

 

 

Back inside.

 

 

 

Someone has been tractor tipping again.

 

 

Hippy!

 

 

 

Let’s race!

 

 

Another successful ride and this time we knew where they took the picture. I kept Cass in this one but if she hates it I will go back and blur her out….but really how can you hate it…she looks so “cool” in it. I am just laughing away like a dork.

 

 

I do want to note the kid next to me HATED the ride and was not happy about how fast we were going either.