Our vacation 2012

We drove out of Reno a little after 7am on New Year’s Eve. A few hours into our otherwise uneventful drive I saw the first “pass” sign.  Along 395 is several mountain passes and ski resorts.  Signs on 395 let drivers know which of these passes are open.  Having driven this way several times over the past 10 years, it was almost shocking to see every pass was open. While I was thankful to have no ice on the road…but the peaks had no snow.  This has been an unusual winter.  The news keeps saying this December was the driest since 1833.  Sadly, beautiful.

So fast forward about 10 hours (with breaks and lunch) and we drove into the parking lot of the Mango restaurant and Ultra Lounge.  Wouldn’t you know it…their computer monitor blew up moments before we got there.  So while I got a tour of the place Russ was crawling under desks and in cabinets Oh, William found a quiet little corner to enjoy a cheeseburger and play video games. We decided to delay our drive to Burbank the next morning so Russ could fix their system (when the restaurant was not open).

The following morning we went out in search of a monitor.  It was a Sunday, and January 1^st, so the only open store was Walmart.  There was only two options – it was the week after the Christmas rush so we were lucky to find anything.  Russ saved the day and we enjoyed brunch at the restaurant.  We then decided to spend the day in Palm Springs and stay with Mo & Glo one more night. With the Rose Bowl and parade moved to Monday we suspected Magic Mountain would be busy.  So instead we drove around Palm Springs, something we had not done in a few years despite all of our trips down.   We went to the Air Museum which is dedicated to the aircraft and pilots of World War II.  I was annoyed by the guy who insinuated the Army did not have real pilots in Vietnam but I chose to walk away.  We also finally saw Sherlock Holmes at the Mary Pickford Movie Theatre.  Although Mary never lived in Palm Springs (she lived in her Hollywood home PickFair until her death) her second husband Buddy Rodgers did.  He moved there after her death.  All the mementos were left to his widow who built this theatre and had a room with pictures, costumes, and other Pickford souvenirs.  We drove around and then retired for the night at Mo & Glo’s.

The next morning we drove west to Anaheim…to the happiest place on earth.  We get to our hotel, the Paradise Pier (cheapest of the three resort hotels).  It is beach themed but Mickey and friends are every where.  We really had God on our side, they had a room ready even though check in wasn’t normally for another 4-5 hours.  The room was fabulous.  It was a standard room but a few feet bigger than even Marriots we usually stay at.  It had two queen beds and a couch/day bed…a microwave and fridge.  The view was of our Disneyland Hotel and our pool.  The pool included a basic pool, kiddie pool, hot tub, and mega slide.  After exploring the hotel we decided the boy could go swimming while I run a load of laundry.  I met a great gal from Australia and we chatted away about life, kids, and Disneyland. Our next stop was Downtown Disney.  We explored William’s favorite store – Ridemakerz  - which had grown from a hole in the wall shop two years ago into a huge monster (which rivals the Build-A-Bear nearby).   Then we went searching for the park entrance through the Grand California (the ubber-fancy Disney hotel).  All who stay in the resort can cut through to the California Adventure.  It’s getting dark and chilli, so we head over the Hollywood Back Lot and Monsters Inc.  We get out in time for that part of the park to turn into the nightclub seen in Tron Legacy.  Very cool.  The best part was Flynns…the arcade from the movies.  Inside was 80’s music blasting (Journey, anyone) along with the classic 80’s arcade games (Donkey Kong, PacMan, etc).  And each game was only a QUARTER!  We also popped into the Disney Animation which is a fascinating area with rooms filled with various tributes to Dinsey animation.  After awhile we headed over to Disneyland itself.  I just about cried when we went through the gates.  Wow.  We played for the next several hours…Big Thunder Railroad, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and I can’t remember what else.  The night ended with Captain EO Tribute – which is simply Captain EO back in the theatre where it was in 1986 (Honey I Shrunk the audience was here for 20 years until MJ’s death).  I wasn’t a fan in the 80s and still not much of one.  We finally head back to room at midnight and ordered room service (we were starving).

  

Tuesday was a slow start.  I woke up but the boys were dead to the world.  We decided to sleep in and head over later.  We cut through to California Adventure first again.  We went though the new Little Mermaid ride.  Just as in the Haunted Mansion, you ride a doom buggie through a ride under the sea.  I am not a fan of the film (I hate the how they changed the ending) but I promised a dear friend I would do it for her (so I did).  Then the boys went and did the California Screamin’ roller coaster while I stood in line for Toy Story (where they joined me afterwards).  We also did the Goofy’s Fly School (formerly Muhalland Drive) and the Grizzly River Run.  The boys went through the Redwoods, earning their Wildeness Explorer patch (from Up’s Russel). In Disneyland we did most of the traditional dark rides in  Fantasyland – Snow White, Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Alice.  Well we only got part of the way through Alice.  The ride stopped and we had to walk down the ride and a back staircase.  Quick humorous…Alice threw a tantrum.  Between Tuesday and Wednesday we saw everything we wanted to and then some.  We also did Autopia, Innovations, Buzz Lightyear,  Railroad, Monorail, Peter Pan, Matterhorn, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh… we enjoyed Big Thunder RR, Indiana Jones, and Jungle cruise many times.  We did finally fit in Star Tours, but the new 3D technology made me ill, forcing me to give it up.  That nearly killed me. 

 

Thursday was our tour day.  We did the Adventures by Disney “Lights, Camera, Magic” day tour.  This tour is only being offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from Dec 26 through March 3^rd (?). We met at the Grand California lobby at 8am.  After enjoying coffee, tea or hot cocoa, we all hopped in the (very nice) bus and headed to the Disney studios in Burbank.  Corri and Chrstian were fabulous guides and made the entire trip fun.  We walked along the buildings, going into the theatre, down the halls of the original animation building, through the basement lined with many cabinets filled with artwork and masters.  Several buildings from the original studio were brought here when it moved.  More modern buildings have since been added.  You can see the hospital where Disney dies from the studio.  We peeked into the ink room.  Walt only hired women to work the ink rooms – thinking women had a better eye for color.  One of these ladies became his wife.  We visited the Hollywood Records Office where I learned that they not only produced the works of Selena Gomez but also Queen!   We went through the Frank G Wells Building which houses the archives.   There we saw the stone version of Mr. Tumnus and the wardrobe from the first Narnia movie released by Disney.  They had hundred of books, scripts, models, and other cool items.  On one shelf was the animatronic bird Disney bought in New Orleans.  He bought two, taking the second one apart.  He used this technology to develop his animatronics in Disneyland.  We also got to see the original animation camera setup which allowed an almost 3D effect in movies such as Snow White.  In front of the new animation building (while features the 7 dwarves holding up the roof) is the Disney Legends Courtyard.  The handprints of the award recipients (such as Dick van Dyke, Julie Andrews, animators) line this courtyard.  There is a statue of Walt and Mickey found in every park.  In the parks it is surrounded by a small fence.  Here we could get on the statue and take pictures.  There is also a statue of Roy Disney with Minnie Mouse and a large version of the actual award given.  The actual studios were all in production and we were unable to take a closer look.  We then had lunch in the commissary.  Russ had Walt’s world famous chili.  After lunch we were able to shop in the studio store – primarily available only to studio employees.

Sadly we went back onto the bus to leave.  But our next stop was Hollywood.  We were able to walk along, looking at the stars (on the ground) and we went to Graums Chinese Theatre to look at the handprints.  We also received a behind the scenes tour of the Kodak Theatre – where the academy awards have been held since 2001.  We did a driving tour of Beverly Hills and Hollywood.  We saw the original Comedy Store, the original House of Blues, Chateau Marmount (where Belushi died), the Laugh Factory, and Rodeo Drive.  The boys were car-watching a spotted several vehicles, debating their costs engines, and manufacturers.  We ended the day at Gladstones in Malibu where we enjoyed a snack and the sunset.  The trip would not be complete without LA traffic and sure enough it took two hours to get back to Disney.  We watched Lilo and Stitch on the bus, napped, and chatted.  In addition to the fantastic places we went to, we also received cool Mickey pins, our own Hollywood Stars, cupcakes from Sprinkles, the original issue of the D23 club magazine, a picture frames, and a thumb drives full of pictures.

Fab-u-lous.

When we got back to the hotel I was not feeling so hot (again). So, we meandered through Downtown Disney and finished our shopping.  And called it an early night.

Friday morning we got up early and went straight to Space Mountain.  I told the boys to go (there was no wait) and I popped over to get Fast Passes for later.  When the boys came out we did debate me going on the ride.  I wasn’t feeling very well (sinus issues) so we all agreed that might be pushing it.  We went into the California Adventure early (via the hotel guest only entrance).  While waiting for the Hollywood Backlot to open we went into Soarin’ California.  Then the boys did the Tower of Terror twice with Muppets 3D in between the trips.  We had lunch in the park and head back to the room for a break.  Heading to DisneyLand for one last hurrah, we did all of our favorite rides again – Splash Mountain, Pirates, Big Thunder, Indiana. We found the Club 33 door (and took pictures).   I think we may have done a few dozen other rides but now it is all a big (happy) blur.  We sauntered back to the hotel around midnight.

The next morning we pack and headed back to Palm Springs.  We meet my cousin Mina Grace for lunch…where I proceeded to talk for 3 or 4 hours.  It was wonderful seeing her again after 15 years.  We finally started on out way home after 4pm.The wind was pretty horrendous – later that night the freeway was closed due to wind damage.  After driving for 4 hours we decided it was best to stop for the evening.  We found a great Marriot in Ridgecrest, enjoyed some really good pizza, then tuckered in for the night.  After breakfast we started our trek again.  When we finally got home we unpacked and just about died. J  It’s taken about a week to recover (although the sinus problems are lingering).  This was a wonderful and amazing trip.