I Hate Splash Mountain

dianoia · Senior Member

I Hate Splash Mountain

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

How did it go? Did you get a picture of yourself going down Splash Mountain? Did it rain the whole time?

--Ray

arbilad · Head Chef

I'm weird in that I really, really love the Tiki room. Although I haven't been back to dizzyland since they updated that attraction, so I don't know if I would love it as much anymore.

dianoia · Senior Member

We had a fabulous time.

It didn't rain at all while we were in the park - although it did Sunday night when we arrived in California. It was about 15 degrees Celsius for the whole week - I'm getting more fluent in Fahrenheit now, I think that's about 60 degrees - which was a lovely moderate temperature right up my alley.

The only time I wish it was hotter was after the Grizzly River Run. We noticed as we were about to get on that other people were wearing ponchos, and that you could buy them in the nearby gift shop. But my darling hubby said, "I'm not spending $7 on a raincoat!" and so we went on sans plastic.

Just as we're finishing the ride, in the last quiet little turn, I fatefully said, "Hey, that wasn't so bad. I barely got wet."

Stupid geyser.

I got soaked so bad I went to the washroom afterwards and stripped down to my nothings in my stall so I could wring out my underwear. I was still damp three hours later.

We're too cheap to buy the picture of us on Splash Mountain - like I want a picture of myself grimacing anyway - and didn't figure out until Space Mountain that we could take a picture of the monitor for free with our own camera.

ETA: arbi, the Tiki room was my most favorite when I was eight, and the very first thing I made everyone go on when we got there this time. It hasn't changed at all, still as cheesy as ever. biggrin

I had remembered the singing birds and flowers, but had forgotten about the totem poles, so that was fun to rediscover.

-- Edited by dianoia at 13:11, 2008-01-15

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

AWESOME!! We're going to Disneyland for our '09 vacation! Where did you stay? We're looking at renting a home. (www.vrbo.com) How many days did you actually go to Disneyland? Is a week enough, do you think? What else did you do?

Tell us EVERYTHING! PLEASE!

dianoia · Senior Member

I looked into renting a home through vrbo as well, but it turned out it was cheaper to buy a hotel and flights through WestJet (a Canadian discount airline) than it was to buy the flight alone - and WestJet had the cheapest flights. Weird, huh?

In terms of a place to stay, if you're bringing younger ones, coco, I'd actually recommend staying at the hotels across the street from the gate, like the Desert Inn and Suites. They're actually closer than the Disneyland hotels in terms of walking, although the monorail does take you to the hotels every ten minutes.

I'd recommend that because it can be a long day, and taking a mid-afternoon break for little ones is a good idea, plus that's when the park gets busiest. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites and I like it, but we took the ART shuttle to get back, which is fine at the end of the day but not convenient for mid-day naps. Especially as the shuttles stop service everyday between 12:30 and 2:00 for service. Counterproductive for naps.

Mid-week January is an awesome time to go. The lines were ten minutes long for almost everything. Even though the park is only open from 10-8, you get to do a lot. Plus you're not sweltering in the heat. The downside is that we didn't get to see a parade, and the Haunted Mansion was closed for post-holiday clean-up. I've been twice, and hubby's been three times, and we have not yet seen the Haunted Mansion.

We were there for four days, and frankly could have spent a fifth. We went on almost every ride - some several times in a row because the lines were so short - and did shopping, but I would've liked to see some shows as well and spent more time with the interactive stuff, like talking to Crush.

I'd tell you more in a bit but I don't want my posts to get too long (too late!). Any other specific questions?

DaKnife · Senior Member

Well I'm glad the Dizzyland Tiki room is unchanged. The Dizzyworld one is not. Now they've Iago from the Aladdin movies as an active and very very annoying part of the show.

dianoia · Senior Member

Rides we loved: Space Mountain, Star Tours, Astro Blasters, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn, Mulholland Madness, Soarin' Over California, Indiana Jones (except my 8yo, who didn't like the spiders and such on the walls and kept his eyes closed.)

Ride that aforementioned 8 yo DID love: Maliboomer, where you shoot straight up about 180 feet. 14 and 12 yo sons and I did not ride, 'cuz we don't like heights, and shook our heads in amazement he went on with his father.

Ride that only Hubby had the stones for: Twilight Tower of Terror.

Rides we waited in line for 20 minutes for and wondered why we bothered: Finding Nemo submarine, Autopia.

Phrase uttered loudly before every ride (including It's a Small World): We're All Gonna Die!!!!

Phrase uttered constantly during Pirates of the Caribbean: Aaaaarh! aaaaarh Aaaarh

Stupidest Ride Ever: Splash Mountain - did I mention I hate heights? It goes boring boring boring boring AAAAAAAAAAGH boring boring.

Awesome audience participation: Jedi Training Academy

Best Joke We Heard: Just as we were leaving the Jungle Cruise, our operator said, "And now, one last joke for you psychics........................................................................"

Wildest Character We Saw: The Goth girl wearing 4 inch black lace-up thigh-high boots, black mini-skirt, black lace-up corset, black trenchcoat, huge black sunglasses, black Jack Skellington umbrella, and a Minnie Mouse backpack.

Restaurant with the Hugest Portions: Buca di Beppo. 8 yo ordered spaghetti and meatballs, and it came out with two on top the size of baseballs.

Phrase uttered by 12yo upon seeing the Meatballs: Poor, poor buffalo.

Stupid restaurant where $30 lunch entrees were sooo not worth it: Blue Bayou. Of course, it didn't help that I was STILL wet from the Grizzly River Run 3 hours before.

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

dianoia wrote:

we could take a picture of the monitor for free with our own camera.

Hey--that's genius!

We're thinking we'reprobably going to do Disneyland for family vacation this year. Unfortunately, that probably means May, when it will be getting super busy...

Anyway, my 3 kids are all 5 and under, so we may not hit most of the scary rides. (I'm probably the only one who would want to anyway.) We're thinking we may do 1 day at Sea World and 1 at Disneyland...with a couple of days for down time or revisiting things we miss. I'm still trying to juggle different deals for maximum value/minimum dollars. biggrin

bokbadok · Senior Bucketkeeper

Stupidest Ride Ever: Splash Mountain - did I mention I hate heights? It goes boring boring boring boring AAAAAAAAAAGH boring boring.

Agreed.

I went with my oldest on Tower of Terror when we went last year. It was a gut wrenching, one-time only ride, but awesome. I'm glad I did it.

Was California Screamin' closed? Loved that rollercoaster. The SunWheel was terrifyingly fun too. I was afraid I'd throw up if I went on the Maliboomer. Me no likey nausea.

Ahhh... Disneyland. One of the things I like best is how immaculate everything is. No peeling paint, no trash, no scary workers, and that 'forget your troubles' carefree feeling as soon as you enter the gates.

Coco - I heartily second Dianoia's advice about the close hotels next to the main gate if you've got little ones that need to nap. You need to check a map carefully to find out where they really are - because nearly all the hotels claim to be close - and it can be deceptive. The Desert Inn and Suites is one of the closest - we stayed there when we had a toddler and it was perfect for the afternoon napping strategy.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Excellent, di!

And bok!

So the Desert Inn and Suites... *taking notes* ... no shuttles from Noon to 2pm...

Yeah, we'll be driving, so there won't be the package deal involved with airfare, etc.

Did you by a week long pass or what?
Did you just get up and head to the park everyday?
Did you eat inside the park? Is it outrageous?

You know, I was all set on a house (with a pool) to rent, but this across the street thing is becoming more and more appealing... especially with little ones who might last a few hours and then older ones who will last forever... we can more easily do the "divide and conquer" plan. We'll just have to fight over who goes back to the motel with the babies.

Did you see Knott's Berry Farm or Universal Studios or anything else? San Diego Zoo? Tijuana? We'll be going in the sweltering summer, by the way.

-- Edited by Cocobeem at 21:55, 2008-01-15

arbilad · Head Chef

There's a homeschool group that's doing "Not Back to School" days at Disneyland in September, and we're hoping to go. We're signing our son up for fundraising activities to pay for tickets (the group handles that too). He'll also get to go to a YES class, probably the one on Physics. Those are classes that Disney does, and it involves tours of the park.
We will definitely hit Knotts Berry Farm if we go to So Cal. I grew up in that area, and I have so many fond memories of Knotts. But it is a place that you can cover pretty well in one day.
One time I earned a trip to Knotts through the newspaper that I delivered for. I signed up a lot of new customers, so they paid for me to go.
Also, in September, it will still be warm, and all the normal kids will be in school. Pretty much a perfect combination.
We'll also probably hit a beach. I miss Southern California beaches. Maybe I should brush up on my scuba diving skills.

dianoia · Senior Member

Euphrasie and Bok first:

Euphrasie, have you heard of http://www.ridemax.com/ ? I did a lot of research on the internet, and people say great things about it. The only thing is you need to know what rides you want to go on.

Bok, we didn't go on California Screamin', because as mentioned before, the boys and I aren't all about heights. Once the boys heard that the rollercoaster does a loop, it was "no way."

Hubby mentioned to me that if Space Mountain was visible there was no way he'd convince me to go on it. Very likely true. I have discovered that I like the fast turns of roller coasters, but I HATE the big drops and how my stomach feels. The Tower of Terror would not be fun for me.

And I went on the Sun Wheel with Hubby and 8yo, and didn't like it - and we were on a red non-loopy car. It would have been OK if we were constantly moving, but waiting for minutes at a time way up in the air is not my cup of tea. We only went around twice, and both times were stopping constantly, which was strange.

And I second that comment about how clean Disneyland is. It's really quite amazing. And they really work hard to ensure people have a good experience. I took two surveys in the park, plus I'm doing one at home, and the biggest question is, "Did you have any negative experiences with a Cast Member (park employee)? Did you see anyone else having a negative experience with a Cast Member? And further variations of that question.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

I love your comment about the goth girl. California has it's fair share of people who really hate themselves...

When I was at Universal Studios a couple years ago there was a woman there with tats and all sorts of body mutilations, including horrific piercings, etc... but what completed the ensemble was that she was like fifty years old and morbidly overweight with flesh parts oozing out of her stained tanktop and she had children in tow. If the look she was going for was "vomit inducing" she'd definitely need an award.

--Ray

dianoia · Senior Member

Coco:

We were in Disneyland for four days, and that's all we did. My youngest brother thought it was a travesty we didn't go to Universal Studios, but we had so much fun we didn't care. Mainly for us it was a financial decision, I didn't want to rent a car for just one day or navigate LA traffic, or pay for a shuttle and only be there for 5 hours. I'm cheap that way.

Right now Disneyland has a 5-days-for-the-price-of-three special, which we took advantage of. One of the best parts of getting a multi-day pass is you get one morning where you enter the park an hour early. (Do it on Monday or Tuesday if you can, they're the least busy.) We went straight to Tomorrowland and rode Astro Blasters three times in a row. I loved the whole "run out the exit and run right back on" feeling.

Food is expensive in the Parks, but there are ways to get around it. Most hotels offer a free Continental breakfast, and if yours doesn't, get a room with a fridge. (Actually, get a room with a fridge and microwave anyway.)

Disneyland says they don't allow outside food in, but that's not true. They search all backpacks and bags before the entrance, and let us through with our sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, juice boxes, fruit snacks and granola bars for five people in one backpack.

Hubby had picked up our supplies from the nearby Target and forgot to buy sandwich bags, so the first day we brought in a loaf of bread and containers of jam and peanut butter. That was a no-no, as they don't allow glass in the Park, or the supplies for making sandwiches. So we were escorted to a picnic area with lockers just beside the Disneyland entrance, stowed our stuff there and came back later for lunch. Even with that faux pas, everyone was still very polite.

Brown-bagging lunches makes sense because it saves time as well as money. There's benches everywhere you can stop at and eat, and half the time I passed out food while we were standing in line.

A burger and fries in the Park will set you back at least $8, and that doesn't include a drink. A better alternative is the row of restaurants right outside the Park, there's a McDonald's, IHOP, Denny's and Millie's just outside, but I'd strongly recomend Mimi's. Really good food for an excellent price. I got a Blue Cheese and Walnut salad with a muffin for $8 that was delicious, and could only finish half. (Which is why the fridge comes in handy.)

The Buca di Beppo about three blocks away near our hotel has entrees in the $11-$14 range that are designed to feed at least two people, so we had a second supper just from our doggie bags. The food was great, I've never had such fast service, and if you go online and register you can get coupons.

We found one good deal in the Park, which was the Clam Chowder in a bread bowl you buy at the Royal Street Veranda near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It goes for about $9 including tax, but the soup and bread is so filling and good we'd buy one for two people and were full. Plus it's a lot of fun to eat the "bowl."

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

I ate at Buca di Beppo's too, there was one just outside universal studios... it was yummy.

dianoia · Senior Member

Some day, ray, I aspire to be as succinct as you are.

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

I'll have to think about that ridemax. $15 doesn't sound too bad if it saves me a ton of research/wait time.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Excellent. So... did you buy your passes before you even left home? Did you request Disneyland's free Vacation Planning DVD or do most of your research online?

dianoia · Senior Member

Oh yeah, bought the passes online in advance (did everything online in fact. Made my life a lot easier). The "five days for the price of three" was an online special only, and even on Disneyland.com the Parkhopper prices are significantly less than you'd pay at the gate.

Check out http://www.mousesavers.com/ and http://www.getawaytoday.com/ for good deals (bok gave me the link for getawaytoday at Nauvoo, thanks bok).

I did my research online, as this is the first time I've even heard of the free DVD.(There was a free DVD? I missed out on something free? Dagnabit!)

Tripadvisor.com was the place that helped me choose my hotel, and google was my best friend in choosing places to eat. The only reason we didn't use RideMax is they said on their website, "You don't need this if you're going on a Wednesday in January." I appreciated their honesty.

edited because I'm anal about grammar

-- Edited by dianoia at 11:09, 2008-01-16

glumirk · Senior Member

mm...we had that clam chowder breadbowl in California Adventure...soooo good! We shared it and were both very full.