Disneyland Trip Reports
Topic: Disneyland all by myself

#	Author	Message
1	Vernal Tue 8/16/2005 10:45p	My gosh. I can't believe its been almost a month since I was at Disneyland. It seems like a dream now. My son Steve (he's a banker at one of those big fancy banks in San Francisco) had some important meetings to go to right near Disneyland. He knew I had such a good time last March when my husband Lou and I took all the grandkids to Disneyland. Well anyways, he asked me if I wanted to go again. Only thing is that he was going to be in meetings most of the time so I would be on my own most of the time. Well, if you've ever had eight kids running around the house all day you'd take any chance you got to be by yourself. So I said yes that would be lovely. My dear son paid for me to fly to California and we stayed at a fancy hotel and he bought my tickets and gave me money to spend. I just can't believe how generous he is to his mother. Okay, so I obviously could not leave Lou alone with all the grandkids so my sister Evie offered to stay over. Now, Evie would not be my first choice. Way back in high school both she and I had our eye on Lou and I was the one that won him over. Personally I think she has always been a little jealous over that. Anyways, normally I wouldn't be concerned with Evie staying at the house with Lou while I'm gone but she's in between husbands so, well, one can't help but worry a little if you know what I mean. And lately Evie has been hitting her special lemonade recipe a bit to early in the day for my liking so I was worried how she was going to find the energy to take care of the house and eight kids running around during the day. Well the kids were all disappointed that they couldn't go with me. They had such a fine time last March. They all had their favorite things to do and made me a list of things I had to ride. Okay, I guess I'm rambling on here and you probably want to hear all about my trip to Disneyland so I guess I better get to that. This was my second trip to Disneyland but it was my very first time to fly in an airplane. Can you believe that? I was so nervous but it was also very exciting. I got on the plane in Billings and a really nice young man greeted me. I asked if he was the captain but he said no he wasn't. He said the captain was busy getting the plane ready to take off. Well it turns out this nice young man was a stewardess. His name was Andy. Well, actually they don't call them stewardesses any more they call them flight attendants ( I learned that here on LP). It's a very fancy title now. I remember when I was about 21 years old and I read this wonderful book that came out called Coffee Tea or Me. It was all about the glamorous life of being an airline stewardess. And oh how I wish that is what I had done, but I got married to Lou right out of high school so he wouldn't have liked it if I was off flying all over the world instead of at home on the farm. So flying is not so hard after all. I was worried about the parachutes but it turns out they don't have them any more. Just before you take off up in the air they tell you all sorts of safety things. Andy showed us how if the air disappears the oxygen masks will fall down and you put them on. If you have a child you are supposed to put yours on first and then put the child's on. Well I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if I had all eight grandkids with me and all of a sudden we lost the air in the plane and these things fell down. Oh lord. What a mess that would be making sure they all could breathe. Well it was a real nice flight. There were hardly any people on the plane and no one sitting next to me. It is amazing how things look from up in the air. Not much to see over Montana but Washington was sure pretty. We landed in Seattle and I was real nervous. I waited until I was the last one off the plane and showed Andy my ticket and asked him if I could follow him to our next plane to Los Angeles. You see I was so concerned that I would end up getting on the wrong plane and flying to a foreign country where I didn't speak the language. Well Andy said he wasn't going to be on that plane but he was real nice and he got someone else in the airport who walked me right to it. I had to wait a little while and then it was time to get on. Well my lord. This was a huge plane. About four times bigger than the last plane I flew on. And this time there were three flight attendants working the plane. All three of them were pretty young women. Two of them were named Carol and Rachel but I forgot what the third one was called. We got on and not a single seat was empty. I got to sit by the window again. I had two real nice young business men sitting with me. I started telling the one next to me all about my trip so far and about our trip to Disneyland last March. I was such a chatterbox which I'm usually not. Well, he finally said he was real tired and needed to take a nap so I went back to looking out my window. I forgot to mention that you get a free beverage and a little bag of peanuts. They serve coffee and tea and water and juice and all sorts of soda pop. I had a glass of cranberry juice. Well the plane finally landed in Los Angeles. Now this time I knew what to do. Steve had told me to go to baggage. Just follow the signs he said and he would find me. Well I did and sure enough there he was. Oh it was so good to see him! I was worried my suitcase would get lost. You hear about that all the time. But pretty soon there it came on that conveyer belt thing. Steve had a rental car and we drove to Disneyland. Well we didn't drive to Disneyland. We went to our hotel first. It was a real fancy one. We were in a room on the ninth floor. Now this hotel was huge and very, very nice. When we was at Disneyland in March we stayed at the HOJOs. We had a room with two big beds and ten people. It was pretty crowded. That bathroom was busy non-stop. This time though it was just Steve and me. We each had our own bed. It was the first time I have slept all by myself in a long time. I called home to see how things were going. Evie sounded a little flustered. But then again, she may have mixed up a batch of her special lemonade. It was hard to tell. All the grandkids were accounted for so I guess I shouldn't worry. Now since it was late Thursday night there was no time to go to Disneyland. So Steve took me to a real nice dinner at the hotel restaurant. I had me a steak with garlic mashed potatoes. It was tasty. Before we went up to bed Steve showed me all about how to take the shuttle bus to Disneyland in the morning. I was afraid I might get on the wrong bus and end up in another part of California. That wouldn't be as bad as getting on the wrong plane and flying to a foreign country and not being able to speak the language because in California they all speak American but I still didn't want to get lost. Anyway, it turns out the shuttle bus stands out like a sore thumb. You can't miss them. I slept very well that night and we got up early. Steve took me down to catch my shuttle to Disneyland and he went to his meetings. I got off the shuttle bus and headed to Disneyland. There was music playing and everyone was so happy. Oh my land! It turns out the Disneyland was going to be 50 years old in two days. Did you know that? July 17 is Disneyland's birthday. Yep. They had 50 this and 50 that all over the place. Different things were painted gold and sparkly. Well I wandered in and you know what. I remember in April it was very pretty and very nice but you have to remember that I had eight kids with me all wanting to go this way and that way and do this and do that and I had to keep my eye on all of them so I missed a lot. Well this time I took my time and took it all in. I walked all the way down to where Walt Disney is buried under his statue. And then do you know what I did? I headed to Futureworld! I felt so guilty doing that. I know Lou would not be happy with me but I just had to do it. The first thing I did was go on the Star Trek ride. It don't have Captain Kirk or Darth Vader but it does have this cute little robot who flies the spaceship. You go all over outer space but it's not really outer space but it feels like it. Now this one would have really scared Lou but I thought it was a lot of fun. Then I went to the movie Honey I Shrunk the Kids. You have to wear these special glasses and they make different things come out at you. Very funny show. Takes about a half hour. I looked around in the gift shop a little and asked the clerk at the counter where The Space Mountain was. I read on the LP that this was a brand new ride and supposed to be fun. I know I walked by a mountain before I came into Futureworld but I knew that was Snowy Mountain. Well the clerk kind of gave me directions but it turns out there isn't really a mountain after all. It's a building! So I go out and pretty soon I find it. Well it was okay but kind of disappointing. Not like I imagined at all. First there is a robot and some sort of game show. Then you go inside and there's all sorts of computers and video games. I wandered around but I just didn't think it was any fun so I left. Well after that I went on the Buzz Lightsaber ride. This one was real cute. You get little guns that you point at targets and shoot. I didn't score very many points but it was fun. And then you know what. I found the real Space Mountain! Yep. I don't know what that other place was but it wasn't The Space Mountain. Now, I don't understand why they have Mountain in the name because there is no mountain. It's just a big building. Why don't they call it The Outer Space Ride or something like that. I wonder how many people wander around Futureland looking for a mountain and never find it. Well this ride had a long line. Took me about a half hour before I got to ride it. Boy howdy was that fun! If you go to Disneyland you have to go on this ride. It is just like you are flying through outer space. Believe it or not, I think it's a roller coaster. So the next thing I did was ride one of those little cars on the Autoland Ride. I normally would not do this but this was the one ride that my grandson Chris wanted me to ride if I could. So I got me a pretty gold car and drove it all around the track. Takes about a half hour. When I wandered out of Futureland I found myself by the Small World ride. I got in line and rode this. Just loved it. Love that song. I wonder if they sell the record for it? After Small World I went into Cartoonland. Now, I don't remember going here the last time. It is the place where all the cartoons live. Mickey Mouse has his own house and Minnie Mouse has her own house. They live right next door to each other. And all this time, I thought they was married! I got to meet both of them. When I finished Cartoonland I went on the Fairy Tale Boat Ride. This ride is just too cute. Little teeny tiny buildings where Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty live. One funny thing though. There was a duck sleeping on one of the islands. Can you imagine if little people actually lived there? This duck would be like a monster to them. Okay, after that I went on all sorts of rides. Peter Pan, the merry go round, the flying elephants, Snow White, Cinderella. Jenny wanted me to ride in the tea cups so I rode in a pretty gold one for her. I did a lot that first day. I forgot to say that I ate well too. I ate a box of popcorn which was tasty. I had one of them churros and that was good too. I also had an ice cream bar shaped like Mickey Mouse. And I had me a hot dog for lunch. Not the most nutritious food but you can get away with that when there's no one watching you. I took the shuttle back to my fancy hotel. Steve took me out to a really nice dinner. We had seafood. I told him all about my day. I called home that night and talked to Lou and each of the grandkids. Everything was fine at home as far as I could tell. Evie had gone to bed early. The next day I took the shuttle bus over to Disneyland just like someone who does it every day. This time I went down to Walt's Statue and made a left. Jungleland was my first stop. Patty wanted me to ride the Jungleland boats. I got on a pretty gold one and laughed myself to death. That boat driver was just hilarious. This time they had some killer fish in the water. I didn't remember them last time but I could be wrong. After that I went to the Singing Parrot Show. Now that's a real charming show. Takes about a half hour. Then I went on the Indiana Jones ride. Jack wanted me to ride this one. Turns out when I got in the jeep I was the driver. Only I wasn't really driving; it was just pretend but I had to tell the other people who were with me that I was doing my best. I had not ridden this one before. Boy howdy it is scary but fun. I wandered through some shops and got lost finding the ladies room and then found myself in the Wild Wild West. Isn't that funny how that happens at Disneyland! Well it was lunch time so I found this old fashioned saloon and went in to eat. Ordered me some chicken strips and sat down at a table. Well pretty soon a show started up. One of the best shows at Disneyland. The stars are The Hillbillies. They fiddle and sing. Some of the best music ever. And funny too. After lunch I wandered down and went on the Pirates ride. I just love this one. And when I finished there I went on the pirate ship! Rode all the way around the big river. Takes about a half hour. Then I remembered that I had not been to the Haunted House so I went there. Now this is not a scary ride at all. It starts out scary when you first go into the house but then you get in these little carts and go through the house. Ghosts and skeletons and witches and all sorts of things. After that I went down to Winnie the Pooh Land and rode Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh. On the way back I went to the Haunted House and Pirates again. And then I realized that I only had tomorrow left and I had not been over to the California Disneyland Adventure Park at all! Oh well. I have to tell you I was having so much fun at Disneyland that I didn't care. Well, by now I had to leave and go back to my fancy hotel. My son Steve was finished with his meetings and they were having a fancy dinner at the hotel and I got to go with him as his guest. I was so proud of him. He won an award for some work he did at the bank. It was a very nice dinner and we had a good time. Now the next day was the best part of my trip because my son Steve was all done with his meetings and he was going to Disneyland with me! Steve had been to Disneyland when he was 25 and he said a lot had probably changed. He's almost 49 years old now. Well we got there and first thing went over to the Disneyland California Adventure Park. We went on the Twilight Zone Hotel Ride, the big roller coaster, Flying over California, Wild Rapids River Ride. We also saw the Aladdin Show and the Bug Show and the Muppets Show and the Whoopi Goldberg Show. They got lots of shows there. We had a small lunch early in the day so when it was time for dinner Steve took me to the Downtown Disneyland. Now I did not even know this was there! You know how Disneyland is across from Disneyland California Adventureland? Well Downtown Disneyland is right next to them. We wandered down (you can't drive there) and there is all sorts of shops and restaurants. We walked all the way down to the African Safari Restaurant. Oh my land. This was a fun place to eat. It is like you are in a jungle. There are rainstorms and the animals on the walls come alive but don't worry, you won't get wet. Good food too. Well, after dinner it was really, really late in the evening and I felt bad that Steve had not been to Disneyland yet so we walked down there. Well what a surprise because remember I said it was Disneyland's birthday. Well they was handing out golden Mickey Mouse ears and we each got a pair. I bet people had a good laugh at this mother and her son. Well we start heading to Walt's statue because I wanted to take Steve on The Space Mountain. We got almost all the way down and then it was a dead stop. People were just not budging. Steve said everyone must be waiting for something but I couldn't understand why since it was too dark for anything. Well, Steve tapped on the shoulder of this big guy in front of us and asked him what was up. This nice man said they were waiting for the fireworks. And then I saw the buttons he was wearing. He had a LP button on his shirt! "I know that name!" I said and pointed to his button. I told Steve that was the Laughing Place on the internet where I learned all about Disneyland. And this nice man asked me if I posted and I said yes and he asked me my name and I told him and I though the man was going to have a heart attack. At first I was scared because you just never know about some of the people on the internet. They can be dangerous. But then this man got all happy and everything and started telling all his friends who I was. Well there was a whole passle of them and they all are on the LP. Now I'm sorry if I don't remember all the names. Just a few. The nice man himself was Kartoonman and he introduced us to his wife and children. And I met Professor 57 and he seemed real happy to meet us too. And I remembered that he was gay but I wasn't sure so I asked him if he was gay and he laughed and said yes. And I introduced him to Steve because Steve is gay too and you just never know when you might end up putting two nice people together and they shook hands and laughed. I also talked to Lisa22 for awhile. And I apologize to her. I thought her name was Liza like in Liza Minelli but its Lisa with an S not a Z. Anyway I kept calling her Liza but she never corrected me so lots of people must make that mistake. And there were two cute girls who are both named Sue. I thought at first they were sisters but then that would be silly because what kind of mother would name both their daughters the same name. But they were SusieQ and PixieGlitter but I couldn't tell you now which was which. Now there were lots of others but I'm sorry I forgot all your names. But you were all so friendly to me and Steve. And Steve was really surprised too. I mean here he was with his almost 70 year old mother in Disneyland, bumping into a whole bunch of people that she knew! Except I really didn't know them but I sort of did. Anyways, you now what I mean. Well they wanted to know what we were doing and we said we were going to The Space Mountain and they said "No you have to see the fireworks." Well we didn't know there was going to be fireworks and that's why everyone came to such a standstill on the main street of Disneyland! So. We waited and talked and everyone wanted to know how long I was staying and I told them it was my last time there because tomorrow morning I had to go home. And they asked me if I went to the LP dinner and I said no because I had to go to a special dinner for Steve's work and besides I didn't really know anyone. And then we watched the fireworks. And it was just wonderful. Just wonderful. Here I was. Just a plain old woman from Montana standing in Disneyland watching the fireworks show with her son. It brought tears to my eyes. Well, when the fireworks was done Mr. Kartoonman surprised us and gave us two special quick pass tickets to The Space Mountain. He said with these we could just jump right on. And then Professor 57 gave us two quick pass tickets to the Buzz Lightsaber ride. And then someone else gave us two tickets to the Indiana Jones ride and someone else gave us quick passes to the Big Thunderland Mountain Railroad ride. And I just couldn't believe it. And neither could Steve. He was so surprised at how nice and friendly and generous all my LP friends are and I told him later that I don't get to spend a lot of time on the internet but that people are really nice and helpful on the LP when you are planning your trip. Well, we rode all those rides with those quick pass tickets. They have a special line and you just walk right up and give them your ticket and go right on the ride. Well, about the time we rode the last ride, The Splash Mountain, they announced that Disneyland was closing. We stopped at some of the stores on the way out and Steve helped me buy souvenirs for all his nieces and nephews. We had bags and bags of stuff. We caught our shuttle bus back to our fancy hotel. It was almost 2 am when my poor head hit the pillow. The next morning we packed up and Steve drove me to the airport and I got on another big airplane and flew to Seattle and then all by myself I figured out how to find my small plane home to Montana. When I got there I had the biggest welcoming group ever. They even made a big sign "Welcome Home Grandma!" Evie looked tired and worn out. Lou was glad to have me home. The kids are all fine and happy and wanted all the details. It's taken me a month to gte the house back in order and the kids back on a schedule. Anyways, I'm sorry this report is so long. I had a good time. I recommend everyone go to Disneyland.
2	Pixie Glitter Tue 8/16/2005 11:23p	Verna, I have had the hardest time keeping quiet about the fact that I got to meet you in July! You are just a dear, and I am so happy Steve was able to give you this trip. You are every bit as sweet in person as you are in your posts. I'm so glad I got to meet you! :-) And you're so welcome for the Fast Passes. . . glad you enjoyed them!
3	friendofdd Tue 8/16/2005 11:24p	Thanks for a most illuminating and enteraining report. Bet the grandkids were happy to see you home. Does their mama get to come home soon?
4	SuzieQ Tue 8/16/2005 11:32p	I'm so glad you got your trip report up, Verna! It's been so hard keeping your secret. I couldn't believe it when Kar2oonMan tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Guess who this is!" What a pleasure it was to meet you and Steve. I'm so glad you had such a great trip. And congratulations on figuring out the airplane transfers. I know you were worried about them!
5	SuzieQ Tue 8/16/2005 11:35p	ps - Thank you, Verna, for emailing us to let us know you'd posted your report!
6	amazedncal2 Wed 8/17/2005 8:02a	I enjoyed reading your report :) Sounds like you hit every ride and ended up in most of the gold vehicles. Lucky you. Hey, I read Coffee, Tea or Me at about the same age as you, my sister also dreamed of being a "stewardess" but got married to a dairyman instead :) I haven't thought about that book in decades.
7	LPFan22 Wed 8/17/2005 8:54a	Hi Verna, thanks for the trip report! It was a good read... it took about half an hour. =)
8	Inspector 57 Wed 8/17/2005 9:44p	Verna, THANK YOU so much for this trip report! I know it takes some effort to sit down and put these things together, and I know you were concerned that you might be too busy to make the time to do it. But I'm so glad you did! It's so fun to see Disneyland through your eyes, and so nice to read how much you enjoyed yourself on this trip! You certainly deserved it! Meeting you was one of my absolute vacation highlights -- not to mention probably the biggest surprise of my trip! (I'm sorry [again] if I scared you with my reaction upon meeting you!) It was also a real pleasure to meet Steve. Thank you for an introduction that helped us become comfortable immediately -- LOL! He seems like a truly, truly nice man. I hope you and Lou are both proud of what he's accomplished and what a decent person he is. You're very welcome for the FastPasses, by the way -- though I have to say that one of them came from Dan (daannzzz). (You remember Dan, I bet. Very tall, kind of quiet, but with a big laugh. He and Steve and I got to talk together for a little while before the fireworks, but you might have been too busy talking with everyone else to notice.) Thank you again for the Report. And, again, it was GREAT to meet you and Steve!
9	chickendumpling Wed 8/17/2005 9:51p	Ya know, I used to believe in Verna. That she was real. Now I don't know what to think.
10	MissCandice Wed 8/17/2005 10:15p	I am just as confused as you are, ChickieD!

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