August '06 Disneyland Overnighter (Trip Report)

[ttztotdca50]

Hey, guys!

I got back from a super-awesome Disneyland overnighter on Monday. I thought that, since it was a pretty short trip, I would share it to those who have a couple minutes to spare.

My mom and I arrived at the Paradise Pier Hotel on Sunday (August 27) at about 8:00 AM. We had planned to stay in one room with six people crammed into it without getting caught. My mom befriended two really nice Cast Members who were probably the most outgoing and nice cast members I have ever met. The three of them talked for about twenty minutes while my mom was checking in. Our room on the 12th floor was spectacular; we had a great view of DCA. Unfortunately, the previous people who occupied our room had broken the no-smoking rule and smoked their heart out, because it REALLY smelled like cigarettes. The nice cast members downstairs offered to "spray down" our room (which sounded like spritzing Lysol all over our furniture... ick). So they offered to give us a replacement room, along with another complimentary room for only $35 bucks, which my mom accepted. So we had rooms 1336 and 1338, which also faced DCA. The rooms were spectacular, it was only a couple steps to the balcony to watch the fireworks, and the floor also had buttons to the glass elevator! Whoo-hoo!

My mom and I went into Disneyland so that she could experience Pirates, and we then went into DCA until about 3 PM to meet my cousins. We went up to our rooms, and promptly went swimming in the pool. First off, I've swam in the Paradise Pier Hotel Pool several times and never had any problems with it (same as my cousins who were staying with us). This time, however, it was just LOADED with chlorine, and we got out of the pool after only about 15-20 minutes into it... our eyes were BURNING! We were absolutely dying in there, so we went back upstairs to dry off and go get something to eat. We ended up eating at Red Robin down the street, where I probably overloaded myself on a super-dry salmon sandwich and delicious steak-style fries with Ranch dipping sauce. We then went back to the hotel to get some eye drops for my eyes, which were watering like crazy up until that point! We then went to Downtown Disney so that the ladies could go shopping and us guys could go wander around and get some candy. My autistic 15-year-old cousin and my 10-year-old cousin were with me at that time. We got bored afterwards and went back to the hotel to watch TV. We watched the Electrical Parade from our room and saw (and heard) Remember from the 13th-story balcony. We turned in at 10 PM after Star Wars was over.


I woke up at 5 AM Sunday morning, too excited to sleep. My cousins woke up at around 6 AM later on. But before they did, I went downstairs to get some donuts from the vending machines and read the complimentary USA Today magazine. Once my cousins did wake up, we paced around the room until about 7 AM when I called the Front Desk from our phone. They said that Disneyland opened at 9 AM, but I could get in at 8 AM because of Early Entry for Hotel Guests. So I woke up my mom because she needed to be present to get my autistic cousin a Disability pass. We arrived at Disneyland park, armed with our one-day one-park passes at about 8:10 AM. Once we got the pass, we then proceeded to go on pretty much every attraction imaginable inside Disneyland Park. There's not much to say about our trip inside the park... with the Disability pass and the mild crowds, we went on every single ride except for Tarzan's Treehouse, The Mad Tea Party, Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes, and Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. We ate at the PPH cafe for breakfast, we skipped lunch, and ate dinner at Redd Rocket's Pizza Port, whos prices still amaze my aunt. Three slices of pizza, three drinks, and one order of garlic bread, the total came to $21 INCLUDING the AP discount. Crazy!

Anyways, we left Disneyland around 6:30 PM, where we walked to the hotel, used the facilities, grabbed a snack and left via the hotel's parking structure. It was actually really depressing, although VF really did help with the post-vacation depression (I have no idea what I'd do without you guys!). But I got some really great pictures that I'll post on my userpage sometime soon.

Thanks for listening! Have a magical Disney Day!

ttztotdca50

[Steeeve]

Wow sounds like you had a fantastic time! I really need to get myself over to Disneyland..

[Rachele]

That sounds like it was fun. I have never been able to stay at one of the on-property hotels, but I would love to. I hope my upcomings trips go as well as yours seems to have gone!