So a few months ago my sister and I started talking about going to Disneyland and staying at the Disneyland Hotel. Kit and I didn't think we would be able to go, but it ended up working out. I spent countless hours trying to find a hotel that was close to Disneyland with a free breakfast. I even made spreadsheets. I wanted to stay at the Disneyland hotel, but didn't want to pay the price. My mom finally talked me into just staying there because that is where they were all staying.
My Rating: I probably would not stay there again. There really isn't anything "exclusive" about staying there. The rooms are just okay, actually a little dirty, and quite small. The beds aren't great. You can only see the fireworks from certain parts of the hotel and you have to walk quite a way to get to the park. Most of the stuff that is there, except the pools, you can use even if you aren't staying at the hotel. We decided it really wouldn't be that hard to use the pools there either. Food there is outrageous! I guess food anywhere in California is more than food here in Utah, but I think it is worse at Disneyland. We ate at Goofy's kitchen for breakfast. The food was good and you could get whatever you wanted, but it was so not worth the cost. The kids liked it because they got to see a lot of Disney characters. Next time, we will stay at one of the nearby hotels. They are cheaper and some are closer to the park entrance than the Disneyland hotel.
Okay, so now that you've heard my spill on that… We had a good time on our trip. At the airport, while waiting for our plane, a little guy was rolled up in a wheel chair. I looked at him several times and thought how sickly he looked. A while later, I was talking to my brother-in-law, and kind of jokingly asked, "Is that Gary Coleman?" He looked at him and said that he thought it was. I thought he was joking. Everyone else started looking and we decided that maybe it was. We started pulling up pictures of him on our phones and trying to compare. Some guys went over by him and were pretending to text, but they were totally taking pictures of him on their phones. Whoever he was boarded first and sat in first class. When we got off the plane, there was a man waiting there holding a sign that said "Coleman", so that pretty much confirmed that it was him.
We ended up getting to the hotel around midnight and just went to bed. The next morning we got up early and went to the park. We rode the monorail over there which drops you off right at Nemo, so we rode that first and then Space Mountain. Then we just made out way around Disneyland. We rode a lot of the rides that day because the park was not too busy. My dad was in a wheelchair because he just had knee surgery, so on a few rides we were able to go in the exit and get on really fast.
Friday we met up with my cousin and her family and my uncle and his family. We spent time in both parks that day. We had a lot of fun. Finally, on Saturday I was able to ride the tower of terror. Kit did not want to ride it, but we talked him in to it and he loved it! All of the little boys loved the California Screamin' roller coaster after they got over their fear of it.
Friday night we all went to Medieval Times. It was different than I remembered. The inside is kina ghetto, but the show was fun and the food was better than I remembered. All of the kids loved it. Saturday night, Kit and I took Porter to the motocross race. There were a lot of people there. Kit loved it so much. It was fun. Sunday we went to Legoland, which none of us liked. I think we were all tired and hot, and after being at Disneyland for three days it just didn't compare. We did see a guy who used to play for the Suns and now does broadcasting. That night we watched the fireworks from my parents room because we couldn't see them from ours. We also spent some time in Downtown Disney. It was packed! There were bands playing and all sorts of stuff going on for Valentine's.
Monday, we just got ready and headed for the airport. Our flight was full and I was worried Kit wouldn't get on because he didn't have a seat number, but he ended up being able to get on. At the airport in Salt Lake we saw Thurl Baily and his son just getting home from the All-Star game. We got stuck in Daniel's for two hours because of a wreck, but finally made it home.
We had a fun trip and a nice vacation from work, but it is always good to be home and sleep in your own bed!
