Disney Trip 2011 - Day 1

*Disclaimer: I am aware this vacation does not fall under the "Road Trip" category, as we took an airplane. Don't know why I feel the need to clarify that...

Almost 10 months ago to the day, my family and I arrived here in Anaheim for the first stop on our 10 day road trip. We spent 4 amazing days in Disneyland and left not knowing when we would get to come back. Well, we’re back! It’s hard for us to stay away. I am unashamed to say that I imagine Disneyland is for us, what cocaine is for Charlie Sheen. I spent so much time on my last blog freaking out about how much we love this place that I’m going to spare you this time. You already know.

We flew Virgin America to get here. It was a first for us with that airline and HO-LEEEEE SMOKES!! That plane was like a funky-cool disco party. Even the stewardesses had names like Carly and Ginger. They wore extensions in their hair, fake eyelashes and massive amounts of make-up. It was hilarious. And let me stop you right there. I KNOW they like to be called “flight attendants” nowadays, but to that I say “No, thank you, Stewardess. Now get me my Ginger Ale.” Anyway, Chad and I gave the kids their own row and we sat behind them, pretending like we were on our own vacation… Just the 2 of us… all alone. Each passenger had their own screen on the seatback in front of them, on which they could watch movies, TV shows, music videos, listen to music, order food OR seat-to-seat chat. You type in the seat number of the person you want to chat with and it sends them an invite. Ashley declined us instantly. Geez. Ali and Jackson chatted back and forth with us until I realized we were pretending to be travelling alone and I quickly cut them off. They watched Disney shows and Chad and I sat back, created some playlists and just listened to music for the whole flight.

We arrived at LAX just after 10:00 AM to Ashley hollering, “We made it without dying! Hallelujah!” to everyone on the plane. We were out the doors, in the shuttle and pulling in to The Grand Californian just after 11:00. Now we have been waiting for this trip since Christmas. The kids wanted to pack the day they found out we were going. Chad and I came to realize that next time, we need to announce the trip about 2 hours before actually leaving for the trip. It is very hard to wait for things in our family. But there was one surprise in store for the kids – and it was waiting in the lobby when we arrived.
I told the kids to go sit down while I checked us in. There were some overstuffed chairs and a table nearby, and in 2 of those chairs, sat Leah and Kenny, both holding maps up over their face so they wouldn’t be recognized. Jackson and Ashley finally realized who it was, and were astonished and so happy to see them. Ali stood there for a second looking at them and then said cautiously, “Where’s Jessie?” Well, Jessie is at the blueberry farm, being cared for by my mom, and the kids thought Leah and Kenny were watching her while we were gone. Ali eventually got excited though. On our way to the hotel from the airport, Chad texted me the following message: “I bet when Alison sees Leah, the first thing she’ll say is, ‘what about Jessie?’” He knows his daughter well.

So, it costs a billion dollars to stay here, but I can tell you, without actually having spent a night here at this point, it is worth every penny. The location is insane. We leave our room and in 3 minutes we’re in California Adventure. Which is what we did as soon as we checked our bags with the bell boys. Are we still allowed to call them “bell boys?” Or is that, too, offensive?  Leah hasn’t been here in 18 years. Kenny said the last time he was here there were only 3 rides. So we took them on our long-established routine of Indy, Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. Let me take a moment to talk about the Jungle Cruise. This ride is an oldie but a goodie. It’s a must-see and one of our favorites. For those who don’t know (because you’re probably from Mars) one of the main features of this ride, are the hilarious guides that deliver a satisfying tour. Well-timed jokes, extremely dry humor, horrible puns… the works. Our guide today was THE unfunniest person in Disneyland. First of all, he was identical twins with Wilfred Brimley. Secondly, here is an actual clip from his tour: “Oh look, there’s some monkeys. Silly monkeys. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.” He just laughed. For an awkwardly long time. Next: “There’s an elephant, heh heh heh heh” and “look, lions.” I was actually embarrassed as we got off. Leah and Kenny said we get a redo tomorrow. They were both so unimpressed. Gah.

We had the typical perfect day. Lots of laughing and self deprecating jokes. A lot of you know that my sister is the single funniest person I know and she can have me in tears in seconds. But it was actually Kenny who had me rolling down Main Street today. In terms of winning the coveted, "Who Does Rachel Think is the Funniest? award," Leah’s got her work cut out for her this week.

We ended the night in California Adventure. A couple rides on The Tower of Terror, or as Kenny thinks it’s called: The Towering Inferno. We had a nice scream-fest on California Screamin’ and stopped for dinner at Storyteller’s Café in our hotel.  Where, surprise, surprise, the food is also one billion dollars.

It’s gonna be an awesome week.

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now,

The Niemeyers