ependydad...Doug

I uploaded our remaining days. We left the hotel on Thursday (the morning after the Halloween party) and moved over to Anaheim RV Resort.

We had left the truck + trailer parked in Disneyland Hotel’s parking lot. I intentionally left the fridge and all parasitic draws on to see how my new lithium battery bank faired. And then also to see how long it took to recharge batteries. All told, it was a win. 

Thursday evening, we picked Grandma and Grandpa up from the airport. They were flying in because Grandpa was supposed to visit his work’s home office. Instead, he got called at the last minute and got sent to China on Sunday- he flew out of Los Angeles. We kept Grandma with us and she’s now ridden with us to Albuquerque.

Friday night, we went to Downtown Disney and shopped around a bit. We had dinner at La Brea Bakery Cafe (very yummy!) and then walked and shopped a bit.

Saturday we went to Disneyland. Surprisingly, I took very few pictures- living in the moment, I guess! We bought the MaxPass again and unfortunately it kept going down. Disney apologized and offered free FastPasses to make up for it.

Sunday-Tuesday were low key. A little shopping and prep for Tuesday travel. We are headed east towards Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival!

(end trip report ? )

7 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Did you get to ride the Monsters After Dark version of Mission Breakout?

We did not. With a 5 year old, we were concerned about the "scary" aspect of it.

Funny story to that ... when he was just barely 40" tall, we put him on Tower of Terror. He says he liked it but would never ride it again. Fast forward a year or two and we're in Disneyland faced with Guardians of the Galaxy. WE know it's just a new face. HE doesn't.

As we are in line, my daughter quietly asks me, "Dad, what didn't he like about it last time? The ride or was it scary?" I chuckled and exclaimed, "we're about to find out!"

Turns out, he found the Twilight Zone aspect scary. GOG was fun, funny, and entertaining. We got done the ride and hadn't unbuckled yet and he was already shouting that he wanted to do it again!

He was less than amused when we told him it was the exact same ride as TOT.

Thanks for the kind words. I am also amazed at how different Disneyland is vs. Disney World. Honestly, for most things- I like Disneyland better. Though, our CM interactions felt a little more abrupt.

I definitely liked most of the WDW Halloween party better than the DL Halloween party. The parade itself was something significantly better at WDW. It didn't help that we were ushered from where we were sitting after having asked a cast member if it was OK if we sat there and sat there for 10-15 minutes. We ended up with less than stellar seating arrangements at that point.

Also, a tip if you go- go to the first parade so you can snag a prime spot for fireworks viewing. We didn't; we thought we would catch the second parade but that meant we couldn't find anywhere at all that had any kind of decent viewing for the fireworks. Both the castle and fireworks were obstructed by trees. And, there had to have been a glitch or malfunction- there was no grand finale to speak of. The fireworks sort of ended and the projections came to a logical close.

But anyway... pictures from the Halloween Party are up. We truly did enjoy ourselves and came away with a huge bag of candy (which we promptly gave to the office of the next RV park we went to).

They seem to start on page 3:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7200488@N08/albums/72157688857640326/page3

The first picture is of my daughter watching the marching band:

10 hours ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Great photos!

Thank you!

And now there are even more. I just finished uploading 2 back to back days at Disney’s California Adventure.

We also bought the Max Pass for a few of the days we were there. It comes with PhotoPass access for the day which we enjoyed- especially because Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a day at the park. It was nice to get some cute photos with them and the kids.

The double-booking thing was helpful. We didn't think to try and book passes for rides that commonly break down-- though, given what we saw during our 5 park days, that seemed like an awful lot of things! One caveat- they aren't always "anything" passes- California Screamin' went down (for the day) on us and the fast pass was NOT good for Radiator Springs or Guardians of the Galaxy (especially the Monster after dark version). My 2 crying children (poor kids- we literally kept delaying the ride and my son was only big enough when wearing his sneakers vs. his slip on flatter shoes) and requesting to speak to a supervisor got them to acquiesce and offer a Radiator Springs FP; still no GOG.

When we bought tickets to Disneyland for last week, my wife used some kind of Last Minute Tourist site. It looked sketchy as all heck but saved us a fair amount of money and was the cheapest we found.

2 hours ago, alexwyattmommy said:

Thank you for posting the link.

I now want a Mickey pretzel.

We consumed MANY Mickey Pretzels! And a handful of ice treats. And corn on the cob... AND A MONTE CRISTO!

2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I think we must have been in Disneyland around the same time.

We were out there a couple of weeks ago- and were there the day they reopened Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain, and debuted Monsters After Dark and the rest of the California Adventure Halloween stuff.

Too funny! We were at Disneyland Hotel from Sept 16-20 and then Anaheim RV Park from 20-26. We went to the first Mickey's Halloween Party on the 20th (I'll have pictures for that eventually- our costumes were awesome!).

8 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Great to see a post from you, Doug.

Can you check your link?  It's not working for me.

TCD

Thanks. I think that’s fixed.

If anyone wants to follow along, I’m uploading pictures from our recent DL visit to Flickr. I’m overloaded busy and can’t write up a proper trip report. But I am culling and uploading pictures a handful at a time.

The Flickr link is here:

https://flickr.com/photos/7200488@N08/sets/72157688857640326

So far I’ve uploaded:

- our arrival at Disneyland Hotel

- an evening at Disneyland

- a day at Disneyland

And I’m starting on our first day at Disney’s California Adventure. I’ve uploaded a few misc shots and the new Frozen Live Musical (which replaced the Aladdin show). I’m working on some Cars Land pictures now.

If I remember, I’ll come back here to remark when I upload pics.

Hope you like them!

On 8/4/2017 at 10:29 AM, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

With quick overnights, do you all put your jacks down for the night? 

We have started to. I found that I get less and less restful sleep when staying at Walmarts and truck stops- I thought it was mental, the papa bear in me being protective of the family.

BUT- we started to notice a pattern that the night before moves, I'd often pull up the rear stabilizers (leaving just the front landing gear) and again started getting less and less restful sleep.

We are fairly certain, it's a matter of our wiggly worms of kids in the back- when they roll over, it rocks and bounces the camper around. That movement is stirring my sleep (but not quite waking me up).

So now- I wait to raise the rear stabilizers. And overnights at campgrounds have been with the rear jacks down. We haven't overnighted at a Walmart or truck stop since the decision because it's been hot out (we don't have a generator).

15 hours ago, Solamom said:

How is I-70 going through Colorado?

The pass near Denver is long. A good 6% grade for many miles and at the top goes to Eisenhower tunnel. We did it westward (Colorado to Utah/Moab) and I drove up it doing 35mph. Came down it about the same speed in a lower gear (as recommended).

Otherwise, it's a beautiful drive. We were sad to have done a large part of it at night. We slept at a Flying J near Vale, CO.

1 hour ago, Specularius said:

I was looking at Lake Magic and for the winter season, their website states that reservations have to be no less than 30 days. Do they do reservations for a week to ten days during the Christmas holidays?

I think they do. I know fulltime families who have used it for their week out of the Thousand Trails network. Might be worth a call to them.

4 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

As Rita mentioned, Lake Magic also Thousand Trails and Citrus Valley off of 27 just N of 192. If you use any of these you can go in and out of WDW the back way on Western Way. 

We've stayed at both Lake Magic and Thousand Trails and use the back-way in. Both are decent, though I like the Thousand Trails a little more than Lake Magic.

20 miles down the road is Pecan Park. We've stayed here multiple times- get a Passport America discount and it's an affordable overnight stop. Paved pulled thrus make it an easy overnight.

Or a little further down the road, we stayed at Stagecoach RV in St. Augustine, FL. We hadn't stayed here before but would go back. Friendly folks and long pull-thrus.

We took our son when he was 4 and he LOVED it.

Ok, I recently made the drive from Florida to Utah. But, our routing was a little different because we were meandering and visiting people.

Do you boondock? Or do you need full hookups?

How far are you comfortable driving in a day?

1. A long first day: Tampa to Mobile, AL and possibly stay at Meaher State Park. Right off of the highway and decent sites. You shouldn't have issue with ants for a 1-night stay. I don't think they have pull-thru sites but the back-ins are easy.
2. I'd then head north and target Monroe or Shreveport for a second day (350-400 miles). No idea on places to stay in either.
3. Amarillo, TX could be a next stop at 550 miles but that's a looong day. We stayed at Oasis RV Resort and would stay there again- easy paved pull-thrus. Plus, you can drive over to the Cadillac Ranch for a few minutes on your way out. You'll see signs for a hundred miles for the Big Texan where they have a 72 oz steak challenge- it's a tourist trap but was fun none-the-less and the food (steaks) was decent.
4. You can split the final leg to Flagstaff by stopping in Albuquerque. There's a little campground called Coronado Campground in Bernalillo, NM. Just water and electric, but mostly pull thrus. Very pretty. It's 300 miles from Amarillo to ABQ and another 300 to Flagstaff. While in ABQ, go drive the Musical Road- it's only 1 of 2 in America (video).
5. Flagstaff, you're set (which is good because I don't know the area).
6. From Flagstaff, drive north to Page, AZ and do Antelope Canyon. It's touristy and commercial but oh my goodness stunning. If Glen Canyon Dam is doing tours, it's only 16' shorter than Hoover Dam and tours are something like $5/person.
7. You can move over to Kanab to explore Zion and the south western part of Grand Staircase Escalante; hiking to the Toadstools was a cool and doable hike (my family doesn't hike!). We actually stayed between Page and Kanab at Copper Cloud Ranch near Paria. If you boondock, friends found an awesome spot. If you are into 6-7 mile hikes, try getting a permit for The Wave; nothing compares!
8. Moving north, maybe stop at Bryce Canyon National Park. We didn't stay/go, but friends did and it looked awesome!
9. Moving north again, maybe stop at Capitol Reef National Park. Again, we didn't stay/go, but friends did and it looked awesome!
10. Moab is my biggest love of Utah. Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are both there. Also make sure you go to Dead Horse Point State Park (gruesome name and story, beautiful park). There's also a ghost town and a ton of petroglyphs/pictographs that you can go view. We have stayed 2 different places- Archview Campground on the north end; it was more expensive at/near $50/night. Our site was great and it had a distant view of the Windows Arches in Arches NP. On the south end of town, we stayed at OK RV Park right behind the Spanish Trail Arena. This was closer to $27/night but had full hookups but almost no amenities; but we were too busy exploring. They don't have a pool, but Ken's Lake is 6 miles up the road and was quite refreshing for us. We also hiked the 1 mile up to Faux Falls and they were really cool (just frightfully cold!). If you boondock, there is a ton of land around there or OK RV Park had dry camping spots.
11. Even further north, we enjoyed Salt Lake City. For a non-believer, I was super surprised to enjoy exploring Temple Square. Driving out to Antelope Island and seeing bison, swimming in the Great Salt Lake, and just checking out the scenery was very nice. We stayed at the KOA; expensive but a very nice park and very close to the downtown area. Again, there's dry camping out on Antelope Island but it's not super convenient to explore SLC itself from there.

Coming back, you could take I-70 east.

1. We stopped in Goodland, KS at the KOA there. There was a cool rock formation called Monument Rocks near-ish there that was really pretty.
2. I'd take a night or two to get to St. Louis, MO. We stayed at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis, IL. It has a view of the Gateway Arch and train access to get across the river. While East St. Louis gets a bad rap (as does downtown St. Louis after dark), we didn't feel uncomfortable while we were there. It's expensive for what it is (blacktop pull through spots, a tiny bit of stone between the sites, and not much else). But it was a good exploring place. If you have extra time, the City Museum gets rave reviews and the zoo is free (and nice!).
3. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky would be nice if you aren't pressed for time. Otherwise, bust down to Nashville or beyond to get a good day's drive in.
4. From there, pick your poison for getting home.

Hope that helps... maybe?!

I don't know about Uber rates, but I can definitely tell you that it's more than taxis. I can usually get around anywhere we've gone on property for $10-15 when we take taxis. Sure it's a yellow mears taxi without Disney branding.. but...

3 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

I think they going to find out it's not going to work since so many are leaving.  They're going to have tons of empty server space and very little income.

My guess is that they're in the death-throws already to pull something so short-sighted. Given the reports of site crashes as people download- my guess is they're ripe for a bargain basement buyout OR shuttering their doors servers soon.

I thought Jason posted something on his FB page about a Uber-style Disney van. I wasn't sure if he was being serious or if I was missing something. Sounds legit.

On 7/10/2017 at 6:35 PM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Ah...this Park did have excellent AT&T coverage, which was nice.

Yup. We tried getting in there after our debacle w/o cell service at Mountaindale. But they were booked up for the weekends and we didn't feel like multiple moves over 2 weeks.

6 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

our nightly rate was $42 (two nights) and I don't think we could have found a nicer CG in the Springs for the rate

About 10 minutes down the road from there is Mountaindale, a private RV park. I don't recall their rate, but my guess is that it was in the ballpark of $50/night. Very pretty. But basically no cell service- a booster only mildly helped.

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

Just say NO to any types of bags when leaving the resort and you'll be A-OK!  

Of course that's easier said then done...

It included the metal detectors, though too. So you still had to queue up and walk through. Annoying because every other time, my wife would have to stop and get wanded for her Pandora bracelet. (Though, she wore it every time- the machines were just differently sensitive.)

Overall, I like that they've spread it out and you don't have a mass of people all at one place.

What I don't like is when you're staying at a Monorail resort - you have to go through security every time you get on the Monorail, even if you aren't headed to MK.

Good stuff everyone. We are coming down California out of Oregon along the coast to San Francisco. We are staying the the San Francisco RV Resort in Pacifica. It's a parking lot atmosphere, but the proximity is right in the thick of everything.

Once we leave SF, we beat feet to head east towards Albuquerque in time for the Balloon Festival. There's some rumblings about maybe adjusting dates slightly to try and get down to Anaheim for Disneyland, but we'll see. We were trying to get to ABQ a week early (which is still a full week ahead of the Balloon Fiesta) to explore some sights there. So we'll see. Our plans are always in flux!

I didn't think of trying to get Alcatraz tickets early. We're usually of the mindset of "hey, we'll just walk up". It usually works.

I have mixed feelings on not having our truck handy. We are overpackers and often take lunch/food/snacks/lots of extra water with us. It makes it a bit of a hassle for public transportation. BUT... I've heard that parking in SF is worse than most other places. I have been practicing my parallel parking lately in Moab and here in Salt Lake City.

We are currently scheduled for 2 weeks but that really only gives us 4 site-seeing days since I work. We'll see what we can do during the evenings.