Disneyland 2016

6-21-2016

We left Eureka at 7:30 AM. In Ukiah we stopped at the Coyote Indian Casino to get gasoline for the motorhome and went to the parking lot and prepared lunch.

It was hot in Ukiah and it got worse. We arrived at the San Jose Elks Lodge at 2:45 PM. My first act was to hook up the electricity and start the air conditioner. Nothing happened. I went to the office and an electrician came and told me that there is nothing wrong with their part. The surge protector in the motorhome does not work anymore. I had to bypass it.

As soon I had the air conditioner going we went to the swimming pool. The lodge has a giant pool and a tiny one for small children. 

6-22-2016.

Today we got on the road at 7:00 AM and arrived at the Gaviota State Park at 12:15 PM.

I had given the kids a choice between the swimming pool at the Elks Lodge in San Luis Obispo or the beach. The beach won.

When I arrived at the State Park the volunteer ranger told me that he has no site for the size of my motorhome. Then he told me to check it out. I found a site with low back markers.  The back of my motorhome was higher and the overhang went on the grass and it was just enough to fit.

Nicolette and Jacob spent several hours in the water.

This campground has some good memories for us. Jacob and Nicolette do not remember anymore. When Jacob was about three years old, Claudia, Doreen, the children and I stayed here for a night.

Jacob’s favorite TV program was Thomas the Train, but he had never seen a real train. While I was setting up the motorhome a freight train came over the trestle. Jacob started jumping and screaming. He was very happy.  

   

6-23-2016.

We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove at 11:45 AM. After lunch and a rest we drove to Disneyland to check out the parking. It was a little bit complicated to get to the parking facility near the park.

On the way back to the motorhome we found another Disneyland parking facility. A shuttle brings visitors to the park. 
 

6-24-2016.

This was a long day. All my worries were for nothing. Everything worked out fine. We had a lot of fun.

I was awake at 4:00 AM. At 5:30 AM I got up and got ready. At 6:00 AM I woke up the children and they did not linger as usual. They got dressed, had breakfast, made their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, packed some fruit and water, and by 7:00 AM we were leaving for Disneyland.

Yesterday we scouted the parking facilities and on the way home we noticed a sign for a Disney Parking lot off Harbor Boulevard. On the way north we could not see it.

This morning Jacob guided me with his smart phone. We found the parking lot and jumped on the shuttle bus. Parking fee was $ 18.00.

We arrived at Disneyland at 7:35 AM and went though security. At 8:00 AM the park opened and everybody did spread out.

We went to Hyperspace Mountain and took the ride. I would never do it again. It is loud, mostly dark, and a rough ride. People with back problems should not go on it.

It is one of the popular rides. Since we were early we had no lines to stand in.

For other rides we got a Fastpass. This works fantastic. At some of the popular rides are terminals where one enters the admission ticket and a Fastpass comes out with a specified time. One has an hour to come back. For a 2:00 PM time the ticket will say between 2:00 PM 3:00 PM. On some rides one has three hours to do other things. This works perfect. When we came back we did not have to stand in long lines. There is a separate line for Fastpass ticket holders.

Since Disney bought George Lucas’s company there are a lot of Star Wars related rides.

We took the submarine ride which looks for Nemo. Along the wall were star fish and other sea creatures. Nemo was there too but it was difficult to get a picture.

The castle is visible from most places of the park.

In Frontierland Jacob rode the Thunder Mountain Railroad. Nicolette and I passed this one up.

Jacob also rode on the Splash Mountain ride.

Besides the monorail there are other modes of transportation.

The carousel was always loaded with people.

There are some beautiful buildings in the park.

A band marched through the park.

We also rode though the mouth of a whale. Whales have no teeth, but this one does have them. This was a wonderful ride. Along the shore were miniature towns and castles.

We did almost all the major rides and many of the small ones. By 4:00 PM I was almost done. Nicolette wanted to stay for the fireworks at 9:30 PM. That would have been too much.

We stayed for the parade on Main Street and then left. Unfortunately we stood at the wrong place and found out that the parade made a turn and the street was roped off. We looked for a better place but could only find a spot between a tree and an ice cream kiosk. I could only take pictures of high floats.

This was only a minor problem. We had a good time. On the way out Nicolette bought a Micky Mouse hat for a fiend and herself.