As noted, we caught the shuttle from our hotel so we wouldn't have to deal with parking and getting out of that place when it was over. That was mostly a good idea. However, I had planned on catching the second-to-last shuttle back at the latest, to avoid a rush, but that intent was not fulfilled. We got to the shuttle stop just as the second-to-last shuttle was pulling away. After a 15-minute wait, the LAST shuttle pulled in, and it was standing-shuttle-only. Plus we waited there many minutes to give others the chance to make the shuttle.
So have you seen what it costs to get into Disneyland these days? A bundle. For the girls and I it was $148. Yes, just to get in. Then we spent $65 to eat (2 meals for 3 people), and more than $100 on "stuff" (hey, I didn't want to short-change them on their first visit to DL). So it was a $326+ day, or more than $23/hr, for us. Your results may vary. On the plus side I was able to execute the day cashless. I forgot to hit the ATM just before the trip so I've had little cash. Thus far it hasn't hurt me too much.
The first thing we did at Disneyland was Space Mountain. Shelby doesn't like rollercoasters or fast rides, but I had to explain before hand that we had to be fair about the rides and do things both her and her sister liked, not just slow rides all day. I also expressed that I couldn't leave Disney and in good spirits tell everyone I DIDN'T have my kids experience Space Mountain. Plus it's not like I can leave Shelby behind while I ride with Darby, so... Anyway, Shelby was VERY scared of Space Mountain, and was screaming just before we left the "dock", so the guy stopped the ride and asked if she needed to get off. I explained to Shelby that we waited in line for 70+ minutes, hopefully not to just look at the ride. So she went through with it, and afterwards said she liked it, but that she didn't want to do anymore fast rides.
Speaking of lines... of the fourteen hours we were there, if you told me we spent half that time in lines, I wouldn't be surprised. The line situation was pretty bad. About six hours into the day, we hadn't done all that much (comparatively) and I was starting to worry. There are several "towns" at Disney (i.e. Toon Town, Frontier Land, Tomorrowland, etc) and we'd only been to two of them at that point. We did eventually catch up, and covered each of the areas. While we didn't do ALL the rides, we did get to most of the marquee titles (tea cups, small world, space mountain, pirates, etc). And of course, the kids met Mickey. For you long-time-no-Disney types, there's a new Buzz Lightyear shoot-em-up ride your kids will like.
Shelby may hate me for the rest of her life if she remembers her Splash Mountain experience beyond this trip. We neglected to inform her that the cool and refreshing water ride had a 50-foot drop at the end. She's very upset about that one.
A couple of tips for you prospective Disney go-ers... bring empty water bottles and fill them up at the plentiful number of water fountains. That'll save you $3.75 a pop for water. BEFORE you get to the park, buy each kid one of those portable AA-battery mini-fans. Once you're in the park, they're $10 each. Also, bring a mini spray bottle or two, maybe one for each kid ($0.93 at wal-mart). If they can spray themselves down to cool off while in line, they'll gripe less. Lastly, if you eat for three solid days before you hit the park, you can probably save a bundle on food. :)
So we just got back to the hotel, and all of us are beat tired. In the end, and despite our difficulties, the girls had a blast and were quite happy to have gotten to have the Disney experience. We have to leave town again already tomorrow and the cruel joke is on me. I cannot go to bed, as I must plan for tomorrow's driving route.
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