December 2-12, 2007 (Grand Californian Hotel) - First Trip to Disneyland for an Early Christmas & Dose of Disney Magic - **Updated 7/8 with video links in post #39** About This Page:

[Big Sister]

Myself - Big Sister (31) Disney experience: Disneyland Resort Paris in November 2001 (this was before the Studios opened) for a weekend; Disneyland Resort Paris in December 2003 (after the Studios opened) for a long weekend; and, a VERY rushed trip to Walt Disney World, Florida, in December 2005 for a week. I didn't even get to Epcot, and are absolutely busting to go back!
My Littlest Brother, Nest (17) Disney experience: No park experience except for what I've told him, the photos I've shown him, the movies and documentaries he has watched, and the guide books I managed to get him to look at on two occasions.
Our Journey: Departing Canberra, Australia 2 December 2007, arriving Anaheim, California the same day. Departing Anaheim Wednesday, 12 December 2007, arriving in Canberra Friday, 14 December 2007. Method of travel: Qantas plane, economy class.
Our Lodging: Grand Californian Hotel, 4th floor. Special request: Resort view room.
Our Special Plans: Holiday Time at Disneyland Tour; Lunch at the Blue Bayou after a five year wait.

1ST ENTRY: DEPARTING FOR DISNEYLAND/OUR FIRST DISNEY DAY

SUNDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2007
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA

The three times I've been to a Disney park, I've always travelled with my friend, Penny. I knew that this Disney experience was going to be very different, as I'd be travelling with my 17-year-old brother, Nest. I was particularly excited about this trip, as not only would I be visiting Anaheim for the first time, but it was Nest's first overseas trip, and I've always wanted my brother to experience the magic of Disney. I knew Nest wouldn't be disappointed, as despite our 14 year age difference, we're so alike in our likes and dislikes.

Our flight to Sydney was due to leave Canberra Airport at 1.10pm, so we left home at 9am to get to the Airport by 10am. I insisted on this three hour head-start, as my travel consultant had assured me if we got to the check-in desk that early, we'd be in with a good chance of changing our seats to the much sort-after bulkhead seats with all the legroom one could want in economy class. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the case, despite having six foot five Nest towering next to me.

Since there was nothing more I could do on the matter, we checked our luggage in and went to look in the newsagents. I bought some newspapers (one of them came with a free Christmas DVD - hooray!), a teen magazine for Nest, and some bottles of water for us to drink to keep hydrated for the plane trip to Sydney.

Knowing the excitement just ahead of us, we couldn't sit still reading for long, so we went to the Airport's Cafe, 'Departure Lounge', for lunch. It's funny - I've been travelling from this Airport since 1998, yet this was the first time I had eaten there. Dad, our driver for the day, had a bowl of fries, Nest had a chicken schnitzel burger with salad, and I had a vegetarian melt with salad. Nest and I helped Dad finish off his fries, and we all had bottles of water as our choice of beverage.

We did our best to make lunch last as long as possible so we'd have less time to twiddle our thumbs afterwards, and we did a pretty good job of it. When we had finished lunch, Nest and I had about 40 minutes till our departure time, so we said goodbye to Dad, went through the security checkpoint, and up the elevator to our departure gate. All the window seats were taken, so we sat for ages facing the stairs and the privileged few going into the exclusive lounge. I say we sat for ages, as that's exactly what we did due to our plane being over 30 minutes late in its departure. As time went on, I began calculating how much time we had left till our flight to LA departed, and getting increasingly worried in the process.

Nest and I shot onto the plane as soon as our gate opened (as if that would get us to Sydney any quicker!) As we ascended the steps to the aircraft, I stopped to ask the airhostess waiting at the door, if Nest was allowed to take photos from the plane window once it had levelled off after take-off, and she said yes.

Our seats were right up the back, which was disappointing, as that meant we were going to be the last off. We wanted to be able to dash off as soon as the door opened, to make our connecting flight.

For our on-flight snack, we had a savoury scroll, a muesli bar, and water. Then while Nest snapped photos out the window, I flicked through the in-flight magazine, and anything else I could find to pass the time. I've learnt not to look out the window for the entire 35 minute flight, as last time I did that, I had to battle not to throw up during landing.

We were SO lucky we didn't have to stuff around with our luggage once we disembarked in the Domestic Terminal at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport, as when we looked up at the departure screens in the terminal for which gate in the International Terminal our flight left from, we saw that our flight had a status of boarding, and we had yet to make the 20 minute transfer to the International Terminal! MAJOR PANIC!

I'm not a rude or inconsiderate person, but I had to put manners aside when I saw a mass of tourists dawdling, and I mean dawdling, towards the gate of the departure lounge. I ran, dragging a highly embarrassed Nest behind me , so we wouldn't have to waste precious time at the end of a slow moving queue. We experienced a short wave of relief only as we passed through the gate, as when we arrived at the bottom of the escalators and stepped into the coach waiting area, we found it was absolutely packed! I had never seen it that crowded before! I could see that a coach was arriving to transfer only a fraction of us to the International Terminal, so once again, I found myself dragging Nest through the throngs of people so we wouldn't miss out. We weren't able to get a seat once on the coach, but we didn't care - at least we were on our way. The good thing about standing near the door of the bus, was that we were able to get off first and sprint to our next hurdle.

Our next hurdle was waiting in the longest line you've ever seen when you're in a hurry, to hand our green departure slips in (thank goodness I filled them in on the plane!), and for Security to check our passports. Only then, could we run for our lives un-interrupted so we wouldn't miss our flight to LA. By the time we reached our gate, I was so out of breath, shaking and dropping stuff all over the place - it was as if Nest and I were contestants in ‘The Amazing Race’! Luckily, the ticket checkers there didn't think anything of it, and let us on. It was a total relief for us that we were finally on the plane and could relax for the next 15 hours!

I'm never going to let that situation happen ever again, especially as I'll be travelling with at least two of my four brothers next time. Nest and I were one of the last passengers to board the plane, which is a feeling I never want to experience again (not that anyone said anything or gave us funny looks. It was just the stress that I could do without.) When Nest and I were waiting in the lounge at Canberra Airport, we heard at least calls for three flights to Sydney before ours - I wish we could've been on one of them.

No sooner had we stowed our hand luggage and buckled in, than we were on our way. I've always travelled aisle seat so I don't have to bother people with my constantly getting up. Nest liked the idea of the aisle seat too, so he wouldn't have "to sit next to some random person", so middle seat it was for me. Once the jumbo had levelled out after take-off, we were served drinks and little packets of pretzels, and our entertainment systems were turned on. Nest had been busting to watch the new Steve Carell movie, 'Evan Almighty', but it wouldn't work on his machine, poor thing, so he watched 'Superdog' instead, voiced by that guy who plays Earl on 'My Name is Earl'. From what I can remember of my choices, I watched the wonderful Vincent D'Onofrio in two brilliant 'CSI : Criminal Intent' episodes, and the latest Harry Potter movie.

After that, my memory of the flight that night is an almost complete void. I remember: asking for water for both Nest and I a lot, seeing as you still can't bring your own; the look of boredom and pain on Nest's face from being so cramped in the one place for so long; not being able to sleep; and, sparking up when were given mango ice blocks which had creamy centres, for what felt like a midnight feast.


SUNDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2007
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA

For breakfast, Nest had some unappetising looking and smelling spicy vegetarian dish - I felt so sorry for him, as he's such a selective eater. I had requested vegetarian meals for him so he wouldn’t get any pork/ham dishes, which he doesn't eat, as pigs are his favourite animals. He also doesn't like mushrooms, which were rampant in his meal. I gave Nest the cereal and other bits and bobs from my breakfast tray, as I had only eaten the rockmelon and honeydew melon because I wasn't feeling all that well at the time (always happens when I'm flying.)

Nest and I were just so relieved to see only two hours remaining on the flight path screen - it made the end of the flight just so much more bearable. To pass the time, I played solitaire a lot while listening to the radio. Like with one of Nest's movie channels, there was something wrong with my entertainment system, as the radio kept playing the same three songs over and over again, which drove me nuts. I gave up after the third repeat cycle began, and began to watch 'The Simpsons Movie' instead. I didn't get to finish watching the movie, as it was time to prepare the cabin for landing, which was just fine with me, as that meant we were getting off soon, and were just a Magical Express ride away from what we had come so far (and waited all year) to experience.

I don't know if it's my age and decreasing levels of patience, but the more I fly, the more relieved I am to get off long haul flights, and this time was no exception. Nest had not enjoyed his first long haul flight, and was eager to disembark as well.

It was very muggy when we got off the plane, and the place seemed deserted when we were walking down the long tunnel towards Border Security. The place didn't seem deserted for long, as when we turned the corner and were no longer shielded with walls of frosted glass, we could see a seemingly never ending line of people waiting to enter the country. When I turned around to look behind me, I saw a sea of people as well. We were told that this was LAX's busiest time. It was around 10am.

The first thing the Immigration Officer asked us when we reached her counter, was, "Husband and wife?", to which I replied, "Brother and Sister." I seriously wanted to laugh. A lot. Goodness knows how I kept a straight face and cool demeanour. Usually when I try not to laugh, my mouth twitches and totally gives me away. Nest and I had our fingerprints and photographs taken, and green slips stapled into our passports, before going onto the next stage.

We stood at Carousel A for ages, willing our luggage to come through the flaps and out onto the roundabout so we could collect it and leave. When more than enough time had passed by, we took a step back to contemplate what to do next, which is when I noticed all this luggage stacked to the side behind the carousel. Naturally, ours were included in these stacks - to think we could've been on our way as soon as we came from Border Control!

With our wheelie suitcases at full speed, we followed the signage to Customs, where I had a tiny box of mints to declare. Luckily for us, the Officer waved us on, and we could say goodbye to the super long line in that section. I dread to think how long we would've been held up there if we had to stay.

We finally found ourselves in the foyer, with the doors to freedom only a few feet away. First, I checked at the Information Desk on where to catch the Magical Express to Disneyland, and we were on our way (at last!)

We waited for about half an hour on the green traffic island just outside the foyer door, for the Magical Express bus to stop by. Nest had given me his jumper to hold as we were getting off the plane. I carried it through collecting our luggage, Border Security, and Customs, right through to waiting at the bus stop. It was only then, when I gave it a bit of a shake in preparation for folding it up and finding a space in our bags to put it, that we realised it was an airline blanket! It was the same colour as the jumper Nest had been wearing on the plane, therefore it was an easy mistake to make. (It turned out that Nest's jumper was already in his backpack.) We laughed about it for ages , and the time we spent waiting for the bus flew by.

There were quite a few people on the Express already once it arrived, seeing as our stop was the second to last one. We made our way to the back of the coach, where we found a seat together. My mobile phone doesn't work overseas, so I used Nest's to let our family know that we had arrived safely, and that the fun was just beginning. After that, I settled down with Nest and watched the sunny scenery go by, not believing that what I had been planning all year was finally playing out.

Matters were pretty exciting by that stage, but they got even more so when I spotted the Disneyland Drive street signs after about an hour, as our hotel, the Grand Californian, was at the south end. First stop though, was the Disneyland Hotel. I could feel the excitement of the people as they disembarked.

If I could feel the excitement of the people disembarking at the previous stop, then Nest and I were the excitement as we shot off the coach once it had come to a halt in the valet section out the front of the Grand Californian. We waited at the side of the coach for the driver to get our luggage out, by which time a Bellhop had joined us and said he would take care of our luggage for us, which was much appreciated. It was around 1pm by that time.

I had researched (for want of a better word) a lot of California Disney pictures on Flickr during the months before our holiday. Walking through the beautiful large stained glass doors and into the expansive lobby steeped in gorgeous traditional Christmas decorations, was just like being in the photos, only better. Nest and I joined the end of the short check-in queue, and were soon talking business with one of the Cast Members. We were given a large frosted blue information pack literally bulging with information, extra-curricular activity tickets, and money off coupons. We were also handed a white envelope wrapped in silver ribbon each, which had been personally addressed to us. We took our information pack and mysterious personalised envelopes over to the crowded area near the 4-story high Christmas tree, found a vacant sofa, and sat down to open them. Inside, was a beautiful pearl blue card with Sleeping Beauty's Castle peaking through soft clouds, and inside, was a super gorgeous Disney gift voucher for $100, with a Christmas scene on it (including glitter snow!), featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse building a snowman outside their log cabin. We were so excited about this, and thought it was a brilliant touch by Disney to their check-in experience.

It was then amidst the excitement, that Nest discovered he had left his brand new mobile phone on the Magical Express . With heavy hearts at the prospect of never seeing it again, I wrote down a detailed description of it (thanking our lucky stars it was in a bright yellow phone sock with bright blue Cookie Monster on both sides), and took it over to Bell Services. Travis was the Cast Member we met with, and much to our complete delight, he managed to track it down in around 10 minutes after numerous phone calls and transfers. We were so relieved and grateful that an honest person had found it and handed it in! Travis told us that it was currently with our bus driver, and that he would drop it off at Guest Services when he had finished his shift. Problem solved!

To celebrate, we went shopping in nearby Acorn's Gifts and Goods. It was a very exciting store, full of beautiful Christmas and non-Christmas items for sale. We methodically went through every square inch of the store, leaving no stone unturned. I bought gifts for each member of our family (there's seven in total), blowing my gift voucher and then some, in one go. For myself, I bought a pale pink Tinkerbell t-shirt with silver faux jewels, flashing Mickey ears, and a Disneyland Park DVD. I would've loved to have bought a t-shirt proclaiming, "I majored in vacation", but they were only available in children's sizes. I also bought a lot of decorations for our Christmas tree back home, and my favourite one had to be of Santa Mickey and Pluto standing next to a fireplace, which glows when you clip it to a switched on Christmas tree light.

Ladened with shopping bags, not to forget our carry on luggage, we then went to the guest phones to see if our room was ready - it wasn’t - so we went to Disney's California Adventure Park using the Hotel's exclusive entrance, for a look around. Once in, we turned right, and I followed Nest, who headed straight for Rushin River Outfitters. Here, I did more Chrissie pressie shopping (my favourite item being a then and now history of Disney book for my 24 year old bro back home, who specified interest in such an item), and bought some items Nest had picked out for himself. The most important purchase I made here though, were two adult-sized 'emergency' ponchos for the water rides.

We then walked back round to the left to look for Guest Services (so we'd know where it was quickly for future reference), but we never got that far, as Nest announced that he was starving and wanted to get cleaned up, so it was back to the hotel to see if our room was ready. On the way, we stopped in the little shop opposite Soarin', for Nest to begin his pressed penny obsession. Out of the shop, we then went to the food cart right outside Soarin', to get a stick of fairy floss and a bottle of Sprite each. (Our first meal in California - what a responsible sister!) Our room still wasn't ready when we got back, so we took our purchases out into this really quiet and deserted outside area of the hotel, where we ate our fairy floss in peace, with a slightly cropped view of Paradise Pier.

When we had finished our rest period, I noticed it was past the 3pm mark of check-in time. We made our way to the guest phones for the third time that day (they say third time's a charm), and much to our relief and excitement, we were informed that our room was finally ready!

Our room was on the fourth floor. When I booked the vacation package way back in July, I requested a room with a resort view. When I walked through our lovely room and out onto our balcony, I could not believe my eyes! Never in a million years could I have imagined getting a room with such a FANTASTIC view! Straight ahead, was the Golden State area of Disney's California Adventure Park. We could see the Grizzly River Run, with the giant bear outside, people coming around a corner in a tyre tube fast on the left, and eventually being dragged up on the right. Most prominent of all, was the huge rock formation in the shape of a growling grizzly bear. Right behind the Golden State in the distance, we could see the Hollywood Tower of Terror, which looked excitingly foreboding at night. To the right of us, we could see the Disneyland Hotel in the distance, and to the left, we could see the Soarin' building, the top half of the Golden Gate Bridge, Space Mountain, the very tip of Main Street's huge Christmas tree, and mountain ranges on the horizon. At night if we were in and wanted to live dangerously, you could teeter precariously over our balcony rails to view the "Believe ... In Holiday Magic" fireworks spectacular.

Looking down was also an option - people watching is so much fun in such an exciting place. I often wondered where these people had come from, how long had they been planning their vacations, where would they be going the following day, what had they done so far, did they have anything super special planned, and what did they think of it all, etc. etc. Here's a question I'd really love answered, which I neglected to ask a Cast Member while I had the chance: Directly under our room and the rooms beneath us, was a decent-sized patch of shrubbery. Just about each morning and on the rare afternoon we were in, when I looked down, there were these two large, well-fed gorgeous cats just sitting or mucking around down there. One was a smokey colour, and the other was a tortoishell. When we went down for a closer look, we couldn't get them to come over for a pat. Does anyone know their story, like where they're from, who owns (and feeds) them, etc.? If anyone could shed any light on this, I'd be really appreciative! Thank you!



Back in the room, I was in the bathroom, when I heard Nest talking to someone. For a moment, I thought it must've been Bell Services bringing our luggage up, but when I came out, I saw that an extremely large gift was being delivered, and a Cast Member was walking across the room towards our tv/mini bar cupboard, holding a fully decorated metre tall Christmas tree! On our beds, large personalised Christmas stockings stuffed full with gifts, had been placed. Nest and I were completely surprised and taken aback that someone had organised such a brilliant surprise for us! No gift card was included in the delivery. The Cast Member said it must've been our family's doing, but I knew, without confirmation, that it was my previous three time Disney travelling companion, Penny. I remember feeling really disappointed when my parents told me about Santa Claus all those decades ago. As an adult, I miss that surprise and wonder, so what Penny had organised, which I didn't expect at all, brought that missing feeling back to me that day, which was just so enjoyable.

After the delivery man had left, Nest and I took to thoroughly going through our surprise gifts and taking a lot of photos to document the occasion. Our Christmas tree was decorated with plush Disney toys (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald), sprays of red and gold sequins, Mickey head-shaped baubles in all the colours of the rainbow, and heavily decorated Christmas cookies (two plain cookies sandwiched together with a bit of jam and white marshmallow, covered in green chocolate, decorated with red and white candy, and then popped in a little clear bag and sealed with a red bow which had a red and white peppermint glued in the middle. On the top of our tree was a pair of Mickey ears with our family's surname sewn on the back, and a bunch of red, blue and yellow ribbons arranged on top together with three golden 'reindeer' bells, which had a lovely chime to them. (Even since I was a little girl, I've associated these types of bells with reindeers, as one Christmas there was one left near the bucket of water I had left out for them, hence me calling them reindeer bells ever since.) Lastly, our tree's stand was covered with a little tree skirt which had a red and silver mosaic design with silver glitter around each square.

As for our giant Mickey Christmas stockings, they contained the following goodies:

1) A 50th anniversary plush Mickey wearing a silver and blue formal suit;
2) A bag of super yummy caramel popcorn;
3) A tin of postcards with beautiful black and white drawings of magical Disney scenes on them;
4) A mini photo album with a black felt cover and a pair of red and silver glitter Mickey ears on the cover (I've since put my Disney PhotoPass photos into this album - they fit perfectly!);
5) A blue notebook with a blue pen attached to it by a blue coil;
6) A packet of Christmas coloured candy mix from the Jelly Belly Jellybean Factory (I went there last year (2006) with a friend from work - we LOVED it! It's a fantastic place!);
7) A clear box of Disney-themed playing cards; and,
8) A packet of four Disney magnets (Mickey's head, Mickey's red shorts, one of Mickey's white gloves, and one of Mickey's yellow shoes.)

While Nest was still enjoying the moment (not that I had stopped), I rang Bell Services and asked them to deliver our luggage. They asked that we be present in the room at the time of delivery in a few moments, which wasn't a problem. A minute or so later, I received a call back from them, saying that they could only find one out of our three pieces of luggage. I left Nest, who had since broken into his bag of candy, in the room, locked the door behind me, and went down to Bell Services to sort the missing luggage problem out. On the way down, I took a detour to Guest Services to pick up Nest's mobile phone, which had since arrived.

At Bell Services, Cast Member Anthony took me to a conference room down two hallways, which was being used for that day's overflow of luggage storage. This was where one of our suitcases was, and it turned out to be mine. So it was poor Nest's that was missing (and contained his new camera tripod and battery rechargers, not to mention all his clothes!), and a smaller suitcase, virtually empty, that we were sharing. Supervised, I went up and down the rows of luggage in the entire room, but our missing suitcases were nowhere to be found. I went back to Anthony at the main desk, and he took me into the luggage storage area through a few doors behind the desk, but we weren't able to find our stuff in there either. I left Anthony with a full description of our missing suitcases (once again, like with Nest's mobile phone sock, I'm glad I attached colourful items to our suitcases for easy identification), and he gave me a $30 voucher to spend in Marceline's Confectionary store in Downtown Disney as a consolation. He assured me that even though they couldn't be located at that precise moment, that they were still somewhere in the hotel, and that we would eventually get them back.

That luggage issue took so much longer than expected - at least one-and-a-half hours. I rushed back to our hotel room, where I found Nest lying on his bed, still eating candy, and listening to the radio, which had really bad reception. I brought Nest up-to-date on the subject, then took him to Downtown Disney for dinner and another shopping session, which took our minds off the missing luggage. Nest was taking his lost luggage really well, and I couldn't read that anything was worrying him by his face like I usually can.

I took Nest to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner , as it has a wide variety of meals to choose from, and a lively atmosphere. We didn't have a reservation (I was meaning to ring ahead of time!), so we had no choice but to join the end of the worryingly long queue if we wanted to eat there. Nest wasn't all that keen on the length of the queue, but I convinced him that it would be worth it, and we stayed. It didn't take us as long as I thought it would for it to be our turn at the Reservation Desk. Since we were just a party of two, we got a table straight away. Unfortunately, we didn't get a table in amongst the jungle on the ground floor, but our table on the mezzanine level in the open air was surprisingly nice with great music playing (both speakers in the one area were playing different songs!)

For appetizers, Nest and I shared a plate of Rainforest Pita Quesadillas (chicken, capsicum, onion and cheese, grilled in pita bread, then cut into triangles.) For drinks, Nest had a multi-coloured (and multi-flavoured) slushee in a massive drink container with a free toy at the bottom in a separate section, and I had a fruit mocktail (with raspberry being the base flavour), served up in a brilliant flashing glass. We both got to take our glasses home afterwards. We took ages in deciding on our main meal, as there was just so much to choose from. Nest eventually decided on Rasta Pasta (grilled chicken with pasta, walnut pesto, broccoli, red capsicum and spinach, tossed with garlic sauce and served with a chunk of bread), and I had the delicious Bamba's Barbeque Beef Wrap with BBQ sauce, herbs, onions, cheese and mango sauce. I had a side of chips (I momentarily forgot that what we call chips in Australia (unless we go to McDonalds), are actually called fries in the States. I wanted fries!! That'll teach me to pay attention in future!) Unfortunately, we were way too full afterwards to even consider dessert, which was a shame, as we had been planning to share a volcano. We went on our way, hoping we could fit in another visit to the Rainforest Cafe for dessert before the end of our trip when we were more hungry. Had a look around the shop downstairs, where Nest busied himself getting all the pressed pennies - how cute!

The Downtown Disney shops we called in on that night, were Disney's Pin Trader, Dept. 56, and World of Disney. I've bought a few Disney pins in my time, but this time, the sheer importance and loveliness of them REALLY caught on, and I was hooked, Nest was too - he's a real little collector. We bought sooooo many pins throughout our trip, and I really wish I had some way of displaying them without them getting all dusty, scratched and faded. At the moment, they're packed away safely in the bags they came in, where I can't see them.

Next shop - Dept. 56! I first went into a Dept. 56 store last year while exploring Pier 39 with friends during a two week trip to San Francisco. The moment I stepped into the store, I fell in love with it, and was eager to show Nest what I had been going on about all this time. Downtown Disney's store was much smaller than San Francisco's, but it was still packed full of those beautiful sparkly holiday models I love so much. The models had been arranged so they formed whole villages at the height of the Christmas or Halloween seasons, and they were just so lovely to look at. I wished my whole family could’ve seen it, especially Kib (19) - he loves seeing how things are put together to form an end result. If my credit card EVER gets credit in it again (I am SO broke at the time of writing this), it's off to their internet store I go! We came out of the store having bought three super cute tiny Christmas decorations as gifts for our family. The receipt refers to them as gumdrops.

The last Downtown Disney store we went to that night, was most certainly the most dangerous of all financially - World of Disney. It would be so easy to spend a couple of month's pays in there (considering I had it saved up in the first place, which is very rare.) We spent a very long time in there, going round and round and round in circles, taking everything in. For such a fantastic store, our purchases were quite small - just a couple of t-shirts and pins between the two of us. As the days went on, we soon rectified such a small purchase.

Walking back to the hotel to offload our shopping and check on the lost luggage situation, I took in the bustling atmosphere - live music, brightly lit shops, happy people, the dancing fountain, and all the trees with coloured sparkly fairy lights meticulously wrapped round them, and thought to myself how lucky we were to be there.

Back at the hotel, we dropped our shopping off in our room, then went down to Bell Services to see about our luggage. It still hadn't turned up, so Travis took us through the luggage storage area again - still no luck. He then went out of his way to find Samantha, the Duty Manager, which took about half an hour. She took us aside and apologised for our luggage being missing for so long. She got me to fill in a detailed form about our lost suitcases and what they contained, and then took us to Acorn's Gifts and Goods, and told Nest to choose whatever he wanted in the way of a change of clothes, pyjamas and toiletries, which she paid for. It was 9pm by then, the store's closing time, but they so kindly accommodated us, and were happily chatting away to us. Never before have I experienced such superb and caring service. We were both so appreciative and profuse in our thanks. I made sure I remembered everyone's names to list as positive feedback on the comments form I'd be filling out at the end of the trip.

We made yet another pit stop at our room (all this exercise can't be too good for you!), and then made our way to the Disneyland Park for the first time ever! It was around 10pm by that time, and the Park had a closing time of 1am - brilliant! By the time we made our way through Downtown Disney, through the security checkpoint, then up to the gates of the Park, there seemed to be a mass evacuation on hand. I was so worried closing time had been brought forward and we wouldn't be able to get in after all, but we found an open ticket stall much to our immense relief, and found out the crowds were just people who had finished watching the recent fireworks and were now calling it a day.

While waiting for the crowds to dissipate (there's no way we could've gone anywhere even if we wanted, the crowds were that thick), we veered off to the immediate right on entering, and had a good look at that little stall that you come to after emerging from the tunnel. Nest asked me to buy him a pair of giant Mickey gloves, which I did.

We didn't follow a map once the crowds had cleared - we just went where the moment took us, and soon we found ourselves in the heart of Adventureland. A year's worth of planning, and we didn't know what to do once we got there! We went past the Enchanted Tiki Room, and the Jungle Cruise. When I then saw we had come to the Indiana Jones Adventure, everything fell into place and I knew that that HAD to be our first ride! I couldn't have asked for a better, more exciting start to our Disneyland Park experience! We both loved the ride immensely, and it immediately became a firm favourite. I loved how the park wasn't crowded for our first night, and how we could just walk straight on - even the Cast Members mentioned that. I loved how we had to walk through the windy tunnels through the cave to get to the ride itself - it was so atmospheric, and had you thirsty for adventure once you reached the boarding area. Both Nest and myself loved how the ride was really bumpy, and how it was so dark in places, that you didn't know in which direction you were going to go in next - that sensation was fantastic! The famous boulder was there, the rickety bridge, and a wall full of skull candle holders in an otherwise dark area which gave off a warm, yet haunting, orange glow. The Imagineers do such a brilliant brilliant job! When we disembarked (nooooo! Can't it go on forever?), Nest commented to me how he ducked when rats appeared on a smokescreen we careened through, as he thought that there would be some trick involved, where a prop rat would drop down on him.

From having an adventure with Indy, we continued on back down the path and turned left, which took us into New Orleans Square. I started to run when I laid eyes on the Haunted Mansion Holiday, babbling excitedly to Nest over my shoulder, on how much I love the ride, and had him overtaking me in seconds (he has longer legs!) I simply adored the mixture of Halloween and Christmas decorations in and around the garden, on the Mansion's facade, as well as its interior - I couldn't bear to see the Mansion outside of the Halloween/Christmas season! I loved the fluorescent paint used on the props during the ride, and how they glowed in the dark. The ballroom was another favourite scene of mine, and I was busy pointing things out to Nest, even though I'm sure he would've eventually noticed these things for himself with the amount of times we went on this ride during our trip. We were to learn more about this ride during our Christmas Tour the following day.

Continuing on left of the Haunted Mansion, we came to Critter Country and good ole Splash Mountain. It has never failed to give me a thorough soaking in the other parks I've been to, so this time I came prepared, with ... emergency ponchos! We were the only two people on this ride for some time, and were allowed to go round twice without having to get off - fantastic fun! I loved all the scenes we drifted through on this ride, and I super loved the accompanying music. I especially loved the happiness and joy of the Zippedy Do Dah scene, and how it gets scary straight afterwards, and you're shot down an 80 foot drop. When we went to Professor Barnaby Owl's Photographic Studio afterwards to pick up our photos, in both shots, you can only just see me, as I had huddled down behind Nest both times so I wouldn't get wet, despite the fact I was wearing an emergency poncho.

We had been travelling left across the park all night. As far left as you can get in the direction we were going, was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh has been in Nest's life from the start, and I was so excited to be able to take him on this ride 17 years later, as I knew the little boy inside him would love it, and I was right - we went on it two times in a row. Little did we know at the time, that this would be the only occasion we'd experience this ride in our entire trip.

We paid a visit to Pooh's Corner after having visited him twice, where I splashed out on plush Pooh & friends toys for Nest as if he was still a baby. We then visited the bakery section, which proved quite popular despite the time, judging from the amount of people gathered around the glass cases. Once served, we left all happy with a nice selection of baked goods to share: an inch thick (wow!) white and milk chocolate chip cookie (so nice); a sugar cookie (which unfortunately tasted like marzipan - neither of us are fans); a giant (and I mean giant) rice bubble crispie brick covered in milk chocolate; a caramel covered apple sprinkled with peanuts, on a stick; and, a small bag of taffy.

By then, the rides were almost due to close, so munching away on the goodies we had bought from Pooh's Corner, we quickly walked the length of the park so we could fit in one more adventure with Indy. Luckily for us, he was still in when we dropped by, and when we said our goodbyes, saw that the rope was now across the entrance, which meant that it was well and truly midnight.

I so enjoy walking through the park this late at night when there's hardly anyone around, as I've got this feeling of immense happiness and contentment. I also feel really safe (if I walked around my neighbourhood at midnight, I'd just be plain petrified!), and if there's magic just busting to come out at your from every corner ... or maybe it's Walt's spirit watching over the happy place he bought to life!

Since most of Main Street stays open an hour after the rides are closed, Nest and I hung out in the Penny Arcade until closing. Nest busied himself getting change from the change machine so he had the correct coins to go pressed pennying, and I kept myself amused by watching the movie boxes for a penny each go. Some of them were so brilliantly funny, that I watched them a couple of times. Here's a quick summary of my favourites:

The Dentist: Like many people, I can't stand going to the dentist, so when a comedy about the dreaded situation comes up, I can relate to it very closely and often find it funny (only because I'm not the poor client!) In this short movie (or rather, photos you flick quickly by a handle to make the story develop), a little boy has a dentist's appointment, but each time the dentist goes towards the boy's mouth with a variety of dental tools, trouble ensues. I think one of the last frames has the boy running away. By the look on the dentist's face, I think he's wondering why.

Forbidden Sweets: This one's fantastic! It shows two boys old enough to know better, sitting on a backless sofa in the middle of a room, and holding a cream pie. You can tell they're not meant to touch it, but seeing as no one's around, they take swipes of it with their fingers. As the movie goes on, you see their Dad silently coming up behind them, and it finishes with the boys getting their faces pushed into the pie.

The Boxing Match: I know my brother, Jonathan (22), would've particularly loved this movie, when the scrawny guy puts a hammer down his sleeve in an attempt to beat the muscly guy.

You know it's time to leave a store when the rattly shutters are pulled down. Not wanting to be asked to leave, we left straight away. Fantasy-type bell music was playing in Main Street as we walked towards the exit, which was a nice touch. We walked through a quietened down version of Downtown Disney, and through a very deserted hotel foyer to get to the lifts which would take us safely to our floor.

When we got back to our room, we ordered a turkey cheeseburger with fries, and a chocolate brownie each from Room Service. We didn't realise just how big the brownies were going to be (despite the menu saying "big enough to share!"), so we saved what we couldn't eat (which was virtually the whole lot - those turkey burgers are filling!) in the bar fridge for breakfast in a few hours.

I was just getting into bed after a much needed shower, when the phone rang. It was my brother, Jonathan, ringing from Australia for a long chat. It was 3.40am.

Postscript

If you were wondering why you didn't get surprise cards containing gift vouchers when you checked in during the month of December, or simply for those of your marvelling at the generosity of the Disney company, it turned out to be someone else's responsibility altogether! The gift vouchers turned out to be part of the Christmas tree and stockings surprise organised by my Disney-loving friend! I didn't find out until the week of Christmas, when she responded to my post-holiday excitement e-mail.

As for getting back to the Rainforest Cafe for a volcanic dessert - it never happened To cover his disappointment, Nest said he didn't want someone coming down the stairs near where we were sitting, and announcing to everyone in song, about the dessert we had chosen. (He gets embarrassed very easily, especially if it involves singing.)

One of the gifts I had bought Nest for Christmas, was the Indiana Jones DVD boxset. We had great fun sitting down to watch them Christmas night, and calling out when we recognised scenes from the ride we went on.

[DyanKJ130]

Great start! What a wonderful first day you had! Glad they were able to locate Nest's cell phone on the DME. As for the cats, I believe Disney has them to keep the rodent population down. Can't wait to hear more

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by DyanKJ130

Great start! What a wonderful first day you had! Glad they were able to locate Nest's cell phone on the DME. As for the cats, I believe Disney has them to keep the rodent population down. Can't wait to hear more

Hi Dyan,

Thanks so much for answering that niggling cat question for me - it's great to know their story finally!

We were super relieved to get Nest's cell phone back as well! Neither of us were expecting to ever see it again.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my post, and I look forward to writing and posting more in the not too distant future.

Cheers,
Big Sister

[tdandboys]

Love the pics, and I love the disney Christmas tree.

[Big Sister]

Hi Tina,

Glad you liked the pictures - it took me a while in deciding which ones to include, and then working out how to post them (and then I read the instructions properly.)

I'm also glad you've got a countdown for your trip in 2012 - I thought I was being over-enthusiastic (even in Disney terms) with my 2010 countdown!

Cheers,
Alison

[Jacky]

What a great Trip Report of the first few days of your trip!!!!! Sounds like you and your brother had a terrific time at DL

[Flik]

I LOVE your report!
I cannot wait to read more. I will be embarking on my 1st ever DL/DCA trip with a stay at the GC in May. Your report has me even more excited!
Please keep it coming!

[Big Sister]

Hi Jacky,

Glad you like my report so far . Yes, my brother and I certainly did have a fantastic time. I just finished writing up my 2nd post last night, and was reminded yet again of all the fun things we got up to (even though we slept through a VERY important reservation.)

I see you've got a trip coming up mid-year - how exciting!

[Big Sister]

G'day Flik,

It meant a lot to hear that what I've written so far has made you look forward to your first DL/DCA trip even more! You've certainly chosen a terrific hotel to stay in - the staff are absolutely fantastic, and I couldn't get enough of the spaghetti dish from room service!

I'm so glad I've got another post to post today for your enjoyment!

Looking forward to hearing your experiences when you return from your trip in May!

Cheers,
Alison

[Big Sister]

2ND ENTRY: THE BLUE BAYOU AFTER FIVE YEARS

MONDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2007

The Blue Bayou. I've waited for five years to go to this beautifully atmospheric restaurant overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and today was the day my wish was meant to have come true. I woke that day facing the clock, to see that it was two minutes past our reservation time of 1.30pm. You can imagine the absolute disbelief and immense disappointment that surged through me, which in turn woke Nest up (it was just a big, "OH NO!" – no swearing or anything like that.) Added to those emotions, was frustration at why on earth didn't I set the alarm clock for something that important to me so that we wouldn't have missed out. I remember sitting down with Nest back in Australia, to go over the restaurant's menu, and how we went straight to the dessert section and decided that we would both have a cookie dough boat each on the day we'd be dining there. It will be at least an estimated three years till I can afford any major overseas travel again, by which time my yearning for this dining experience will have matured into an eight year wish! Despite the wait, I'm surprisingly excited by this, as I should have at least two brothers travelling with me this time to spoil rotten.

Earlier that morning (if you can call 9.30am early, which, lets face it - it's not), I was woken by a phone call from Bell Services, saying that they had finally located Nest's two missing pieces of luggage! Nest and I were just so relieved! They asked if I wanted them delivered, and I said I'd come down and collect them myself (I didn't want to take any chances with them going missing again.) I remember looking at the clock when getting back into bed on my return, and stupidly deciding not to set it, as I was so sure in myself that we'd wake up in time to get ready for the Blue Bayou. Who sleeps past 1.30pm anyway?

As there was no turning back the time, I stopped wallowing in self pity, put on a happy face, and had an extremely relaxing start to the day. For the next two-and-a-half hours, I sat out on the balcony watching the goings on in the park, listening to the hillbilly band I could just see through the trees down to my right, consuming my brownie and Sprite leftover from the night before, and waiting for Nest to get ready. I could've sat there all day, as it was just so relaxing and enjoyable, especially when compared to my hectic pace of life back home. I was really surprised at my happiness to just sit and relax for this length of time, as in all my previous Disney holidays, I've been busting to hit the parks as soon as possible. I think it must've been the big effect the jetlag had on me, coupled with the fact I was locked in big sister mode, and wanted to put Nest first at all times.

Nest's 'morning' consisted of finding it extremely difficult to get out of bed (despite being in the Happiest Place on Earth), taking a very long time in the bathroom, and eventually joining me out on the balcony to eat his brownie and discuss what we'd do with the few remaining hours of the day at our disposal. Since Disneyland Park closed that day at 6pm, and Disney's California Adventure (DCA) park at 9pm, we decided on DCA. It was 4pm by that stage!

Our first ride of the day was Soarin' over California. This was my first experience on it, despite having been to WDW back in 2005. The line for it wasn't too bad, and I remember hearing some students excitedly talking about how they had finished their last exam for the year only days before, while Nest and I were quietly looking at the photos and commentary hanging on the corrugated iron walls around us. When we were divided up into holding areas further on down the line, Nest and I were incredibly excited to see that our Captain up on the big screen was the guy who played David Puddy in Seinfeld (our favourite TV show.) Armed with all the knowledge we needed for the ride from our de-briefing, we walked into a large dimly lit room full of rows of seats suspended from the ceiling, and at the front, the largest movie screen I've ever seen. Once we were all tightly buckled into our seats, they were lifted up, the lights went out, and the movie screen came alive.

For my friends who aren't familiar with this attraction, it's a simulation ride. The movie screen shows absolutely beautiful scenes from around California, and the rows of seats move in tandem with the direction the scenes are being portrayed, so it's as if you're a bird flying over the scenes from above. It's a wonderful experience, and had me crying all the way through it as it was just all so beautiful - especially the Golden Gate Bridge scene. The next scene firmly imprinted in my mind, is flying over the extensive orange groves in Valencia, as the ride actually emitted a strong orange scent as we went over - what a perfect touch! Nest remembers this scene vividly too. I remember being stressed when we came to the ocean scenes, and was worried we were going to fly right through it, and enter an underwater scene where scary beasties were waiting for us (I know that's totally un-Disneylike, but my minds goes funny like that in any 3D film attraction and some simulation attractions that I go into.) I also remember instinctively lifting my feet every now-and-then in case they got wet.

The finale of the ride was unforgettably magical. We flew over Disneyland Park at night, towards Sleeping Beauty's castle, and ended our journey with Tinkerbell in amongst exploding golden fireworks high above the turrets.

I had thoroughly enjoyed Soarin', and would have loved to have gone on it again, but we just didn't get the chance. Nest wasn't as enthusiastic post-ride as I was, but I'm sure he enjoyed it in his own quiet teenage boy way.

From the Golden State area of DCA where Soarin's located, we walked to the Hollywood Pictures Backlot area and straight into a store called Off The Page. It was to be my most favourite store in the entire DCA park due to its books, cds, and gorgeous collectibles. On this first visit though, we just had a very good look around, with one exception - Nest laid eyes on the 3D 'crystal' glasswork, couldn't stop thinking of it, and convinced me it would be a wonderful keepsake of our holiday together, and as usual, he was totally right. We went to the Crystal Magic section of the store, where a Cast Member took our photo (we had to squeeze our heads together as much as possible, so that the artwork would turn out), and then showed us on the computer, the 3D image version as it would appear in our cube. The Cast Member then took our details, including what we wanted written on the cube (we opted for "Disneyland 2007"), and then told us it would be ready for collection at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney at 7.30pm that evening.

Next on our agenda, was the Tower of Terror. This I have experienced and loved before, and was very eager for Nest to have his first go on it. We had an absolutely brilliant time on it, and I think because it was night, made it seem all the more exciting and atmospheric. On exiting the ride, we went into the ride-themed souvenir shop, Tower Hotel Gifts, and bought two t-shirts each, a great photo frame for our souvenir photo, as well as gifts for our brothers back home (pens, shot glasses, ash trays, fridge magnets.) We were still bubbling with excitement from the ride when we reached the payment counter, and the Cast Member who served us, Ana, seemed just as excited, especially when she found out it was our first visit. She excused herself for a moment, and came back with Disney decorated "First visit" badges for both of us - we were quite pleased.

After all that excitement, we decided to have a spot of lunch, despite the fact it was 6pm. On the way to the Tower of Terror, I had spotted a cart selling turkey legs, which I've been a mad fan of since I first tasted them at WDW, so that was the direction we headed in. We sat on a bench overlooking the main drag in the Hollywo