Before recounting our adventures, I just wanted to give some overall thoughts, as well as some hints of things to come. First of all, we officially decided that we’re never driving to Disneyland again unless we live MUCH closer to it. We determined that the 2 days I miss from work, along with the cost of gas and “travel food,” along with the wear and tear on the car and general annoyance and stress of the long drive pretty much equal the cost of plane tickets. In other words, although flying is a little more expensive, it’s totally worth it.
We also determined that there’s no reason to go to Disneyland every year. Maybe it’s because the lack of crowds allowed us to see pretty much everything we wanted to see (except I still didn’t get to go on the canoes!) and in some cases, we saw things multiple times (6 times on Buzz Lightyear, 4 times on Pirates, etc.) Maybe if we wanted to go at Christmastime, when the whole park is decorated and there are special events for that time of year, then we might consider a short trip out. But we don’t plan on going back until 2012, when the California Adventure Park Overhaul is complete and there’ll be a lot new to experience.
We ARE planning a trip to Walt Disney World for 2011, when Amanda is done with her Master’s Degree. That will give us a week of mostly all-new rides and experiences, and our kids will all be older and more willing to go on (and less scared of) most of the rides.
Also, we were all at various stages of having a cold during the trip, and Abe had (and still has) an ear infection. More details on that later.
Alrighty. One week ago today:
Last Friday, Amanda and the kids got the house cleaned and suitcases packed (the kids skipped school that day) while I went to work for the morning. After a really slow, boring day, I left work at about noon.
[All times listed are Pacific Time]
1:00pm: Leave the house…even though I had forgotten to pee. Outdoor temperature when we left? 48 degrees.
4:20: We ate dinner at the Del Taco in St. George (and take our first bathroom break on the trip). We were excited to see an In-and-Out Burger and were going to eat there, but it hadn’t opened for business yet. Temperature: 70.
5:00: Back on the road—after another bathroom break (including me walking over to Best Buy to use their much cleaner toilet).
7:10: We get to our hotel in Primm, NV: Whiskey Pete’s. Temperature: 74 degrees.
We got up to our room on the 4th floor (the hallway of which was straight out of “The Shining”—I expected a kid to ride a tricycle toward me or see creepy twin girls or something. I don’t know when we finally got to bed, but I’m guessing it was 10 or so…not that it matters, because Amanda and I pretty much got NO sleep that night.
Total Bathroom Breaks: 2
So a fairly boring start to the vacation, but we made really good time: just over 6 hours (which includes a 50-minute dinner break) to get from Orem, UT to Primm, NV.
Be sure to keep checking back every day for lots of pictures, videos, and of course the rundown of our Disneyland Vacation!
I’ll end with a picture of Joel fighting Darth Vader at the Jedi Training academy in Tomorrowland (yes, I’ll be putting up video of the experience in a couple days!):
7 comments:
First I want you to know that I was a hurt by one of your comments. "We also determined that there’s no reason to go to Disneyland every year." I found it very offensive! I do belive that there was something in that hall and it possesed you to say something like that. I get chills just thinking about it(or the fact that I am still wet from swimming). I do however forgive you, mostly because I feel bad that you were all sick, and that you are still freezing in Utah! Great picture of Joel!
Yeah, something is wrong with Andy. This isn't like him! I think it's because the family was sick, and that ruined the vacation. Or maybe too much hype before the trip set the expectations too high. I don't know. But Andy definitely needs to see a therapist about it. The expression on Andy's face in the Buzz Lightyear photo says everything.
Thank you for telling us about your pee breaks. It's really important to me to know how your urinary tract is doing.
Also, hotels are awful. We never sleep well in them. There's no such thing as a romantic/relaxing getaway that is in a hotel. They always suck, no matter how much you paid for the room. Actually, our experience is that the more you paid for the room the crappier it is. Well, there's some type of bell curve in there.
I'm really glad Joel got to do the Jedi Training! I'm excited to see the video of it.
Andy forgot to mention that we got pretty far past spanish fork when maddy screamed "my seat belt isn't on" and then a couple minutes later "Joel your seat belt isn't on". It was pretty funny. I guess they had forgotten since they were getting all their stuff in the car.
Primm was very nasty and I considered writing a review but I probably won't. The blanket had something crusty on it, the bottom sheet was not a fitted sheet just a top sheet tucked in (I hate that), I wanted to give the boys a bath but there was only a shower--and a very short shower at that, we had to walk through the casino to get to the hotel room and the directions the lady gave me?--turn at the cigarettes--yes that's right. Nasty. I did want to gamble a quarter but I was too nervous I wouldn't know how to work the machines. Plus I didn't want to give satan any more money. Plus the gas in Primm was 3.91--holy crap.
Yes, the shower had no bath, but there were two SEATS built into the shower! How romantic!!!
The face on the Buzz photo was me after riding Buzz 3-4 times in a row...and Abe kept hogging the gun so I never got a turn to shoot! By the way, Abe's is the HIGHER of the two scores.
I'm sure the kids could do Disneyland every year, but for me, it's not really worth the time, expense and hassle to go see the same things over and over. Don't get me wrong--I LOVE Disneyland, and I'm sure I'll get a hankering to go back before too long, but you see my point, right?
I see your point, Andimator.
Wow, Abe got a much higher score than Joel on Buzz Lightyear?! He's good. I tried taking Joseph on that ride when he was 9 months and it was too loud so he cried the whole time and I was stressed out and didn't really shoot anything.
Yeah, Manda, that NV casino stuff is yucky and those places always stink of ciggies and other junk. Did you at least stop at that big rollercoaster there or near there?
And Andy, you gave temps all the way, but what about the temperature in BAKER, where you see the world's tallest thermometer?! That's the temp I wanna know about, dude.
Did you get strawberry shakes? Just don't try the spanakopita at the Mad Greek cuz it's like a deep fried turd, seriously.
Anyway... glad Joel got to do that Jedi stuff and I hope you guys still had some fun despite colds and all.
LeeAnn it was only 61 in Baker. I think that's the lowest I've ever seen it.
Just so you know, I wasn't ignoring you this morning. I forgot that I was still connected to the internet. It has been a crazy day. Maybe I was a little harsh. I know that the to and from can be the worst part of the trip, but the there is so worth it. The good thing about seeing things over and over again, is that you can take your time and if you miss something...maybe next time. Time to go swimming!
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