I slept until nearly noon and then climbed into an Epsom salt bath for a couple hours while I watched the rest of Echo. I really enjoyed it and my body feels so much better. I rearranged my liquor cupboard to put the non-alcoholic ones up front, unpacked my suitcase, did laundry, began downloading pictures from my Disney account and fretted that I couldn’t find my toiletries bag. I ‘lost’ it for a few hours and even called Westjet to report only to see it sitting on Missy’s climbing post. I must have had it in my hand at some point and been distracted. That just shows how tired I am. I popped out to Walmart to pick up some salad and yarn to do my weather blanket. And, that was my day. I am girding for the week to come.
Well, it was an interesting last part of the evening to say the least. We finally got on board and then apparently the leading edges were freezing up so we had to taxi over to the deicing section that was actually pretty interesting but too late at night. I was grateful when we did land that my suitcase was off immediatelyas I was pretty much too impaired by sleep deprivation, so I just took my time watch for animals and got home safe. It was 1:20 AM when I walked in the door glad to be safe and glad to be in my own bed.
I was even up before Emmy as I do have a bit of anxiety realizing international travel, fueling up, car return, and anything else that pops up. Turns out I was right to be ready early. At breakfast we learned that it would be most helpful if we dropped Roger and Bill at the local rental car location to pick up their vehicle for the rest of the trip. We got all our stuff packed into the car and loaded up after goodbyes. After dropping off the guys, we gassed up and headed for the airport. The vehicle drop off was smooth. We made our way to security and and I was taken to task because I didn’t use my trusted traveler (Nexus). I told them it was because I had Emmy and they told me she could have as she is under 12. That is not what I was told on the way down. Sigh. And then there was my luggage that was over by at least 4kg and cost me 78$ US! Oh well. We met up with Jake on the other side and had Carl’s Jr for lunch. It was a sad goodbye for Emmy when his name was called to go verify his passport at gate 2. We were at 15.
I let her share her feels and then suggested we go to the Ducks Breakaway Bar and Grill and take pictures to make her cousins jealous. She liked that idea. I was just happy to be there!!
Emmy was stuff watchdog while I went to the loo and then it was time to load. We were a row ahead of last time so she actually had a window seat. Once we got settled, I fixed her croc charm that I bought her so that it wouldn’t fall off. (The Minnie one. We saw an interesting plane and I noticed that all the planes had turned up wings. I have not noticed that is a thing before.
The last thing we saw out the window was the coast and the freighters. I read and napped while Emmy played games and watched shows on her iPad. Next thing we knew it was time to land and I must say, the weather change was big. The airport was boiling and we both took off layers as we worked through the relatively quick customs process. I was told that the best thing was to exit with her and then come back through security. Her Grandma Nancy was waiting for us and I went outside with them but the wind and cold was just too much! It was a long wander to the terminal where I am to leave from. We passed the welcome to Canada sign at 5:44 and my flight out isn’t until 11:35. When I went back through security I found out that bedazzled shirts cause havoc. I had to go through the full body scan twice and then a pat down! Most action I’ve gotten all trip, lol. I did ask permission before entering the Flames Grill.
There was an odd moment when a guy came and sat down across from me when there is no one else here. We did end up chatting as he admired my glasses but I though his phrasing was weird to tell me he was an eye doctor…. Even I know that is Optometrist….
I have now been here for hours, enjoying the lovely chats with Damen, my server and the reminiscent playlist. I have been the only one at this end of the terminal that doesn’t work here for a long time. A guy just walked in wearing a leafs hat which amuses me that the two of us are in the place surrounded by Flames stuff. I had really good tacos and am going to wander down to my gate now as I should be able to board in just over half an hour. I still have to let them know Emmy is not on the flight. I shall say goodnight now and if there are any further adventures getting home, you will all hear about it tomorrow.
Up early again, off to breakfast and then headed to the park. It is a park hopping last day with each of us looking to do anything we feared missing. Ashlée and I went together and took the train round to ToonTown to meet Jake and Emmy and go to both Mickey and Minnie’s houses. Emmy was just adorable meeting Minnie and was speechless after meeting Mickey.
Ash joined me on Jake’s favourite ride, the train in toon town and it was spectacular. Great story leading up to it and a lot of fun on it!
We connected with everyone and took the monorail to Downtown Disney where we hit up the Lego store. I found the perfect momento to start my Lego ‘puzzle’ collection. New out and only one allowed per household. I also got a Groot and a Loki keychain and realized after that I was gifted a box for my sale!
Pin traders take It seriously
We worked our way down to The Earl of Sandwich for lunch. It wasn’t as smooth as we hoped, our tables were supposed to be next to each other and if we had known they would consider it one group, auto add tip and not let us split the bill, we may have gone in in family groups. I took the hit on my CC and people gave me cash. The server was very apologetic and put the cash against it first which was nice as I didn’t need US money on my last night. At least I loved my Turkey Club sandwich and Bounty Hunter beverage.
Robin Hood is still one of my top Disney moviesLukas lost a tooth!Bounty Hunter
I headed back to the hotel as I didn’t want to pack stuff all the rest of the day and I wanted to organize and pack Emmy and I so we were organized for the morning. I know well enough that things come up and I wanted to be prepared. I love what she got as a gift for her and her sisters. I think it should have been in the opposite numerical order but it was what she wanted.
When I was done, I found out the middle boys were in the room above me and connected with them to show me the droids they made and then head to the park to hang out for the last night.
Our first stop was for popcorn on Main Street
Then it was off to Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. That adventure began back in 1990 when my brother, a couple of uncles, an aunt and a few cousins all joined Ed me in Disney World. My cousin Michael and I rode what we considered to be the cheesiest ride of all and ended up doing it o er and over, laughing our faces off and acting up. I had to introduce the boys to the fun and I sent pics to Michael.
The next must have snack was churros. I had managed to avoid them all week, but hey, this was our last few hours so we had to have all the treats before I introduced them to Bounty Hunting in Star Wars Galaxy. We managed to find two and had fun
Back on Main Street we had to have a grip competition. Lukas won and yes, I have a Clown Grip
Now it was over to California Adventure to try to get on Incredicoaster but of course we were distracted by shiny things and food.
Best pretzel ever
Will had missed the World of Colour show so Lukas was excited for him to see the fire coming out of the water. We were behind it this time but it was still amazeballs. While we were in line for coaster we got to see the Fireworks from Disneyland!
The coaster was a lot of fun, I was just disappointed the cameras weren’t on due to the show. It would’ve been fun to get a picture with the boys. we went and captured a bunch of moments on our own before wrapping up the night with something that completely surprised me that they wanted to do. The tribute to Mr Lincoln. Now I will admit it does have incredible animatronics, especially given when it was made in the first place but it’s Uber patriotic. They both were just happy to be there and ready to go back to the hotel when it was done. How cool is that?
I had bought all three boys personalities for their Droids and I was happy to let Sawyer know as well.
I love my family and am grateful for this once in a lifetime vacation. We are all worn out though!!
I have a bunch of professional park photos but I am going to wait until I am home on a computer to post them
Up early again, off to breakfast and then headed to the park. It is a park hopping last day with each of us looking to do anything we feared missing. Ashlée and I went together and took the train round to ToonTown to meet Jake and Emmy and go to both Mickey and Minnie’s houses. Emmy was just adorable meeting Minnie and was speechless after meeting Mickey.
Ash joined me on Jake’s favourite ride, the train in toon town and it was spectacular. Great story leading up to it and a lot of fun on it!
We connected with everyone and took the monorail to Downtown Disney where we hit up the Lego store. I found the perfect momento to start my Lego ‘puzzle’ collection, the family tree. New out and only one allowed per household. I also got a Groot and a Loki keychain and realized after that I was gifted a box for my sale!
We worked our way down to The Earl of Sandwich for lunch. It wasn’t as smooth as we hoped, our tables were supposed to be next to each other and we were split but they wouldn’t split the bill. I could have argued it but in the end people gave me cash and I put it on my credit card. My sandwich and beverage only cost 125.00 lol
I came back to the hotel with my purchases and decided to pack Emmy’s stuff and mine so we would be ready for the morning. I needed to be non stressed as there will be many goodbyes tomorrow. Lukas and Will were ready to head back and we spent the rest of the evening together having such a great time. I don’t want to brag, but I have lovely humans as grandsons, Rae and Rog have done a fabulous job, We laughed and Will kept checking in with me to say he loved me and gave me hugs on the regular. We played with my wristband and caught two bounty. Lukas bought his Wampus and I found my headband that I wanted, We snacked and ate and wandered between the two parks and then I was blown away that they both wanted to see the Disney tribute to Lincoln. It is still pretty impressive as a Walt Disney creation, When it was done we decided that Will was fulfilled with the World of Colour that we caught as well as well as the fireworks over the castle.
I had everything ready to post and delete it accidentally and now I’m so tired. I need to just go to sleep. I apologize I will catch up tomorrow. it really was a very great day only because my eldest grandson Gene was my hero
Ok, so the day started out with a pounding rain and wind. I was grateful when I remembered that I had bought a Stuart Anorak when we were at Universal. I took Bill to the nearest Walgreens to pick a few missing items for people. Once back, I got to doing payroll and other things for clients. It was a little frustrating as one of them had last minute given me info for a new hire. I took a call from Service Canada about a client and when he asked how it was going I told him I was working in the hotel room while my family was in Disneyland. He immediately said to hang up on him right now and go have fun. It was so sweet. I did answer his questions and then decided I needed to set some boundaries so I gave 30 day notice to one of my clients. I need to wean down to ones who understand the importance and timing of work-life balance. They take time away, off grid, but expect me to be available on vacation. It was time.. but also anxiety driven.
Rae let me know that Gene was back in the room resting and he reached out to see if I wanted to hang out with him at the park. We had so much fun. It is great to have a 16 year old in your life that you actually enjoy spending time with, who has a great sense of humour and observation. We wandered and went on rides and ate nummy things and just… made a memory and brought me out of the ugly mood I had found myself in again.
We had fun Bounty hunting with my Magic Band Mystery of the sky ring last night, solved
We managed to catch the Mickey Magic show on Main Street and World of Colour – One, so amazing!!
Today was amazing. I spent time with Craig and Lorraine, met some fun cast members, rode on a good number of fun rides, saw Emmy transformed into a Princess thanks to her Dad and took Roger, Gene and Lukas to the Ducks vs Sharks game which we won in overtime!! The seats were amazing, we all bought swag and even though I took a silly accidental scenic route home, we all had a blast.
This game was a great deal of funDr StrangeSoaring the WorkdMulan paradeDelicious lunch assembly lineRide is open again!Random dude, Duck loveAll bathrooms should have a cup/cell holderOffspring collabFree shirt upon arriving!I had the best giggle time this morning Spidey senses were set off
Mm Nutella pancakesSewing the zipper back in placePoinsettia!Tiki BirdsJungle CruiseSwiss Family RobinsonIndiana JonesStar Wars: Rise of the Resistance Acid SpitterSmuggler’s RunJessieIt’s a Small WorldLast minute Smugglers RunOga’s CantinaWe are the resistance Black TapSomething strange in the sky
I have just come back from a lovely visit with Craig and Lorraine who drove up from Santa Barbara. We drank Brandy and caught up. Tomorrow will come soon. I am going to photo dump so I can circle back and write the stories when I have time. Today was extraordinary
Is groot checking out my cleavage?Jake won!Worst expensive drink everGamora has great bootsRoger picked them out matching outfits Emmy read this in a low voice and said “see, I used my low key voice”. (She’s 6)This made me cryAsh, Gene, Lukas and Will in that cage
Emmy was up just before 6 which was pretty great as it was typical with the time change. I however was not ready to get up, my shoulders ached, hands tingled and hips burned. I very much regret forgetting my nerve pain pills, especially with all the walking we are doing. I did drag myself up and got showered and dressed to walk next door with everyone for an excellent grab and go type breakfast. I had a mocha smoothie and a sesame bagel with cream cheese and avocado. It was exactly what I needed to kick off the day. Once all were fed we walked the couple blocks to the shuttle. I hung back with Bill who is having a harder time walking these days. He has suffered hard work and accidents over the years that are wearing him out, sadly. It was a pleasant chat and walk and we all fit on the first shuttle that came. A beautiful day was at hand with promises of a high of 27. I borrowed Emmy’s (Gwen’s) backpack to carry sandals, snacks and water among other things. I sure am glad I did!
I am going to drop a bunch of photos and circle back to stories if I can. It was a very full day!!
It began with multiple trips through The Secret Life of Pets that was so well done, even the waiting areas are full of entertainment. We didn’t have to wait at all and Gene was great helping his Père, as they call him. I enjoyed spending time with Lukas and then Sawyer.
Finally The Minion ride opened and I had so much fun watching Sawyer and Emmy. Sawyer was so convinced that we were turned into Minions that Rae said he looked down to check. Of course I love minions and GRU and the girls and enjoyed the whole dang thing. It is such great escapism.
Jake, Sawyer and I took Emmy on her first roller coaster ride and she seemed to love it! It is short and not to stressful and she did ask if she could raise her hands up which was a good sign.
I am glad my kids and two youngest grands agreed to go on the Studio Tour with me. There were a few new things and the earthquake one isn’t working at the moment. Some of the references are old but I still enjoyed it. Only wish I could have thought ahead to make it to a voice or other show, taping.
Krusty the Clown was next and then we ate wicked awesome corn dogs while the kids enjoyed the dinosaurs. Sawyer is absolutely convinced that he helped train a real one. He is just so adorable. I tried to video it but it didn’t work. We rode the Jurassic Park ride next and got wet and had fun before Sawyer and I rode the Transformers one and then met the Simpsons and got a pic with Krusty!! I shared a Lard Lad Donut with everyone before we went on the KungFu Panda adventure and shopped out way out of the park.
One of us may have managed to get this pic of the great time on Jurassic
There is a toss up for my favourite purchases of the day, my new windbreaker, purse, game, or t-shirt. There were other small things like enamel pins to complete my purse and a few gifts along the way.
What I did not do was spend any money at the expensive stores in Universal City Walk. There were many shiny things to tempt and I love walking hand in hand with my 16 year old grandson at his request. He is just a ball of love and goodness, our Gene. A handsome, athletic, intelligent young man who even by his speech was asked by a store clerk if he was in AP. I love him so.
We split up early evening. Ashlée, Bill and Deanne went to Bubba Gumps and I joined the rest at the Roadside Taco restaurant. The food was amazing and the chef took extra care to chop me up tomato, avocado and slaw so that there would be no peppers on my shrimp tacos. The double margaritas, with mezcal and fresh muddled raspberries, were delicious and the place is a special little gem on Ventura Blvd.
Once back in the room I did tidy ready for tomorrow, Emmy had a shower and fell asleep easily and it didn’t take Jake long to fall deep asleep either. It is now 9:45, very early for me, but I have my loops in and I am going to drift off as we are heading to Disneyland tomorrow
There may just be too many details in this day! I was up at 4 am with 3 alarms set as I had tried to go to bed early and wasn’t very successful falling asleep easily, and then woke up at 1230 and 2 before it was alarm time. I jumped in the shower, packed the last few things, stopped at RBC to get US cash out of the machine (yes that is a new thing), and then headed to the airport
Everyone was there already with Emmy on the way. I got so caught up with the excitement of getting her through, especially after she was random selected for swabbing, that I forgot to pay for my parking and the app did not function well so I was advised by the WestJet agent just to use the kiosk. It was 64 for the week! Back through security again and finally we were loading and on our way. It was a small plane to Calgary and a bit bumpy but everyone seemed to take it well. Once in Calgary Emmy and I used the moving sidewalks for the first part of our long way between gates and then caught the cool shuttle the rest of the way. We had stopped at Duty Free and I didn’t feel guilty at all about putting it in her suitcase. We were on a flight to a different airport and left an hour later than everyone else so we sat and I had breakfast while she managed to spill her apple juice. Thankfully none got on any travel stuff. We were able to check her carry on through for free and that helped a lot. Unfortunately we got the only row with a window seat with no window. That was disappointing but we rolled with it and had a very nice journey. She coloured and modeled clay and snacked on goldfish and listened to music and chatted. I read and napped a bit and chatted. I had bought a travel pillow years ago and finally tried it out. I love it!! It attaches to the seat so it supports your head and cushions it in an upright positions and fits back into a lovely bag. And finally we were landed in California.
We made our way down to the baggage carousel where Jake came and met us. Emmy the monkey put on a show as usual
I was super impressed with the Alamo rental vehicle they had for us. It is a 2024 Chrysler Pacifica with all the bells and whistles and a leather interior. It will take 7 of us to our hotel near Disneyland on Monday. They even had a booster seat available for us to use as I had also forgotten to get that from Danika. This was actually easier than bringing one. Ashlée was waiting for us at the hotel on Ventura Blvd as I had the tickets to Universal for the 4 of us. We unloaded the car and walked a couple blocks to the stop for the shuttle up to Universal City and Studios. Emmy was so excited to get a picture with an actual palm tree
It was all just so much fun and overstimulating and we were already exhausted. The pictures tell the stories but the highlights for me were definitely Super Mario World. I hung with the three youngest and we had a lot of fun as I bought the OneUp Band and we could play all the fun games together while the others were all in a very long line to do Mario Kart Racing. I don’t think any of them thought it was worth the wait. I was so glad that I got in the line for pictures with Mario and Luigi as everyone came together for the first real time all day and we got some great shots. That was on my list of must do while here. Luigi was a little frisky, lol. He kept squeezing me and hip bumping. I thought it was hilarious.
We decided everyone needed food so headed out of the area, up the big levels of escalators, through Springfield and stopped at various places to eat. Rae, Roger, Gene, Will, Sawyer and I all ate at Three Broomsticks in the Harry Potter area. It was so delicious and I bought special ButterBeer in a collector glass for Will and Dragon Scale Lager in a WartHog glass for me.
After dinner, Rae, Will and I headed to check out the rest of the HP area and go on rides while the other guys headed down to do The Mummy. We had a blast, going twice on the main ride which was so fun, and once on a very short roller coaster.
Two new things since I was here last are free lockers that use your fingerprint to lock and open them so you can put stuff in them that may fly away on a ride… and Child and parent areas where one parent can sit with a kid while the other rides, and then they switch
We all got in line and went on The Mummy which was fun and did not impress Will at all as there were parts that freaked him out. He and I rushed back to try to get into Mario Kart and it was the slowest time of the day, only a half hour or so wait. I am glad we did as I can say that I beat the game by doing all the things in that area of the park. And it was fun to do it with my Will. Unfortunately we caused Rae some stress. By now everyone was super tired. Only the 6 Guedes’s and I were left standing, all others having gone back to the hotel. We held them up, Will’s fingerprint was the one on the locker with Rae’s bag and my watch had already died and phone was about to. Tomorrow I shall be better prepared.
We dragged our tired selves up to the top to catch the shuttle back down so we could walk the few blocks back to the hotel. I stopped with Gene so he could grab food at FatBurger next door. I got beverages as I was so dehydrated. Tomorrow I shall be better prepared.
Once back at the hotel, I didn’t really have to worry about waking up Jake or Emmy as they didn’t even move when a helicopter started circling above and even shined a light in our room and around the property. I stepped out of the room onto the deck and the light passed over me so I thought better of it and came in to double lock the door. The whole thing was over in 5 minutes or so but it is a noisy area this Ventura Blvd.
triumphgal 