TR: The Gil Family Takes Southern California... But Mostly Disneyland!

[Marc Gil]

I finally uploaded all my photos on the computer from my August trip and I was debating whether or not to post a TR, but I decided that I would do it anyway. FYI, this is my first full length TR, so please bear with me lol.
So without further ado...
Sit back, Relax, and Enjoy my TR!

Now let's see, where do I begin? Oh yes. Let me start up by introducing you to the Gil Family.

Hi, I'm Marc. I've been posting on WDWMAGIC for almost a year, but I've been observing for quite some time. I just turned 18 years old in June (people say I look 13, but I guess that's good, right?)

Now let me introduce you to my brother Christian. He's 14 and also loves Disney. He's not as much of a crazy nut like me, but he's getting there.

Did I mention he loves Oswald?
Next up are my parents. Mr. Gil wasn't very enthusiastic on going to Disneyland, but we managed to brighten him up. Mrs.Gil however loves Disney, and absolutely LOVES sunny California, so it wasn't a problem for her.

My loving parents....
Alrighty! Now that I got you introduced it's time to start from the beginning!

Day 1: August 2nd, 2013
At about 5:00 in the morning, I heard my Dad knocking at my door to wake me up. My alarm was set for 5:30, but I got up anyway because I was super excited. I literally got ready in less than 15 minutes, I packed the car, ate breakfast, and was ready to go by 5:45.
Everyone was ready to go... except my Mom. My Mom is famous (rather infamous) for taking super long to get ready. My Dad was fuming. Our flight was at 7:20, and my Dad said that we had to be out of the house by 6:00, but to my Mom 6:00 meant 6:30. We were all anxious to just get out of our house. Finally, at about 6:15, we were out the door, and we zoomed to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport.
When we got to FLL, it was packed! The airport security line was super crowded. We barely made it to our flight, as we were one of the last people to board. Finally, we sat in our seats, and we were relieved. Just look at our smiles

Well... our fake smiles. We were still tired from getting up so early

My Dad was already plugged in watching Comedy Central on the TV monitors.

We finally took off. The flight itself wasn't very long, only 4 1/2 hours. We were used to 5 1/2 hours, because we almost always fly to San Francisco during our Cali visits, so we were pleasantly surprised on how fast it took.
We landed at about 10:00 (9:40ish) at LAX. We got our bags, and headed to Garden Grove to check in at our hotel. But since we arrived early, we were not able to check in because our room wan't available, so we just went to Downtown Disney for an early lunch. It was only 5 minutes away.

We ate here at Naples. The pizza was as delicious and authentic as they say. It was so crispy and the sauce they used was awesome. My parents were even impressed (they had eaten at pizza in Naples, Italy.)

We decided to take some pics in DD. Now I'd hate to leave you guys off now, but it's almost 3:00 in the morning here in FL, and I totally lost track of the time.
So... Coming Soon:
A continuation of Day 1 at the Farmer's Market in LA, A tour of my hotel, and of course DISNEYLAND! So stay tuned!

 

[Californian Elitist]

You and your brother look just alike! I can barely tell you two apart. Looking forward to the rest.

 

[TP2000]

I see you flew Virgin America, so your family obviously has good taste. Can't wait to see the rest of the TR!

 

[TuffyCatt]

Can't wait to hear more about your trip! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[teacherlady19]

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

 

[Marc Gil]

You and your brother look just alike! I can barely tell you two apart. Looking forward to the rest.

Lol. I get that a lot. I still can't see how I look like him

 

[Marc Gil]

Okay, I'm back with a continuation of Day 1!
I left you guys off right after we finished lunch at Naples (which was amazing by the way) and now let's continue! After we ate lunch, we decided to take a walk up Downtown Disney and into the Disneyland Esplanade to buy our tickets. We purchased to Southern California CityPass which included admission to Disneyland for 3 days (plus 1 magic morning), Sea World, and Universal Studios. My Dad got a good deal from his job, so we were actually saving money buying this pass to go to Universal and Sea World than rather going to Disneyland for 3 days.
Anyway while my Dad was purchasing the tickets, my brother and I walked up to the Disneyland entrance and saw all those happy people entering it's gates. It sounds corny, but I literally almost shed a tear while exploring the esplanade. It was a magical moment for me. Anyway we decided to take some pictures along the way:

Well, one picture... I couldn't find the others I had taken on my drive, but don't worry! There's a lot more pics on the way!
After walking around and taking in all the sights, it got me to want to visit Disneyland the next day. We originally planned to go to Disneyland on Sunday, two days after we landed, but this little side-trip to the esplanade got me hyped! So my brother and I begged my Dad.... and after a few minutes of goo goo eyes and sad puppy dog faces, he finally said yes.
And so, we exited the esplanade happily, and headed back to our hotel. Our room was finally ready for checking in. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Anaheim South, which we practically stayed in for free because of our HHonors Points. The hotel itself was pretty nice, not spectacular by any means (maybe I'm a bit spoiled from staying at various Disney resorts). But Here's a few photos of the hotel and it's grounds:

This was the atrium. This is also where we ate our breakfast and such. I'm guessing our hotel was African themed because it had a restaurant named Serengeti (not to mention the lion Animatronic on top of the rock work lol).

(See the Disneyland booth in the corner? )

(The cascading waterfalls of the atrium)
Now I invite you into our hotel room! We rented a one bedroom suite, but unfortunately, I had to share the couch bed with my brother. As you can see, Christian didn't mind

I should have taken a better picture of the master bedroom, but here's the King Size bed (which I heard was very comfortable ).

Finally, here's our view from the Master Bedroom window:

(Is that the convention center I see?)
After getting settled in our room, we spent a few minutes discussing on what we might do later. We were thinking about visiting Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Blvd, etc. We finally decided that we would visit the Farmer's Market at the Grove. While searching on TripAdvisor, I saw that it had rave reviews, and that many people had said that it's a great place to shop and eat, so we were sold on the idea.

(One last picture before we leave!)
After being in traffic for nearly an hour, we finally arrived at the Grove. Let me tell you, this place was awesome. They had great live entertainment and wide variety of shops. Their Barnes and Noble was HUGE! Christian was shaking in his boots when he saw that thing! It's a book lover's dream!

(Walking through the Grove)
*Now I've reached my file uploading limit! I'll upload another post following this one as soon as possible. Thank's for following along so far! Sorry! *
Coming Soon: The Famed Farmer's Market, Christian's Book Frenzy, The Griffith Observatory, and of course DISNEYLAND! Stay tuned!

 

[Californian Elitist]

What an interesting-looking hotel. You can't go wrong with an almost free hotel stay.

Beautiful photo of The Grove. Like your brother, I love books and reading as well. That Barnes and Noble can be bad for people like us.

 

[Marc Gil]

I'm back with yet another continuation of Day 1! Don't worry, Disneyland is on the way! I'll try not to emphasize as much lol.
Anyway, I left off showing you guys some photos of the Grove. Now I bring you the one...the only... Los Angeles Farmer's Market:

(My Dad with his two loving sons)

The Farmer's Market was great. All the little shops and food stands were very intriguing. It smelled wonderful inside there. My parents and my brother couldn't resist the delicious temptations, so they bought some fresh hand-dipped ice cream from one of the vendors. I tried so hard to resist. It was almost dinner time and I didn't want to spoil my appetite. But there was one dessert that got the best of me, and that dessert was the Pecan Pie at Du-Par's Bakery. It delicious! Sweet and just plain yummy! I wish I would've taken a photo!

After we filled our bellies with yummy goodness, we headed back to the Grove to visit the famed 3 story Barnes and Noble. It was just as big as everyone said:

(My phone's panorama feature kinda screwed up a little bit, but here it is in all it's glory!)
Now Christian loves books, so coming here was like entering the gates of heaven. We was going crazy looking at all the books here.They literally had everything. I myself was in awe on how much celebrities were on schedule to sign their books here! Anyway he bought about three books, one of them being the Jaws Log (Did I mention he LOVES sharks?), so I could see that this trip made his day even more epic.

After exploring the massive Barnes and Noble, we searched for a place to grab dinner. We ate at Morel's French Steakhouse, which was very good. We sat in the upstairs patio, and boy was it cold! We were used to the 90 degree weather from Florida, so this definitely surprised us! I wasn't that hungry so I had a side order of their Macaroni Au Gratin, which was very tasty. It was creamy, cheesy, and it was just the perfect portion. Both my Mom and Dad shared the Steak and Fries and both said that it was very good. My brother on the other hand had the Seafood Fettuccine. He also said it was delicious.

Following our dinner, we all decided that we would head up the Hollywood Hills and visit the Griffith Observatory. Now I've always wanted to visit here because it was the filming location for two of one of my favorite movies : Rebel Without a Cause and Terminator.
Here are some photos I took during my visit: (Warning: they're kind of dark)

(I felt like James Dean! lol)

(Look what I found! The original rebel immortalized! It's so sad that he died so young )

(Sorry for the blurry shot- It's 100x better when you're there in person. But would you look at that view!)

Unfortunately, when we got to the Observatory, the museum was closing, so we took advantage of the time and took a few more photos inside:

(It's gorgeous inside!)

(Wow! Look at that ceiling!)
The Griffith Observatory was absolutely breathtaking. If you haven't visited it yet, I highly recommend that you try it out.

By that time, we were all pooped out from taking pictures and hanging around, and we decided that it was time to go back to our hotel. Let me tell you, we were EXHAUSTED! Remember, this is still Day 1. I had absolutely zero sleep the night before, and no sleep on the plane, so I was trying to keep myself awake. We were all beat from our first day, but sure took advantage of it!

We finally arrived at our hotel at 11:30 (and there was still traffic from LA to Garden Grove! ) and we all quickly went to sleep, excited for all the fun that was waiting to happen on Day 2.

Coming Soon: Disneyland Day 1- Our first "Magic Morning", A surprise family encounter, and the wrath of the bumpy, congested Matterhorn! Thanks for keeping up with me so far. Stay Tuned!

 

[TuffyCatt]

What great pictures! Reading all these awesome trip reports just keeps showing all the reasons I need to get my East coast self back to CA for real...

 

[Californian Elitist]

You didn't have to rush the non-Disneyland days lol.

Griffith Park, down from Griffith Observatory, is also where Walt Disney watched his children on the carousel and thought there should be a place of entertainment for both children and adults.

I wonder what that place turned out to be?

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sounds like a good trip so far. The Farmer's Market was one of my favorites on my 2012 trip. I loved all the food stands, it was tough deciding where to eat.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I forgot to mention, the high school I attended is right up the street from The Grove/Farmer's Market. About a 3 minute drive. I can't believe it's already been three years since I graduated.

 

[Marc Gil]

Sounds like a good trip so far. The Farmer's Market was one of my favorites on my 2012 trip. I loved all the food stands, it was tough deciding where to eat.

It was so difficult! Everything looked and smelled so good!

I forgot to mention, the high school I attended is right up the street from The Grove/Farmer's Market. About a 3 minute drive. I can't believe it's already been three years since I graduated.

Really? That's crazy! I know, time goes by so fast!

 

[teacherlady19]

I'm glad you mentioned the celebrity list at the Grove's B & N store. They seem to have 2-3 authors come in to sign their books, every week. Many of them are TV and movie celebs that are touting their memoir.

Griffith Park is very large. There's a golf course there, and many TV shows have used that as a filming spot. There's the Zoo there, a Planetarium, and yes there are playgrounds and picnic areas.

This link takes you to the Griffith Park Carousel. I wasn't sure if it still existed. (In my roamings of that park, I never thought to look! I know, BAD of me for a Disney fan!)
http://www.laparks.org/dos/parks/griffithpk/mgr.htm

Donna

 

[Californian Elitist]

More like an old, abandoned, creepy, yet interesting zoo.

 

[Marc Gil]

Hey guys, I'm back with Day 2: DISNEYLAND, AUGUST 3RD, 2013

As you already know, we came back from the Griffith Observatory (Day 1) exhausted. Nobody got any sleep on the plane or the night before, so you can just imagine how cranky everyone was....
Anyway, Day 2 started early for us... At 5:30 in the morning! Let me remind you that we all went to sleep at around 12:30, but anyway, my brother and I woke up excitedly that morning after receiving a wake up call from Donald Duck. It was still dark outside. All the lights in the lobby/atrium were even dimmed.
After we showered and got dressed, we headed downstairs for some breakfast. Another perk about staying at an Embassy Suites is that there's get a free hot breakfast included with your stay. There's even an omelette station (which made Christian very happy)!
I ate very little, mainly because I don't really have an appetite that early in the morning, but Christian gladly went back for seconds at the buffet.

(Christian finishing his toast and scrambled eggs.)
The buffet was pretty much empty (keep in mind it was about 6:00 in the morning at the time), but there were still some people. I could tell a lot of them were heading to Disneyland like us. There were a handful of people who came down with their PJs on, which was kind of disturbing for the most part. I mean really, who wants to see all that?
We finally finished breakfast at around 6:30 and headed back to our room to wake up our Dad so he could drop us off. I tried asking him for the rental, but he pretty much laughed in my face (I'm not the best driver in the world, I get it!). So finally, after waiting 15 minutes for Dad to get ready, we finally headed out the door and drove straight to Disneyland- which was only a five minute drive.
And so after driving a few minutes, we arrived at the drop off section. Christian and I stormed out of the car, got our things, and strolled up the very empty esplanade.

(I starting getting a little emotional here .... lol)
And finally, at around 7:15 AM, we finally reached the Disneyland main gate!

We finally entered the park. It was so refreshing to see that turnstiles were still being used at the parks. Those RFID poles at the World just look awkward, and everyone seems to be confused by them. At Disneyland, it's a lot less hassle, and the lines to get in were generally faster. I also like how their Main Street Station didn't have that "Let the Memories Begin" sign at its base. The park looked just how I remembered it to be, so that was satisfying.
I was already starting to see how much smaller Disneyland is compared to the Magic Kingdom. The underpass from the entrance plaza to Main Street was considerably smaller.

Christian was super excited as you can plainly see...

Christian and I were simply wowed when we entered Main Street. We literally couldn't believe that we were actually there. It was a magical moment for both me and him.

Another thing that was great was that we had one magic morning included in our CityPass. Look at those crowds! It was totally worth it!

I had my map and autograph book ready!

The stores on Main Street were still closed. I just loved how they had brick walkways instead of red (pink) pavement like they do at MK.

I was also happy to see that they actually still have a Main Street cinema, not a gift shop.
Here's some more photos I took at Main Street:
Carnation Cafe

This is just giving you an idea on how empty it was.

We finally reached the end of Main Street. Now Cast Members were checking our tickets to see if we had Magic Mornings included in our ticket.

We were cleared! Now the park was even more empty! I got even more excited when I saw the Matterhorn.

Astro Orbiter looking mighty fine!

See that crowd in back of the Partners statue? That's everyone else waiting to get in.

Christian and me in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty's Cottage.
Time was flying by real fast! It was already almost 8:00. So took a few more shots, and walked into Sleeping Beauty Castle to enter Fantasyland. When we entered, it was almost like I dream. Inside the castle they played the Cliff Edward's version (the original and best version) of "When You Wish
upon a Star". It literally gave me goosebumps. It was magical. All of a sudden, before I knew it, we we in the heart of Fantasyland.
Fantasyland was absolutely gorgeous. It was nicer than I remembered. I guess now I could appreciate the architecture more. It was like I stepped into another world.
Let me tell you, I have never felt this sort of joy at the Magic Kingdom, ever. It was so unreal, it's just too hard to explain. Anyway, I'm getting a little choked up thinking about it...Ahem.. Okay now back to the Trip Report!
The first ride we rode was Peter Pan's Flight, which considerably better than Orlando's.

The best part about PPF was the wait time. We only had to wait 10 minutes. Later during the day, the wait time only reached about 40 minutes, which is nothing compared to the eternity that you wait in MK.

My favorite scene in PPF was when you fly above Neverland. Those twinkling stars were gorgeous. I tried to take pictures inside, but it was too dark. I wish I had a better camera

I loved the mural here.

Christian was so excited. We were almost ready to board. I found boarding to be much faster at Disneyland's version of PPF, even though we have an omnimover type ride at MK. Maybe it's because Disneyland's PPF has no Fastpass.
After we rode Peter Pan, we quickly strolled to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
I haven't been on Toad in YEARS, and it was great to see Toad in all his glory, even though the attraction was a little twisted and strange.

Me being a typical tourist.

Christian posing with Mr. J Thaddeus Toad himself.
Well about 2 minutes later, we had noticed that the park had opened to everyone.

GO BACK HOME!!! Lol just kidding.
After our discovery, we knew by now the stores were opening, so we headed to the Mad Hatter where Christian picked up a pair of Mouse Ears to be like his older brother.

We then decided to visit Alice in Wonderland.

I had no pictures inside the ride, so here's Christian shortly before we rode Mad Tea Party.
So following our adventures in wonderland, and spinning 'round in a teacup, we decided that it was time to conquer the mighty Matterhorn!

We asked to sit in the front bobsled, because there was no way I was going to get whiplash and get my back and neck messed up. Let's just say it really didn't matter where we sat. Those bobsleds were so crammed. I felt awkward as I was sitting down. It reminded me of that scene in the Grinch (Jim Carey version) when he was riding in that tiny car around Whoville. The ride itself started out pretty smooth, but then it got really bumpy. We rode on the Tomorrowland side. That thing thrashed us about and really beat us up, but hey, it was fun! Harold scared the living daylights out of me twice. First being when you see his red eyes, second being our final encounter. I don't remember his roar being that loud!

After a ride like that, we decided that we would rest up a bit, so we decided to ride "it's a small world"

The facade is gorgeous, but the ride itself was pretty similar to the one in MK, but with a few minor differences:
1. Disneyland's is more of a flume, unlike ours which the ground itself is flooded.
2. They have an entry room, unlike ours, which just jumps to Scandinavia
3. They have Disney characters scattered about (That was a new feature which was pretty cool).
4. They have mermaid scene in the Polynesian room.
5. They also have an America scene.
and finally 6.... Their finale is AMAZING! It's so much more vibrant and colorful than their eastern counterpart's. That really impressed me.
Oh, I forgot to mention their goodbye room was different.
Overall, I enjoyed Disneyland's "it's a small world" a lot more than Florida's.

Well now here's Christian reminding me that we should head to Storybookland before the lines get crazy!

When we arrived, the hostess in front informed us that the wait time was about 45 minutes, but she then said that the line over at Casey Jr was probably less than 10 minutes, so I guess that's what we decided to do next!

I was playing around with my panorama while queuing.
Anyway that's all I could post for now. I'm sorry to leave you guys at a cliffhanger lol.
Don't worry! I'll be back to tell you more soon, so STAY TUNED!

Coming Soon: More Disneyland
The Mr.& the Mrs.'s arrival, a surprise family encounter, a jazzy lunch, and a not so scary Indiana Jones Adventure!
Stay tuned for more and thanks for following along!

 

[Californian Elitist]

The more pictures I see of you and your brother, the more I don't believe you two look alike haha.

I honestly don't like the new bobsleds. "Crammed" would be the perfect word to describe these bobsleds. There's no space!!!!! The old ones had plenty of space. Whoever designed the new sleds must have been under the influence.

Harold scared the crap out of me as well, when I first ride after Matterhorn's long refurb last year. They updated the sound or something and now he's extra loud!

 

[TuffyCatt]

I love your shirts!

Your early morning pictures of Disneyland are really lovely. I like that you guys took the time to stop any take pictures during your early entry...I wish we had done that, but we high-tailed it to the rides, haha.

 

[Matt7187]

Good report so far! I usually don't read many of these, but glad I gave this one a shot.

I'm gonna write one of these from my trip I just came back from, but will wait for yours to end so we don't have overload! Haha