This blog entry is started by Sarah while Alan sleeps.
Even though check-in had only just opened, there were already about 40 people ahead of
The individual entertainment units were great (I watched Mad Max before bedtime), the food was so-so and the plane seats were very hard. On the return trip we are both going to try and score an extra pillow to sit on. Not much sleep was had by me. Alan, on the other hand, could sleep standing up.
The accommodation we had in 2007 is just next door but I chose this one so Alan didn’t have as far to walk to Denny’s and also, to see whether the free breakfast was any better. We weren’t disappointed, but more about that later.
We checked into the room and decided before showering we’d hit Denny’s for dinner. I had a feeling that as soon as we’d showered we wouldn’t feel like going out.
First thing ordered at Denny’s was the Minute Maid Lemonade. Hello my old friend. I so wish we could get that stuff in Australia. Maybe when Costco opens we might get lucky.
For all those food lovers who always like to know what we are eating, here we go:
Sarah: The Super Bird: thinly sliced turkey, bacon, tomato and melted swiss cheese on a toasted sourdough bread served with fries and ranch dressing.
Alan:
Unfortunately there was no room for dessert although Alan did say he would come down during
So we turned in for an early night.
This morning we got up at about 8am and hit the free breakfast. It was a vast improvement on the next door
Then it was time to go to Knotts Berry Farm. We had discovered we could get the bus for $1.25 each but we couldn’t work out from the website which side of the road we needed to be on to pick up the bus. When we asked the hotel’s reception, she told us we would need to get one bus and change to another. That wasn’t right but instead of arguing with her, we decided to just drive and pay the $12 parking. We are glad that we did, just for the convenience.
The park opened at 10am and we arrived at 10.30 to find very few cars in the car park. On approaching the gate we saw a number of school groups but once we got into the park we found that the place was virtually empty. No waiting times for any rides which is just what you want in an amusement park. We are hoping Magic Mountain will be like that on Wednesday and we can only hope Disneyland/California Adventure will be like that tomorrow, but I suspect Disney is always busy.
So, now on to Alan to talk about his ride adventures.
It’s always fun to go to an amusement park for the first time. New exciting rides woohoo! I rode 5 coasters and even managed to get the normally wussy Sarah to ride the small steel "Jaguar" coaster with me. We also went on the water rides together; the log flume and the river rapids, as they're much more sedate than the extreme type coasters that Sarah makes me go on alone. Oh and we were all set to go on the "Perilous Plunge" boat ride together when Sarah had to call the attendant over to let her off because her gigantic oversized boobies were too much for the over-shoulder harness to manage.
He will fill you in on his ride tales later in red.
Sunday afternoon we bid a sad farewell to our little kitties and left them in the very
capable hands of our housesitters Mark & Vivien. Dad took us to the airport and dropped us off
at our gate before doing battle with very bad traffic for his trip home, sorry Dad!
capable hands of our housesitters Mark & Vivien. Dad took us to the airport and dropped us off
at our gate before doing battle with very bad traffic for his trip home, sorry Dad!
Even though check-in had only just opened, there were already about 40 people ahead of
us. However, 20 minutes later we were checked in and quickly through immigration, the security check and then the secondary security check which seems to always be conducted for US flights.
The V Australia flight was on a 777-300 plane, high ceilings, the luggage bins above
the seats angle up so you have a feeling of space above you. Also, being V Australia, we had various
lighting patterns which, I believe, is to make you feel like you’re a rockstar. The only thing I didn’t like
is that you don’t have individual airflows but I was sitting on the aisle and
had a plane air vent over me so I was well and truly cooled. I’m naturally cool of course, so it didn’t worry me at all.
the seats angle up so you have a feeling of space above you. Also, being V Australia, we had various
lighting patterns which, I believe, is to make you feel like you’re a rockstar. The only thing I didn’t like
is that you don’t have individual airflows but I was sitting on the aisle and
had a plane air vent over me so I was well and truly cooled. I’m naturally cool of course, so it didn’t worry me at all.
The individual entertainment units were great (I watched Mad Max before bedtime), the food was so-so and the plane seats were very hard. On the return trip we are both going to try and score an extra pillow to sit on. Not much sleep was had by me. Alan, on the other hand, could sleep standing up.
We arrived in LA 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Immigration here has changed since 2007 and there were many many queues to choose from (unlike the 1 we faced in 2007) and it only took 5 minutes from
the time we joined the queue, until we were outside with our bags, waiting for the shuttle to take us to the car hire place.
the time we joined the queue, until we were outside with our bags, waiting for the shuttle to take us to the car hire place.
We got to choose any car we wanted from Section 1. There was a Ford Focus, a Kia, Chrysler PT Cruiser and several others but we choose the Chevy Cobalt, black. Has a lot of luggage room and we hope we get something similar to drive around Canada. It's a very nice car to drive and had only 3006 miles on the odometer when we picked it up.
We were quickly on our way to Anaheim with the streets becoming more familiar as we drove.
The accommodation we had in 2007 is just next door but I chose this one so Alan didn’t have as far to walk to Denny’s and also, to see whether the free breakfast was any better. We weren’t disappointed, but more about that later.
We checked into the room and decided before showering we’d hit Denny’s for dinner. I had a feeling that as soon as we’d showered we wouldn’t feel like going out.
First thing ordered at Denny’s was the Minute Maid Lemonade. Hello my old friend. I so wish we could get that stuff in Australia. Maybe when Costco opens we might get lucky.
For all those food lovers who always like to know what we are eating, here we go:
Sarah: The Super Bird: thinly sliced turkey, bacon, tomato and melted swiss cheese on a toasted sourdough bread served with fries and ranch dressing.
Alan:
Grilled chicken breasts smothered in Sweet & Tangy BBQ sauce served with smoked Cheddar mashed potatoes, fiesta corn and dinner bread.
Unfortunately there was no room for dessert although Alan did say he would come down during
the night while I was sleeping. That didn’t happen of course.
So we turned in for an early night.
This morning we got up at about 8am and hit the free breakfast. It was a vast improvement on the next door
hotel from 2007 which only served cereal and hard boiled eggs. This morning we could have had cereal, eggs, sausages, bacon, waffles, toast, French toast, bagels and donuts. There was also a variety of fruit, different juices, chocolate milk and of course coffee and tea for those inclined.
Then it was time to go to Knotts Berry Farm. We had discovered we could get the bus for $1.25 each but we couldn’t work out from the website which side of the road we needed to be on to pick up the bus. When we asked the hotel’s reception, she told us we would need to get one bus and change to another. That wasn’t right but instead of arguing with her, we decided to just drive and pay the $12 parking. We are glad that we did, just for the convenience.
The park opened at 10am and we arrived at 10.30 to find very few cars in the car park. On approaching the gate we saw a number of school groups but once we got into the park we found that the place was virtually empty. No waiting times for any rides which is just what you want in an amusement park. We are hoping Magic Mountain will be like that on Wednesday and we can only hope Disneyland/California Adventure will be like that tomorrow, but I suspect Disney is always busy.
So, now on to Alan to talk about his ride adventures.
It’s always fun to go to an amusement park for the first time. New exciting rides woohoo! I rode 5 coasters and even managed to get the normally wussy Sarah to ride the small steel "Jaguar" coaster with me. We also went on the water rides together; the log flume and the river rapids, as they're much more sedate than the extreme type coasters that Sarah makes me go on alone. Oh and we were all set to go on the "Perilous Plunge" boat ride together when Sarah had to call the attendant over to let her off because her gigantic oversized boobies were too much for the over-shoulder harness to manage.
We did go up the observation tower to have a nice scenic view of the park. It was kind of difficult though, given that the windows obviously hadn't been cleaned since the day the park opened. I was unable to go on the biggest coaster in the park, Xcelerator. Apparently all the staff who know how to operate that ride have quit, so new staff need to be trained. Bummer! We also caught the Wild West stunt show which was short but fun.
With so few people in the park we were out of there by early afternoon. I must try to remember that I'm not in Australia, and as such I must look both ways when entering roads and not turn blindly into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road. Lucky there wasn't a semi trailer coming our way. I'm sure Sarah must have been distracting me at the time. No, the problem was that I failed to remind you when you turned on the street. Scared me and about 10 other cars to death.
Dinner tonight was at Acapulco Mexican restaurant. We've been there on each of our previous visits to California, but we keep coming back as it's awesome food. After returning to our hotel we watched the Disneyland fireworks from our balcony and took some long exposure night shots, followed by a quick dessert trip to Dennys.
Anyway, we should probably get some sleep since we have another big day tomorrow when we wander across the road to Disneyland and California Adventure.
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