Adventures in Kazakhstan: Disneyland February 2008 Trip One for Dinara

Hello Everyone.

Well we have had a fun filled week. We returned from Disneyland yesterday and we had an amazing time! Thanks again to the generosity of Aunty Bridget we didn't have to pay for our accommodations. We also bought into the famous Disney Vacation Club on our first day. We set up an appointment with the agent as soon as we were at our hotel...The Disney Paradise Pier Hotel. We loved it! We have decided that Disneyland
isn't as good as Disneyworld but it was still a great time. We have lots of pictures and I mean lots of pictures (0ver 400) but I will only show a select few. If you want to see the rest you will have to come to Saskatoon and see my scrapbook (which I will be making as soon as I can). The weather on our trip was good but not great. It was rainy most days and cold (not obviously in comparison to Canada). We had only a day of good weather. It didn't stop us having fun though.

OK, OK now for some details...

Our first day we mostly got settled in our hotel. We did eat at the little cafe in our hotel first and foremost. I had the Cobb salad, Andrew had the turkey club and Dinara had chicken nuggets. The food was amazing and the servings were huge! I had a serving bowl full of salad and fixings. I couldn't believe it! Dinara's nuggets were sooooooo good too. They were actual chunks of chicken. After lunch we met up with Aunty Bridget (Mommy had forgotten Bridget's cell number at home) and was having problems getting a hold of her. However, after lunch I saw her in the lobby and squealed and ran towards her. We were just like little girls jumping up and down so excited to see one another. After this we got settled in our hotel room and walked around the Disneyland hotels until our vacation club reservation time. Signing up for the DVC took more time then we thought but we got lots of free things (hats, albums, fast passes, and gift cards) We then ate supper at the Wine Country Trattoria in Disney's California Adventure. It was good and we got to eat outside. So we ate at a restaurant outside in February. After supper Daddy and Dinara were tired so they went back to the hotel room to sleep. Aunty Bridget and I then ran around California Adventure (rode Hollywood Tower of Terror) and then ran over to Disneyland to hit a few rides there (Haunted Mansion, Tea Cups, and the Matadore). So much fun.

Day two began with breakfast at Lilo and Stitch's PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) Grill. This was our favorite character meal of all time. It was soooo much fun. The character breakfast starts with a family photo with Minnie and then the other characters (Stitch, Lilo, and Pluto) walk around, pose and interact with the guests. Andrew and I had never had so much time with characters at a meal before. Mommy made the mistake of having an omelet from the omelet bar...it tasted good but I think something touched shrimp so I felt yucky for most of the day. We then headed into Disneyland proper and walked around. We rode the main street train and entered Toontown. This was great. Dinara had a blast. We had lunch in Downtown Dinsey and then went back to the room for a nap. We then walked around Disneyland some more and left Aunty Bridget in California Adventure. We said our good byes and walked away a little sad at leaving our good friend. We didn't get much time with her but it was awesome as always. We then went for supper at Goofy's Kitchen. It was extremely expensive and Mommy wasn't hungry (as the shrimp reaction was still around). It was fun to see the kid's reaction to the new characters (especially seeing princess Jasmine). That made up for my lack of appetite.

Day three was breakfast in Disneyland in the Carnation Street Cafe. Here we had eggs benedict croissants with breakfast potatoes (that were to die for). Yummy, yummy! It was raining lots at this point and getting cold. Good thing we had Dinara's winter coat and lots of layers to wear...unlike most of the tourists we saw. We had a great breakfast but saw a tonne of people in the park. We then decided because of all the people and the lines that we were going over to California Adventure instead. Here we rode Mike and Scully's Monsters Inc. Ride (twice), went and saw Muppet 3D, went through the entire Bugs Life area (for toddlers), and ended with a nap in the hotel room. Lunch was Mexican in Mission Tortilla Factory. I thought it was good but Andrew isn't really a Mexican fan (bean and all). We then went over to Disneyland and rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Dumbo (Dinara's favorite), and Nemo Subs. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! Andrew also rode the Matadore himself. He enjoyed it where is Mommy didn't. Supper was at the Rainforest Cafe. Daddy thought it was too loud and over stimulating. Dinara seemed ok with it and Mommy (being deaf) didn't find it too loud at all. The food was really good though! Mommy had a bacon cheeseburger, Daddy had a buffalo chicken salad, and Dinara had grilled cheese. We then went back into Disneyland to ride some more rides.

Day four began with breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel. Dinara loved this! The breakfast is a character one with all animals (Chip, Dale, Miko(?), Turk, and Koda(?)). She loved seeing all the animals and even surprised Mommy with how excited she got. We then went over to California adventure and rode a bunch of rides there (The ferris wheel, Triton's carousel just to name a few). We then walked over to Disneyland and rode some there too. We ate lunch at Minnie's restaurant in Disneyland (can't remember the name right now)...fried chicken and mashed potatoes. It was excellent. Andrew and Dinara went back to the room to nap and Mommy went shopping in Downtown Disney. We ended with supper at Yamabuki. This is the japanese restaurant in the Paradise Pier Hotel. It was also amazing. I know I keep saying this but the food here is really good. Expensive but good. I finished with some packing and then getting a fitful sleep.

The end. Well for this trip at least. Here are some pictures.

The first two are of Aunty Bridget and Dinara at the Main Street Train Station: