The W's go West, May 2015 TR COMPLETED

Day 7, Las Vegas

I did not sleep well, Sy kept me up pretty much ALL night. I am not a happy bunny with no sleep. We got up and started to get dressed and get moving at about 8am.

We headed out at about 9 to a place at one of the outlets which sells discounted show tickets, my friend had told me about it before we came and said to go early which is what we did, only there wasn't anything that we really wanted to see that was discounted so we gave up with that idea and instead went in search of some foooood. We went into fashion show mall and headed up to the food court. Sy and Jane got a breakfast subway while I had a panda express, I was on holiday though so its allowed

After eating we had a mooch around the shops, went into The Disney store and got a few things, plus Hot Topic for more Disney items We then went to look around some more hotels. In the Mirage we went to look around the Secret Garden and Dolphin sanctuary. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours, it was soooo hot out though, by the time we had paid and gone inside we already needed to stop for a drink. We sat down with drinks just as they started doing a talk about the dolphins so we watched that for a bit and I took a million pictures lol

We then went through to see the big cats. Was amazing to see guys in with them and how they trusted each other.

While we were in there Siegfried (from the duo & Roy) was walking around meeting guests and thanking them for visiting his exhibition. He was such a lovely man! He seemed genuinely happy to see everyone, we grabbed a quick picture with him.

It was so hot out so we decided to escape the heat and go in search of a late lunch, and I knew just where I wanted to go, Sweet Tomatoes! Sy and Jane had never been to one and honestly, they did not have high hopes for an all-you-can-eat salad buffet haha, in fact they were only going along to humour me cause I was really excited about it, even driving 15-20 minutes away from the strip just to visit it.

Well they were both pleasantly surprised and said how much they enjoyed it Sy's even asked we put it on the list to eat at when we are in Orlando next See, they should always just trust me hehehe

Full and happy we drove back to the hotel.

We went for a quick swim in the pool for about an hour before heading back up to the room to get ready for a night out.

Quick selfie in the mirror before heading out.

We were off to Mandalay Bay tonight to visit MiX bar up on the top floor. We were all looking snazzy. We parked up and headed inside the hotel, I had reserved us a table at House of Blues but we were running late to go to the bar first so we made our way over and asked if we could take the table a bit later, no problem, so off we went to find the bar.

Selfie on the way.

We went into MiX downstairs and it has a private lift to take you up to the bar. We got in the lift which was on the outside of the building and up we went! I'm not scared of heights but even that was enough to make me feel a bit funny.

Inside the bar we ordered some Cocktails, Jane and I both had a Queen Eleanor which Sy had a mojito. The barman was pretty good right up to the point when he gave us the bill and went to walk away but turned around to tell us that we needed to tip him. I know British people are bad tippers however we aren't, so he shouldn't pre-judge us and expect that we wont tip him! It really peed me off. We did still tip him btw, I maybe wouldn't have after he told us to but Jane paid for the drinks so it was her call, she's nicer than me

We made the drinks last, at $16 each we didn't really want to order more! We grabbed a seat in the window and watched the pretty lights outside. There was a balcony but all the seats out there were taken.

When our drinks were finished we went outside to try and get some pictures.

Afterwards we headed downstairs to House of Blues. I was feeling a bit dodgy so decided to skip on eating, I didn't want a repeat of what happened in Cheesecake Factory, so I got a diet coke while Jane and Sy got some food. Our waitress was SO lovely, the first who had been really chatty and friendly. Sy got a Jambalaya while Jane went for a burger which they both loved. I did have food envy as I was hungry, was better not to risk it though.

We paid the bill and were some of the last people in there even though it was only about 10pm. We then left and made our way into the casino. We decided that tonight would be the night we tried some betting! We watched people at the roulette table for a bit, some of the money people were handing over was crazy! We decided to bet $20 each, Jane bet a bit more. None of us won anything and we were done in under a minute. I didn't get it, quickest way to throw money away! I guess gambling just isn't for me, I'll stick to the lottery lol

Afterwards we headed out to the car and decided to go and try and get a night time pic with the Vegas sign. We didn't do too badly, though the camera was playing up so they look a bit blurry, we got some so that's the main thing

After we headed back to the hotel and to bed, it was about 11.30pm and after no sleep the night before I was so ready for my bed.

Day 8, Las Vegas

We had a bit of a lie in today, we got dressed and headed out for breakfast at about 10am.

Quick selfie while we wait for valet to arrive with the car.

We decided to go to IHop to give Jane that all American breakfast, we found one further up towards the north end of the strip, it was a little erm, seedy up there! We parked up and headed inside. I won't sugar-coat it, it wasn't a great experience. The food was okay I guess, as was the service but the whole place was just a bit grubby and not very sanitary. I wouldn't return that's for sure.

Some pics of our food.

We paid the bill and headed out to the car. We decided to do a bit more hotel hopping so we parked up at the MGM and went for a look inside and have a mooch around. Jane liked the vibe of it, I wasn't wowed really, though I did like it more than a fair few of the hotels we looked around. It was a nice place but I preferred our hotel still or the Bellagio

We walked over to the NY NY to pick up the show tickets for the evening. We had 2 free tickets by playing MyVegas on our ipads so only had to pay for 2. It was a bit of a faff picking them up, I had to go pick up a loyalty card first but I didn't know that so we had queued up at the box office only to have to walk to the other side of the hotel to get the card and then back again. Pfft. The show was called Zumantiy and was over 18's only! It was a cirque du soleil show but a more risque one I'll get on to it a bit later.

Tickets in hand we walked back over to the MGM and back in the car. We headed back to the hotel for a relax by the pool for an hour and a half, it was really windy today so drinks, towels, chair cushions were flying all over the place! The wind was that strong it could take a full drink away! I read the last of my book and Jane did a few lengths. Sy went over to the Fashion Show Mall to grab him and his friend some baseball caps that he wasn't able to get in SF. He arrived back just in time for us to head up to the room. We were on our way to get changed and ready for our night out. We had gone up in plenty of time so I had a bath in the jacuzzi tub, it was my last chance and it had to be done

Hair washed and all ready to go we headed outside to pick up the car from valet.

Jane remembered to grab a selfie, looking swish! (I however was no so clever!)

We knew where we wanted to go for dinner, Outback so we headed to the one near Mandalay Bay thinking it would be quieter than the one mid strip. We were shown to a table right away so I think we made the right choice! We ordered some drinks, Jane and I went for the awesome Wallaby Darned my favourite!

We then ordered our mains, Sy and Jane went for a steak while I went for a chicken and bacon swiss with a sweet baked potato. YUM!

Feeling full and happy we paid the bill and hopped back in the car. We were early still for the show (we were seeing the later show at 9:30pm) but we knew we wanted to visit the duelling piano bar at NY NY (Bar at Times Square) beforehand so we made our way there and parked up. We were among some of the first through the doors but it soon started to get busy, a personal highlight were the guys singing 'My humps' hehehe. We got chatting to another English couple at the bar who were there celebrating their Anniversary, they had just come out of the earlier show and said how amazing it was! Yay!

Pics in the bar

Time flew by while we were in there and it was soon time to head out to the show. We joined a huge mass of people heading in and made our way to our seats up in the balcony. The show was about to start and all the seats around us filled but the place was half empty so we asked if we could move back a few rows to get a bit more comfortable. The usher moved us back a few rows but then came back a minute later and said she wasn't sure if where we were sat would be free so she then moved us to the side but right at the front, a much better view than our first seats! Woohoo! Thank you very much

The show I just loved, okay there were bits that I thought, is there any point in the girls having no tops on for this bit? But for the most part I thought it was really funny and clever. It was hosted by a drag queen who wasn't afraid to pick on the audience (those balcony seats were looking more and more desirable hahaha). Lots of acrobatics as you would expect from a cirque show but with a sensual undertone (and yes, lots of boobies!). Before the show there were 2 ladies which were obviously in place of the 'clowns', they were getting the crowd ready and making lots of jokes, again picking on the audience.

I really did love the show as did Sy, Jane enjoyed it but not quite as much. I'd watch it again if I do end up going to Vegas another time (along with more shows, I'd like to watch 1 a night if I go back as this was a real highlight of Vegas for me).

This was one of the 'clowns' sorry for the blurred pic. You can hopefully see the lack of clothing

After it had finished we headed back into the piano bar, it was a LOT busier now including a group of Scottish guys on a lads holiday. We watched them picking off the girls in the room and trying to get lucky, 1 of them managing with a girl who was away with her mum! He mum stood chatting to a few of the guys while 1 was chewing the face off the daughter awkward! Hahahaha. 1 of the lads had only arrived that day and was so jetlagged and drunk I dunno how he hadn't been thrown out. I felt sorry for him cause none of the lads would take him back to the hotel (we got chatting with them) but they said he was just laying it on lol.

Another selfie in the bar.

At about midnight we decided to call it a night, we had a loooong drive in the morning as we were heading to DISNEY! We headed back to the hotel and I did a bit of packing before falling into bed at about 1am.

Day 9, DISNEYLAND!

Today was the day, it was finally here! The day we'd been waiting for! We were OFF TO DISNEYLAND!!!!!

I woke up fairly early given the late night before, we packed up our things and liaised with Jane re time of departure. We decided on a time of about 9:30am. I rushed about packing up the last of our things (I was getting used to this packing and unpacking lark) and then we were off!

We checked out downstairs and picked up the car from valet and hit to road... only to stop 5 mins away and get some breakfast in McDonalds hehehe. We sat in the car and ate the food before hitting the road again, it was about 10:30am by the time we hit the road properly.

The drive was long and boring - just like everyone says. I actually didn't mind it though, I liked seeing things we don't get to see back home. There were some areas that you really wouldn't like the car to break down, it reminded me of the film 'The Hills Have Eyes', if you've not heard of it, it's a horror film lol.

Something slightly disconcerting were the dark clouds that we were driving towards. We went from sun, heat and aircon to dark skies and the aircon off in the space of a couple of hours This was to be the theme that we endured for our whole LA stay boooo! Whoever said it never rains in southern California, well they are LIARS! Lol

The traffic was a bit naff as we got closer to LA but soon we were arriving in DISNEY! The first sign we were in Disney, the Mickey head bicycle park.

We stopped at reception and headed inside, dodging the rain CM Maria checked us in, she was awesome! We was excited to welcome us all as first time visitors

She asked us our favourite Disney characters, you may remember Jane had a slightly more unusual favourite of Fidget from Basil the Great Mouse Detective. Well Maria went out back and came back with sign pictures of our favourites, only Jane got Donald and Daisy as apparently there's not much call for Fidget (much to Jane's dismay! Hehehehehe).

These were mine and Sy's, I'll let you guess who's was who's.

Sadly our room wasn't quite ready booo! So we had about an hour and a half to wait (no text for us overseas guests). We were feeling peckish, it had been a long time since breakfast so we went to find some food in the hotel. We had some trouble, we went to the pool bar but it was closed due to the rain, we couldn't find the counter service place at first but we found it in the end and grabbed some nachos to share. They were actually really good! We also got some drinks. Was great being able to use the DVC to get discount on a CS meal.

We finished eating and chilled for a bit but it was cold in there so we decided to go sit by the fire in the reception. We headed back there and I said we should check if the room was ready just in case, and it was! Woohoo! I started by taking a million pics of the room. We then unpacked and finally put on some warmer clothes. I didn't expect to need the warmer stuff from SF again

We chilled in the room for a bit, watched a bit of TV. I went to try and do some washing but all the machines were in use We then decided to go for a wander round DTD. I found some stuff to buy in the World of Disney store, we spent quite some time in there

We mooched about in other shops before going in search of some dinner. We decided to hit up Naples. We got a table upstairs outside under the heat lamps so we didn't freeze. I thought the menu and logo's looked familiar, they reminded me of Via Napoli in Epcot so I asked our waiter and turns out that they are the same company, so I of course ordered pizza I couldn't decide whether to go for a margarita or BBQ chicken, in the end I went with chicken but regretted it, it wasn't authentic enough for me lol. Sy though loved my pizza more than his own! Jane went for a pasta.

Afterwards Sy decided to go for a tiramisu, his all time favourite dessert.

We paid the bill and headed back to the hotel. I managed to get 2 loads of washing on just before World of Color started! We headed up to the viewing platform and watched from there. I missed the first minute or so as I was washing sorting but I raced back up there as soon as I had taken it out (I didn't want to leave it in the machine for half hour while I watched the show in case anyone else wanted to use it).

It was really good, I was impressed but remember that this was the first time I'd seen it, when I saw it a few days later from right in front of the water it was something else. I probably wouldn't bother watching it from the balcony again.

Afterwards I headed down and finished sorting the washing and we then made our way over to Trader Sams. We went straight in with no wait, Jane got a tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki rum, I got a non alcoholic cocktail and Sy went for a diet coke lol. He was not allowed to drink as it makes his snoring worse and Jane was sharing a room with us for the next 2 nights Weirdly I asked for one of the alcoholic drinks and asked if they could make it without too much alcohol and I was told categorically no, they make them up in advance so I couldn't make any changes. Which is why I ended up with a non alcoholic one, think the waitress then regretted it as her tip was gonna be smaller as she was trying to offer me stuff from the bar but tbh she had been quite curt with me when I asked for it weak I thought stuff ya I'll have a cheaper one

It was fun in there but we just had the 1 round and then headed back to the room, we didn't want to get too late a night as we had to be up early tomorrow ready for a day in the parks!!

Jane took this on the way back through DTD

I finished off the last of the washing and we headed to bed.

Day 10

DISNEY!!!!!!

We were up early, well I say we.... Jane had been up for quite sometime already, in fact she hadn't really slept at all... She said she's never gonna accuse me of exaggerating Sy's snoring ever again Ooops! Welcome to my world I managed to sleep through most of it as i'm so used to it.

We were soon up and ready to go, and whaddyaknow? It was POURING with rain. Fun. Never rains in southern California.... apparently.... and it was COLD. Way colder than San Fransisco. Grrrr. I of course had a plan of attack, Jane had just 1 dayy in Disney and I was determined to make it a good one (kinda ulterior motive in that I'd love her to come to WDW one time with me). So off we went to California Adventure. Bit of an issue with tickets so we had to back to the front desk and back again. First stop was the shop to get some plastic ponchos. Just what I need, more ponchos! I have them for WDW and always take them away with us being seeing as you know, it never rains in Southern California I didn't think I'd need them... But I was pleased to get discount in the shop from being a DVC member.

Next stop was to guest services to ask about a DAS, this didn't go well. I always take my last one with me so I had my WDW one even though in DL, but the CM didn't want to know. Said there was nothing they offered to help me, it was only for children with cognative behavioural disorders. I tried explaining exactly why I needed it, but was told tough luck basically. I said I wouldn't be able to ride anything because I couldn't take the risk of being stuck in the queues but the CM really didn't seem to care, I got the distinct feeling he thought I was trying it on. I'm ashamed to say I burst into tears, I won't go into all the issues here but the DAS is something which gives me a peace of mind, and I personally am glad to wait the queue times not in a queue as I have no problem in waiting but its the panic of being trapped and not being able to get out (there is no quick exit when you're in a wheelchair!) which is a big problem.

We left and stood outside debating what to do as I wouldn't be able to go on anything with a wait time. Sy went back in to speak to the guy again but came back out again having got no further, I don't think he expected to but I think as my hubby he didn't like seing me so upset. It really put a dampener to the start of our day, I just had to accept that I would be waiting around for Sy and Jane a lot today and get on with it. We decided to go and get some breakfast in Starbucks. Sy and Jane went to queue while I sat at a table. Sy got what would become his favourite drink of the trip which was a Valencia Orange cooler. I got a diet coke and we had some pastries.

Back outside we headed straight to Soarin' over California, today was the first day it had reopened after a long refurb so we thought we would head there early to try and avoid a long wait. Turns out there was only a 5 minute wait so I was able to ride no problem!

I dunno if it was just me, but the ride felt ever so slightly slower than the WDW version? Anyone else ever noticed?

We got some fastpasses for ToT and then went on a ride around on the little Trolley car

We went to ride Ariel as there was no wait time, half of the shells were going round empty! The rain was really keeping people away, so while it was cold and annoying, it was a relief that I was able to ride stuff that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise, every cloud has a silver lining

We hung about for a little bit waiting for our fastpass and then headed inside to ToT.

Jane LOVED this ride yay! We made our way over to the front of the park and passes Monsters Inc so we went on that too, again as it had no wait lol. It was a really cute little ride.

We then popped back to the hotel quickly before making our way to DL! We decided to get the monorail over, we arrived just as one was pulling away and the next would take ages to come so we kinda regretted, it also meant we didn't go in the front entrance (I didn't realise it dropped guests off in Tomorrowland).

First up was Space Mountain. We didn't have a problem with me riding things in the DL park as the queue lines aren't wheelchair friendly so you get a return time as standard. We went over to SM and spoke to the CM outside who explained how it worked as I wasn't 100% sure. His name badge said he was from the UK but he had such a broad American accent I asked him about it, turned out he wanted to work on the Jungle cruise so he had to learn to speak with an American accent early on and it had stuck! He was really sweet and sent us right on the ride without having to wait! What a babe! However, turns out I did not enjoy this version of SM. I was sure I had read online that it was tamer than the WDW SM, omg! I thought I was gonna throw up big style :-/ I didn't speak for ages as I was too scared to open my mouth in case vomit came out BLEUGH!

It was lunchtime now so we went in search of food. I wasn't sure I was up for food but I definitely needed a cold drink! We made our way to New Orleans square. Jane wanted to try a corn dog so we went there as the map said they sold them, sadly it turns out it wasn't really worth it as she wasn't keen lol. She was glad to have tried it though! I went for the staple chicken nuggets in the end. The most amazing thing happened while we sat there, the sun came out! WOO! It felt so good to feel some warmth.

*off topic slightly* The other day I was looking through old photo albums and I came across one of my Papa's of when he and my nanny went to the West Coast. I found a pic of him sitting right where we were sat having lunch! I was very close to my Papa so it was heart-warming to think he had been there right where I was but years before (it was before I was even born). Obviously it was lovely seeing Disneyland so many years ago and seeing things that are no longer there now and some that still are! But it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside seeing him sat right where we had been. Anyway I digress...

First ride after lunch was the Haunted Mansion. I really wanted to try it out and see the differences with it being themed slightly differently. I thought it was really good though in my heart, WDW still does it better I was shocked that in the stretching room, we did actually move!

The only pic I managed to take while we were in there lol

Afterwards we went over to Splash. We got a return time and waited nearby, went to the restroom and chilled out in the sun. It didn't take long for our time to come around (I was very surprised all trip at how short the waits were for the rides!).

Poor Sy hahahahaha

He seemed ok about it though...

Ooops, Sy's got no face...

Afterwards it was time for the parade! Woo! We found the disabled viewing area and grabbed a seat. Weirdly just before it started we were asked to move a few rows back for another family to sit in front. I didn't really understand why and it wasn't obvious. I was a bit miffed as we had got there nice and early to make sure we got a good spot. By that point the rows behind us had filled up so it wasn't like we just had to move back a single row but a few rows, they didn't ask everyone to move back a row each, just us who were in the front row had to go near the back. Sy went to find some funnel cake and a drink while we waited.

The parade was good though I thought it was weird the way Anna and Elsa had their own parade before the actual parade, they came along on their own about 10 mins before the rest.

Ducks were obviously not as excited to see the parade as we were!

Afterwards we went to ride Big Thunder. The sun was fully out now so we could lose the layers and get a proper picture of our t-shirts

Ride was good but still not as good as Disneyland Paris. I liked the scene with the broken rail-track though, I thought that was really well done.

We then made our way over to Pirates which was another fab ride, I thought it was better here than anywhere else!

Next up was Jungle cruise. A classic. Was really cool seeing some of the differences to the WDW version, especially as I wasn't expecting them!

We got a return time for Indiana Jones but there was a little bit of a wait so we decided to head to GS to talk to them there about the DAS, see if talking to a different CM got the same reply (in the mean time I had been online on my phone and couldn't find anywhere it said that it was ONLY for children with cognative behavioural problem). I explained my concerns for when we were over at CA, well he gave me a DAS no question! He said the rides at DL I could use the wheelchair pass but for when I went over to CA I would need the DAS and gave it to me. He asked what ride we would like to go on next as he could put a return time on our tickets right away. We hadn't planned on going back over to CA today but he tempted us with Radiator Springs and before we knew it we were heading out of DL and into CA! How nice was that?! He had to cancel the Indiana Jones time to get the RS time but we didn't mind!

We had to wait for a little bit for the time so we grabbed some food nearby, we went for the Mexican counter. Sy and Jane went to get food again while I grabbed a table. I dunno what the problem was, there wasn't much of a queue but it took 20 minutes to get the food, and then they got it wrong! But we didn't have time for them to fix it. The food was pretty good. We had to shovel it down quickly cause of timings to get back into DL for the fireworks and Fantasmic.

Once finished we made our way to RSR. Wow. We all loved it! Now I know why the wait times were so long! Its so well thought out and themed. It didn't matter that none of us had seen the film (well technically I had but I don't remember any of it)

Afterwards we dashed back over to DL for the fireworks, we arrived on Main Street and got a spot ready to watch them. What a waste of time they were! About 5 minutes of fireworks! We needn't have rushed for them. We then made our way to get a spot for Fantasmic. We were in the disabled section off to one side so we didn't have a great view but it was a good show. We were early so we had to wait for a little while but it was worth it. Just a shame it was really cold again so we were freezing while we waited. Jane got some candy floss while we waited.

I thought the show was awesome and I agree with everyone else who says its better in DL than WDW. I loved the Peter Pan ship scene!

We waited for a few minutes once the show had finished for the crowds to disappear somewhat before making our way back to the hotel via DTD. Jane did some packing and sorting of her things as she would be leaving the next day boooo! We were so knackered we fell into bed at 12:30am and slept right through (even Jane did!).

LOL its ok, I'm all about the Disney too hahahahahahaha

FINALLY!!!!!! it seemed to take aaaaages!

Well as you asked so nicely hehehehe....

I've been sending Jane links to read this so I hope she's taking note and will come one day!! She says no but I think I can work on her hehehe she's not been to WDW but went to DLP as a child and now DL so seems only right she completes the set (shhh don't tell her about the other ones )

She is awesome, and I'm not saying that just cause she might be reading she's one of life's truly amazing people and I love her to bits! Kind, caring, generous, loving... Ok I'll stop gushing haha

Day 11. Los Angeles

Home Time for Jane

Awww it was a sad day, it was time for Jane to come home boooo.

It was another fairly chilly morning but at least there was a bit of sun and no rain! We were all awake early, though thankfully Jane did manage to sleep through Sys snoring! Jane packed up the last of her things and we watched a bit of TV in the room before loading Jane's bags in the car and making our way to Los Angeles! We hit some of that famous LA traffic on the way in, grrr. We had skipped breakfast with the intention of grabbing something on the way but we hadn't really seen anywhere to stop so we were blooming STARVING by the time we hit LA. I found a road name I recognised (Melrose ave!) and told Sy to turn off the main road as it was so busy. Wow. It was not a nice area. This was not the Melrose I had seen in the movies!! We saw a guy being arrested as our first taste of LA. Hmmm. Something was telling me I wasn't going to like LA all that much...

We drove past some unusual places and then eventually arrived at the nicer end of Melrose (phew!). We even drove past somewhere to get a Dole whip I had to take a picture of course lol

We drove up and down a few side roads looking for somewhere nice to grab some food. We settled on a place called French quarter. It looked pretty from the outside and it was fairly busy so that's always a good sign. We parked up and headed inside.

We were seated right away and given menus.

Jane and I had noticed the people we had seen walking around this end of Melrose, lots of buff, body conscious people with muscles and very little fat lol. We had seen a lot of 'health' shops and adverts for protein powders, so I guess it was no surprise to see this on the menu...

Made me giggle! Strange breakfast

Our server was really sweet and chatted to us for ages about English TV. I asked if I could have some biscuits with my breakfast as I hadn't had any yet and the he brought me 2 and didn't charge me for them <3 <3 what a sweetie! I really liked the place, it was cute and quirky inside. The food was excellent too. It was more like brunch by the time we came to eat it but we still went for breakfast items. Yummy.

We paid our awesome server and headed back to the car. I did a quick bit of map reading and we were then on our way to the Streets of Hollywood. We managed to park up a side street, we had some difficulty finding somewhere at first and drove into a carpark but it was crazy expensive so we drove right out again LOL. We managed to find somewhere we could stop for an hour so we hopped out and went star spotting (the ones on the floor I mean!). I was not a fan. You couldn't look at anything without someone trying to ram a CD in your hand and asking for money. And if it wasn't them, it was people trying to flog us tours of the stars homes, erm, I said no to the last 10 people I just walked past, what makes you think I'm gonna say yes to you?!?! They were all for the same company too! I felt really unsafe. I made Sy hold onto his bag at all times.

I came away saying that I prefer Disney's version of the Chinese Theatre in HS hahahaha.

Some of the many, many pictures we took.

Tese were from the other side of the street.

I popped into the Hard Rock Cafe while we were there as my aunt collects the teddy bears, she has them from all over the world. It was full of British people in there!

We crossed over the road and walked back along that side to look at more of the stars and visit the Gihardelli Disney store I found a really cute keyring that cost a small fortune but I bought it anyway oops! It was Jessica Rabbit with some ice cream charms on it too, totally cute and unique. While we were there we decided that we really should get some ice cream as well so we went for a scoop each. They gave us Sy's ice cream and then we waited, and waited, and waited. After about 10 minutes of being stood at the counter waiting for the rest of the order I asked someone what the problem was, they had run out of cones so needed to make more. Why did they give us one but not the other 2?? Why not wait? We were up against the time as the car meter was about to run out so Sy decided to hot tail it out and back to the car ahead of us and we followed shortly after when we had finally been given our ice creams. We discovered the way to get left alone from the tour guys and CD guys, just walk with intent. Then it looks like you're not a tourist! We weren't bothered once!

Back to the car in the nick of time we sat there eating the last of our ice creams. We then made our way to the next tourist spot of the day, Venice Beach. We made our way there via Rodeo Drive. It was so busy though we didn't get out

It was another place you have to see but I felt like once I'd seen it, I'm good for going back. It was definitely an interesting place to go though and I'd glad we went, just not sure I feel the need to see it again. We parked up in a crazy expensive car park and went for a wander. We some very unusual sights, one minute we were watching an old guy rollerskating with his boom box (and I mean OLD!), the next we were listening to a guy preaching to us about god, then we were watching a street crew dancing (aka, showing off and not doing much dancing). We walked around for a bit looking in the tacky shops, some awesome/hideous t-shirts 'I flexed and the sleeves fell off' was a personal favourite haha

No I didn't pay, I took a pic on the sly. Naughty me!

We decided to find a bar and get some drinks. We found a nice looking bar and found some seats at the counter. We got a few drinks and chilled out for a bit, chatting about the holiday and how sad we were that Jane was leaving!

When it came time to leave the bar woman said the soft drinks were on here so we left her a nice big tip to say thank you and made our way back to the car. We stopped on the way for some pictures. We all put our feet in the sand to say we had been on the actual beach there before getting back in the car and headed up toward Santa Monica, the next tourist spot of the day.

Sadly there was some sort of event on in Santa Monica and so it was mobbed no where to park at all! I was gutted cause I much preferred this area, it felt way more middle class haha. Ah well. Plan scuppered we headed towards the airport with the thought that we would find somewhere to grab a nice dinner. We did not find anywhere LOL. In fact we found hideous looking places that you'd fear for your life if you stopped at. We decided to try the airport instead, and hope there would be somewhere landside to grab food, sadly not though Plus the terminal Jane was flying from was having a massive refurb so there was nothing airside for Jane late either So we checked Jane in and then went back to the car to drive round a bit more to *try* to find somewhere to get food, eventually we gave up and headed into a Taco Bell right beside the airport. It was surprisingly good. We ate masses of food Jane had a long flight and no where to get anything for the flight so we wanted to make sure she was properly fed

After eating our weight in Mexican we made our way back to the car and back into LAX, I think we all had a sad sinking feeling in our tummies. Jane was going home

We dropped Jane off at the Virgin Atlantic drop off point and waited while she went up the escalator to security before driving away.

It was a sad drive back to Disney. We were both pretty quiet. Luckily we didn't hit too much traffic and my phone and ipad died so luckily I remembered the way (it was fairly easy to be honest lol) and we were soon parking up outside the Grand California.

We watched a bit of TV in bed and then fell asleep at about midnight ready for more Disney tomorrow!

I'm not sure about the big meet up as my parents are coming.... But I'm working on April

Aww thank you! I had it made

Thanks for reading!

Not sure what the issue was, I'm just glad we could sort it

Day 12, California Adventure!

We woke up at about 9am after the late night. We quickly got ready and made our way to CA. It was another chilly day least it wasn't raining though so had had to wrap up as warm as we could. We made our way in via the hotel's own entrance and went straight to get World of Color fastpass. We then headed straight for Flo's V8 cafe for breakfast picking up a fastpass for RS on the way in

The food was edible but really nothing special at all. Though it was nice to have real cutlery and proper plates.

Afterwards we headed to ride RS. LOVE this ride!!!!

We then walked towards Starbucks cause Sy wanted to feed his addiction of Valencia Orange Cooler. I watched Five and Dime while Sy grabbed his drink and he then joined me and watched the end of it

Afterwards we decided to duck out for a few hours and visit a WALMART. How had we not been in a Walmart yet?! So we headed back to the hotel to grab the car and get the directions and off we went. It was pretty easy to find and not too far away. I spent a rather long time in there hehe I think Sy was losing the will to live...

Back outside we were feeling a bit peckish so we headed into a Wendy's that was right nextdoor. I got a grilled chicken burger and a baked potato and Sy got a bacon cheese burger with ghost fries. OMG those fries were awesome!! Please say they will still have them on the menu come November!

I quickly called my mum before she went to bed and then we made our way back to the hotel. We hauled all the shopping up to the room and before I knew it, we were both having a nap wasting valuable Disney time, but we did feel soooo much better for it

We slept for about 2 hours but were awake again by 5pm and so we headed straight into CA again via the special hotel entrance (love that perk of the hotel!). We grabbed a return time for RS racers and then went for a wander round paradise pier. We had a look in the shops at watched the rides going round, just generally taking in the atmosphere.

We then went to watch the parade. I was shocked at the amount of people who had blankets out on the streets for their families to come back to. I have no idea why Disney haven't stopped this, I have read since that they are cracking down on it though which is something.

I thought the parade was brilliant! We both really enjoyed it. I took a gazillion pictures but here are just a couple...

Once it had finished we went for a wander round DTD in search of some dinner. We decided on the Jazz Cafe counter service. Sy went in to get food while I waited outside at a table, he seemed to be gone for aaaages. Turns out they had run out of chicken so they were making more. I thought the chicken tasted and looked a little under cooked but thought nothing of it given it was Disney and they make it day in, day out. That turned out to be a mistake later on I was not well. Sy got popcorn shrimp which he really enjoyed.

I had wanted to try some beignets after but the queue was so huge that we decided to skip it and head back into CA. We have a horse and carriage ride booked round Port Orleans in November so I'll make sure we stop in to have some!! Been wanting to try some for YEARS.

Back in CA, it was time for RS racers again so we made our way there. We managed to catch all the lights going on on the street.

Mater was out having pictures but he left while we were out in the street so he came right by us and I nabbed a pic.

RS is definitely better in the dark, it felt really fast!

Afterwards we headed in the direction of WoC, we were 90 minutes early but we were let right in. We got a spot front and centre of the 2nd balcony.

We waited and almost froze now that the sun had gone down it felt like a really long 90 minutes. WoC was AMAZING from here, we thought it was good from the hotel view but this was something else. WOW. Now I know why people go on about it. The downside is that we got completely and utterly soaked lol the CM there said where we were hardly ever got wet so it was the way the wind was blowing and just being unlucky. So we were amazed, but also freezing and wet. The crowds were awful getting out so we left it for a few minutes before moving.

We then headed back to the room to get dry and warmed up. We watched some TV and got into bed at about 11pm.

Day 13 Universal Studios aka the day we did all the celebrity spotting...

We were up and out of the hotel by 9:30am. While we were walking out to the car someone caught my eye at their big escalade, it was only James Van Der Beek! I grabbed Sy and whispered excitedly for him to look without making it obvious LOL it took him a minute longer to realise who it was, I guess he didn't have the same teenage crush as me LOL For those who have no idea who I'm talking about, he was Dawson in Dawson's creek among many other things. Here he is looking lush...

I'm just going to take a moment to swoon.....................
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Ok I'm done.

We were soon on the road to Universal, the half hour journey took an hour in the LA traffic but we were soon pulling into the car park and walking in. On the way in we saw Mario Lopez recording his E! Show with 2 women who I had no idea who they were. We stayed for about an hour watching it be filmed before heading into the park. We were right in the background though and lovely JoAnn managed to get a pic from her TV screen.

We grabbed a couple of pics while we were watching, in between takes. He's a very handsome man

We headed inside the park, I had read online that we should go to the bottom level first as its busier later in the day so that's what we did. There were some cute actors hanging out of some upstairs windows, we stopped to watch them for a bit on the way. They were meant to be a couple, she was winding him up about me having a flower in my hair and why didn't he ever buy her flowers for her hair. They were really funny

We also stumbled across this guy...

We saw the new Harry Potter area being built.

I didn't realise quite how far down the next level was! That was a lot of escalators! We stopped half way to get some pictures

You could see the Warner Bros and Disney studios in the distance if you knew where to look.

We hadn't actually eaten anything today yet and it was now 12pm so we headed inside the first food place we found, Panda Express. We were actually the odd ones out in there, everyone else was actually Chinese! We did notice all day how many Chinese tourists there were in US. We grabbed 1 meal and some spring rolls and shared.

The food was ok, nothing too special. Once we had eaten we grabbed the map and studied it... of course the first thing we wanted to do was the tram tour... and of course that was on the top level, Gahh!! We had already decided that we weren't too bothered about the rides here that we could do in Orlando so we prioritised the things we couldn't do there. First up we went to view some film memorabilia.

Sy was especially looking forward to this....

He is so into Back to the Future, he never made it to the ride before they replaced it with the Simpsons, something I don't think he will ever fully get over He even went to a geeky gathering in London at the secret cinema, everyone went to watch the show being broadcast outdoors last summer, but everyone who went had to register to get their character and then dress up. Super geeky!! hehehe

Some of the other memorabilia.

We then headed back up to the top to ride the Backstage tram tour Sy was most upset as they town square used in Back to the Future was being filmed on so we didn't get to see it the tram ride itself though was AWESOME! Really blew us both away, worth the entrance ticket alone! We saw Desperate Housewives set, Jaws, King Kong, Psycho & many more.

Afterwards we walked past the place to get one of the mahoosive doughnuts. Sy decided to go for a regular sized (which was still massive) Butterfinger one. He enjoyed it

I grabbed an ice cream from a different place across the street. The next show of Waterworld was coming up so we killed time eating our goodies and sitting in a bit of sunshine.

We headed in and grabbed a seat on the second row at Waterworld. Luckily we were not in the 'wet' seats and boy was I glad when I saw them emptying entire buckets of water over peoples heads before the show even started!!

The show itself was actually quite good, I enjoyed the stunts and watching other people getting soaked. There were some well known actors in it (but not well known enough for me to still remember who they were!).

Afterwards we went for a look around the Despicable Me area. I found a few friends

We mooched around the shops for a bit and found a cute Minion keyring for Jane with her name on. We were missing her!

We decided to be really boring and actually ride the Tram tour again, seeing as we couldn't do it in Orlando and it was awesome the first time, plus Sy was hoping as we were the last tour of the day, that they might have finished filming and he would get to see the clock tower... sadly though he wasn't lucky

There was more filming this time so we had parts of the tour which had to be done in silence so as not to disturb them.

Once the tour was over the park was coming up to closing, we decided to have a wander round Citywalk, we looked in some shops and at the many food places before settling on Tony Roma's for dinner. It was a very mediocre meal, well no that's not exactly fair. It was nice enough food but seemed to be expensive for what it was. Our waiter wasn't exactly the most helpful or attentive.

We were brought some rolls while we looked over the menu.

We decided to get some potato skins to share as an appetizer.

Sy then had ribs of course, while I had chicken tenders.

None of the food was exactly hot, and tbh there was no reason as the place was empty and the waiters weren't busy rushing around. Ah well. We don't bother with it next time

We headed back to the car and then to the Grand California.

Once back at the resort we made our way to the room, I took a load of clothes and did some washing as this was our last time with a washing machine, and then we headed to DTD, I wanted to get my shop on I don't want to think about how much I spent in the World of Disney store but in my defence I did pick up a fair few things for other people so that huge bill wasn't allllll mine

I left Sy to pay while I ran back to the laundry room, I didn't want the washing to finish while I wasn't there and leave people waiting! I made it back just in time and moved the stuff over to the dryers and headed back to the room to do a bit more of the packing. I sent Sy down later to pick up the dry stuff

We fell into bed at about 11:30pm, we watched about 5 minutes of TV before we were both sleeping soundly... (or should that say loudly?)

Day 14, Disneyland and Palm Springs

Today was check out day booo! Alarm went off at 8:30, we hopped up out of bed, got ready, packed up the last few bits and headed down to reception to check out by 9:20. We were meeting up with our friend Steve who we'd met up with on our honeymoon 5&1/2 years ago in Orlando at about 10am so we gave ourselves plenty of time to get checked out and car loaded up.

When I'd done the washing the night before I noticed that one load of washing had a load of marks on it they had come from the brand new washing machine. I rewashed them but the marks didn't come out Most of the stuff with marks on was underwear and pj's, nothing to worry about... but there were also 4 of Sy's Ralph Lauren polo's So while we were down at reception we spoke to them about it. They offered to send the 4 polo's out for dry cleaning, it was a right hassle as we were checking out, but they arranged to hold onto them for us for the 2 nights we would be in Palm Springs.

All in all we were stood there for about an hour! Poor Steve was waiting for us and of course no wifi in Disneyland apart from the hotel so we had arranged a place to meet the night before. Luckily I was able to get hold of him and tell him what the hold up was.

Car loaded up with our things we headed back through the hotel to the parks. We had arranged to meet out front in between the 2 parks and poor Steve was there waiting! We exchanged hugs and then headed inside DL. There had been filming going on all week due to the 60th anniversary and today was no different. We didn't hang about to watch it though. We hadn't been on the train yet so that's where we headed first for a tour of the park

We went all the way round the park and got off again at Main Street. We wandered up to Starbucks and went into grab some food and Sy's Disneyland mug. We waited around for ages for my cheese danish, eventually we went to ask and they had given it out to someone, naughty person claiming my danish. So they made me another one only they gave me 2 for the trouble... and then I didnt like it oops! What a waste eh?! When we walked back outside the floor looked like this...

I cant believe we missed whatever happened! It all looked SO pretty! But boy I didn't envy those cleaners lol

We hadn't been on 20,000 leagues under the sea so we went that way first to get a return time on the DAS, the nicest thing happened though, the guy there said he was giving us a magic moment and we didn't have to wait, he was sending us straight on! Awww! How lovely?! They sat us on last and it was a bit of a faff as someone had left an empty seat somewhere so we stood waiting for people to move round while we stood on the stairs. My verdict of the ride? I thought it was really cute and sweet but omg, I felt so claustrophobic, it made me feel really sick and panicky so I doubt I'll ever ride it again.

Afterwards we headed over towards Roger Rabbit, something I was really looking forward to on the way we stopped at a popcorn stand which had this beauty...

OMG! Of course I had to make it mine. I got the popcorn in a separate cup cause I didn't want it damaging the precious Cinderella coach I totally didn't care about having the popcorn but the boys helped me eat it

It was then time for Roger rabbit, I really liked it lol. But then I didn't have high hopes as I see so many people who think its naff.

We stopped outside to grab a picture.

Minnie and Mickey's houses

Next up was Indiana Jones. We were chatting with the CM working there who told us its the exact same track as Dinosaur in AK, I didn't know that. I thought it was a brilliant ride but then I like Dinosaur too lol.

We stopped by the castle to get a picture a we hadn't done yet.

Time was getting on and we really needed to get on the road to Palm Springs so we headed over to CA with Steve, we bumped into this special man on the way in, and he had hardly any queue!

Sy went into Starbucks to get his CA mug and it was then time to say goodbye We walked to the Grand California exit and said goodbye to Steve for now (we would meet up again on the 60th anniversary!). We walked through reception to pick up our car out front, I set up the satnav to take us there and we finally hit the road at 3:20pm.

The journey was long and fairly dull, plus there was loads of traffic on the roads. However somewhere along the journey, it got HOT! Ahhhh!! Finally!! We stopped on the way to grab some food, we struggled to find somewhere but ended up at a Chik Fil A, now I swore I would never eat here for political reasons however it was the only thing we could find and that popcorn felt like a looooooong time ago. The food was ok but I probably wont eat there again.

We noticed there were a lot of wind turbines on the way there, they would go on for miles. We passed a rather mean looking prison at one point. I cant imagine too many inmates would try to escape that place, there's nowhere to go, and the heat was very intense.

Something you don't see every day, a train with loads of tanks on.

We finally arrived in Palm Springs at 6:45pm. The hotel was super easy to find. We checked in, dumped our things in the room and headed out to the pool! Finally warm enough for a swim

Some pics of the hotel and pool. I really loved the hotel, just loved the vibe, the decor, the price it was by far the cheapest place we stayed all trip.

Feeling refreshed from the swim we headed back into the room to shower and chill for a bit before getting dressed up and heading out for dinner. I had a list of places that I wanted to try while we were here, the top of the list was somewhere called Thai Smile. It wasn't too far away but not walking distance by any means (well not Robyn walking distance hahaha) so we headed off in search of it in the car.

We found it pretty easily, parked up outside and went in. We chose a table al fresco as it was such a balmy night.

We weren't sure what to order so we went for a sharing starter which was lush. So many yummy things. Veggie spring rolls, chicken satay, pot stickers and some prawn things which Sy ate all of lol. Spring rolls were a highlight as they were so good.

We ordered a main each and they came with rice. OMG the portions were HUGE! I had chicken with a spicy peanut sauce, I swear I still have dreams about it! It was so good. Sy went for Kung pao chicken. We tried each others but both agreed mine was the best

We didn't manage to make it through even half of our mains so we had to take the rest home. When we came to pay the meal had cost less than the night previously in Tony Roma's but just worlds apart as far as quality and taste. It was the stand out meal from the trip and one of the many, many reasons I must return to Palm Springs.

As we were walking out of the restaurant I stopped by a couple to let one of them know their bag was hanging right open and looked like it might empty its contents at any moment onto the floor. We ended up chatting to them for about 20 mintues, they told us the great places to go while we were in town (they lived between Palm Springs and New York, wow!). They even taught us a new acronym 'OPK' Other People's Kids hahaha love your own but hate OPK's lol. Can't remember exactly how we got onto that conversation...

They were such lovely people, I know we could have spent all night chatting given half a chance, sadly though our bed was calling - it had been a long day with lots of driving for Sy and we were just about ready to crash. So we bid them a farewell and hopped into the car and made our way back to the hotel. We jumped straight into bed once we were back at about 9:30pm. We didn't however go to sleep right away, we did the only thing we could do after an amazing meal in beautiful new city.... We ate the rest of our dinner in bed with our fingers (as we had no cutlery) hehehe!!! Aren't we just SO dignified haha but you know what? It tasted pretty damn good and it was WORTH IT! I wasn't letting any of that amazingness go to waste!

Afterwards we watched a bit of TV and crashed into a deep sleep.

Day 15, Palm Springs

OMG the SNORING!!!!! I was awake nearly allllll night. There was a slight upside to this though... the fall dates were released in the middle of the night for the Disney Cruise Line!! So at about 5am local time I booked our cruise for the BIG meet up next October! Woohoo! 4 nights on the Disney Dream here we come! Also booked my parents cabin at the same time. I of course woke Sy up to tell him the good news I think he was pleased... Not sure he was too pleased about the wake up mind you hehe.

We did manage to doze for a bit, waking up again at 7:30am and lazing in bed till about 8:45. We buzzed about getting dressed, today's plan was breakfast first and then, head up a mountain! We knew where to go for breakfast, I had read about a place and the night before the couple also recommended it so that sealed it. We got in the car and made our way to Cheeky's. There were a load of people mulling about outside and sitting on the nearby benches, I already knew from reading online that they would be waiting for a table, there was a podium with a piece of paper on it for you to write your own name and party size down and as tables became free they would seat you. We didn't have too long to wait, maybe 10 minutes? We were seated outside which was perfect, the weather was absolutely glorious, beautiful blue skies and warm with a breeze. Perfect for eating alfresco.

Sy ordered a freshly squeezed blood orange juice and I got a diet coke.

I remembered reading online that one of the best things to get was the cheese and chive biscuits so I got a breakfast which included that and omg they weren't lying! It was so scrummy! It came with scrambled eggs with cheese but I instead went for fried eggs, didnt think that they would still put the cheese on top, but it was surprisingly good.

Sy went for Huevos Rancheros which he thoroughly enjoyed for the second time this trip.

Plates cleaned we paid the bill and made our way back to the car to begin our journey up the mountain

The road up there was pretty scary with all the signs which said 'Warning, car may overheat' and 'Turn off your air conditioning'. I didn't realise we would be driving up so much of the mountain first.

We parked up and climbed the car park (yes, it was that steep) to the tram building.

We paid the $25 each and grabbed a seat while we waited for the next tram to arrive (11:30am).

We waited for about 15 minutes and then it was time to board, there were a lot of people getting on, and boy it was hot. Of course there was no air conditioning in there, lots of hot sweaty people pressed against each other. It was also really bumpy on the way up, there was a member of staff in there with us so she explained where the bumps would be so we weren't shocked, but it wasn't helping me from feeling rough and panicky. So when we got to the top where the air was thin I felt even worse lol. I did feel sick up there sadly, I don't think I would have done had I not already felt sick on the journey up there. Before we went outside to take in the stunning views we decided to grab a cold drink and sit down for 5 mins so that I could compose myself.

I started to feel better so we made our way outside.

WOW. I fear that no words nor picture could ever describe the feeling and the beauty. I was speechless (and that is a rare thing indeed!). It was cold up there, but after the heat from ground level and the tram up, it was a welcome relief. It was sunny and the sun felt warm on my skin but there was a freshness about the air, it felt clean.

The views were spectacular. I really felt like I could have stayed there for a very long time, annoyingly I still felt queasy so we didn't venture too far away from the tram building (we did see people going out with hiking backpacks and mattresses!). We walked to a few different look-out points but then grabbed another drink in the main building and sat outside for sometime watching the world in the distance and trying to fight off the incredibly tame squirrels who would fight you for your food.

I have about a million or so pictures, I've tried to narrow them down a bit (ha) so here are a few of my favourites.

We then made our way back inside and waited for a tram back down. We only had a couple of minutes to wait before one arrived. The journey down was much more pleasant, far fewer people who by now had cooled down and no where near as bumpy.

Some pics of us going down (ooh-err!)

Back at the car we started driving back down the mountain, I grabbed a pic to show how far up we had actually come, I hadn't realised how high up we drove on the way in.

We headed back towards the hotel for a swim, we had to make the most of the sunshine while we could! We stopped on the way as we saw something which caught our eye... a massive Dole Whip sign!! So of course we couldn't pass it without stopping in

We sat and ate our dole whips and popped into the sweetshop next door to grab some yummies to bring home.

Back at the hotel Sy then decides he's hungry so he wanted to find one of the sandwich shops he'd been reading about (that man's favourite food is sandwiches, not sure if I said before? Its like he hunts them out!). To be fair, it was 2:30pm by now and breakfast had been a long time ago. I let him go all by himself mean wifey that I am... My own mistake though as he forgot to ask for mine without avocado! I had to scrape it out, it wasn't a pretty sight lol (it did however taste, AMAZING!).

Sy decided to have a nap after his sandwich while I went for a swim and sunbathed for a bit with my book. Was heaven. Sy did come out to join me after a while.

As evening came in we went to shower and get ready for dinner. We knew exactly where we were going to, we had looked online and then the couple from the night before also recommended it, an Italian called Birba. They had told us to go at dusk as it was super romantic, and they weren't wrong. There were twinkly fairy lights all over the place, and candles, and big comfy sofas to chat away the night in. Loved it!

The pictures make it look a bit darker than it actually was but they will give you an idea.

We realised that it was actually the same company who run the breakfast place Cheeky's next door.

We ordered some san pellagrino, I went for orange and Sy, lemon.

We then ordered our mains, I went for pizza while Sy had pasta. My pizza was a little burnt on the bottom but it tasted nice.

The desserts looked fabulous so we decided to get one to share, a peach tart... Well it was MASSIVE! It was really worth it though.

We paid the bill and were back at the hotel by 9:30pm. We watched some TV in bed and fell asleep soon after.