DATE: Wednesday 5 July, 1995
PLACE: Los Angeles
WEATHER: Hot - again!
REMARKS: Frantic start -wake (5:30 am), dress, breakfast,
pack, checkout, and arrange transfer to LAX. 7:30 Shuttle
gets us to Disneyland at 7:50; queues are already 20-30 deep
and the car-parks are filling rapidly.
Desiree & Sarah head for the Indiana Jones ride (will
queue for 1.25 hours!) while Jayne, Charlotte & I meander
through Frontierland. Charlotte backs away from Thunder Mountain
- probably just as well - but we stumble onto Pirates of the
Caribbean ride. Jayne is alternately worried and fascinated.
Good models, use of synchronized sound, a good artillery duel
through which we sail. We also venture onto the Riverboat
Ride which re-kindles Charlotte's waning interest with passing
Indians on horseback, burning log cabins, deer, and moose.
Then Desiree & Sarah re-join us & we move to Tomorrowland
for the Monorail. This is disappointing as it doesn't give
a full tour of the whole site as we had expected. Desiree
& Sarah go onto the Submarine while the rest of us drive
around Autopia.
Finale is: souvenirs. Jayne scores Bambi, Charlotte a Thumper,
and Sarah the Pocahontas CD. A drink, a 'nearly-ride' on the
Casey Jones train then it is time for the Shuttle back to
the Hotel. Two hours to fill in with lunch, gifts to be bought
and a swim.
Finally transfer to LAX. Charlotte manages to leave Ruth
(beloved soft toy) on the shuttle, so I call the hotel from
the airport & ask them to find it and post to Bryce in
London.
Everyone sleeps on the coach - the pace is catching up with
us?
Check-in is more rigorous (we have to show that our hair-dryer
is not a hand-gun - & more pressured due to the numbers
of people, but we get there.
Time to kill - toilets & a snack (& a quick replacement
of Jayne's frock after a spillage). We get ushered onto the
plane; again, a family does have some benefits!
Another Mulligan is seated next but one to me; but he's
from Taranaki & apparently not related. J & C sleep
almost the whole trip - they even have to be woken for breakfast!
Even Sarah sleeps for an hour or two.
British Airways service is good, and they even manage to
find spare kids meals.
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