Disneyland....well, sort of!

Today we went to Disneyland, not into the park(s) proper but into the Downtown Disney shopping area. We soon discovered that the special prices I had seen online DID NOT relate to the shop in the resort and the Disney Store itself was a seperate retail outlet. Now, we had a lot of things we wanted to get (well okay, I had a lot of things I wanted to get) and no way was I paying the resort prices when I knew I could get them cheaper! So, much to Crispin's disgust, we left the park and went back to the hotel to figure out how to get to the nearest Disney store. On the way back to our room we stopped at reception and booked our transport to Universal Studios for tomorrow -- given on Tuesday we can get into Disneyland 1 hour earlier than most people due to our special ticket and on Wednesday we are being picked up to go to the airport in the early afternoon -- tomorrow is the only day we have for Universal Studios.

Luckily it turned out that the nearest Disney store was not that far away (well, over an hour if walking but there was a OCTA bus that stopped very close to our hotel) and we located the store in Westfields in Santa Ana without *too* much trouble. The bus driver was lovely and gave us a courtesy ride there (as you needed correct change and he recognised we were not locals) and we ended up with the same driver going back! The store was great, much cheaper than at the resort especially for the stuffed toys that Crispin so desperately wanted (it was Crispin, honest). We managed to get t-shirts for only USD5 and I got a Tinkerbell PJ set :o) I also took the opportunity to have a manicure and my nails painted while we were at Westfields.

We did have to go back to the resort to get a Mickey Mouse toy (as the store had run out) but by then it was 4pm and we both had sore feet so we decided not to go into the park proper today.

We got back to our room just after 6pm and Crispin went up to check the pool for me (it is quite small and only takes 30 people at maximum capacity). The pool was empty so we high-tailed it up there and had it all to ourselves for about 45 minutes before I got cold and so we got out...yes people, Crispin was quite happy to stay in the pool and I wanted to get out....miracles never cease!!

Back to the room for a hot shower -- the pool is heated so was lovely and warm but once you got out you really noticed the much colder air -- then dinner (macaroni cheese, I should have known better but Crispin enjoyed his) and finally to pack up our purchases from today. I am pleased to be able to report that I managed to get everything into the suitcases....the only question now is how much over our weight we are, and how much it will cost, I guess we will find out in a few days time. And of course now I am sitting down and writing this blog entry.

I have been pleasantly suprised by the US, just about everyone has been really friendly and helpful and I have not felt unsafe once. The only complaint I do have is all the people along South Harbor Boulevard (the street we are staying on) trying to get you to go to a timeshare presentation by offering Disneyland coupons...of course we aren't interested and it's only open to US citizens so we've taken to saying "we're not US citizens" everytime one of them approaches us. Seriously they are outside just about every hotel, and as South Harbor Boulevard is just opposite Disneyland you can imagine how many hotels there are!!

Crispin is already fast asleep and I am not far of it myself, looking forward to the next few days of fun (and trying not to shop - as we are reaching critical capacity lol) but also really looking forward to coming home and spending the weekend with the animals...I miss them terribly, we both do...not that we aren't enjoying ourselves but there is nothing like snuggling up with a purring kitty or fluffy triever...I think I miss Merlin the most, with his cheeky and playful attitude - he's just a overgrown puppy really, even at 4 :o)