kelmac284
02-24-2008, 10:18 AM
Disneyland February 16-23, 2008
Cast: Myself 40, husband Shane 34, stepdaughter Lynn 16 (just turned on the 7th!!), daughter Katy 8, daughter Shelby 6 ( 7 in April) My mom Rosemarie 63
Transportation: plane/rental car
Hotel: staying with Family the first night in San Diego, Qaulity Inn, Hotel Circle in San Diego on the 17th and the rest of the trip at the Desert Inn in Anaheim.
Experience: All vets with Annual Passes
Pre-trip planning:
I have written many many of these reports and this won’t be the last. As I write this section I am just back from our July 07 trip and preparing for our October trip but that trip is pretty much done and I am firming up this trip as we speak. We bought Annual Passes back in 06 and are determined to get at least two trips in per year and more if possible. In 06 we went 3 times and last year we went twice I believe. This will be our first and possibly only trip for 08 but we ARE going to Disneyworld in November so it won’t be our last Disney trip for the year. Anyway I digress. What brought me to this particular trip is that we used to always travel in off season and take the kids out of school but with one in high school and the other two in grammar school that is no longer an option. Especially for a week long trip. Thus we are now relegated to fight the masses during summer and holiday periods. We HAVE however figured out how to work the fast pass system to our advantage and have made even the busiest of days work. Sure we prefer nice NON-crowded days but those days are past. We went last July and then again this past October but only for a weekend to partake of Mickey’s Halloween treat (although I am talking of it in the past tense and as of this writing I haven’t even gone yet LOL) but since I am a planner extraordinaire I had to have the “next” trip on the agenda. I knew I HAD to go to Disneyland here in CA at least once in 08 so this was it.
The girls get the entire week of President’s week off and it seemed like the best time. So as of this writing I have booked a night in San Diego at the Quality Inn on Hotel Circle and the remainder at the Desert Inn. We used to stay in a tad nicer digs while in Anaheim but we have learned that while touring in high season the closer the better! And really it is truly just a bed! We have stayed at Desert Inn many moons ago and are hoping it is ok. In July we stayed at the Fairfield Inn and it was ok and mom stayed at the Best Western Park Place and was not impressed although I thought it was passable. So we shall see if the Desert Inn passes muster.
Our plan is to drive down on Saturday the 16th straight through to San Diego and spend the remainder of the day/evening visiting with my family and spend that first night with them. Then on Sunday we will accompany them to the Zoo. We will then part ways and spend our one and only night at the Quality Inn and perhaps do some sight seeing in Old Town. Monday the 18th is reserved for Seaworld and we have not been to either the Zoo OR Seaworld as a family. Last time we went my husband was in Iraq. After Seaworld we will drive up to Anaheim and finish out the week at Disneyland. I have heard of the new Segway tour at Disneyland and if I haven’t already done it in October I plan to do it during this week. So for now the rooms are booked and all is said and done.
August 8, 2007
Well I have been racking my brain trying to decide what to do for my stepdaughter’s 16th and I asked her where she would like to eat for a special dinner and she decided on storytellers. So I am going to book at Storytellers for Tuesday and arrange with Disney for a special cake and a gift basket filled with things that a 16 year old would love. I think she will like this! Now I just have to work out all the details!
August 16, 2007
Well after several e-mails back and forth to vacation planning I found out that you must be staying on property to get a gift basket. Sooo that kind of messes up my plans but I am going to still arrange for a cake and get her a gift card instead. I hope that is ok with her! I am still also waiting to hear on the Halloween tour in October and IF that works out we will do the segway in Feb otherwise we will do that in Oct. I have also had to move our Disneyworld trip back a week to ensure being able to see the Osborne Lights and to do MVMCP. So LOTS of multiple trip planning all at once but that makes it fun!!
January 2, 2008
Well it is now finally 2008! We have done our October AND a December trip since I last wrote and had a wonderful time. We have also decided to brave Disney World during Thanksgiving this year and I have booked our Timeshare and now that it is officially 2008 in the next few weeks I will start looking to book our room at Universal and our room at Disney World. This trip is pretty much set I just need to book our meal at Storytellers and order Lynn’s cake which I will do in the next week or so. I am still debating about the Segway tour. We have had a lot of crazy things financially lately and as much as we would love to do it I don’t know if it is in the cards. We also have decided not to renew our Annual passes this June. We will let them expire and renew them in February of ’09 when we go back to Disneyland again. This will be our last trip for a whole year! Better make it a good one! J Next time I write will hopefully be after our trip!
January 9, 2008
Well I just got off the phone with Disney dinning and Storytellers is all booked as is the cake. I wanted a Jack Sparrow cake or Tinkerbell but they have neither L. So in lieu of I chose Ariel. I hope she likes it. I know she liked Ariel as a kid and I figured instead of something more juvenile like Mickey, Minnie or one of the other princesses I thought that would do. So I got the cake and the ressie and we are now all set!! So NOW hopefully the next time I write it will be with the full report!!
February 4, 2008
Well here we are less than 2 weeks to go and once again things have changed. Shane may have to work and my mom DOES have to work so we decided to fly now. We just bought the tickets today so they were NOT cheap to say the least but it had to be done. Shane may still end up not going but we can use the credit for our trip in November if we end up going. So now we will be flying down Saturday morning and then my mom will fly home Thursday morning and either Shane and the girls and I will fly home Saturday afternoon or just the girls and I. So hopefully now THIS is the last entry LOL.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Plan: Fly to Orange County. Pick up rental car and drive to San Diego. Tour old town and hopefully the midway before going to Barb and Charlie’s for dinner and to spend the night.
What actually happened: Well the day FINALLY arrived! This trip was much anticipated and yet saddened because I knew that THIS time it was the last for a long time. Every other trip, when I left, I was never too sad because I knew that in just a few months I would be back. But this time I knew it would be a LONG time before we would be back and I wanted to make it a GREAT one! We had to be up BRIGHT and early Saturday morning because we had a very early flight. We arrived at the airport and after checking in had a quick breakfast. The good thing about such an early flight is there were no delays. We had an uneventful flight to Orange County and were upgraded to a Toyota Highlander from a mini van with Enterprise. I can’t say enough good things about Enterprise. We usually use Avis but they wanted a MINT to rent a van for the week and Enterprise quoted us just under 300 for the week for a van. And then we got the free upgrade to the SUV so that was great! We got the car and were off. The drive down was nice if not a little long because of traffic. We had not been to San Diego since ’04 so it was nice to see it again. We drove straight to the harbor and the Midway. We had lunch at Seaport Village and I am sure there were much better options but we were on a budget and choose a deli which unfortunately was NOT great. I am sure, though, that there ARE good choices there we just didn’t pick one. We then toured the ship which I must say is a MUST see! If you like that kind of thing it was VERY interesting. With my husband being ex military he got a discount as did I and so did the kids and my mom for being a senior. So none of us had to pay the full price. We probably spent close to 4 hours on the tour which is self guided with head phones and we didn’t even see it all. It was extremely interesting and again if you like that kind of thing I highly recommend it if you are in the area.
After that it was time to head to my family’s home in Rancho Bernardo. We had a nice drive up there and a nice visit with them.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Plan: San Diego Zoo all day. Stay at Quality Inn this night. Dinner in San Diego.
What actually happened: The next day we all caravanned to the zoo. We had a bit of a screw up with which tickets to buy since my husband got in free being Military and we had some coupons from the family since they are passholders. I recommend getting the combo ticket since it is the best deal and of course if you can buy it in advance online that is the best deal. But alas we got in none the less and did the bus tour first. We also did the sky tram which was fun and had a nice lunch. That is a great zoo but definitely requires being in good shape! We parted ways with my relatives around 3:00 and then we left to check in to our hotel. We stayed in the Comfort Inn on Hotel Circle which was decent. Definitely nothing fancy but for a cheapie hotel it was definitely fine. Nice and clean and a good deal. We then had dinner at the Hunter Steakhouse which we had eaten at before in ’04. This place is also very good. After that we were very much ready to hit the hay after all that walking!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Plan: Seaworld all day. Check out of hotel. Drive to Anaheim. DTD for dinner if not already had in SD.
What actually happened: Once again we were up bright and early and our hotel had a continental breakfast and since we area always on a budget we decided to partake. It was decent and we then checked out and headed over to Seaworld. Once again we had not been since ’04 and I knew that they were doing the Heros salute but since my husband was no longer active duty I was told he could not qualify but then when I got there I found out with his ID he COULD have qualified for the discount but alas lesson learned. However we had bought tickets from Getaway today so we had to exchange the voucher for our tickets at Will Call and then we entered the park. They let you in to the front part where we did a little shopping and then we decided to see Shamu first thing. He is the star after all. We saw him first thing and it was a GREAT show. We then worked our way around seeing the various shows and the girls did a few rides but the theme of this trip was COLD. It was VERY cold this entire trip and even though we all brought long pants and shirts and jackets it was still not warm enough. The girls braved the two water rides but I was freezing just standing there watching them! After seeing almost everything we finally took off around 4:30 to head up to Anaheim. We had a fairly uneventful drive with some traffic but not too bad. We checked in to the Desert Inn and were very pleased with our room. We rented the C suite I believe and it is the room with the sitting room and the other larger room. It will sleep 10 and it was very large. It is an older hotel and some of the furniture is beat up but the room was very big and we were pleased with it. And I can’t say enough how happy I was with the maid service. We always had plenty of towels, pillows and toilet paper. UNLIKE our last experience with the Del Sol. This room cost us 200 per night but it was WELL worth it for the suite. Anyway we got the girls pizza from Tony Roma’s and then mom, Shane and I headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. We went to the Rain Forrest and ended up having to eat on their outside patio but they had heaters at least. After a nice dinner we headed home for a much needed rest.
Tuesday, February, 19, 2008 EE
Plan: DCA all day. Storytellers at 6 this night and Lynn’s birthday cake.
What actually happened: Well today was our first park day. We got up and decided to have Denny’s since we had the continental the day before. So we had our Denny’s breakfast and then headed to the park. We did our normal routine of Soaring first and then Tower etc. We usually ride soaring and get a fast pass, then Tower and get our next fast pass etc. We collect them as we go to use later on. It wasn’t terribly crowded and we were able to do most everything we wanted to do very early. We even watched the Golden Dreams movie again. Mom and I watched it in December and this time Shane was able to see it. It finally came time to leave for our priority seating and we did this and then Lynn was very surprised by her cake and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but it looked great, especially the Tinkerbell figurine. I wanted to try and bring it home but it was so fragile and we didn’t have a way to get it home. Overall I think Lynn was very happy and besides the gifts we gave her at home on her actual birthday Shane bought her a hat she wanted in the parks. So I think she had a good birthday. My mom’s birthday is also tomorrow so we got her a button as well and they brought her a little cupcake as well. And our anniversary was the 14th so we wore our anniversary buttons too. We never got anything but got several Happy Anniversarys from different cast members. After dinner we were tired so just retired back to the room.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Plan: DL all day
What actually happened: Today was our first Disneyland day and we started out doing our usual routine this day as well. We always go on Pirates first. So we entered the park and went on pirates. Well to our surprise as we came off the Dream team was handing out Dream Fast passes. So we FINALLY won something. We have gotten the tinkerbell pins in the past and we got the preferred seating for fantasmic but to me this was the first REAL thing we have won by the actual white vests. I was so shocked because I have been so many times and I never expected to actually win anything. We decided though since we always get tons of fastpasses on our own that we didn’t want to mess them up and it would be much neater to keep them intact as a cool keepsake. So we didn’t use them. We kept them all intact. I know you probably think we are nuts but we always get TONS of fastpasses and never even use them all as it is and it was neater for us to just have the fast pass intact the way it was. Anyway then the rest of the day we just did our normal routine of rides. We also went in to Toontown which we hadn’t done in awhile and ate lunch there and rode Roger Rabbit which we hadn’t done in years. We didn’t find the crowds a problem at all and we found that we were able to ride everything we wanted to as many times as we wanted with no problems at all. With the cold though we were tired early and ended up going back to the room early most days. This day we went back to the room and got McDonalds for dinner.
Thursday, February 21, 2008 EE
Plan: Mom leave this morning then on to DL/DCA
What actually happened: My mom actually left yesterday instead of today because of work and we decided to go back to Disneyland. So once again we went to Disneyland and this time we did something we never do. We went to Fantasyland first. We thought that perhaps we could get on some of the rides if we went there first but I forgot it was EE and they were already pretty packed. So then we went over to Critter country and saw people walking out with more Dream Fastpasses and so we got in line for Pooh and saw the Dream Team but they left before we could get them. So we came close to getting them AGAIN the second day in a row. IF we would have gotten them again we would have used them but alas it was not meant to be this day. Once again we just did our normal routine working our way around the park and it didn’t rain this day so we decided to let the girls finally try to do the Jedi Training. We tried back in October but it rained and they cancelled it. So we got in line and Katy got picked. It was a big thrill for her and we were really glad because we had tried before and it was hard to get in. This day we had lunch at Carnation café which is one of my favs and it was excellent as always and we met the famous Oscar and got a picture with him. Once again we were able to do everything by mid afternoon and with the cold we were ready to head back to the room early so we went back around 5 and just got pizza this night.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Plan: DL/DCA
What actually happened: Well it was finally our last day. We got up and had breakfast and headed to the parks. Started out at Disneyland and decided to hop back and forth between both parks. Once again we did Pirates first and then Shane went to get Space fast passes while the girls and I did Big Thunder. We then headed to fantasyland and did Mr. Toad and Pinochio. We wanted to do Alice but it was closed due to rain. So was the teacups. We then did Buzz and then Space. By then it was time for lunch and we ate at Pizza Port. I hadn’t eaten there in years since I got sick in ’02 but it was actually pretty good. Once again we just finished up there and then headed over to DCA and did the big 3. We did soaring, Screamin and then Tower. We decided to try the Aladdin show and during the flying carpet scene they had some type of technical problem and they stopped the show. They said it would start again but then 10 minutes later they said it was cancelled. I have heard of this happening but never seen it happen. That was new! So we just left and took the girls back to the room and got them sandwhiches and then Shane and I walked over to the Rain Forrest and had dinner. By then we were more than ready to hit the sack as it had been a LONG COLD day!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Plan: Pack, check out of hotel. Breakfast at DTD. Be at airport around 10 to return rental car. Hang out at airport for 2:30 flight home.
What actually happened: Well it was finally our last day and when we had decided to have lunch at Carnation Café we noticed people eating breakfast and it looked pretty good. We were going to eat breakfast at Rain Forrest but I told Shane we had time we should eat at Carnation. So I made a Priority Seating and so we went in yesterday and ate at Carnation. Shane had the eggs Benedict, Lynn had the Oscars special, Shelby the Mickey Waffle, Katy the scrambled Eggs and I had the Cinnamon Roll French Toast. Everything was excellent. I usually don’t eat that kind of food but it was WELL worth the indulgence.
Overall I have to say that the weather really stunk and I wish it had been warmer but the crowds were definitely manageable and I think that this is a good time to go. We had a great time and I would definitely go at this time of year again!
Cast: Myself 40, husband Shane 34, stepdaughter Lynn 16 (just turned on the 7th!!), daughter Katy 8, daughter Shelby 6 ( 7 in April) My mom Rosemarie 63
Transportation: plane/rental car
Hotel: staying with Family the first night in San Diego, Qaulity Inn, Hotel Circle in San Diego on the 17th and the rest of the trip at the Desert Inn in Anaheim.
Experience: All vets with Annual Passes
Pre-trip planning:
I have written many many of these reports and this won’t be the last. As I write this section I am just back from our July 07 trip and preparing for our October trip but that trip is pretty much done and I am firming up this trip as we speak. We bought Annual Passes back in 06 and are determined to get at least two trips in per year and more if possible. In 06 we went 3 times and last year we went twice I believe. This will be our first and possibly only trip for 08 but we ARE going to Disneyworld in November so it won’t be our last Disney trip for the year. Anyway I digress. What brought me to this particular trip is that we used to always travel in off season and take the kids out of school but with one in high school and the other two in grammar school that is no longer an option. Especially for a week long trip. Thus we are now relegated to fight the masses during summer and holiday periods. We HAVE however figured out how to work the fast pass system to our advantage and have made even the busiest of days work. Sure we prefer nice NON-crowded days but those days are past. We went last July and then again this past October but only for a weekend to partake of Mickey’s Halloween treat (although I am talking of it in the past tense and as of this writing I haven’t even gone yet LOL) but since I am a planner extraordinaire I had to have the “next” trip on the agenda. I knew I HAD to go to Disneyland here in CA at least once in 08 so this was it.
The girls get the entire week of President’s week off and it seemed like the best time. So as of this writing I have booked a night in San Diego at the Quality Inn on Hotel Circle and the remainder at the Desert Inn. We used to stay in a tad nicer digs while in Anaheim but we have learned that while touring in high season the closer the better! And really it is truly just a bed! We have stayed at Desert Inn many moons ago and are hoping it is ok. In July we stayed at the Fairfield Inn and it was ok and mom stayed at the Best Western Park Place and was not impressed although I thought it was passable. So we shall see if the Desert Inn passes muster.
Our plan is to drive down on Saturday the 16th straight through to San Diego and spend the remainder of the day/evening visiting with my family and spend that first night with them. Then on Sunday we will accompany them to the Zoo. We will then part ways and spend our one and only night at the Quality Inn and perhaps do some sight seeing in Old Town. Monday the 18th is reserved for Seaworld and we have not been to either the Zoo OR Seaworld as a family. Last time we went my husband was in Iraq. After Seaworld we will drive up to Anaheim and finish out the week at Disneyland. I have heard of the new Segway tour at Disneyland and if I haven’t already done it in October I plan to do it during this week. So for now the rooms are booked and all is said and done.
August 8, 2007
Well I have been racking my brain trying to decide what to do for my stepdaughter’s 16th and I asked her where she would like to eat for a special dinner and she decided on storytellers. So I am going to book at Storytellers for Tuesday and arrange with Disney for a special cake and a gift basket filled with things that a 16 year old would love. I think she will like this! Now I just have to work out all the details!
August 16, 2007
Well after several e-mails back and forth to vacation planning I found out that you must be staying on property to get a gift basket. Sooo that kind of messes up my plans but I am going to still arrange for a cake and get her a gift card instead. I hope that is ok with her! I am still also waiting to hear on the Halloween tour in October and IF that works out we will do the segway in Feb otherwise we will do that in Oct. I have also had to move our Disneyworld trip back a week to ensure being able to see the Osborne Lights and to do MVMCP. So LOTS of multiple trip planning all at once but that makes it fun!!
January 2, 2008
Well it is now finally 2008! We have done our October AND a December trip since I last wrote and had a wonderful time. We have also decided to brave Disney World during Thanksgiving this year and I have booked our Timeshare and now that it is officially 2008 in the next few weeks I will start looking to book our room at Universal and our room at Disney World. This trip is pretty much set I just need to book our meal at Storytellers and order Lynn’s cake which I will do in the next week or so. I am still debating about the Segway tour. We have had a lot of crazy things financially lately and as much as we would love to do it I don’t know if it is in the cards. We also have decided not to renew our Annual passes this June. We will let them expire and renew them in February of ’09 when we go back to Disneyland again. This will be our last trip for a whole year! Better make it a good one! J Next time I write will hopefully be after our trip!
January 9, 2008
Well I just got off the phone with Disney dinning and Storytellers is all booked as is the cake. I wanted a Jack Sparrow cake or Tinkerbell but they have neither L. So in lieu of I chose Ariel. I hope she likes it. I know she liked Ariel as a kid and I figured instead of something more juvenile like Mickey, Minnie or one of the other princesses I thought that would do. So I got the cake and the ressie and we are now all set!! So NOW hopefully the next time I write it will be with the full report!!
February 4, 2008
Well here we are less than 2 weeks to go and once again things have changed. Shane may have to work and my mom DOES have to work so we decided to fly now. We just bought the tickets today so they were NOT cheap to say the least but it had to be done. Shane may still end up not going but we can use the credit for our trip in November if we end up going. So now we will be flying down Saturday morning and then my mom will fly home Thursday morning and either Shane and the girls and I will fly home Saturday afternoon or just the girls and I. So hopefully now THIS is the last entry LOL.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Plan: Fly to Orange County. Pick up rental car and drive to San Diego. Tour old town and hopefully the midway before going to Barb and Charlie’s for dinner and to spend the night.
What actually happened: Well the day FINALLY arrived! This trip was much anticipated and yet saddened because I knew that THIS time it was the last for a long time. Every other trip, when I left, I was never too sad because I knew that in just a few months I would be back. But this time I knew it would be a LONG time before we would be back and I wanted to make it a GREAT one! We had to be up BRIGHT and early Saturday morning because we had a very early flight. We arrived at the airport and after checking in had a quick breakfast. The good thing about such an early flight is there were no delays. We had an uneventful flight to Orange County and were upgraded to a Toyota Highlander from a mini van with Enterprise. I can’t say enough good things about Enterprise. We usually use Avis but they wanted a MINT to rent a van for the week and Enterprise quoted us just under 300 for the week for a van. And then we got the free upgrade to the SUV so that was great! We got the car and were off. The drive down was nice if not a little long because of traffic. We had not been to San Diego since ’04 so it was nice to see it again. We drove straight to the harbor and the Midway. We had lunch at Seaport Village and I am sure there were much better options but we were on a budget and choose a deli which unfortunately was NOT great. I am sure, though, that there ARE good choices there we just didn’t pick one. We then toured the ship which I must say is a MUST see! If you like that kind of thing it was VERY interesting. With my husband being ex military he got a discount as did I and so did the kids and my mom for being a senior. So none of us had to pay the full price. We probably spent close to 4 hours on the tour which is self guided with head phones and we didn’t even see it all. It was extremely interesting and again if you like that kind of thing I highly recommend it if you are in the area.
After that it was time to head to my family’s home in Rancho Bernardo. We had a nice drive up there and a nice visit with them.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Plan: San Diego Zoo all day. Stay at Quality Inn this night. Dinner in San Diego.
What actually happened: The next day we all caravanned to the zoo. We had a bit of a screw up with which tickets to buy since my husband got in free being Military and we had some coupons from the family since they are passholders. I recommend getting the combo ticket since it is the best deal and of course if you can buy it in advance online that is the best deal. But alas we got in none the less and did the bus tour first. We also did the sky tram which was fun and had a nice lunch. That is a great zoo but definitely requires being in good shape! We parted ways with my relatives around 3:00 and then we left to check in to our hotel. We stayed in the Comfort Inn on Hotel Circle which was decent. Definitely nothing fancy but for a cheapie hotel it was definitely fine. Nice and clean and a good deal. We then had dinner at the Hunter Steakhouse which we had eaten at before in ’04. This place is also very good. After that we were very much ready to hit the hay after all that walking!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Plan: Seaworld all day. Check out of hotel. Drive to Anaheim. DTD for dinner if not already had in SD.
What actually happened: Once again we were up bright and early and our hotel had a continental breakfast and since we area always on a budget we decided to partake. It was decent and we then checked out and headed over to Seaworld. Once again we had not been since ’04 and I knew that they were doing the Heros salute but since my husband was no longer active duty I was told he could not qualify but then when I got there I found out with his ID he COULD have qualified for the discount but alas lesson learned. However we had bought tickets from Getaway today so we had to exchange the voucher for our tickets at Will Call and then we entered the park. They let you in to the front part where we did a little shopping and then we decided to see Shamu first thing. He is the star after all. We saw him first thing and it was a GREAT show. We then worked our way around seeing the various shows and the girls did a few rides but the theme of this trip was COLD. It was VERY cold this entire trip and even though we all brought long pants and shirts and jackets it was still not warm enough. The girls braved the two water rides but I was freezing just standing there watching them! After seeing almost everything we finally took off around 4:30 to head up to Anaheim. We had a fairly uneventful drive with some traffic but not too bad. We checked in to the Desert Inn and were very pleased with our room. We rented the C suite I believe and it is the room with the sitting room and the other larger room. It will sleep 10 and it was very large. It is an older hotel and some of the furniture is beat up but the room was very big and we were pleased with it. And I can’t say enough how happy I was with the maid service. We always had plenty of towels, pillows and toilet paper. UNLIKE our last experience with the Del Sol. This room cost us 200 per night but it was WELL worth it for the suite. Anyway we got the girls pizza from Tony Roma’s and then mom, Shane and I headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. We went to the Rain Forrest and ended up having to eat on their outside patio but they had heaters at least. After a nice dinner we headed home for a much needed rest.
Tuesday, February, 19, 2008 EE
Plan: DCA all day. Storytellers at 6 this night and Lynn’s birthday cake.
What actually happened: Well today was our first park day. We got up and decided to have Denny’s since we had the continental the day before. So we had our Denny’s breakfast and then headed to the park. We did our normal routine of Soaring first and then Tower etc. We usually ride soaring and get a fast pass, then Tower and get our next fast pass etc. We collect them as we go to use later on. It wasn’t terribly crowded and we were able to do most everything we wanted to do very early. We even watched the Golden Dreams movie again. Mom and I watched it in December and this time Shane was able to see it. It finally came time to leave for our priority seating and we did this and then Lynn was very surprised by her cake and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but it looked great, especially the Tinkerbell figurine. I wanted to try and bring it home but it was so fragile and we didn’t have a way to get it home. Overall I think Lynn was very happy and besides the gifts we gave her at home on her actual birthday Shane bought her a hat she wanted in the parks. So I think she had a good birthday. My mom’s birthday is also tomorrow so we got her a button as well and they brought her a little cupcake as well. And our anniversary was the 14th so we wore our anniversary buttons too. We never got anything but got several Happy Anniversarys from different cast members. After dinner we were tired so just retired back to the room.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Plan: DL all day
What actually happened: Today was our first Disneyland day and we started out doing our usual routine this day as well. We always go on Pirates first. So we entered the park and went on pirates. Well to our surprise as we came off the Dream team was handing out Dream Fast passes. So we FINALLY won something. We have gotten the tinkerbell pins in the past and we got the preferred seating for fantasmic but to me this was the first REAL thing we have won by the actual white vests. I was so shocked because I have been so many times and I never expected to actually win anything. We decided though since we always get tons of fastpasses on our own that we didn’t want to mess them up and it would be much neater to keep them intact as a cool keepsake. So we didn’t use them. We kept them all intact. I know you probably think we are nuts but we always get TONS of fastpasses and never even use them all as it is and it was neater for us to just have the fast pass intact the way it was. Anyway then the rest of the day we just did our normal routine of rides. We also went in to Toontown which we hadn’t done in awhile and ate lunch there and rode Roger Rabbit which we hadn’t done in years. We didn’t find the crowds a problem at all and we found that we were able to ride everything we wanted to as many times as we wanted with no problems at all. With the cold though we were tired early and ended up going back to the room early most days. This day we went back to the room and got McDonalds for dinner.
Thursday, February 21, 2008 EE
Plan: Mom leave this morning then on to DL/DCA
What actually happened: My mom actually left yesterday instead of today because of work and we decided to go back to Disneyland. So once again we went to Disneyland and this time we did something we never do. We went to Fantasyland first. We thought that perhaps we could get on some of the rides if we went there first but I forgot it was EE and they were already pretty packed. So then we went over to Critter country and saw people walking out with more Dream Fastpasses and so we got in line for Pooh and saw the Dream Team but they left before we could get them. So we came close to getting them AGAIN the second day in a row. IF we would have gotten them again we would have used them but alas it was not meant to be this day. Once again we just did our normal routine working our way around the park and it didn’t rain this day so we decided to let the girls finally try to do the Jedi Training. We tried back in October but it rained and they cancelled it. So we got in line and Katy got picked. It was a big thrill for her and we were really glad because we had tried before and it was hard to get in. This day we had lunch at Carnation café which is one of my favs and it was excellent as always and we met the famous Oscar and got a picture with him. Once again we were able to do everything by mid afternoon and with the cold we were ready to head back to the room early so we went back around 5 and just got pizza this night.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Plan: DL/DCA
What actually happened: Well it was finally our last day. We got up and had breakfast and headed to the parks. Started out at Disneyland and decided to hop back and forth between both parks. Once again we did Pirates first and then Shane went to get Space fast passes while the girls and I did Big Thunder. We then headed to fantasyland and did Mr. Toad and Pinochio. We wanted to do Alice but it was closed due to rain. So was the teacups. We then did Buzz and then Space. By then it was time for lunch and we ate at Pizza Port. I hadn’t eaten there in years since I got sick in ’02 but it was actually pretty good. Once again we just finished up there and then headed over to DCA and did the big 3. We did soaring, Screamin and then Tower. We decided to try the Aladdin show and during the flying carpet scene they had some type of technical problem and they stopped the show. They said it would start again but then 10 minutes later they said it was cancelled. I have heard of this happening but never seen it happen. That was new! So we just left and took the girls back to the room and got them sandwhiches and then Shane and I walked over to the Rain Forrest and had dinner. By then we were more than ready to hit the sack as it had been a LONG COLD day!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Plan: Pack, check out of hotel. Breakfast at DTD. Be at airport around 10 to return rental car. Hang out at airport for 2:30 flight home.
What actually happened: Well it was finally our last day and when we had decided to have lunch at Carnation Café we noticed people eating breakfast and it looked pretty good. We were going to eat breakfast at Rain Forrest but I told Shane we had time we should eat at Carnation. So I made a Priority Seating and so we went in yesterday and ate at Carnation. Shane had the eggs Benedict, Lynn had the Oscars special, Shelby the Mickey Waffle, Katy the scrambled Eggs and I had the Cinnamon Roll French Toast. Everything was excellent. I usually don’t eat that kind of food but it was WELL worth the indulgence.
Overall I have to say that the weather really stunk and I wish it had been warmer but the crowds were definitely manageable and I think that this is a good time to go. We had a great time and I would definitely go at this time of year again!