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View Full Version : Magic outside of Disneyland?



1shellybell
02-08-2007, 10:24 PM
The weekend of March 9th we will be in Anaheim with a friend and her husband at a seminar. My friend's husband just found out he will be leaving for Iraq (for the second time) and I was hoping to help them create a little "magic" before he leaves (nothing too costly, but memorable). My DH doesn't want to buy tickets to the park since we will only have a few hours to be there, so I'm wondering if there is anyway to create "magic" outside the parks? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and actually I haven't given up altogether on the park, so feel free to throw those ideas in. I just have to try to convince my husband that a few hours is worth it.

WITron
02-08-2007, 10:38 PM
My suggestion would be Downtown Disney. There are alot of nice restraunts and if there are no kids, you could always go from place to place drinking.

Niwel
02-08-2007, 11:14 PM
Have a meal at the Grand Californian or the Disneyland hotel (at the very least walk around the lobby of GCH

Stupid_American
02-09-2007, 05:50 AM
The lobby and grounds of the Disneyland Hotel is filled with Disney magic!

Disneyland Hotel Slideshow (http://cheapeatsbangkok.com/sites/disney_hotel_slide/)

DisneyPrincessCat
02-09-2007, 06:26 AM
:) Got to agree with the rest. Downtown Disney is fun and visiting the Disneyland Hotel lobby is a trip back through histort of the park.:D There are wonderful pictures and maps of the park and the statues and topiary and pool area are photographic MUSTS if you want a mini trip to Disney. You can walk through the waterfalls grotto area (BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!) and follow the path by the Koi ponds in the interior area of the hotel grounds. And DtD has so many shops and restaurants. If you had the hours right when you were there you could try to get into a character breakfast or dinner at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel or a character breakfast with Chip and Dale and Koda and Kenai at Grand Calif or Lilo and Stitch breakfast at Paradise Pier Hotel, but for that *real * Disney Magic without actually going into the parks, Disneyland Hotel has it all beat hands down. They even have a teriffic gift shop, Fantasia in the lobby. WARNING!!!!!!! It will be addicting and you will NOT want to leave. You will be left with a strong yearning for the park, and not the Calif Adventure park, which I like to call Pixar Park!!!!! Have fun in the area, go to the Disney Hotel for a trip to Disney without the expense of a park ticket, but still may cost ya!
sues

1shellybell
02-09-2007, 06:36 AM
Thanks for the tips. None of us drink (well alcohol anyway:D ) but downtown disney sounds great. In the three times we've been there in the last few years we have never even ventured to DTD because we're always in the parks with our kids. This is definetly a no kid trip.

DisneyPrincessCat
02-09-2007, 07:26 AM
The lobby and grounds of the Disneyland Hotel is filled with Disney magic!

Disneyland Hotel Slideshow (http://cheapeatsbangkok.com/sites/disney_hotel_slide/)
Beautiful shots!!!! Love them. They really show alot of the magic there! That should be tempting to the OP!!!!:D
sues

yohomama212
02-09-2007, 07:32 AM
Since your friend is in the military, he gets a discount and can use that on all your tickets. I don't remember what the price difference is, but it could be worth looking into if you really do want to go into the park. Otherwise, DTD is plenty of fun! RainForest Cafe is a great place for a meal and all the shops are so fun to look in!

Liz :cool:

mistofviolets
02-09-2007, 11:37 AM
Thanks for the tips. None of us drink (well alcohol anyway:D ) but downtown disney sounds great. In the three times we've been there in the last few years we have never even ventured to DTD because we're always in the parks with our kids. This is definetly a no kid trip.


This might be corny...but; especially if they have kids (even if the kids aren't there) It might be fun to go to Build a Bear. They could make bears for each kid with a Daddy Kiss tucked right inside. Or, I'm not sure if they let you stuff the tiny animals...but a tiny animal and its match for the two of them as a memory of the trip would be sweet ;) The tiny animal is much more transportable than the full size. He could bury it in his luggage! LOL.

1shellybell
02-09-2007, 12:16 PM
mistofviolets - I was getting emotional just reading your post. Yes, my friends have two girls and I think that would be a great idea.


yohomama212 - I did check the MWR and a one day is about $6.00 different. Is there some other military place to check or a different military discount?

Thanks to everyone again. You are all awesome (not to mention knowledgeable).

yohomama212
02-09-2007, 01:41 PM
Check on base. I honestly don't know how that works, my SIL is retired Air Force, but the closest base to us is Marine, she still goes down there to purchase tickets for theme parks and special events. I believe DL used to do some sort of service member recognition day but I don't know what they do and how that works. (Of course there are always good people willing to pay for a solider's ticket into the park if you and your DH can't foot the entire cost.)

Liz :cool: