Vettegirl's Falalalala DL Dec 09 now a Trip Report (pics galore!)

[vettegirl]

Hello fellow Disers,
My name is Lori and I am so excited to share will all my Dis pals my upcoming plans for my DL and So Cal trip. I truly love Disney and have been to WDW and DL Paris. Nothing compares to the orginal Disnyland though, even though DL Paris came close in some ways :) We will be in So Cal Dec 3-8 and will continue on to Hawaii for 6 days, can't wait :cool1:

My DH who likes Disney, doesn't share the same enthusiasm I do, but still has a ball when were are there!

Here are a few pics to share some of my previous Disney experiences before I begin the ol' trip report.

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[vettegirl]

Day 1 Pre Trip Report.

Our flight gets in from Houston to LAX at 9:30 and I already have our car reserved with Hertz for 5 days total $120 and with AAA we get a free upgrade :cool1:

As far as a plan for the first day I am not sure. I am sure we will go to Hollywood Blvd. check out Beverly Hills and us being classic car nuts go around to a couple of the classic car dealerships. I know while we are at HB I want to check out the Disney Soda Fountain, it wasn't there back in 2000 so I am looking forward to checking it out. May even try it for lunch as their menu prices are cheap!

The first night our hotel is free via my Capital One Rewards Debit card whoo hoo! I haven't quiet decided but the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn looks nice and they offer a free shuttle to Universal Studios and Citywalk. We plan on visiting the Citywalk that night to catch a movie at their awesome theather. I remember back in 2000 we saw Gladiator there and it was amazing. I plan on buying the movie package from the entertainment card in advance and save some $$$$$$:thumbsup2

If anyone has any tips or suggestions for anything I might be missing for the first day let me know!

Here are a few more past Disney pics from our adventures!

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[vettegirl]

Day 2
Day 2 will find us at Universal Studios, it has been almost 10 years since we have visited this fun park. I am super excited as they have so many new rides and shows to see. I can't wait to ride The Simpsons and The Mummy rides. I wonder what kind of Christmas decor they will have up?

After Universal we will be heading over for a night at the Queen Mary. I have never been, my DH has. On the way I would like to try an In N Out burger, can you believe I have never had one! Can't wait to see what the big hoopla is. Our stay at the Queen Mary is also free through my debit card rewards :cool1: Just pay for parking and that's it. I checked out they prices for the restaurants and I have to say I will be saving my $$ for DL they are too darn expensive :scared1:

Next up Day 3 Long Beach, OC, and finally DL Hotel!!

[SundaeAfternoon]

Hi there! Sounds like a great trip you have planned. Disneyland and Hawaii...does it get any better then that?:thumbsup2

[vettegirl]

I am so excited, if only the Disney resort on Oahu was open, it looks like it is gong to be pretty amazing.

[vettegirl]

Day 3!
That morning we plan on checking out the Queen Mary and all of her glory. It looks so beautiful and can't wait to learn about all the history that occured on it. After that we will probably just drive around and see where the day takes us!

That afternoon we will be making our way to DL Hotel. Neither of us have never set foot in the hotel and really have no idea what to expect. I know I have always wanted to stay there but was not willing to pay the price. Thanks to the military discount which takes it to $139 a night, could not pass it up. I thought about concierge but my fellow Disers advised me for 2 people it's not worth it and I agree. So my next questions is should I upgrade the view or just take what I get. Also I wonder if they will give me a new room, it is still a few months away so maybe they will have a bunch of renovated rooms!

We we arrive of course I plan on checking out the hotel, maybe go to Team Mickey fit for a little exercise because I will need it because we are going to Goofy's kitchen for dinner. I already purchased my vouchers on getawaytoday.com Oh my it sounds so good, I am not sure what time to make the PS for, I was thinking like 6 or 6:30 so afterwards in all of our full misery we can cruise around DT Disney. Which I love, even better than the one at DW. That evening I guess we might try one the pools but it being Dec it may be to cold, however I have heard on the boards the pools are heated.

We will need our beauty sleep as I am going to be the first one in DL that morning LOL. You know it's funny when we went to DLP last year were the only ones waiting for it to open and the first ones in, talk about magical.

Coming up Day 4! Finally I get to see the holiday decor :cool1:

[SundaeAfternoon]

You will have to let me know how the Mummy ride is. I have always wanted to try it!

[vettegirl]

Coming up Day 4 First day at DL parks!

[vettegirl]

Just wanted to share with my DL pals that I booked a solo 3 day trip to DW Oct 26-28! I had a few days left on a military salute ticket to use. I will continue with my DL PTR soon!

[Sunset Cliffs]

I'm really excited to hear about your plans for L.A. We are going during November, and we are looking for things to do around LA on the days we aren't going to the parks. I can't think of a more perfect trip than to do Disney first and then Hawaii. Great planning! :thumbsup2

[PrincessKell]

How fantastic. What a vacation! Oh I do love In n out. Its some good stuff. I love the fries.

FUN! A solo to WDW. Nice!

[vettegirl]

Well my solo DW trip now includes my sweet MIL, looking forward to it leave Monday :cool1:

Now on to our first day at DL. I know we will be heading first for one of those yummy cinnamon rolls. No one makes them like Disney. After that we will probably head to the Space Mountain. I have not been on it in a couple of years. Then will probably head to NOS and to my favorite HMH, it's one of the neatest rides have ever been on. It's loaded with things to look at and you need several rides through to soak it all in. After that I am sure we will hit another fav Splash Mountain. It's so hard to preplan this stuff. We don't have any plans for lunch I know we will be eating light because we have a 7:00 PM ressie for my favorite restaurant is the whole world Blue Bayou. Can't wait to get my bowl of jamabalaya. I purchased $75 in Disney giftcards for this meal to surprise DH. He can buy me a nice dinner in Hawaii this ones on me!

More to come soon!

[vettegirl]

Yeah, got back from the Ecpot Food and Wine Festival Wed night. Returned home with swine flu!!! I am starting to feel better though, but man that was rough. Just wanted to add I only spent a few hours at MK, and it does not compare to Halloween time at DL. They hardly had any decorations at all. For you all that have had a chance to visit DL at Halloween time it is incredible. MK for sure is a let down for me since I have been to DL, just my opinion though. Whoo Hoo my trip is almost a month away!!!

[vettegirl]

Trips a month away today :cool1:

[javaj]

Loved your pics and have fun preparing for your trip. We have a short trip planned close to Christmas, we always try to go to DL when we see family in SoCal.

Sorry you got sick at WDW, we also came back from F&W a few weeks ago but we were actually able to keep the whole family healthy this time.

Have a great trip! I look forward to your TR.

[vettegirl]

:cool1:Went to our base today and bought our DL tickets. They had them in stock and was able to get the 2 day hopper passes for 120.50. Not too bad! They also had a brochure for the special hotel rates through 12/23/09. I have my awesome rate for the DL Hotel, and I am so excited to see this hotel for the first time.

[vettegirl]

Called DLH today to upgrade my view and it is sold out! Same for GCH, I guess people are taking advantage of the sale going on right now.

[prettyprincessbelle]

I'm in! You'll be there around the same time we will! We're arriving the 2nd and heading home the 5th. A lot of the hotels are booked already due to the Candlelight Processional. I really hope there isn't too many crowds!!

[vettegirl]

I know all the Disney hotels are booked, I tried to upgrade my view and was told no! We are going on Sunday and Monday so were going to avoid the CP as we have a ressie at BB at 7:00 Sunday evening.

[vettegirl]

Just booked my hotel for Universal Studios, Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn. The reviews are fantastic for this place.

[vettegirl]

Flying out to LAX in the morning and cannot wait! Escaping the cold and maybe snow in Texas!!!

[vettegirl]

Arrival Day Dec 5th

We arrived at the wonderful Disneyland Hotel that afternoon at 4. We were greeted by a very nice CM who informed us that we had been upgraded to a theme park view room :cool1::cool1: I was sooo excited and could not wait to see our room. We had to wait 15 minutes for our room to be ready but now worries. Our room was on the 9th floor in the Magic Tower and the room was huge! The furniture was so cute with adorable disney touches. I thought this hotel was perfect, the location was great, the hotel was clean, and the grounds were amazing. The view was basically of the back of Splash Mountain. You could see the top of the castle. I certainly would not pay for that but hey I will take it for free. In the afternoon they even had hot apple cider for guests, which was greatly appreciated because it was cold!

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Coming up a visit to Goofy's Kitchen for dinner!

[deejdigsdis]

Oooohhh...I like that snowflake!

[vettegirl]

So for dinner that night we had reservations at Goofy's Kitchen. I bought the prepaid vouchers so it was nice to have everything taken care of. Overall the food was very good here. I really enjoyed the salad bar and carving station. The dessert selections were terrible, but we were so full dessert was not really an option. Goofy and Cinderella came by to say hello, but overall the characters stayed away from us two adults LOL, but that's okay with me, as I feel kind of silly when they come by.

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[onelilspark]

Yay for upgrades! :banana:

[aspen37]

Your off to a great start with your TR. :thumbsup2 I can't wait to read more. :banana:
I have been to DL many times as a kind and a few times in the last 8 years. But they were all one day trips.
I will be going on the Adventure's By Disney Backstage Magic Tour in April. So I'm starting to get excited about staying on property for the first time and spending 4 days at DL. :woohoo:

[vettegirl]

First Day in the Parks

We awoke early for the 8am early magical hour. We arrived at the gates 10 minutes before opening and there was hardly anyone there. It was cool outside and overcast. The first ride we rode during MM was Space Mountain. I love the DL version so much, back in 08 when I rode it at DW it was not the same. I love the music on the ride at DL and the ride photo as well. After that we rode the Matterhorn, another favorite. Then on to Alice and Wonderland, that was my first time on it, and was too cute. After that onto my favorite fantasyland ride Mr. Toad. I don't know why I love that ride so much! After those rides we went and grabbed one of the huge cinnammon rolls from the Mainstreet Bakery. My DH insisted that we each get our own, big mistake I could barely eat 1/4 of it. It was awesome as usual but after awhile it was just too darn sweet.

I must admit I was in awe of the Christmas decor. This was the first time to see this and the details were amazing. The Small World Holiday overlay was incredible.

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