I'm NEVER staying home for March Break again! FINISHED 07/17 Just in time!

When I left off.... I had lost my passport. Well, I knew where it was, but I didn't have it in my possession. For some reason, I was feeling confident it would be exactly where I left it, but once I decided to move to get it, I started to feel a little more anxious.

I did run fairly quickly back down to the lobby and everything was exactly where I had left it. I ran back upstairs to our room to snap some more pictures and Blanche called home to let everyone know we had safely arrived, a few hours later than planned, but still safely, finally, arrived!


Room by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


View again 1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


View 6 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


View again 4 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


View again 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


View again 3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


We decided we were hungry and we really wanted food. We had wanted to eat at the Rainforest Café, so we bundled up in our jackets and sweaters and headed towards Downtown Disney.

I’m at Disneyland. The first Disney Park. The original Disney park. The park that Walt actually walked in. I can’t believe it. I’m trying hard to walk slowly and soak it all in, when I actually want to hop, skip, jump, sing and scream. I’m sure I let out a few squeals of excitement along the way “EEEEEEE”.


Pink tree by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Pretty flowers by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Street by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

See the monorail? I may have noticed at the time, but if I had, I had completely forgotten that I saw the monorail!


Palm Trees on the street by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I had read on the Dis about the shortcut through Mimi's parking lot, so that's the way we went.


Mimi's by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I can see Tower of Terror! Stop for a second. Close your eyes. Imagine the feeling! I'm so close I can taste the park! :rotfl:


Tower of Terror by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Disneyland by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I like to take pictures.... sometimes I'll stop and think about a picture and have it all "pretty" (or try to! :laughing: ) Sometimes I just take snapshots to remember something. Or because someone would like that etc.


ART by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I snapped some pictures of the walk, partly so I could look at the times and see how long it took! The flowered tree above is right outside the HoJo, and I took that at 6:11. The picture of the ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation) was taken at 6:20.


Parks ahead! by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I let some stranger search my belongings (again) before entering the area between the parks. Okay, I’m just teasing, I don’t mind the bag checks, I understand that they will hopefully catch something and keep us safe!

By 6:26pm, we are in line trying to get our Disney tickets.


Hidden Mickey ticket window by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Hidden Mickeys by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


I was sure to point out that it was my first visit to Disneyland and that we were celebrating Blanche’s birthday too. She gave us buttons. Blanche couldn’t believe how many people wished her a Happy Birthday through the week.

At this point, my heart and soul are calling out to me “Disneyland… Disneyland…” But we resist and head to Downtown Disney as planned. If we have the energy after supper, we tell ourselves, then we’ll head in to the park for a little walk through.


California Adventure by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Disneyland by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Downtown Disney! by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Fountain at DTD by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr
 
monkey30 said:
What great pictures, and love the update!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Keep reading... and I am really liking some of the pictures I got with my bigger camera! (I'm not the best photographer, but I love taking pictures and I keep learning... so I still get surprised when I get something I like.)
 
Believe me, it was hard to walk past TWO parks and not go in. But I was hungry, and we'd agreed to get food first and then see how we felt.

Have I mentioned that I like to take pictures? And I like to shop? Well.... mostly Disney shop. I'm not a huge shopper. So taking pictures while shopping at Disney is fun for me! I wasn’t shopping yet though, just taking pictures of the World of Disney store… one of my favorites! And we didn't go in, we just walked by.


World of Disney 1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


World of Disney 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


World of Disney 3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


World of Disney 4 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


World of Disney 5 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


World of Disney 6 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


I was so excited to see the recycle bins.


Garbage cans by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

So cute!

We were fading, wanting some real food. We walked all the way to the Rainforest Café to see a huge line of people waiting to be seated. Nope, not there then. So we checked out a few other options in DTD and nothing appealed to us enough to wait for food. Until Napolini. Pizza. I love pizza. Blanche loves pizza. So pizza it was.


Pizza for supper by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I got the cheese pizza I think. It was good, but it got cold very quickly. So quickly that I finished before Blanche even sat down. Or maybe I just eat fast. Growing up at my house, you ate quickly or you didn’t get much food. Either someone took it off you or you ended up losing your spot at the table! (Just kidding, except the part about losing your spot… we couldn’t always fit at the table, and we still can’t because of the size of the family… I have my parents and my uncle, then 9 siblings, 5 brother/sister in laws, and 16 nieces and nephews… not to mention other boyfriend/girlfriends and friends, of siblings and nieces and nephews).

We decided to head back to the hotel at this point. We had been fed, and we’d been up for at least 20 hours… well, I had been! LOL We had a 7:10 am ADR for breakfast with Minnie and friends.


Fountains 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Tower of Terror was calling me.... but my feet wouldn't have been able to wait in the line!


Tower of Terror by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Harbor Blvd by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

The street was really pretty. And the walk was nice back to the hotel. It took us less than 20 minutes to be back outside the HoJo. You can see how cold Blanche was in this next one. She had about 4 layers on - a t-shirt, a jacket, a jean jacket and a rain jacket. She also had little gloves and big thick mittens on. HAHAHA. You would never know that we are Canadian!


Hotel at night by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


HoJo path at night by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

The view from the room at night.


View at Night by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I look out at the view, thinking about the next 7 days and how quickly they are going to fly by. It’s bittersweet that the trip has arrived because I know that it will be over before I know it. I can’t believe that I am at a hotel where I can walk to the parks, where I can see the parks from my room, where I have a comfortable bed, and it’s safe and clean. All at the same time. Crazy.

I slowly, tiredly, yet excitedly pick out my clothing for the morning. We had a big day planned and I wanted to be warm, yet comfortable, and have a great day. I needed to get some sleep, so I hopped in to bed… and slept very soundly!
 
Wow!! You really got some updates done. You have so much more self control than I do. I would have had to at least go into the World of Disney store.
 


kaoden39 said:
Wow!! You really got some updates done. You have so much more self control than I do. I would have had to at least go into the World of Disney store.
Click to expand...

We may have on the way out! ;) I can't remember. We went through there so many times, and I'd keep saying "I'm buying that, that, that, that.... " :banana:
 


yoyo93 said:
I know the one with the helmet on (far left) is Boba Fett from Star Wars, so I'll assume the rest of them are dressed up as characters from Star Wars :)

I'm loving your trip report so far! :D
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! I was thinking they had something to do with movies.... but I've never really watched Star Wars. I do love Star Tours though, so does that make up for it? ;)
 
March 18, 2012, Part 1: Off to Neverland! (um... Disneyland!)

(Did I mention that there is a four hour time difference between PEI and California? No need for an alarm on this day!) I opened my eyes, stretched my arms and thought about how comfortable my bed was but that I didn’t like the pillows. Blanche told me she loved the pillows. I sure don’t have a clue why the pillows were not that comfortable to me. I mainly use a foam pillow at home, maybe I’m not used to softer pillows anymore. Both of us had slept really well. The first thing I did was open the curtains and look to make sure our view was still there. Yup, it was. No worries, the Matterhorn is still in California!

We got up and showered (or I showered the night before, I can never quite remember) and got ready to go. I snacked on a few things while Blanche started to get ready. She seemed to take a long while to get ready… or maybe it just seemed that way because I was waiting to get to Disneyland! I think she just wanted to look extra beautiful because it was her BIRTHDAY!

We had a 7:10 am ADR for Minnie and Friends, and I didn’t want to be late! I have a picture of Blanche putting cream on her foot at 6:35am. (I took it to torture the third Golden Girl, Dorothy – she hates feet). The first picture I took outside says 10:55am, but I hadn’t changed the time on my big camera yet, so we left shortly before 6:55. I snapped pictures happily along Harbor Blvd on our way to the park. Some turned out blurry because I didn’t stop; I was just walking along snapping pictures as we walked.


On our way to bk by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

We’re at the crosswalk. I don’t think we had to wait very often at the crosswalk. It seemed to almost always change as we walked up, or shortly after.


Disneyland entrance by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Harbor Blvd by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Wet morning by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Now, can you imagine how excited I am when I’m walking along this walkway? At some points through the trip, I would walk up on the benches and hop down to get rid of some of my energy.

At this point, I’m starting to feel some rumblies in my tummy, but I didn’t care. I knew I was going to be eating soon. In Disneyland. In Walt’s original park. I was so excited and ready to see some true Disney sites!


Wet morning 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I love the look of Disney with wet ground. Not the pouring rain Disney, but the it has already rained Disney.
Ooh! We’re getting closer! (The time says 11:03, so it’s 7:03 am… will we make it to Minnie and Friends in time for our ADR?)


This way to fun and adventure by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

We had our privacy infringed upon (;)) again and found the breakfast entrance. We didn’t want to use our early entry (What is it called again? I’ll have to search that!) because we were planning to use that on Tuesday morning. The friendly gentleman at the gate gave us some Minnie and Friends buttons, so we put them on our jackets/purses and walked into the park.


Disneyland by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Walking up Main Street is a dream for me. Every time I walk it, I get chills. It’s so beautiful, it’s so Disney. So familiar, with a different castle at the end of it! I loved it. I had been repeating to myself “The castle is supposed to be small.” And it worked. I thought it was perfect! I love Cinderella Castle too, but Sleeping Beauty Castle is special and beautiful all the same, just different!


Town Square 1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


City Hall by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Fire Hall by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Town Square 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Castle 1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Okay... stop me if you don't like walking up Main Street with me! :rotfl2: Too bad, I'm still posting more pictures! :rotfl:


Castle 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


IMG_1756 from raw by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Castle 3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Castle 4 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

It was 6:55 when we left our hotel. Our ADR was 7:15.... did we make it on time?
 
I love being able to walk through Sleeping Beauty's castle to Fantasyland. The feeling to me is pure wonder. I bet you got there in time.
 
Great pictures, I am in awe of the fairy empty streets, I would love to be there for that!
 
kaoden39 said:
I love being able to walk through Sleeping Beauty's castle to Fantasyland. The feeling to me is pure wonder. I bet you got there in time.
Click to expand...

I only did it a few times, but I agree, it's a pretty impressive feeling! Keep in mind how slow we walk... I'm always taking pictures! ;)

monkey30 said:
Great pictures, I am in awe of the fairy empty streets, I would love to be there for that!
Click to expand...

If you want to, you need to get an ADR at Minnie and Friends! Just wait until you see all the characters we saw! The park was open that morning at 8am, but it was an MM morning, so some people were getting in at 7am for that. We had our early morning breakfast. It was LOVELY getting in that early. So worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
 
March 18, 2012, Part 2: Plaza Inn characters galore

When we left off, I was trying to hint that we might not make our ADR time. [/CODE][/CODE]Well, we didn't actually make our time. It was supposed to be at 7:10, and normally I'd like to be there a little earlier, but that's okay. We got there at around 7:13 and went straight in.

(Let me know if you'd rather I go back to the smaller size... I like bigger, but I have a huge computer screen...)


Plaza Inn 1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Plaza Inn 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Who’s that I see up there? My first celebrity!


Plaza Inn 3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Tigger Greeter by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I loved the interaction and how “in character” they were. We saw 11 characters! I could not believe that. And they were fun. For this section, it will be a visual guide, mostly pictures! We didn't even have time to take off a layer or two before the first characters stopped by.

Eeyore came by first.


Eeyore by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Notice Chip sneaking up in the background?


Eeyore B4 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Eeyore and Chip B3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Eeyore and Chip 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I told Blanche to look beside her... she did and SCREAMED! Chip thought it was hilarious.


Eeyore and Chip 3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Eeyore, Chip, Minnie 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Eeyore, Chip, Minnie by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Tigger and Hook by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Tigger was trying to steal Captain Hooks hat I think... And Captain Hook is a real gentleman. He was kissing our hands and being a real flirt.


Captain Hook B by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

It took me a minute to figure out what Suzy was telling me to do. She wanted me to hide from Captain Hook! She was covering her eyes and hiding behind the table. So being, the good Disney Freak that I am... I did! Too bad Blanche was in the washroom at this point and couldn't take any pictures for me! At one point, Suzy, Max and I were hiding behind the table from the suave Captain Hook.


Suzy hiding from Hook by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Max B by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Max by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Moving Max by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Suzy wanted to pose for me then, and then helped me get a good shot of Max and I.


Suzy B2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Max B2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

More to come! I love my character pictures, although I don't get them for the most part, besides meals and shows/parades.



 
March 18, 2012, Part 3: Plaza Inn ... MORE characters?

I don't think I was able to even go look at the buffet yet, I was too busy playing with the characters!


Tigger B 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Minnie 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

By then Blanche was back.


Chip by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Chip by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Chip by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Chip and Dale are so much fun!


Chip and Dale 1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Chip and Dale 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Chip and Dale 3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Chip and Dale 4 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Minnie took a few minutes to gaze out the window.


Minnie B by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Then someone came peeking through the window! He made me giggle, but he looked so sad.


Peeking Eeyore by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Captain Hook came back to flirt some more.


Hook, the player by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Rafiki really likes the camera.... and the camera likes him too!


Rafiki B1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Rafiki B2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Rafiki B3 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Rafiki B4 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Blanche had been able to get some food, but I don't think I had been able to yet!


Eeyore 2 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

This one didn't quite turn out like I'd wanted.... well, my face didn't! :rotfl:


Eeyore B by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Rafiki came by for more pictures.


Rafiki B5 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Rafiki B6 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

Purple Perla! (I had only counted ten characters at first, thinking that only Suzy OR Perla was at breakfast... I only realized the difference when I came home and was going through the pictures on my computer!)


Purple Perla by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Perla by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Untitled by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

I finally ran to get some food. I can't say it wasn't bad, but I didn't have much time to sit and enjoy it! This was the busiest character meal I've ever been to! But it was worth it.


Breakfast by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr
 
March 18, 2012, Part 4: More Plaza Inn (Guess I better go back and fix Crystal Palace in the other ones! hahahaha... I'm wanting to go on another trip and there are good flights to Orlando and free dining in late August... I must have Crystal Palace on the brain!

Minnie came back again.


Minnie by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Untitled by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr

and Rafiki


Rafiki 1 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Rafiki better by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Rafiki B7 by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Daisy stopped by too.


Daisy by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


Daisy B by disneyfreak0306, on Flickr


I know that it seemed really confusing with all these character pictures in a weird order, but they are actually posted in order. My cameras save the pictures chronologically and that's the order! So the characters really popped in and out all the time. I can imagine how fun it would be here with 'real' children... not just 'children at heart'. It was definitely worth it and I would easily go back again... because I will be back in California. When it's warmer! And when the Matterhorn is not closed.... and when Carsland is open! :rotfl:
 
tessieg said:
Love the report and all the gorgeous photos!!! Looking forward to seeing more.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Don't worry... there are more. I took less than 5000 pictures this time. I wasn't feeling all that well, I guess! :rotfl: (Seriously, I thought I'd end up with about 9000!)
 
Oh my gosh, those pictures are TOO CUTE. I can tell you gals really had fun with the characters. If you don't mind me asking what are Suzy and Perla from? They look familiar, but I don't remember?
 
yoyo93 said:
Oh my gosh, those pictures are TOO CUTE. I can tell you gals really had fun with the characters. If you don't mind me asking what are Suzy and Perla from? They look familiar, but I don't remember?
Click to expand...

Thanks. :joker: We like to have fun! Suzy and Perla are two of Cinderella's friends. "Leave the sewing to the women."
 
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