Our 3rd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November - November 22nd - 25th, 2013 Post #3416

Wonderful trip for your Aunt, DBF, DD2 and yourself. I love the pink ears!

We'll fly down to OC on May 4th and visit my DBF from San Diego, then the rest of the family arrives on May 5th for our DL trip.
 
Great save to your trip on behalf of the BWPPI! So nice they could get you a limo and get you to the airport on time. I'm going do triple check my Super Shuttle for my Disney Cruise in Galveston as we arrive after midnight. I don't want anyone to think I've canceled when I'm counting on getting to my hotel!


Wonderful trip for your Aunt, DBF, DD2 and yourself. I love the pink ears!

We'll fly down to OC on May 4th and visit my DBF from San Diego, then the rest of the family arrives on May 5th for our DL trip.

Does your husband know about this "Disney Boy Friend"? :lmao: :rotfl2:
 
I love those pink ears!!!

What a great update. I loved seeing shots of your travel Mouseketeers on this this TR. Made it such a fun update to read and SEE!.

Thanks for sharing.

A shame about the shuttle; but well done on the replacement.



Wonderful trip for your Aunt, DBF, DD2 and yourself. I love the pink ears!

We'll fly down to OC on May 4th and visit my DBF from San Diego, then the rest of the family arrives on May 5th for our DL trip.

Is this something that is newly acquired since November last year?????:rotfl:
 


That's right, Bret! Mickey's Fun Wheel of Doom. Or Mickey's Fun Wheel of Terror... or Fun Wheel of Mayhem.... or Fun Wheel of Torture.... or Fun Wheel of Nightmares.... or Fun Wheel of Nausea -- Take your pick!:rotfl::lmao:

Actually, you know that I was originally calling it Mickey's Fun Wheel of Death. I did not come up with that phrase - someone else did (Nancy/YellowMickeyPonchos of the DIS Unplugged podcasts says that she came up with it, so I'll take her word for it). I liked the phrase and started using it because I have a twisted, odd sense of humor and I liked the sort of darkly comedic ring it had.

Then, in my trip report, Molly/bumbershoot was pointing out that if anything terrible ever happened on Mickey's Fun Wheel she would feel awful having called it the "Wheel of Death." Bad karma, or bad energy, or something. I sort of agreed. I don't want to 'put that out there to the universe,' as they say, and have it backfire.

So adding the "...of Doom" or "...of Terror," etc., at the end of it still gives it that dark edge I wanted to keep, but without that extra morbid shout out to the universe. Disney has a whole Tower of Terror ride -- so I figure that if they can use "Terror" in one of their rides' names, then I can call the Fun Wheel a "Wheel of Terror" (or Doom, or whatever)!!!


I agree with you about wanting to stay close to DLR. If I were not staying onsite when I go, or not just going home at the end of the night, I would want to stay at another hotel within reasonable walking distance. Seven minutes sounds good. I don't want to have to deal with a shuttle or other transportation once I'm at DLR. I just want to be able to walk to the parks in a short time, and walk back to the room quickly if I need to.

An old friend of mine is at DLR this week -- taking his son for the first time ever -- and he and his family are staying at the Anaheim Marriott. That's a good 30 minutes away if they walk, but the Marriott does have a shuttle. Still, though, I wouldn't want to be staying far enough away to where it would either take 30 minutes to walk to DLR every morning, or I'd have to rely on the shuttle to get me to and from DLR. I like to be able to just get up and be there in a few minutes. I like to be staying close enough so that I can just pop back to the room in the middle of the day if I want to take a break, or if I have to get something, and then be back in the parks in minutes. Walking for 30 minutes in 'real life' is a totally different story and I do that a lot. But walking 30 minutes from a hotel to DLR would bother me after maybe the first day! It would get old really fast for me.

So as long as the hotel/motel was close enough to allow me to be at the parks in minutes (as well as clean, bug-free and not crazy expensive), that would be my other option if I couldn't stay onsite. Maybe the BWPPI would be a good choice in the future if I'm not staying onsite?


The tour in May should be fun. The pictures I've seen of it in the past are cool. I think you'll enjoy it a lot!

This was a great TR, Bret! It was nice to see the photos of everyone looking happy, and the little girl was just adorable. Plus, you did some things on this trip that you don't normally do on your DLR trips so it made the TR a bit different and more people-oriented rather than scenery-oriented.
 
Really enjoyed your report Bret.

Lovely to see it from the little one's eyes.

Looking forward to more of your adventures and your wonderful photos.
 
I haven't been on the boards lately since I just got a new job and I just have been busy during the day. I finally have some time off and I will get to the posts that I have missed.


Wonderful trip for your Aunt, DBF, DD2 and yourself. I love the pink ears!

We'll fly down to OC on May 4th and visit my DBF from San Diego, then the rest of the family arrives on May 5th for our DL trip.

Thank you Angela. The pink ears were a nice souvenir to get for DD2. Everyone had a great time and they are still talking to me about a future trip.

Hope you and your family have a great time when you come down to SoCal in early May. I am really looking forward to my trip next month with my DA where we will visit the Walt Disney Studios and Archives. :cool1:


Great save to your trip on behalf of the BWPPI! So nice they could get you a limo and get you to the airport on time. I'm going do triple check my Super Shuttle for my Disney Cruise in Galveston as we arrive after midnight. I don't want anyone to think I've canceled when I'm counting on getting to my hotel!

It was very nice of BWPPI staff to help us with the limo where Super Shuttle canceled our pickup for that day. Without them, we would have to call for a cab where it would be more than the limo. My aunt will always do a double check with any reservations on the trip to make sure that everything is alright. Hope you have a great Disney Cruise.


I love those pink ears!!!

What a great update. I loved seeing shots of your travel Mouseketeers on this this TR. Made it such a fun update to read and SEE!.

Thanks for sharing.

A shame about the shuttle; but well done on the replacement.

Thank you PiO. This has been a trip that I will remember for a long time and I do say that on my previous trips in the past but it was exciting to go with my DA, her DBF, Kay, and DD2. I got a lot of pictures of them during the trip and got a few pictures of me in it as well which is very nice to show on.

It was a shame about the Super Shuttle canceling on us but the staff at BWPPI were so nice to help us by calling a limo to come and pick us up at the last second.


That's right, Bret! Mickey's Fun Wheel of Doom. Or Mickey's Fun Wheel of Terror... or Fun Wheel of Mayhem.... or Fun Wheel of Torture.... or Fun Wheel of Nightmares.... or Fun Wheel of Nausea -- Take your pick!:rotfl::lmao:

Actually, you know that I was originally calling it Mickey's Fun Wheel of Death. I did not come up with that phrase - someone else did (Nancy/YellowMickeyPonchos of the DIS Unplugged podcasts says that she came up with it, so I'll take her word for it). I liked the phrase and started using it because I have a twisted, odd sense of humor and I liked the sort of darkly comedic ring it had.

Then, in my trip report, Molly/bumbershoot was pointing out that if anything terrible ever happened on Mickey's Fun Wheel she would feel awful having called it the "Wheel of Death." Bad karma, or bad energy, or something. I sort of agreed. I don't want to 'put that out there to the universe,' as they say, and have it backfire.

So adding the "...of Doom" or "...of Terror," etc., at the end of it still gives it that dark edge I wanted to keep, but without that extra morbid shout out to the universe. Disney has a whole Tower of Terror ride -- so I figure that if they can use "Terror" in one of their rides' names, then I can call the Fun Wheel a "Wheel of Terror" (or Doom, or whatever)!!!


I agree with you about wanting to stay close to DLR. If I were not staying onsite when I go, or not just going home at the end of the night, I would want to stay at another hotel within reasonable walking distance. Seven minutes sounds good. I don't want to have to deal with a shuttle or other transportation once I'm at DLR. I just want to be able to walk to the parks in a short time, and walk back to the room quickly if I need to.

An old friend of mine is at DLR this week -- taking his son for the first time ever -- and he and his family are staying at the Anaheim Marriott. That's a good 30 minutes away if they walk, but the Marriott does have a shuttle. Still, though, I wouldn't want to be staying far enough away to where it would either take 30 minutes to walk to DLR every morning, or I'd have to rely on the shuttle to get me to and from DLR. I like to be able to just get up and be there in a few minutes. I like to be staying close enough so that I can just pop back to the room in the middle of the day if I want to take a break, or if I have to get something, and then be back in the parks in minutes. Walking for 30 minutes in 'real life' is a totally different story and I do that a lot. But walking 30 minutes from a hotel to DLR would bother me after maybe the first day! It would get old really fast for me.

So as long as the hotel/motel was close enough to allow me to be at the parks in minutes (as well as clean, bug-free and not crazy expensive), that would be my other option if I couldn't stay onsite. Maybe the BWPPI would be a good choice in the future if I'm not staying onsite?


The tour in May should be fun. The pictures I've seen of it in the past are cool. I think you'll enjoy it a lot!

This was a great TR, Bret! It was nice to see the photos of everyone looking happy, and the little girl was just adorable. Plus, you did some things on this trip that you don't normally do on your DLR trips so it made the TR a bit different and more people-oriented rather than scenery-oriented.

There are a lot of different names for Mickey's Fun Wheel. That is very interesting to hear that YellowMickeyPonchos came up with that name. It is a nice phrase to call MFW where it is terrifying to ride especially the swinging gondolas. You will never see me ride the gondola ever in my life since I don't like the rocking part of the ride.


No question about that since I have been staying right across the street from the DLR. I enjoy the hotels close to the DLR so my DA and I could go back and relax until we head on back for the nighttime. I have tried a lot of different off-site hotels that are not across on Harbor Blvd and they were not worth saving the money. I know that some people would disagree with me about that but in my opinion time is the key during a trip. I have lost about an hour or two when i have to park in the Disney parking lot walking to the hotel at least over 15 minutes is not worth it. If I ever live about an hour or two away from the DLR, I would easily go about 1 to 2 times a week. I also don't like the shuttles where it can take as long as 30 minutes to wait for the bus and have to stop at all these other bus stops to pick up other guests.

A 30 minute walk from the hotel to the DLR is a long time where it would be about the same time when you park your car at the parking structure and have to wait to get on a tram and walk through DTD towards the esplanade. Sometimes when I am staying at the BW Stovall's, the walking is quite long where it would take about 12 to 15 minutes and that is through the GCH. It does get tired when you do a lot of walking back and forward. I will always pick the hotels on Harbor Blvd as my first choice and if I ever stay somewhere else it is for something else like the Anaheim Convention Center. I am getting ready for my trip in August for the D23 Expo but first I have my trip next month where we will be going to the WD Studios and Archives.

The BWPPI is a very nice place to stay where it is about average price to stay and the rooms are very nice. Even though the pool is not that large like other hotels, I don't even use the pool and just use the location where it is a short walk. You will like to stay at this off-site hotel as an option if you don't stay on-site.

My DA and I will have a great time at the WD Studios and Archives. I have seen and pictures from franandaj which she went to it last year and they were all amazing. We will have a great time next month and it will be nice to take a break from work.

Thank you Sherry. It's always great to see everyone face looking happy on their first trip to DL or the first time in a long time. DD2 had a great time and she still talks about the trip every time I see her. Her mom and she watches my videos that I took or have taped in the past at least once a day where they still remember that trip. It was all about them and I was happy that they had a great time. It was also nice that I have done somethings that I don't normally do on my trips. This trip will be a memorable one for me in a long time. I had a great time eating at those two dining meals during the trip.

Thank you for your help Sherry again on GK and I might try the lunch or dinner one day.


Really enjoyed your report Bret.

Lovely to see it from the little one's eyes.

Looking forward to more of your adventures and your wonderful photos.

Thank you disneykiwi.

It was very nice to see the trip through the eyes of a little child where I don't experience that much.

It won't be too long until the next trip in early May which I am getting excited.
 


Looking forward to catching up on your Dl trips. Finally taking the Halloween one I've wanted to take forever. Booked PPH for 10/25 through 10/27.
 
Looking forward to catching up on your Dl trips. Finally taking the Halloween one I've wanted to take forever. Booked PPH for 10/25 through 10/27.

Excited to hear from you again. I had a very busy weekend with my new job that I haven't read your post. You will enjoy my last trip in January where this is a different trip I have done. I am so excited for you and your family that you will be at the DLR in October during the Halloween season and staying at the PPH. i still remember from your DL trip last year that you have stayed at the DLH during your stay.
 
Excited to hear from you again. I had a very busy weekend with my new job that I haven't read your post. You will enjoy my last trip in January where this is a different trip I have done. I am so excited for you and your family that you will be at the DLR in October during the Halloween season and staying at the PPH. i still remember from your DL trip last year that you have stayed at the DLH during your stay.

Congrats Bret!
 
Excited to hear from you again. I had a very busy weekend with my new job that I haven't read your post. You will enjoy my last trip in January where this is a different trip I have done. I am so excited for you and your family that you will be at the DLR in October during the Halloween season and staying at the PPH. i still remember from your DL trip last year that you have stayed at the DLH during your stay.

Double post.
 
Excited to hear from you again. I had a very busy weekend with my new job that I haven't read your post. You will enjoy my last trip in January where this is a different trip I have done. I am so excited for you and your family that you will be at the DLR in October during the Halloween season and staying at the PPH. i still remember from your DL trip last year that you have stayed at the DLH during your stay.

Congrats on the new job. I hope you are loving it. Glad to see you are still taking Dli trips even with the new job. I want to try all of the Disneyland Hotels. I went with PPH next, because GC is out of our budget this trip. I am excited to finally go there for Halloween. I wanted to go back to WDW, but Crap cannot take that much time off work.
 
You really got a lot done your final morning at Dl. DD2 is super adorable. It's too bad she was afraid of some of the rides. It is a shame that the super shuttle did not arrive. I am glad the limo service was able to help you so short notice though. It is also good that your Aunt worked out getting a refund when she returned. I wonder why they charged her even though they claimed she cancelled the reservation. Love the decorations in the park. Cannot wait to see them in person some year. Hoping for 2013 or 2014.
 
Congrats Bret!

Thank you PiO


Congrats on the new job. I hope you are loving it. Glad to see you are still taking Dli trips even with the new job. I want to try all of the Disneyland Hotels. I went with PPH next, because GC is out of our budget this trip. I am excited to finally go there for Halloween. I wanted to go back to WDW, but Crap cannot take that much time off work.

Thank you Kim. It is very nice to work again. But just like any job, I won't be on the threads a lot like I used to these last few years. I'll still be on the threads when I have the time and I just got home from work. I was glad that my boss was able to let me go to my DL trip. I still have the August trip and November trip later this year and he was nice enough to let me off on those days. Just like you, I also want to try all the different hotels at the DLR. But budget is a key and I would trade more trips by staying off-site over the hotels. I'll one day stay at the DLR hotels and it will be the GCH as my next choice. Glad that you will be staying at the PPH during your trip. You will have a great time at the DLR during the Halloween season with all the Halloween decorations at MS & BTR. Are you planning on attending Mickey's Halloween Party on the 25th which is the likely date for MHP on Friday? Hope that one day you will go back to WDW. Have you read my WDW TR from last year where I had a great time during the Halloween season and the Food & Wine Festival? I still have to finish up that trip report which is way behind.


You really got a lot done your final morning at Dl. DD2 is super adorable. It's too bad she was afraid of some of the rides. It is a shame that the super shuttle did not arrive. I am glad the limo service was able to help you so short notice though. It is also good that your Aunt worked out getting a refund when she returned. I wonder why they charged her even though they claimed she cancelled the reservation. Love the decorations in the park. Cannot wait to see them in person some year. Hoping for 2013 or 2014.

We did quite a lot that last day where we had about 4 hours in the park since it was on a slow day and the park opens at 10am. DD2 is a very nice young girl and she had a blast. There were some rides where she was afraid on the rides but overall she really did well. That really sucked that the Super Shuttle canceled on us just when we are about to leave that day. We were glad that the Best Western Park Place Inn Staff were so great to call a limo to take us to Orange County Airport. My aunt was not happy where the Super Shuttle company canceled our pickup that day and she was glad that she got her money back.
 
Yes, we will likely go to the Halloween party on 10/25. It is my 10 year wedding anniversary. I just hope Crap is okay with attending that night. I just found out almost right after that post that Crap had another week of vacation for 2013 he was unaware of. I am trying to talk him into a week at WDW immediately following Disneyland. Since it is a last minute trip and I quit my job recently, we will have to make concessions Crap is not happy about. He has not said yes or no to WDW. Right now, he is in Boston. He just said we would discuss it when he gets back. I was secretly putting money aside for a weekend Dl trip around Christmas at GC. If I nix that, use some airline miles, cut my Christmas budget, cut our Dl dining budget from mostly table service to mostly quick service, stay at a value, get regular dining (instead of deluxe), I can make it work. Crap is anti value though, so it will be a challenge. I also read that Dl will take old WDW tickets. We have unused days from our honeymoon trip, so we will only need tickets for Xander if that is true. We already have a deposit at PPH, so I do not want to lose that.

I did find your WDW thread and will read it whether I go this October or not. I regret not going to the Halloween Party last time we were at WDW in October. I will rectify that if we go this year. I could attend the Dl one and the WDW one less than a week apart if Crap lets us go.
 
Glad you're busy; but I'll miss you spending less time on the boards.

I have been busy and glad that I had a day off this weekend where I went to DD3 birthday party on Saturday and a massage yesterday. I will still be reading when I am at work but I won't be posting a lot.


Yes, we will likely go to the Halloween party on 10/25. It is my 10 year wedding anniversary. I just hope Crap is okay with attending that night. I just found out almost right after that post that Crap had another week of vacation for 2013 he was unaware of. I am trying to talk him into a week at WDW immediately following Disneyland. Since it is a last minute trip and I quit my job recently, we will have to make concessions Crap is not happy about. He has not said yes or no to WDW. Right now, he is in Boston. He just said we would discuss it when he gets back. I was secretly putting money aside for a weekend Dl trip around Christmas at GC. If I nix that, use some airline miles, cut my Christmas budget, cut our Dl dining budget from mostly table service to mostly quick service, stay at a value, get regular dining (instead of deluxe), I can make it work. Crap is anti value though, so it will be a challenge. I also read that Dl will take old WDW tickets. We have unused days from our honeymoon trip, so we will only need tickets for Xander if that is true. We already have a deposit at PPH, so I do not want to lose that.

I did find your WDW thread and will read it whether I go this October or not. I regret not going to the Halloween Party last time we were at WDW in October. I will rectify that if we go this year. I could attend the Dl one and the WDW one less than a week apart if Crap lets us go.

That is good news to hear that you will be attending MHP on the first day of your trip. I believe Crap will have a great time during MHP with you and your two kids. It is interesting that you can use unused WDW tickets to the DLR while you can't use DLR tickets for WDW. Sometimes I am puzzled how they let you use WDW to get into the DLR. That will be a good money saver to use during your DLR trip in October.

That will be neat to attend both parties during your visit. I got to go back to DL and do MHP one day. It would have been nice to spend more time during MNSSHP during the October trip last year but my aunt and DB were tired and I had to go along with them since it is not all about me.
 
I have been busy and glad that I had a day off this weekend where I went to DD3 birthday party on Saturday and a massage yesterday. I will still be reading when I am at work but I won't be posting a lot.

That is good news to hear that you will be attending MHP on the first day of your trip. I believe Crap will have a great time during MHP with you and your two kids. It is interesting that you can use unused WDW tickets to the DLR while you can't use DLR tickets for WDW. Sometimes I am puzzled how they let you use WDW to get into the DLR. That will be a good money saver to use during your DLR trip in October.

That will be neat to attend both parties during your visit. I got to go back to DL and do MHP one day. It would have been nice to spend more time during MNSSHP during the October trip last year but my aunt and DB were tired and I had to go along with them since it is not all about me.

Sounds like you had a nice weekend.

I am so excited to be attending both the Dl and the WDW Halloween parties for the first time this year. When I read the ticket thing, I thought it was strange too, but I am glad. I just need to dig through the garage to find our honeymoon album where I stored our KttW cards. If it works, we only need to buy a one day hopper for Xander ($119). If it does not work, we have to buy one day hoppers for all 3 of us ($369) unless the prices go up in August again.

I did not get to stay long at MVMCP last trip thanks to Crap. Hopefully, you stayed at MNSSHP longer than we stayed at MVMCP. I cannot wait to read about it. I just finished you HS day today, so I am not to the party yet.
 
Sounds like you had a nice weekend.

I am so excited to be attending both the Dl and the WDW Halloween parties for the first time this year. When I read the ticket thing, I thought it was strange too, but I am glad. I just need to dig through the garage to find our honeymoon album where I stored our KttW cards. If it works, we only need to buy a one day hopper for Xander ($119). If it does not work, we have to buy one day hoppers for all 3 of us ($369) unless the prices go up in August again.

I did not get to stay long at MVMCP last trip thanks to Crap. Hopefully, you stayed at MNSSHP longer than we stayed at MVMCP. I cannot wait to read about it. I just finished you HS day today, so I am not to the party yet.

Hi Kim,

I was so busy these last few weeks that I wasn't able to answer your latest post. I had a nice weekend at DD3 birthday party and there was a lot of Disney princesses party decorations. The best birthday presents she like the most was Princess Aurora dress which is very nice present from her aunt and uncle.

That is so great to be able to attend both MNSSHP and MHP at both parks. Hope you will be able to find those WDW tickets and use them for your DL trip. I would guess that the ticket price increase will be in August not like last year in May where Cars Land and Buena Vista Street was about to open in June. Last year price was so crazy to the AP where it was $499 and now it is $649. I'm hoping that the Premium AP won't be so expensive this year. I will renew my AP before it expires so I should not worry unless the DLR re-raises the price overnight.

I remember that you didn't stay at MVMCP that long during the trip. My aunt came along at the last second and my DB was not that energetic to be at MNSSHP since his GF was suppose to come with us during the WDW trip and had to back out due to her mother's illness. We stayed at the MK until HalloWishes fireworks was over. I believe it was about 3 hours since we were in the MK during MNSSHP. The only things we did that night was the parade and the fireworks. I went to one candy station during that time since my aunt and DB were not interested in candy.


I am just 4 days away till my trip back to the DLR and the WD Studios and Archives tour in Burbank during a D23 event. I am so looking forward to going to the WDSaA since it will be the first time for me and I have been looking forward to it. It is also a great opportunity to go back to the DLR since the January trip. I will have my pre-trip plan set up these next two days if I can do it since I have not been on the boards lately due to my new job and has required my attention.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top