Sleep is so overrated - Sept. '15 Disneyland PTR

[ShanaMouse]

Follow Along:
Initial Plans
The Sleeping situation
Disneyland and DCA Must Do's/See's and Other News
Disney Movie Night Recap: Star Wars and Tangled (54 and 47 days out!)
Change of Plans
Disney Movie Night: Beauty & the Beast (40 days out!!!)
A Spoonful of Plans (new itinerary, dining plans, and other items)

51 days to go and it feels way too long!​

When: 9/3/15 to 9/8/15

Cast of Characters: Hubby and I

This was taken on our first Disney Cruise on the Dream!​

Where: Hollywood, Santa Monica, Dana Point, San Diego, Anaheim (and whatever we stumble across in between)

Hotels: Dunes Inn, Sunset in Hollywood (1 night), Laguna Hills Lodge in Laguna (2 nights), and Red Lion in Anaheim (2 nights).

Highlighted Attractions (in order): Hollywood Walk of Fame, Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Sign, Warner Bros Studio Tour, Santa Monica Pier, Whale Watching, San Diego Zoo, Laguna Beach, Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure

I know you're thinking that this seems quite ambitious for a 5 day trip but, trust me, I am a type-A planner and, even though I will pass out when I get back home, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! Heck, I managed to visit 18 tourist attractions in a 2 day timespan when I went to NYC the first time. I like to think of it as 'Best of (enter location name here)' sort of itinerary, which i also know is subjective.

I know this type of travel isn't for everybody, but it has always worked for hubby and I. We're just not the type to lounge on the beach all day (except on the Disney Cruises we took). We're the 'get-up-as-early-as-you-can-or-we-are-wasting-time' type. Well, at least I am and hubby is down for the ride with me .

How did this trip come about, you ask? Sure, I'll tell ya!
I moved to Florida from Europe 8 years ago. I had been to Disney World and Disneyland Paris as a young child where my love for all things Disney took off. Once I moved to Florida, Orlando specifically, my Disney addiction flew off the handle, as I was only a 30 minute drive away and, once I met my, now, husband, we went to the House of Mouse 3 - 4 times per month, if not more. Once we then became DVC Members, there was no stopping us.

Anywho, for the last 4 years I have been saying "This year I am going to Disneyland" and each year it fell through, either financially or because of school (I was doing my undergrad and then went to grad school). Well, this year was going to be another one of those years of the plan falling through, as we relocated from Florida to Texas at the end of 2014, we had traveled to NYC in April, I went to visit family in Europe in May, and we just returned from a quick weekend to visit our Florida Family over the 4th of July (you can see a recap of that weekend in my signature).

Although I am a planner, I am also very spontaneous. This is where this trip comes in. I was doing my usual vacation browsing online and looked up flights to LAX from Austin. When the search results came back, I couldn't believe my eyes.. $173 RT per person. This was the lowest I had seen these flights and I immediately called hubster and asked if he was 'down' to go. His response: "Umm.. let me think.. YES!" and I immediately booked the flights. So, initially, we planned this trip to NOT include Disneyland or DCA due to the short time we'd be there, but over the course of a few days, both of us said we cannot visit southern California and not go to Disneyland. We already had our other must do's and now adding both Disney parks into the mix meant strategizing.
Well, here we are! I have come up with my ultimate SoCal sightseeing itinerary. Again, the time spent driving from location to location and the short amount of sleep isn't for everyone, but if I want to see everything, I have to make some sacrifices . Get ready to be exhausted with me!

Thursday (9/3/15)

• Arrive at LAX at 9:30 PM and pick up rental car
• Drive to Dunes Inn on Sunset Blvd to check into hotel
• Late night quick meal @ ???
• Sleep

Friday (9/4/15)

• 8 AM breakfast at The Waffle
• Explore Hollywood Walk of Fame, Chinese Theater, Madame Tussauds, etc (allocating 3 hours here)
• Griffith Observatory and Hollywood Sign viewing (allocating about 1.5 hours)
• Lunch @ Dog Haus in Burbank around 2 PM
• Warner Bros Studio Tour @ 4 PM
• Finish the evening at the Santa Monica Pier (thinking about 1 or 1.5 hours drive time due to traffic)
• Dinner at The Albright on the Pier
• Late night drive down to Laguna to check into Laguna Hills Lodge for 2 nights to break up the drive

Saturday (9/5/15)

• Quick drive-through breakfast somewhere
• 8:30 AM Whale Watching cruise in Dana Point with Capt Dave
• 11 AM lunch at The Shwack right off of the Pier
• Drive to San Diego (allocating 1.5 hours from Dana Point)
• Visit the San Diego Zoo for the remainder of the day
• Drive back up to Laguna to see the coastline at night and grab a late dinner somewhere there

Sunday (9/6/15)

• Check out of hotel by 7 AM and make the 30 minute drive to DISNEYLAND!!!
• Spend all day at the park
• Check into the Red Lion Resort for 2 nights
• Sleep

Monday (9/7/15) - Labor Day

• Disney's California Adventure all day
• Tentatively booked the WOC lunch at Wine Country Trattoria so we can get fast passes, as it is a holiday
• Sleep after the entire day in the park

Tuesday (9/8/15)

• Check out of the hotel
• 9:30 AM breakfast reservation at GCH's Storyteller Cafe with Characters
• Explore Downtown Disney
• Depending on timing, either head straight to the airport from there or head back to the coast and enjoy Venice beach until our evening flight.

Whew, there you have it. I am exhausted typing it out, but I am so excited for it! I am the driver in our 2 person household so I don't mind the back and forth or even a couple of hours behind the wheel early morning or late nights.

Now comes the fun part - planning our Disney Days! Seeing as though neither one of us have ever been its sort of overwhelming but also really exciting as we get to experience a brand new Disney.

I'll be back soon!

 

[kaoden39]

What a full trip you have planned!! I look forward to hearing about it!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Looks like a fun trip. We are making our first trip to Disneyland in October and also will spend a few days in San Diego - so hoping to learn a bit from your trip

We have three young kids so have to take things a little bit slower than you though

 

[ShanaMouse]

What a full trip you have planned!! I look forward to hearing about it!!

Being that we initially didn't plan on doing the parks, while still full, the itinerary was definitely more spread out. But knowing that I am so close to Disneyland and choosing not go was killing me, so we had to rectify that situation as soon a possible

Looks like a fun trip. We are making our first trip to Disneyland in October and also will spend a few days in San Diego - so hoping to learn a bit from your trip

We have three young kids so have to take things a little bit slower than you though

Oh, I completely hear ya! While we don't have any children, I am used to dragging my 3 nieces and nephews around when I visit my family back in Europe who always tell me to slow down a bit .

 

[ShanaMouse]

The Sleeping Situation​

Ok, so we have booked our flights and I just booked all of our hotels today. I mentioned in my initial post that we will be staying at three different places during our trip.

When we arrive, we'll be staying at Dunes Inn, Sunset in Hollywood. We have free parking and free wi-fi. It's a no-frills sort of place, but that's fine with me, as we will not be there long. I picked this place because it was cheap, right where we wanted to be when exploring Hollywood, and the overall guest rating was pretty good with the main complaint being that it needs to be updated. I got a great deal on hotels.com, which I use quite frequently and having free parking and wi-fi makes this even better. Plus, knowing that, although far away, I can see the Hollywood Sign from our hotel is pretty cool! This hotel, before taxes, is $104 per night.

Dunes Inn, Sunset
​

Next we will be staying at Laguna Hills Lodge in Laguna Hills. I was trying to find a stopping point between the evening we leave the Santa Monica Pier and wanting to do the Whale Watching tour and San Diego Zoo the following day. Dana Point (which is where we'll be doing the whale watching tour) seemed like a good place. I wouldn't mind driving the entire way in one shot, but being that we will have been out doing things all day, I wanted to see if we can find a half-way point so that we can break up the drive. Then I found Laguna Hills Lodge, which had an awesome guest rating with great feedback on the reviews. It's a little more inland that I would have liked but the place is so darn cute and in the general area we wanted to be that I am ok with that. Here we have free parking, free wi-fi, and free breakfast. The breakfast will not be much use to us, but if they have some granola bars or something I may grab those for the road. We're staying here for 2 nights. So, essentially, we'll be driving from here to Dana Point (20 minutes) for whale watching and from there to San Diego (1.25 hours) for the zoo and that evening back up to our hotel to spend one more night, as it'll only be about a 30 minute drive from there to Disneyland. Again, I found this hotel via hotels.com. We were going to spend one night in San Diego when visiting the zoo, but I didn't feel like driving 2 hours up to Anaheim the following morning to then spend all day at Disneyland. I was going to be tired before I even got the day started, seeing as though we want to be at Disney by park opening. This hotel, before taxes, is $107 per night.

Laguna Hills Lodge


Laguna Hills Lodge Guestroom​

For our time with the mouse, we are checking into the Red Lion Hotel in Anaheim for 2 nights. I saw numerous people throwing the name of this hotel around, but at $154 per night plus $15 of parking per night, I wasn't going to go for it. Again, mainly just because we're not going to spend much time here and for a 2 nights stay to pay almost $400 for a bed was not worth it to me. Well, I was sitting at work today doing my usual browsing of hotels and came across this one again... for $62 per night!!! I quickly booked it before the price went up again and, when I looked just a little while ago, it already went back up to $98 per night. Here we do have free wi-fi, but no breakfast, and parking is $15. I'm fine with the no breakfast, as we'll probably eat at a park and, while the parking fee is a bummer, it is within walking distance to the park and, at $62 per night, I really can't complain.

The Red Lion Hotel


The Red Lion Hotel Guestroom
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All in all, I am satisfied with my hotel choices. Should I find something better, I may change one here or there, but I don't think I will with those prices and the location we are seeking. Or, maybe hubby wants to splurge in Laguna and get an ocean view room somewhere... *fingers crossed*

 

[kaoden39]

It all looks good! We looked at the Red Lion too but we never found a good rate. Your rate is really good for it.

 

[ShanaMouse]

Another day down, what feels like forever to go!

Our Disneyland and DCA Must Do's/See's
​

As a WDW veteran, I didn't think that there would be many things I'd absolutely have to ride. However, and to my surprise, this thought was short lived when I sat down today to write down some of my Must Do's/Must See's.

Alrightly, here's my list (in no particular order):

• Meet Oswald! - This would be the highlight of my Disney trip. I am really hoping that I get the chance for a photo op.
• World of Color - This is definitely a must! I try to stay away from watching videos of the show online as not to spoil the surprise. It looks fantastic!
• Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - Classic. That is all.
• Radiator Springs Racers - Once RSR and Carsland opened, I think my want, no need, to visit skyrocketed. I read on the DIS and internet, in general, that doing them in the evening is awesome!
• Mad Tea Party - Who doesn't have fun twisting around in an oversized cup?!
• Snow White's Scary Adventures - I just love these classic Disney storybook rides.
• It's a Small World - Umm, let me think... because it's a classic. Hubby and I really enjoy this ride at WDW for its relaxing nature (especially when we're trying to dodge that Florida heat)
• Walk through Sleeping Beautys Castle - I mean, do I really need to say anything here?
• Mickey's Fun Wheel - Seems like an awesome way to get a birds-eye view of the grounds
• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage - Because there's nothing like it at WDW
• Corn Dog from The Little Red Wagon - Well... I love a good hot dog or corn dog and I have heard that this corn dog it fantastic!!!
• Aladdin Musical - I am a sucker for a good musical combined with Disney epicness. I love the Lion King Musical at WDW's Animal Kingdom and I definitely want to see it on Broadway one day. I also really enjoy the Finding Nemo musical at WDW and all of the shows they have on the Disney Cruises so I figure that this one will be no different.
• Indiana Jones Adventure - Actually, we'll see about this one. I must confess that I do not like coasters. It took me well over a year to finally get on Big Thunder. I will say I enjoy it now, but that's mainly because I know what to expect. I have also been on the Mine Coaster at MK. Is it anything like either of those? Or more intense? If it's more intense, hubby will probably need to get into the single ride line.
• Pirates of the Caribbean - Because I heard it's much more detailed and longer at Disneyland

These may change, the list may get smaller or larger as I do more research, but this it the core. Anything else is just 'bonus', as hubby calls it.

Do you have any must do's that you think would be good for a DL and DCA first timer? I know we probably will not get to do everything in the parks, so I wanted to write out that list to help us throughout the days there.

In Other News​

We bought these buttons for our anniversary trip 2 weekends ago and I cannot wait to wear them again on this trip!

​

I also just learned that Disneyland has the Photopass+ as well and, if we purchase in advance, it's $69.95 instead of $99.95. I don't know how many professional photos we'll take in our two days, but if I break it down, that's $35 per day (plus tax, obviously) and I am sure that we'll take enough pics to justify buying it.

Also learned through hubby's job, he gets discounts on Disney Park Tickets, the San Diego Zoo, Whale Watching tours, Madame Tussauds and even the GO Los Angeles Card, which includes the whale watching, madame tussauds, and even the WB Studio Tour, which was all on our list. It's not a huge discount, but it definitely adds up. Over the next few days I am trying to come up with a plan for purchasing all of our admission tickets. Disney, by far, will be the priciest ones so I don't think we're going to buy those until the very end. But everything else I will probably purchase of over the next few weeks.

Another thing on my radar right now is my Disney attire. I like to wear all Disney all the time while at the house of mouse, even if it's not going to a park and we're just hanging out at Downtown Disney. While i have plenty of Disney Character t-shirts, I always want to wear a new one, so I keep checking the Disney store for any sales they have or other neat clothing items I can wear while at the parks.

Lastly, I really want to do the Walk In Walt's Footsteps tour. Has anyone done this? I was thinking that rather than doing the breakfast at GCH and Downtown Disney on our last day, we do the tour, as we do get a 20% discount through DVC, but that would also mean adding on another day to our park tickets and I am not sure if it's worth it, considering that we'd need to head back towards the LAX area after the tour concludes. At least I still have time, seeing as though I can't book that until 30 days out.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading!

 

[kaoden39]

Hi, as far as Indiana Jones it's not really a roller coaster per say but, if you sit in the backseat it can feel a bit rough on a person. I really like it. A big part of that is the theming of the ride. I've never done the tour, but I've had friends that have and they really enjoyed it but that was in the days that you used to get to see Walt's apartment. As far as I k ow you don't see it anymore.

 

[ShanaMouse]

Hi, as far as Indiana Jones it's not really a roller coaster per say but, if you sit in the backseat it can feel a bit rough on a person. I really like it. A big part of that is the theming of the ride. I've never done the tour, but I've had friends that have and they really enjoyed it but that was in the days that you used to get to see Walt's apartment. As far as I k ow you don't see it anymore.

Ah okay! Well, then the Indiana Jones Adventure will be a must do . I just have a problem with drops and that feeling of weightlessness. My body just isn't on board with any of those!
That's too bad about the apartment. That was probably a main draw for that tour, as there's no other way you'd get to see it otherwise, unless you're a fancy VIP. (that's the image I have in my head of a fancy VIP Disneyland guest lol)

 

[kaoden39]

I hope you enjoy it! Yeah, maybe they'll go back to going to the apartment at some point. Oh one thing you might want to add is riding in the Lilybelle on the train.

 

[ShanaMouse]

Disney Movie Nights
​

Hubby and I always watch Disney or Pixar movies, primarily on Sunday's when we're both cleaning and meal prepping for the week. Now that we are visiting Disneyland, we wanted to start a countdown by having themed Disney movie nights once a week until our trip. Last night was the first official night, although we did have one last week, which was Star Wars Episode VI. It wasn't Disney, but one could lump into into that category now, if you really wanted to .

Here is a picture from our Star Wars movie night last week:

​

We had Yoda Soda, which really just consisted of 7 UP and lime sherbert, Jabba the Pizza Hut (self explanatory), Padawan Popcorn, which was just buttered popcorn, and edible Ewoks aka Teddy Grahams. I also found bingo sheets on the Disney Family website to match up with characters or scenes from the movie. It was a ton of fun!

Last nights movie was Tangled, one of our favorites and it was a hit with the hubster (I didn't tell him which movie we were watching or what I had planned, food wise). He already said he can't wait to see what I have in store for next week.

Here are a few pics:



​

We had Magic Flower Punch, which was a mixture or tropical juice and Ginger Ale, decorated with a lemon wedge. Then we had Rapunzel's Angel Hair pasta in a lemon butter sauce and shrimp (I know the menu says lemon creme sauce, but I ran out of heavy cream and this is where my good friend Butter entered). Mother Gothel's Twisted Breadsticks (I used Pillsbury biscuit dough and twisted it myself) were our accompaniment to the pasta and as snack/dessert we had, what I called, the I See The Light jell-o boats and Floating Lantern Popcorn. I think the popcorn was the best part as it was kettle corn mixed with colored candy melts that you can find at Michaels and sprinkles.

Inspiration for movie nights was primarily Pinterest mixed with some things here and there that I came up with. I am not quite sure what I am making next week, although I am leaning towards Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, or Dumbo, but we'll see!

Do you all do any themed movie nights, Disney or other?

 

[kaoden39]

How fun!!

 

[ADLFAN]

I have made sure to re-watch my Disney favorites, but I have honestly not tried to theme the events so adorably!! I'm inspired! What are some ideas for Toy Story 3? That one has been waiting around til I was in the right mood!

 

[ShanaMouse]

How fun!!

Adding the themes adds a whole new spin to these movies as some of them we have seen countless times.

I have made sure to re-watch my Disney favorites, but I have honestly not tried to theme the events so adorably!! I'm inspired! What are some ideas for Toy Story 3? That one has been waiting around til I was in the right mood!

When I hear Toy Story, the first thing that comes to mind is Pizza for Pizza Planet lol. You could do some kind of cupcake with green frosting and decorate it like the aliens (I know at Michael's, or the like, you can get those edible candies that look like eyes over in the cake decorating section). Otherwise maybe something potato-y for Mr. Potato Head? Like a Potato Salad and you could do hot dogs in order of Hamm? As far as the two movie nights go we just had, Pinterest has been my best friend lol. There are so many creative ideas and they're so easy that it really makes it a breeze. For our Tangled movie night, I just ended up finding some cute popcorn boxes and the sunflower at the craft store to tie everything together. The movie stills, menu card, and movie ticket stub I just did myself in Word and printed it out. Hope that helps and now I am reconsidering my movie choices and may end up doing Toy Story next week

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I think you did great picking hotels! That Laguna Lodge looks really cute and the Red Lion inn for $62 is great!

I love your "must dos" - I think ours are very similar in really focusing on what is unique to DLR or that the DLR version of a ride is different/better than the WDW version. Also why I have things like the Matterhorn on my list and then also the new fireworks show and Paint the Night (I've really been trying to avoid watching any videos of the new WOC or Paint the Night, etc.).

We actually saw Aladdin on Broadway last year and loved it (the Gennie was great and was glad to see he was nominated for a Tony) - it seems like the DLR version is kind of a cut down version of the Broadway one so if we aren't able to fit it in I can live with that, but definitely hoping to see that. Also Mickey and the Musical Map show.

Other Must Dos:
- Notice the "light on" in Walt's apartment on Main St.
- Roger Rabbit, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland are some other dark rides unique to DLR
- The Canal Boat Ride and Casey Jr
- Eat at Blue Bayou by the water (or Cafe Orleans as an alternative)
- Stop by Trader Sam's
- Be in Cars Land when the lights come on at dusk

Oh, and if you have ever done Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, Indiana Jones uses the same ride vehicle so that is a very comparable ride

Your buttons are really cute! I have also been thinking about attire for the trip as I usually make up some t-shirts but most of what I have are a little WDW specific so not sure how that plays at DLR. We are thinking of making some Mickey Head tie-dyed shirts and using the 60th anniversary colors (blue and silver)

Wow, that is pretty hard core for your movie nights! And I definitely think Star Wars counts being that they have rides and characters in the parks. I think as we get closer we will be watching more movies - not sure if we will get as into it as you though ... unless you want to cater our event

 

[ShanaMouse]

I think you did great picking hotels! That Laguna Lodge looks really cute and the Red Lion inn for $62 is great!

I love your "must dos" - I think ours are very similar in really focusing on what is unique to DLR or that the DLR version of a ride is different/better than the WDW version. Also why I have things like the Matterhorn on my list and then also the new fireworks show and Paint the Night (I've really been trying to avoid watching any videos of the new WOC or Paint the Night, etc.).

We actually saw Aladdin on Broadway last year and loved it (the Gennie was great and was glad to see he was nominated for a Tony) - it seems like the DLR version is kind of a cut down version of the Broadway one so if we aren't able to fit it in I can live with that, but definitely hoping to see that. Also Mickey and the Musical Map show.

Other Must Dos:
- Notice the "light on" in Walt's apartment on Main St.
- Roger Rabbit, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland are some other dark rides unique to DLR
- The Canal Boat Ride and Casey Jr
- Eat at Blue Bayou by the water (or Cafe Orleans as an alternative)
- Stop by Trader Sam's
- Be in Cars Land when the lights come on at dusk

Oh, and if you have ever done Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, Indiana Jones uses the same ride vehicle so that is a very comparable ride

Your buttons are really cute! I have also been thinking about attire for the trip as I usually make up some t-shirts but most of what I have are a little WDW specific so not sure how that plays at DLR. We are thinking of making some Mickey Head tie-dyed shirts and using the 60th anniversary colors (blue and silver)

Wow, that is pretty hard core for your movie nights! And I definitely think Star Wars counts being that they have rides and characters in the parks. I think as we get closer we will be watching more movies - not sure if we will get as into it as you though ... unless you want to cater our event

When hubby and I were in NYC in April, we really wanted to go see Aladdin, but it was all sold out (go figure) lol. We even went to the TKTS ticket booth to see if we can find some same day tickets, but those were not offered. We did however get front and center tickets at 50% off to On The Town, which was absolutely FANTASTIC! Have you seen that one at all on Broadway?

Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about TRADER SAMS!!! When we went to WDW a few weeks ago, I really wanted to go, as one had just opened up there, but with only having 2 days, that fell through. Thanks for reminding me!

Great tip on the Indiana Jones/Dinosaur comparison. I actually really enjoy Dinosaur, so I am sure that Indiana Jones will be right up my alley then.

I always have this plan that I am going to actually make our shirts, but then I get lazy and all of the sudden it's 2 days before the trip .

For the movie night, I think that as soon as i go over the 2 person attendee list, my meal planning and prep goes out the window, as I am too overwhelmed with the amount of things I'd need to do!

 

[ShanaMouse]

A turn of Events
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As you know by now, and if you don't, you've probably figured it out based on our tentative schedule in my initial post, I am a planner! As of the last few days, hubby and I have been going back and forth in adding another day to our Disney days, which meant cutting out the SD Zoo (which we have both been talking about for a long time). Yesterday, as I was sitting at work, I texted my husband to tell him how much I am wrestling with the following ideas:

1. Keeping the plan as we have it now with a little bit of everything.
2. Exploring Hollywood/Santa Barbara/Beach for 2 days at a leisurely pace and then 3 days at Disney.
3. Cutting Disney and exploring SoCal and then making a completely seperate trip that would only be Disneyland.

The response I received was "I am in the same boat". Needless to say, this response didn't help sway me one way or another in any way, so we were back at 0. Over the course of an hour we went back and forth via text on why one plan would be better than the other, but still arriving at the same conclusion: THIS IS TOO HARD!

After letting our thoughts sink in and we both got off work, I called my mom on the way home to get her opinion, as i was hoping that someone who isn't involved could shed some light on the best plan. Her response: "yeah, that's too difficult". UGH! Even when I asked her to pick one, she couldn't, which gave her an idea of how hard it was for the two of us.

I finally got home (hubby was already there) and within about 5 minutes of being there, hubby says "I think I just want to relax on this trip and not do our normal and do Disney right". What I heard was Plan number 3 (as described above). Essentially cutting Disney and taking our time to see everything else. He quickly corrected me and said "No, I want to do Disney right... like all 5 days while we're there!". And there it was. OUR NEW PLAN! .

The rest of the night was spent on the computer, cancelling all previously made hotel reservations and the like and reading hundreds upon hundreds of reviews on the remaining Disneyland area hotels we could stay in for 5 nights. The problem here was that there is limited availability due to us being there during a holiday weekend and it's another runDisney Marathon weekend!

We both wanted to stay somewhere in walking distance (although we'll have a rental) and keep the cost under $110 per night, as I knew we'd spend most of all days in the parks and not in the room. There was no point, for us, to spend more on a deluxe style hotel, when we weren't going to enjoy any of the deluxe perks. Plus, any of the higher priced ones didn't include free parking, which was important to me, as that quickly adds up.

Long story short - we're now staying at the Super 8 on Katella Ave. A 15-minute walk to Disneyland and DCA with decent guest reviews (3.9 out of 5). I tend to put more weight on actual guest reviews than star rating. For all 5 nights, it ended up being about $99 per night, right on budget. Has anyone stayed here?

Now that we have so much "extra" time, I am pumped about the fact that I don't have to rush through either of the parks and if we miss something, we can come back the next day.

I told hubby that the only thing we HAVE to do while in Cali, is the whale watching tour. I told him that this is an absolute must for me, so what we'll probably end up doing is doing the tour one day and then heading back to the parks afterwards or vice versa. Dana point is too far and we'll have a car, so I don't foresee too many issues.

Well, now it's back to my handy dandy excel spreadsheet to plan out our time there! Maybe I will get to fit in the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour after all and get to ride RSR more than once!!! AAAHHHH!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm glad to hear you came to a decision you are both happy with and that you were able to find a hotel that fit into your parameters (I don't know much specifically about it though)

Doing the Whale Watching in the middle to break things up a bit might be nice. Also, if you can fit in the tour without having to add another park ticket day just for the tour that would be great!

 

[ShanaMouse]

Disney Movie Night: Beauty & the Beast​

40 days to go and another movie night down! I was going back and forth all week on which movie to choose and, ultimately, ended up with Beauty & the Beast. Hubby absolutely loved it! The dinner was french inspired and has definitely been the most time consuming meal as of now, but totally worth it.
Here is what we had:

• Croque Monsieur with poached egg
• Blackberry and Brie Puff Pasty Bites
• The 'Grey Stuff' Brownie
• Burly and Brawny Drink

I will say that initially intended to make more of a Shirley Temple style drink (non-alcoholic), but hubby insisted on making this more a grown-up night with an alcoholic beverage.

Our decor consisted of a few books (hint to Belle, although we only had Star Wars ones ) and some red confetti to symbolize rose petals. Also stuck some red flowers underneath some glass candle holders to symbolize the iconic rose.

Our Menu Card


The entire spread




The Grey Stuff (which was phenomenal)
​

For next week, hubby either wanted Monsters U, Peter Pan, or Cars, so I am already fully into working on that menu.

In other news, I don't really have anything new for the trip. Work has been so busy, so I didn't do much planning. I am primarily working on making reservations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am kind of indecisive on what day I want to do what, but I am hoping to have those narrowed down by next weekend. We are also going to buy our park tickets next week so then we have all major things paid for (flight, hotel, park tickets).

Getting so close!!!

 

[MommyJKM]

Long story short - we're now staying at the Super 8 on Katella Ave. A 15-minute walk to Disneyland and DCA with decent guest reviews (3.9 out of 5). I tend to put more weight on actual guest reviews than star rating. For all 5 nights, it ended up being about $99 per night, right on budget. Has anyone stayed here?

We had a family member stay there and her complaint was 1. The fireworks happen above the hotel so if you are trying to sleep it's impossible (sounds like that won't be an issue for you) and 2. There were shady people EVERY night in front of the motel. Drinking or hanging out. There is a liquor or convenience store next door apparently. 3. It's deceptively far so you cannot walk it. She didn't know if the ART was available but if you have to drive and park that adds $20 to each day.

Hope that helps.

Also, I used to live in LA and worked at Warner Bros studios and I cannot stress how bad the traffic will be from 4pm to 7pm to Santa Monica. You may want to take one of the canyons instead of the freeway so you at least have a gorgeous view of all those homes but it will probably take you 2+ hours to get there.