TR w/4000+ Pics/Disney on Ice w/184 Pics!!

[DizNee Luver]

DISNEYLAND TRIP INDEX

Trip Report Begins~~~Page 50~~~Starts Post #746
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor~~~ Page 52~~~Starts Post #778~~~Santa Clarita
Howard Johnson**HoJo ~~~Page 53~~~Starts Post #782~~~The Grounds
Howard Johnson**HoJo ~~~Page 53~~~Starts Post #786~~~ The Rooms
Millie’s Restaurant ~~~Page 53~~~Starts Post #787~~~In Front of Fairfield Inn

Disneyland Day #1~~~Page 54~~~Starts Post #798
Goofy’s Kitchen~~~Page 56~~~Starts Post #828
GK Review~~~Page 56~~~Post #838
Billy Hill & the Hillbillies~~~Page 57~~~Starts Post #845
Musical Chairs~~~Page 57~~~Starts Post #847
Rainforest Café~~~Page 58~~~Starts Post #865
RFC Review~~~Page 59~~~Post #873

Disneyland Day #2~~~Page 59~~~Starts Post #878
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique~~~Page 59~~~Starts Post #879
BBB Review~~~Page 59~~~Post #885
Princess Fantasy Faire~~~Page 60~~~Starts Post #893
Ariel’s Grotto WoC Dining~~~Page 61~~~Starts Post #904
AG Review~~~Page 61~~~Post #905
World of Color Info~~~Page 61~~~Starts Post #906
Pre-Show~~~Page 61~~~Starts Post #908
World of Color~~~Page 61~~~Starts Post #912
WoC Review~~~Page 61~~~Post #915

Disneyland Day #3~~~Page 62~~~Starts Post #928
Morning Madness~~~Page 62~~~Starts Post #929~~~Opening Ceremony
River Belle Terrace~~~Page 64~~~Starts Post #954
Drawn to the Magic~~~Page 64~~~Starts Post #957
World of Color~~~Page 64~~~Post #960~~~AP Merchandise

Disneyland Day #4~~~Page 65~~~Starts Post #967
Carnation Café & Review~~~Page 65~~~Post #967
Pixie Hollow~~~Page 65~~~Post #968
PFF & Jedi Academy~~~Page 65~~~Starts Post #969
PCH Grill~~~Page 66~~~Starts Post #976
PCH Review~~~Page 66~~~Post #980

Knott’s Day started at Storyteller’s~~~Page 67~~~Starts Post #1000
Storyteller’s Review~~~Page 68~~~Post #1018
Knott’s Berry Farm~~~Page 69~~~Starts Post #1026
Mrs Knott’s Chicken Dinner~~~Page 70~~~Post #1046
Dinner & Park Review~~~Page 70~~~Post #1046

Hollywood Day~~~Page 70~~~Starts Post #1048
Pink’s Hot Dogs~~~Page70~~~Starts Post #1050
Walt Disney Studios~~~Page 71~~~Starts Post #1065
**More Knott’s Review**~~~Page 72~~~Post #1067~~~In Blue
Bob’s Big Boy Restaurant~~~Page 72~~~Starts Post #1074
Highland & Hollywood~~~Page 73~~~Starts Post #1088
Disney Soda Fountain~~~Page 73~~~Starts Post #1090
Soda Fountain Review~~~Page 73~~~Post #1094

Disneyland Day #5~~~Page 74~~~Starts Post #1101
Minnie & Friends~~~Page 77~~~Starts Post #1141
M&F Review~~~Page 78~~~Post #1165
Big Thunder Ranch BBQ~~~Page 79~~~Starts Post #1179
BBQ Review~~~Page 79~~~Post #1181

Disneyland Day #6~~~Page 80~~~Starts Post #1200
Surf’s Up w/Mickey~~~Page 80~~~Starts Post #1200
Surf’s Up Review~~~Page 81~~~Post #1210
Café Orleans~~~Page 83~~~Starts Post #1232
Café Orleans Review~~~Page 83~~~Post #1233
Fireworks from Castle~~~Page 83~~~Post #1237

Mimi’s Café~~~Page 84~~~Starts Post #1254
Mimi’s Review~~~Page 84~~~Post #1255

Jelly Belly Factory~~~Page 85~~~Starts Post #1266


Hi Everyone!!
Been a while since I was on this side of the boards....but the Disney fever has hit & so the planning begins!!!!

We had a wonderful-magical trip last March when we celebrated our 25th anniversary & I was amazed at all the comments I received on my report & pics....so I figured I'd go at it again! I'll try to keep it fun to read......

So here are the characters involved on this years trip:



Betty (my mother-in-law), myself (Laurie), Derek (who will turn 21 on our 1st disney day), Tyler (our 23 yr old), Anthony (who will be 9), Nicholas (our 24 yr old that won't be able to go) & Mike (my hubby)

Added to the family since that picture was taken (2005 trip)



This is Adaleah, she will turn 5 right before our trip!



The twins, Shyann above & Michayla below will be 3 at the time of the trip!



As you can see, we're a big family!! There will be a total of 9 of us on this trip, ranging from 3 yrs old to grandma.

THE PLAN: The plan is to rent a 12 passenger van to haul all of us in & our luggage from Salem Oregon to Anaheim California. We will leave Saturday, July 24th & staying in Stockton overnight then continuing on to Anaheim on Sunday the 25th.
Derek's 21st birthday is Monday the 26th & we will be at Disneyland all day for this!!
We're planning on Disneyland again on Tues the 27th & Weds the 28th.
We tend to just do DL when we go, but we've added extra days so we could explore some other parks, attractions, etc.
We're looking at going to Knott's Berry Farm on Thurs the 29th.
The San Diego Zoo on Fri the 30th & checking out the beaches.
On Sat the 31st, we want to go find "Pinks" (the famous hot dog stand), the El Capitan Theater & Disney Soda Fountain, followed by the Farmer's Market in LA.
Sun, August 1st we are going to surprise my brother at the church he is the pastor for in Torrance & then spend some time at Long Beach.
On Mon, Aug 2nd we're going to Universal Studios & the CityWalk.
These are all new things for our family, so should be fun to explore!!

So at this point, you're probably going.....only 3 days at DL???? But don't fret.........we're ending our time in Anaheim the way we started them.....at our favorite place on earth!!!!

Tues, Weds & Thurs (3rd, 4th, 5th) will all be at DL!!! As you can see we went with all weekdays at DL....we're hoping this will help with the large summer crowds.

We will pack up & leave Anaheim on Friday, Aug 6th driving to Redding to stop for the night & then back to Salem & home on Saturday, August 7th.

Wow, that was a lot of info for one post, so will stop for now!! Keep in mind, this is our dream plan but changes can & most likely will make happen before we get to July......so sit down, fasten those seatbelts & get ready for a wild ride!!!

[kaoden39]

Wow the drive home Anaheim to Redding is gonna be exhausting. Your plans start great, and I am all for doing Disney on the week days. You guys are gonna have a blast!

[Belle Ella]

I'm definitely in! I love seeing/hearing about vacations from the perspective of large families. I'm almost always by myself or with one other person. It's gotta be interesting!!

And how awesome you'll get a few other things in. I absolutely adore the S.D. Zoo and we had a blast when we stopped off at the Disney Soda Fountain before our drive home!

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Wow the drive home Anaheim to Redding is gonna be exhausting. Your plans start great, and I am all for doing Disney on the week days. You guys are gonna have a blast!

Originally Posted by Belle Ella

I'm definitely in! I love seeing/hearing about vacations from the perspective of large families. I'm almost always by myself or with one other person. It's gotta be interesting!!

And how awesome you'll get a few other things in. I absolutely adore the S.D. Zoo and we had a blast when we stopped off at the Disney Soda Fountain before our drive home!

Hooray, You found me!!!!

We used to drive from Medford to Anaheim in one day (14 hours), but since we now live even further north in Oregon.....we figured we better break it up into 2 days. We will drive longer on the first day & shorter on the 2nd.

I don't know how I missed knowing about the Disney Soda Fountain!!! We walked around the Walk of Fame in 2005 & saw the Kodak & Mann's Chinese Theater....but had no clue about the El Capitan & Soda Fountain!!! So going back to give it a try....can't wait!!!!

[DizNee Luver]

So I made a post on the DisAbilities board regarding help & tip for traveling with an autistic child & egg allergies. I thought I would post my dilemmas here as well....in hopes that someone that reads this might have something to add.

So here's a problem/question we have:
The twins will be 3 in May, so our summer trip will cost us more.....have to pay for parkhoppers for them. I'm ok with that, because Disneyland is so much more than just rides. My concern is having to pay for the character meals....which we plan on doing all of them this trip. One of the girls is 100% g-tube fed...nothing orally & the other has feeding issues & tends to only eat a cup of yogurt or applesauce in a sitting. Paying $25 for her to maybe.....maybe eat 1 cup of food is a bit frightening (especially on the pocketbook) & I can't imagine they would charge us for the one that doesn't eat orally at all....would they?????

My other concern is: one has been recently diagnosed on the autism spectrum & cognatively that of a 6-8mth old. Her twin has not been diagnosed at this point, but an eval is in the works. She does have sensory issues & anything out of the routine sets her off.
We took them for a very short trip last April & I can tell you, we were wiped out & really couldn't enjoy our time in the parks.
I'm really crying out for any suggestions, tips, ideas, etc to help us survive 2 weeks away from home. When at home.......I am very housebound with them, only taking them out for appts. Since we are very new to the world of autism, I can really use some help here.

I do have an email into one of the Disney chefs regarding knowing which foods have eggs in them....as this is an issue for the one twin that eats. I also posed the question regarding paying for the character meals....hopefully I'll hear back soon on this.

Thanx for stopping in on my PTR & feel free to say hello!!!!

[kaoden39]

Also what about contacting guest services too? They have some great cast members that can help you.

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Also what about contacting guest services too? They have some great cast members that can help you.

Just the regular info phone line?? I was wondering if they had cast members that work with disabled guests. A few times I called with questions & I knew more than the person I talked with.....lol

I think on the Disneyland site they might have had a way to contact them with disability questions......I'll have to go see if that's where I saw that info.

Thanx Michelle!!

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by DizNee Luver

Just the regular info phone line?? I was wondering if they had cast members that work with disabled guests. A few times I called with questions & I knew more than the person I talked with.....lol

I think on the Disneyland site they might have had a way to contact them with disability questions......I'll have to go see if that's where I saw that info.

Thanx Michelle!!

That's what I was thinking on the website. Look at the bottom of the page, or towards the bottom. I think I have seen things like that. I went real quick and looked and this is a page that might help you. http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disn...cesLandingPage

[DizNee Luver]

Thanx for the link.....they have help for mobility, hearing & vision.......I wish they had a general disability helpline......I'll just have to do some phone calling.

[onelilspark]

I think I might have lurked on your last report...or read it once it was all done and I was starting to plan

...thought I'd come out of lurkdom this time!!

[DizNee Luver]

Originally Posted by onelilspark

I think I might have lurked on your last report...or read it once it was all done and I was starting to plan

...thought I'd come out of lurkdom this time!!

Sweeeeeeeeetttttt!!! Welcome!!!

[kaoden39]

I'm sorry none of those links were helpful.

[DizNee Luver]

The links didn't quite address our needs, but still full of great information....so thank you Michelle!!!

So today was Michayla's day. We started the day at the beauty salon. She has been pulling her hair out in huge gobs & was starting to get very thin in spots. I took her in & asked for help. They ended up cutting the back kinda short to match it to the side she had done the most damage to & then put corn row braids in. Very cute!!!




We're hoping this will keep her from pulling on it.

Then this evening......Michayla was sitting on my lap & she was letting me stroke her cheeks (for those who did not follow my TR last year, Michayla has an oral aversion, is g-tube fed, has major sensory issues & is developmentally behind). When I stopped, she grabbed my hands to do it some more.....this is pretty rare. Then I made kissy noises at her & she leaned in & gave me my first 2 kisses EVER!!!!!!! It absolutely melted my heart. She's never let anyone kiss her mouth & for her to lean in for me to do this not once, but twice was a small miracle. I'm all giddy about it!!!!

I would have to say, this was a very good day for Michayla & mom!!!

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by DizNee Luver

The links didn't quite address our needs, but still full of great information....so thank you Michelle!!!

So today was Michayla's day. We started the day at the beauty salon. She has been pulling her hair out in huge gobs & was starting to get very thin in spots. I took her in & asked for help. They ended up cutting the back kinda short to match it to the side she had done the most damage to & then put corn row braids in. Very cute!!!




We're hoping this will keep her from pulling on it.

Then this evening......Michayla was sitting on my lap & she was letting me stroke her cheeks (for those who did not follow my TR last year, Michayla has an oral aversion, is g-tube fed, has major sensory issues & is developmentally behind). When I stopped, she grabbed my hands to do it some more.....this is pretty rare. Then I made kissy noises at her & she leaned in & gave me my first 2 kisses EVER!!!!!!! It absolutely melted my heart. She's never let anyone kiss her mouth & for her to lean in for me to do this not once, but twice was a small miracle. I'm all giddy about it!!!!

I would have to say, this was a very good day for Michayla & mom!!!

Oh that is so sweet and such a wonderful thing.

[radiatorsprings]

I read a trip report of yours before and I am on board for this one too. If things go according to plan, I will be in DL the same time as you. I'm planning on going on a trip from July 23 thru July 28, planning to be in the parks on the 23, 25, 26, and 27.