Marceline to Disneyland, Following in Walt's Footsteps...

[arthur06]

Originally Posted by KCmike

Have a great vacation. Vikings huh? I'm a season ticket holder for the KC Chiefs now and its been over 20 years. Man I'm getting old. Ever seen a game at the Metrodome or down here at Arrowhead?

We go to every preseason game at the dome, so 2 a year. Then I usually go to one a year with friends. I just bought tickets to the Buffalo game on the 17th. I paid $41 for 5 tickets. The 2 younger boys are just at an age where they don't know the difference between Preseason and Regular Season, so why pay $250 for 5 tickets when I can pay $41?

DS11 (Dylan) is a RGlll fan, and they Redskins play at Chicago on the 18th. So me and the 2 older boys might be road tripping to Chicago that weekend. Vikings game the 17th and Bears/Redskins on the 18th.

I went to school at NWMSU in Maryville and the Chiefs had TC in St. Joe, so we went there once. I have been to the K about 4-5 times, but never to Arrowhead.

[KCmike]

Gotta love the Vikes/Chicago rivalry.

[arthur06]

So today, mom went to work and I took the boys to Vikings training camp. It was Kids Camp today, so the boys got to go on the field and practice with some coaches.

It was so hot today and the bleachers were painted a dark green. Sitting down on about a 125 degree seat, with no air moving... it was uncomfortable this afternoon.

Parking was $7. Everything else was free (excluding food and drinks). They had an obstacle course set up, a castle bouncy house, a football field bouncy house, a football throwing game, mini golf and the football clinic all free of charge.

here are a few pics...

[KCmike]

Looks like you guys had a good time. Our first preseason game is this friday night. Gotta take the camera with me.

[arthur06]

Originally Posted by KCmike

Looks like you guys had a good time. Our first preseason game is this friday night. Gotta take the camera with me.

I see the Chiefs won the game, did you make it? How was it?

We love football season (well, DW doesn't), its just such a good time of year.

The Vikings didn't look the best, but I am not expecting a great season. Though, they do start with Jacksonville and Indy, so a couple of winnable games at least could give me some optimism to start the year and maybe some momentum to build on.

[arthur06]

So far I have a portion of the trip booked and am looking for the unbooked portions. Today, I looked at Rental Car rates and thru Enterprise, I was able to book a Compact for a week for $168. It was a cheaper rate then the other companies by $100. I usually book the compact then upgrade at the terminal, sometimes free of charge.

So far I have booked:

Flights from KC to SNA - used SW rewards so I only paid $40 for flight
VGC from the 7-10 - Used DVC points, so no out of pocket right now
Rental Car for the week - $168
5 Day Park Hoppers from Getaway Today - $926 (before the price increase)

So, I have spent $1134.

Still to book:

Park and Fly hotel - might book that this month ($90-$120 range)
I need a room for the 3rd to the 7th, we are just not sure where and what we want to do at this point.

So, really not too bad as far as the budget goes. Also, we have a $200 Disney Gift card that was given to us as a gift. So that will help out as well. Didn't intend on being a budget trip, but if it works out to be...great!

[KCmike]

Originally Posted by arthur06

I see the Chiefs won the game, did you make it? How was it?

We love football season (well, DW doesn't), its just such a good time of year.

The Vikings didn't look the best, but I am not expecting a great season. Though, they do start with Jacksonville and Indy, so a couple of winnable games at least could give me some optimism to start the year and maybe some momentum to build on.

Yep. We made it and they looked amazing. The offense scored two touchdowns on their first two drives then Romeo took them out. It was a good time. I took several pictures and will post them on my trip report when I can.

[arthur06]

Doesn't it suck when work gets in the way of Disney, Disbaords, and vacation?

[arthur06]

We are looking into booking a Tour of LA.

Has anyone ever booked thru one of the tour companies? Drove yourself to the places you wanted to go?

I really don't mind driving in LA, but is it really worth the hassle to do it, or is it just better to hope on a bus?

I would love to hear stories for both ways.

Also, I see that Adventures by Disney offers a 1 day Hollywood tour. It would be about $800 for us, but would it be worth it for a 4 and 5 year old, or would it be too much for them?

[KCmike]

Unfortunately I can't help you here. I know Disney offers the one day thing, is that what your talking about? Here is the website link:

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/spec...ic-adventures/

I would love to do this just for the simple fact of seeing the studio where all the magic comes from.

[arthur06]

Originally Posted by KCmike

Unfortunately I can't help you here. I know Disney offers the one day thing, is that what your talking about? Here is the website link:

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/spec...ic-adventures/

I would love to do this just for the simple fact of seeing the studio where all the magic comes from.

That is the tour I was refering to. I just worry that my just turned 4yo would hinder others experience.

[Goofy_Mom]

I know you said that this trip wasn't necessarily a budget trip, but if you could save a few bucks then that would be just fine. I love the name your own price through priceline. Since discovering it I haven't spent more than $75 per night for a 3 1/2 star hotel. Some people like the idea of staying within walking distance, but these hotels are much nicer and there is a shuttle that picks you up from outside the hotel lobby and drops you off inside the pedestiran enterance, so you're walking less than those people staying across the street. When the map comes up to pick the area you want to stay, you want numbers 5 & 6 (Disneyland north and south). You'll also want to select 3 1/2 & 4 star hotels. Start your bidding at $65. The only thing is if you don't win your bid, you have to exit completely out of pricline and start over from scratch, they make you change some search perameters, you can't just change the price.

[arthur06]

We are under 2 months from our trip. We have so much planning and booking left to do. Hopefully this week we can get our plans nailed down.

[arthur06]

Sorry that the report has lacked lately. Between work, back to school, life and everything else, the last month just got away.

This trip will complete the North America part of our Disney travels for the whole family.

We have been to WDW many, many times. In December 2010, we went on our first Disney Cruise and November we will complete DLR portion of trips.

I will throw some photos or the family over the last 2 years of our time at Disney.

My absolute favorite picture of my son. He was not even 3 at the time. We were staying at AKL and the kids are huge swimmers. Love pools! He didn't even bat an eye to go down the big slide. Went up the stairs alone, didn't need help, just catch him at the bottom. DW caught him, and I took the photo.


I will add some more photos later today.

[KCmike]

Great pic of your son!