West Coast Trip – with added Mickey Sprinkles! April 2013 PTR

[izzie-wizzie]

Bag Update!

Not quite an update as such - but I'm so excited I had to share!!

My bag for our trip is... *drumroll pleaaaaase*





I'm so excited - my first Dooney and Bourke!! I have wanted this bag since our trip in WDW in 2011 - I really should have bought it then but I hesitated and went back-and-forth to try and justify it. Then in our trip last year to Disneyland Paris I was going to buy the Paris version but did the very same thing!!

I got this one from Ebay - so it was a bit cheaper than it would have been getting it in the parks. It was still brand new though with all the protective covers etc. I'm so happy - I love the design also (I was able to see the design of the bag I was buying before I bought it).

This will be a perfect size for the airport and then for taking out during the day (for camera / water / tickets / money / sunscreen). I will bring a clutch bag for evenings though.

[wilma-bride]

I have that same bag, I love it

[Chilly]

Your plans sound great. We stayed at PH in Vegas last year and thought it was a great hotel and location.

I good Vegas cocktail tip is that you can order any cocktail even if its not on the menu and they'll make it for you. I suggest Lemon Drop Martini's they are lush.

[izzie-wizzie]

Sooo to continue our plans for the trip!!

Wednesday 10 April 2013

As I said previously - in Vegas we will do the Gun Store in the morning and then have some breakfast at Hash House a Go Go. We then hit the road for Hollywood!

We think the journey will take quite a while and therefore aren't really planning to do much else for the day. Well, apart from stopping for an In-n-Out burger for dinner in Barstows before we hit LA traffic.

We then check in to the Loews Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. Depending on the time we get into the hotel we might pick up our LA Go cards which I have pre-ordered to save us doing this the next day.

Thursday 11 April 2013

Our first full day in Hollywood! Plan to get up quite early to explore Hollywood Boulevard around the hotel - the stars on the ground, the hand prints, maybe go for a tour at the Dolby/Kodak Theatre. Also we could visit Madame Tussauds and / or Hollywood Museum as this is included in our LA Go Cards (depending on how long the above takes).

Something else that I realllly want to go see is the front of the Jim Hensons / Muppets Studios. WOW - so excited, even if we can't go inside just to see it will be awesomes

We will then have lunch at Disney Soda Fountain - that will be fun and our first taste of Disney! Woop Woop!!!

In the afternoon we will drive to the Warner Brothers Studio to do the studio tour - where we will see Central Perk from Friends and HOPEFULLY something from Big Bang Theory - woop woop!

On our drive we will probably drive past Walt Disney Studios as well - just so see it from the outside!

The evening will just be quite low-key and chilled before the next day...

Friday 12 April 2013

This day we will be going to Universal Hollywood - yayyyy!!

So that plan will be to head there and just go through the rides during the day.

The evening we will spend at City Walk! Perhaps ending the evening at the Duelling Piano Bar!

I'm really looking forward to this day - and going on The Simpsons and Transformers rides in particular.

Saturday 14 April 2013

This day we will have a bit of a sleep in as I imagine we will be tired from being at Universal.

We are then going to drive to the Ronald Raegan museum to see the D23 Disney Exhibit. Sooo many cool things to see there and will also be more Disney which is never a bad thing! It will also be quite cool to see there version of the Oval Room and Air Force One.

We will then find a Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and plan on going to see a movie at El Capitan at night. They will be showing Oz Great and Powerful.

Sunday 15 April 2013

Our last day in Hollywood before going to Disneyland!

We will head to the beach in the morning for a walk and some breakfast. We will try see Santa Monica Pier and maybe Venice Beach.

We will then head to LA Zoo to wonder about there in the afternoon.

The evening we will get dressed up and go for a nice meal at Yamashiros followed by cocktails somewhere nice - maybe the Roosevelt Hotel?

And that is our plans - however they may change! We are considering whether or not to visit Six Flags Magic Mountain or Knotts Berry Farm with our 3rd day of the LA Go Card. If we decide to do this we would not visit LA Zoo (We would therefore spend Sunday Afternoon at the Grove / Farmers Market).

If we did Six Flags this would likely be on the Saturday either instead of or after the Ronald Raegan Museum.

If we did Knotts Berry Farm we would do this on the Monday as we will be heading to Anaheim that day anyway and would just travel earlier than planned.

Can't quite decide what to do - and luckily we don't really need to decide until we are there! If anyone has any input or suggestions on what we do that would be appreciated

[izzie-wizzie]

Originally Posted by wilma-bride

I have that same bag, I love it

It is such a cool bag, I am soo excited to use it on our trip!!

Originally Posted by Chilly

Your plans sound great. We stayed at PH in Vegas last year and thought it was a great hotel and location.

I good Vegas cocktail tip is that you can order any cocktail even if its not on the menu and they'll make it for you. I suggest Lemon Drop Martini's they are lush.

Thank You! It's great to hear positive feedback about PH

Lemon Drop Martini's sound amazing - I've never had one of them before! Nummm!

[Linda67]

Your plans sound really great, it's certainly going to be an action packed trip

We have offices right next door to the WB Studios so I've done the tour there and it's amazing - you get to sit on the sofa in Central Perk and get your photo taken!

There was also a ton of Harry Potter stuff there when I last went

At the Disney Soda Fountain make sure you save room for an ice cream sundae - yummy!

Oh and the bag is really gorgeous

[Chilly]

Sounds like an action packed few days.

[izzie-wizzie]

Just a little update!

I sorted quite a lot of different bits and bobs out last night.

I have booked our car hire - so we pick up from the Bellagio on our last day of Vegas and then we drop it back off in Anaheim on our first day of Disneyland. I figured there was no point having a car in Vegas with the regular beverages we will be enjoying (well... it is Vegas!). Then in Anaheim we will be in walking distance to the parks so theres no point having a car there.

We will probably look to organise a shuttle to get to the airport on our leaving day... I don't want to think about that day though

I also booked tickets to see a show in Las Vegas - we are going to see the Terry Fator show in the Mirage. We originally considered a Cirque show - as it obviously recieved amazing reviews and recommendations, however I just don't think it is a show that we would personally enjoy, and considering the price of shows in Las Vegas we decided to go with something more up our street. We love puppets, music and comedy so Terry Fator seemed to suit us!

Finally, I pre-purchased our Photo Pass + for Disneyland. I can't recommend Photopass enough - we get it every trip. Especially with it just being the two of us it's a great way to ensure there are pictures with both of us in it

Other than that I'm still counting down the days - only 58 now and working on my pre-holiday diet

I'll post an update soon with our plans for the final part of the trip - Disneyland !!

[Chilly]

This was the shuttle we used:

http://graylineanaheim.com/shuttles.shtml

[Linda67]

I've just realised that you are arriving at Disneyland on the day I check out !

The photopass plus at DL is really good value at just $69, as well as all you regular shots to can get ride photos at Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain, California Screaming etc etc!

[izzie-wizzie]

Originally Posted by Linda67

I've just realised that you are arriving at Disneyland on the day I check out !

The photopass plus at DL is really good value at just $69, as well as all you regular shots to can get ride photos at Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain, California Screaming etc etc!

Oh wow that's really exciting!! Not too long to go now!!

[izzie-wizzie]

Time to update what our third and final part of the trip will be - DISNEYLAND!!!



Before I go on though - as of now we have decided to not visit Knotts Berry Farm or Magic Mountain or LA Zoo. However, on our last day in LA we will use our LA Go Cards to hire bikes and have a chilled out cycle around Venice Beach/ Santa Monica Pier - we can also use this card to go on the ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier which will be nice. Yay for chilled out time! Required before our time in Disneyland!

Monday 15 April 2013

Check out of Hollywood Hotel, drive to Anaheim.

Check in to the Fairfield Inn - we have booked a Disney Theme Room with a Park View - wooop! I could not justify the price for the Disneyland Hotel and figure this was the next best thing.

We will then be dropping off our car hire nearby.

At that point we might have a swim - or we might have had a morning swim/relax in Hollywood before we set off for Anaheim. Either Way!

And so - about late afternoon we plan to make our way to Downtown Disney and go shopping!!! Wooo!! Definately wanting to go to World of Disney and Marcellines Confectionary (to pick up some neccessary Disney snacks for the room - fudge/cookies...oooh num).

We will also at this point pick up our pre-ordered park tickets and Photopass Plus card which will hopefully save us time in the morning.

After shopping, we are then going to make our way to the Disneyland Hotel - have a nosey around there and are planning on having a CS dinner at Tangaora Terrace - the Hawaiin Cheeseburger and Pulled Pork Flatbread look amazing and I plan on me and Scott getting both and sharing.

Oh yeah - I should probably mention I LOVE Disney Food. I spend far too much time on the restaurants thread on this boards and love planning Disney Food almost as much as when I'm eating it (ALMOST!).

After dinner - we will go to Trader Sams Tiki Bar and work our way through a number of cocktails there. I LOVE Tiki themes! I love cocktails. I love Disney. Seriously it's like this place was made for me! I can't wait to be sitting in here knowing I have 4 full Disneyland Park days ahead of me.

And that will be our first half-day in Disney. I did consider going to the parks - but I like going to the park for the first time early in the morning.

Tuesday 16 April 2013

So this will be our first day in the park! There is no early entry in to DCA this day - so it would really make sense to go there so that hotel guests don't have a head start on us for RSR queues, however - our first park day has to be a full day at Disneyland Park for us! I simply can't do it any other way!!

I think the plan for this day could be use our magic morning entry to Disneyland Park and be there first thing. Spend about an hour and a half going on rides in Fantasyland with very little wait time (rides like Peter Pan that we want to ride, but wouldn't want to queue longer than ten minutes for) and picking up a fastpass for Space Mountain before going for about an 8.30am breakfast at the Plaza.

This is called Minnie and Friends Breakfast - and a big reason for this is to get my Mickey Waffle and 'Biscuits' fix! They also have plenty of Danishes etc so this should really set us up for the rest of the day - and give us a chance to meet some characters.

We will then essentially just spend the whole day exploring Disneyland Park and going on rides / looking through gift shops and just having a really fun time.

We will probably stop for lunch at the Jolly Holiday Bakery. It's likely lunch will be quite light - but just something to keep us going after a big breakfast and our dinner.

Depending how we are getting on we will power through all day, or maybe go for a bit of a rest by the pool and freshen-up mid-afternoon.

The evening in the park - I LOVE the parks at night - will again just be rides etc. I'm thinking of booking dinner at either Cafe Orleans or the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ (we will visit one this evening, then the other on our final evening before Fireworks / Fanstasmic).

And on mention of Fireworks and Fantasmic - It may be that there is only Fireworks and Fantasmic on our last night there - but if there are Fireworks on this night then we will definately be watching these.

Wednesday 17 April 2013

This day we have set aside for Disney California Adventure. When we get in - the park will have already been opened an hour for hotel guests, which will mean RSR will already be quite busy. We will go and scope it out though - and pick up some Fastpasses. If the queue isn't too bad (it's meant to be a quiet park day) - we could go for Standby and wait it out.

If not - we will just have a good look around Cars Land - maybe riding Luigi's Tyres or Maters Jamboree before having breakfast in Flo's - banana french toast - nummm!

We will then try to pick up Fastpasses for World of Colour for the evening.

Then just explore the park going on rides etc for most of the day!

We will probably escape the park at lunch time for lunch at Earl of Sandwich - having dessert back in Ghiradelli's in the park.

Not booked any dinner reservations as such for this evening - we might just get snacks around the park - popcorn / corn dogs - or we may even go to the Lounge at Carthay Circle for some cocktails and appetisers.

Finally, finishing the evening watching World of Colour!

Thursday 18 April 2013

The next two days will really be a chance for us to Park Hop and experience as many attractions and shows as we can.

We are likely to start this day in DCA - and at Cars Land - hopefully riding and getting a FP quite quickly.

We will probably go back to Disneyland for breakfast at Jolly Holiday and get some Cinnamon Rolls and Hot Chocolate.

Lunch is likely to be something near by (unless the Earl of Sandwich calls again... which is likely) but we don't want to get too full as we are planning a big dinner.

We will leave the parks mid-afternoon and then get all dressed up for a dinner at Napa Rose this evening! Everything just looks so delicious and I am really looking forward to this romantic evening

Friday 19 April 2013

Oh gosh - our last park day / full day of our holiday

However - we still have a whole day of park hopping and rides.

Breakfast at Riverbelle Terrace for Mickey Pancakes.

Early Dinner at either Cafe Orleans or Big Thunder Ranch BBQ - whichever we didn't do on the Monday.

I am then considering booking the Fantasmic Dessert Reserved Seating as a treat for our last night. Maybe going for the second showing (if there are two showings) - especially if this is the only night the fireworks are on also, so we can watch the fireworks from Main Street first, before going over to Fantasmic.

Saturday 20 April 2013

Home Day

Our flights not til a bit later on though - so we may get our last fill on Disney food at Goofys before we get the shuttle to LAX for our flight home.

Aaaaaaand that's our plans in a nutshell!!! Only 5 weeks, 6 days to go.

I really need to start buying holiday clothes soon too. I'll get round to it soon I'm sure!! So exciting

[westgrove]

This report really made me think of my first ever holiday to America (and Disney) which was west coast in 2010. We went to San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, Disneyland and LA. I absolutely loved Disneyland and wasn't even home before I started dreaming about our next holiday to WDW!!!
after everything was booked - about 6 weeks before we left we decided to get married on holiday, it was all very last minute but our family were so supportive.
This year will be our last 'big' holiday before we start the long hard road of saving for a mortgage :S
I'd love to go when we're older say for a 20th or 25th wedding anjversary and re-trace our steps!

I'm soo pleased for you to be auntie and uncles! that's a great reason not to be able to go on holiday i bet they are completely made up
I'm looking forward to seeing your trip report - we really enjoyed Universal in California because it was all about the studios but with some rides for good measure too ofcourse. DLC was building cars land when we went so we didnt get to see anything but a building site
I'll look forward to seeing your trip report, I dont often see trip reports about DLC and west coast.

[Linda67]

Your plans for Disneyland sound wonderful

I will be keeping a bar stool warm for you in Trader Sam's for the 4 nights before you arrive

You are going to LOVE it in there, seriously, it's the best Disney bar anywhere!

I can highly recommend the Krakatoa Punch and the Shipwreck but as there is two of you you must get the Uh Oa

You can get most of the drinks served in wonderful souvenir tiki glasses which they will box up for you so you can transport them home (the Shipwreck barrel is my pen holder on my desk at work )

Just a tip on RSR, all the FPs will be gone by around 10am so if you want a FP you are going to have to get in line for one as soon as you enter the park. The line will look HUGE but it does move quickly.
If you don't want to get FPs head straight for the ride and if you don't mind splitting up there is a single rider line that is much quicker
If you get chance to ride at night ... do it, it's amazing
Oh and check out the sunset times when you are there, it will be around 7:20pm and it's very cool to be in Cars Land right when the neon lights up along 'Route 66' (it's kind of like a little show each night)

World Of Color is spectacular

You are picking some great places to eat.
If you go to Cafe Orleans get the Pomme Frites and Mickey Beignets - yummy!

I did the Fantasmic Dessert package last time and am doing it again this time; it's over-priced but I really didn't want to have to save a spot ages in advance of the show (valuable park time!)

The dessert box was actually very good - one box would serve two people but sadly you don't have that as an option so you will probably end up taking some treats back to the hotel with you

Any Q's just shout

[izzie-wizzie]

Originally Posted by westgrove

This report really made me think of my first ever holiday to America (and Disney) which was west coast in 2010. We went to San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, Disneyland and LA. I absolutely loved Disneyland and wasn't even home before I started dreaming about our next holiday to WDW!!!
after everything was booked - about 6 weeks before we left we decided to get married on holiday, it was all very last minute but our family were so supportive.
This year will be our last 'big' holiday before we start the long hard road of saving for a mortgage :S
I'd love to go when we're older say for a 20th or 25th wedding anjversary and re-trace our steps!

I'm soo pleased for you to be auntie and uncles! that's a great reason not to be able to go on holiday i bet they are completely made up
I'm looking forward to seeing your trip report - we really enjoyed Universal in California because it was all about the studios but with some rides for good measure too ofcourse. DLC was building cars land when we went so we didnt get to see anything but a building site
I'll look forward to seeing your trip report, I dont often see trip reports about DLC and west coast.

Thank you for your comment - we really are so excited to be auntie and uncle - and can pick up some baby things on holiday!

We considered doing San Fran and San Diego too but might save it for another trip - although I can't see us being back on west coast for a long time after this trip!

Originally Posted by Linda67

Your plans for Disneyland sound wonderful

I will be keeping a bar stool warm for you in Trader Sam's for the 4 nights before you arrive

You are going to LOVE it in there, seriously, it's the best Disney bar anywhere!

I can highly recommend the Krakatoa Punch and the Shipwreck but as there is two of you you must get the Uh Oa

You can get most of the drinks served in wonderful souvenir tiki glasses which they will box up for you so you can transport them home (the Shipwreck barrel is my pen holder on my desk at work )

Just a tip on RSR, all the FPs will be gone by around 10am so if you want a FP you are going to have to get in line for one as soon as you enter the park. The line will look HUGE but it does move quickly.
If you don't want to get FPs head straight for the ride and if you don't mind splitting up there is a single rider line that is much quicker
If you get chance to ride at night ... do it, it's amazing
Oh and check out the sunset times when you are there, it will be around 7:20pm and it's very cool to be in Cars Land right when the neon lights up along 'Route 66' (it's kind of like a little show each night)

World Of Color is spectacular

You are picking some great places to eat.
If you go to Cafe Orleans get the Pomme Frites and Mickey Beignets - yummy!

I did the Fantasmic Dessert package last time and am doing it again this time; it's over-priced but I really didn't want to have to save a spot ages in advance of the show (valuable park time!)

The dessert box was actually very good - one box would serve two people but sadly you don't have that as an option so you will probably end up taking some treats back to the hotel with you

Any Q's just shout

Thank you so much for all the tips!!

You've made me sooooo excited for trader SAMs!!!! I didn't realise the glasses were souvenirs - I imagine well have quite the collection!!!

I think we will probably stick together for rsr on the first day at dca then probs do single riders - cant wait for cars land!!!!

You must be getting very excited for your trip too !!!