Minnie Sue Oz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2008
Welcome...........................to our Happy Halloween Extrvaganza!!!
Strap yourselves in folks for the holiday tale of twists, turns, breakdowns, evacuations and general sensory overload. You will find characters galore, food glorious food, Diser meet ups, inclement weather, star sightings and so much more!
So, let's begin!
Some introductions first if I may and for those who may be joining in for the very first time ( welcome by the way!!!
)
Me - 44 year old Disneyaholic. Disneyland is like a way of life to me, not just a holiday destination! have been obsessed since I was very young. Favourites are Minnie Mouse, Jack Skellington and the castle, the glorious castle. The Haunted Mansion is my all time fave ride by the way ( as will feature throughout!!! )
DD - 15 year old Disney nut ( just like her Mum! ). Favourites are the Lion King, the Lion King and the Lion King ( you get the picture, right?! ) Also adores Minnie and Pirates of the Caribbean. The Tower of Terror is right up there with Pirates as her fave ride!
We had loads of special things planned for this trip and we are especially looking forward to Halloween with Mickey and friends.
I also got a brand new DSLR to take on this trip so I couldn't wait to use it in my happy place!
Let's set the scene shall we.................
DAY 1 - Wednesday 24th October 2012
Started out by rolling out of bed at 7am, not that I think either of us got much sleep. Remember how you went to bed on Christmas eve when you were a kid with that big smile on your face knowing what was coming the next day, well, that was us!!!
We were due to depart Sydney Australia at 2:40pm but as we live around 2 - 3 hour drive ( depending on the traffic ) from the airport I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get down to the airport and allow time for a couple of stops etc on the way!
We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast on the way........I had pancakes........I actually made them into a Mickey head!!!
This trip is a special one for us, as it is just us two......DH is staying home to look after the house and our furry friends. He wanted us to go and have some mother/daughter time.......so sweet. I don't think it has anything at all to do with the fact that he HATES shopping AND we Disneyed him out on the 2010 trip!!!!!!
So, after an incident free drive down and arriving at the airport at 10.20am, parking the car was a breeze! We had just 3 hours before DH had to go as the cost to park the car after that literally doubled.
We all sat down to have something to eat. I couldn't eat anything, too excited. Lined up to check in and honestly, we should have got there earlier as we lined up for around half an hour and as we had sat around eating and chatting, the car park deadline was looming. But, got all done with no problems and it came time to say bye to DH. There were tears.......I know it was only for 18 days and not forever, but after being together for 24 years, this would be the longest time we had ever been apart and that goes for the DD too. It was one of those mixed emotions times........sad to be going, but happy................you bet your bottom dollar................happy to be going to my second home.........
So, through the international terminal gates we went. I think that was when it really hit me.......................we, just us, were going to our happy place, together
I was quite emotional at that point!!!
We wandered around, didn't buy anything duty free at this point and then found our gate. Our plane was on the tarmac already...........
This was our first time flying with VAustralia and I had heard good things so was hoping they would live up to their reputation.Guess what............they did! From the moment we got on the plane, I was impressed.The staff were great, and the legroom was very good for economy standards! I also had a spare seat next to me, so I was quite chuffed about that!
So we settled in for our 14 hour journey! Flight was pretty much on time departing, 2.47pm to be precise ( yep, I wrote it down!!! ) the entertainment system was good and the movie selection was quite good too. It also had the cool map so you can see how far you have got to go........
There were lots of new movies that I hadn't seen and Brave was the first one I watched! Dinner was served not too long after we levelled out..............
Beef goulash with mashed potato, beans and a bread roll. There was also a little tub of potato sald, passionfruit cheesecake and a flight for me is just not complete without crackers and cheese!!!
We both had the same with a Pepsi max!
I also need to at this point, introduce the third traveller on our journey. Please meet Girl. For those of you that have read my previous TR from 2010, you will remember that this is one super special mouse! DD was given Girl on her very first Christmas, and let's just say it was love at first sight. Girl has been everywhere with DD. I wasn't too sure about this trip as DD is 15 now, but when I asked if she was bringing Girl on this trip.........well, let's just say the look on DD's face said it all
Now, as she is getting a little worn, I had an idea to have a sleeping bag made especailly for the journey, kind of like some protection for her, but stylish of course at the same time!!!
When we first went through the gates at the airport, I asked DD to stop for a second as I needed to get something out of my bag. I then produced the sleeping bag and it was a big hit! It was just one of those special moments and I am happy to say there were lots of those on this trip!
So, here is the mouse in question on the plane........
So, after we were about half way to our destination, the crew brought around these cute little snack boxes full of goodies.........
There were multi seed thin biscuits, apricot & peach conserve, pretzels, shortbread cookie, Jelly Belly jellybeans and my favourite, cheese!!! DD was asleep at this point, so I just nibbled on mine and put hers aside for later.
Breakfast was served at 8.30am US time which was only 90 minute before we actually landed!
Breakfast sausage, scrambled egg, hash brown, and a mixture of mushrooms, tomato and capsicum ( red peppers for my USA friends!!! ). Let me just say, it wasn't the nicest however the croissants were yummo!!! There was also a yoghurt and juice!
After taking our trays, it seemed like only a very short time when the captain announced we would be starting our descent. Oh boy, I can't tell you how excited we were at that point!!!
We officially left the plane at 10.10am and it took us sooooooo long to get through immigration. In fact, by the time we got to the carousels to collect our luggage, it was already 11.40. Gotta love prolonging the anticipation!!!!
Found our bags ok and headed out to catch the Disneyland express to our destination.................Howard Johnson hotel Anaheim
Boarded the bus at 12.15pm and settled in to take in California...........through very tired and jetlagged eyes! It was the same day we left Australia........no wait, we hadn't even left yet!!!!
We arrived at the Ho Jo at 1.15pm and got checked in with no trouble at all. Room was ready, so off we went! I had also done some online shopping at the Disney Store before we left home, so there were 4 large boxes waiting for us to take to the room too! One of the staff happily said he would bring them round to the room for us.
Our room was on the ground floor of one of the middle buildings. It was a bit Harry Potter like as we were right near the stairs. It was only small but enough for the 2 of us. We unpacked what we needed at that point to have showers, freshen ourselves up and head up to the park. We didn't open our parcels at that point as we wanted to get right up to Disneyland as soon as we could!
I still had to pinch myself that we were actually here!!
Yup, we're here!!!
We headed straight to the ticket booth to pick up our annual passes. I had puchased them online before we left home.
And in we went..........................
We were here, we were really here, please somebody pinch me and yes, there were tears.......happy, happy tears.
We were greeted by the Dapper Dans who just happened to be singing Grim Grinning Ghosts.................yep, this was going to be a great trip
And we were blown away by the Halloween decor.......lots of pics later on!
Right, it was off to New Orleans Square so I could see my mansion once more. I waved to "my" other favourite, Sleeping Beauty castle on the way past and promised to be back soon! First ride..............Pirates.................yo ho yo ho!!!!!! And only a 5 minute wait!
Then, yep it's off to visit a very boney friend of mine and see what he has been up to this Halloween.............
I was very happy to see this addition to the grave yard......
And here is me in line in one of my specailly made for the trip shirts........
More pics of inside and outside the mansion to come later in the report I promise!!!
Another absolute favourite thing of the DD's is her beloved baked potatoes! She fell in love them in 2010 and has been dreaming of the day when she could have another one!!! So, her dad and I had been teasing her in the weeks leading up to the trip by saying things like "oh they don't sell them any more" or "they won't have them at Halloween", etc etc! So, you can imagine my complete horror when I learned that the Princess Fantasy Faire would be closing and the Troubador tavern in that same area, home of said baked spud, was closed too!!!
When I first told her, she really didn't believe me. I had to bring it up on the web so she would know I wasn't pulling her leg! But, after a bit of investigating, I found they had moved them to the Harbor Galley which happens to be directly opposite the mansion.Phew. Happy DD = happy mother!!!
So, over we went. I was none too optimistic that they would have any as it was so late in the day. But, by some stroke of Disney magic, they just happened to have 4 left!!!! Smiles all round.........................
Who would have thought a humble baked potato could bring such joy! I at this point had still not had one, not ever, but we would rectify that later in the trip!!! Had a Sprite to go with it and got what was to be the first of soooooo many discounts with our AP's!
Next we decided to go visit the Hunny loving bear, but alas, his ride was temporarily down. So, we checked out a few things in Pooh Corner and then headed over to Fantasyland.
Snow White was a walk on, so we rode it first followed by Pinocchio which also had no wait at all
. Teacups were next and we only waited about 2 minutes for them! It was a Halloween party night that night, so the park was closing early.
We caught some of the Sounsational parade on our way out. We wandered back to the Ho Jo and picked up a few snacks at the great little shop they have there.
DD decided later on she would like to go to Mimi's cafe across the road for dinner.
Now, at some point that afternoon, I had started to feel quite ill. I kept it to myself, after all, it was our first day of the trip and I didn't want to upset DD. But, as the night progressed, I got worse. We went across the road, but I had to be honest with her and said I wasn't feeling well and could we just get our food to go.
All this for under $20.00....... I love America!!!
To cut a long story short, I was quite ill and had to call the doctor who arrived around 10pm. After 2 lots of prescription medication, an injection and $490.00 later I was told I should be feeling better in the morning!!!!
He was right though. I was just about back to my old self in the morning. Phew!!! I was just so worried. But, it all worked out for the best and thank goodness for travel insurance!!!
Made a very brief call home and we ended up in bed around 11pm. We had been up for over 40 hours!!!!
So, to finish, I will leave you with a photopass pic as I will do after each post. I just think it's a nice way to finish and include some of our wonderful pics!!!
Thanks so much for coming along and I hope you enjoy reading about our journey.
Next up.......DAY 2 - More Disneyland and a new favourite for DD!
Strap yourselves in folks for the holiday tale of twists, turns, breakdowns, evacuations and general sensory overload. You will find characters galore, food glorious food, Diser meet ups, inclement weather, star sightings and so much more!
So, let's begin!
Some introductions first if I may and for those who may be joining in for the very first time ( welcome by the way!!!
)Me - 44 year old Disneyaholic. Disneyland is like a way of life to me, not just a holiday destination! have been obsessed since I was very young. Favourites are Minnie Mouse, Jack Skellington and the castle, the glorious castle. The Haunted Mansion is my all time fave ride by the way ( as will feature throughout!!! )
DD - 15 year old Disney nut ( just like her Mum! ). Favourites are the Lion King, the Lion King and the Lion King ( you get the picture, right?! ) Also adores Minnie and Pirates of the Caribbean. The Tower of Terror is right up there with Pirates as her fave ride!
We had loads of special things planned for this trip and we are especially looking forward to Halloween with Mickey and friends.
I also got a brand new DSLR to take on this trip so I couldn't wait to use it in my happy place!
Let's set the scene shall we.................
DAY 1 - Wednesday 24th October 2012
Started out by rolling out of bed at 7am, not that I think either of us got much sleep. Remember how you went to bed on Christmas eve when you were a kid with that big smile on your face knowing what was coming the next day, well, that was us!!!
We were due to depart Sydney Australia at 2:40pm but as we live around 2 - 3 hour drive ( depending on the traffic ) from the airport I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get down to the airport and allow time for a couple of stops etc on the way!
We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast on the way........I had pancakes........I actually made them into a Mickey head!!!
This trip is a special one for us, as it is just us two......DH is staying home to look after the house and our furry friends. He wanted us to go and have some mother/daughter time.......so sweet. I don't think it has anything at all to do with the fact that he HATES shopping AND we Disneyed him out on the 2010 trip!!!!!!
So, after an incident free drive down and arriving at the airport at 10.20am, parking the car was a breeze! We had just 3 hours before DH had to go as the cost to park the car after that literally doubled.
We all sat down to have something to eat. I couldn't eat anything, too excited. Lined up to check in and honestly, we should have got there earlier as we lined up for around half an hour and as we had sat around eating and chatting, the car park deadline was looming. But, got all done with no problems and it came time to say bye to DH. There were tears.......I know it was only for 18 days and not forever, but after being together for 24 years, this would be the longest time we had ever been apart and that goes for the DD too. It was one of those mixed emotions times........sad to be going, but happy................you bet your bottom dollar................happy to be going to my second home.........
So, through the international terminal gates we went. I think that was when it really hit me.......................we, just us, were going to our happy place, together
I was quite emotional at that point!!!We wandered around, didn't buy anything duty free at this point and then found our gate. Our plane was on the tarmac already...........
This was our first time flying with VAustralia and I had heard good things so was hoping they would live up to their reputation.Guess what............they did! From the moment we got on the plane, I was impressed.The staff were great, and the legroom was very good for economy standards! I also had a spare seat next to me, so I was quite chuffed about that!
So we settled in for our 14 hour journey! Flight was pretty much on time departing, 2.47pm to be precise ( yep, I wrote it down!!! ) the entertainment system was good and the movie selection was quite good too. It also had the cool map so you can see how far you have got to go........
There were lots of new movies that I hadn't seen and Brave was the first one I watched! Dinner was served not too long after we levelled out..............
Beef goulash with mashed potato, beans and a bread roll. There was also a little tub of potato sald, passionfruit cheesecake and a flight for me is just not complete without crackers and cheese!!!
We both had the same with a Pepsi max!
I also need to at this point, introduce the third traveller on our journey. Please meet Girl. For those of you that have read my previous TR from 2010, you will remember that this is one super special mouse! DD was given Girl on her very first Christmas, and let's just say it was love at first sight. Girl has been everywhere with DD. I wasn't too sure about this trip as DD is 15 now, but when I asked if she was bringing Girl on this trip.........well, let's just say the look on DD's face said it all
Now, as she is getting a little worn, I had an idea to have a sleeping bag made especailly for the journey, kind of like some protection for her, but stylish of course at the same time!!!
When we first went through the gates at the airport, I asked DD to stop for a second as I needed to get something out of my bag. I then produced the sleeping bag and it was a big hit! It was just one of those special moments and I am happy to say there were lots of those on this trip!
So, here is the mouse in question on the plane........
So, after we were about half way to our destination, the crew brought around these cute little snack boxes full of goodies.........
There were multi seed thin biscuits, apricot & peach conserve, pretzels, shortbread cookie, Jelly Belly jellybeans and my favourite, cheese!!! DD was asleep at this point, so I just nibbled on mine and put hers aside for later.
Breakfast was served at 8.30am US time which was only 90 minute before we actually landed!
Breakfast sausage, scrambled egg, hash brown, and a mixture of mushrooms, tomato and capsicum ( red peppers for my USA friends!!! ). Let me just say, it wasn't the nicest however the croissants were yummo!!! There was also a yoghurt and juice!
After taking our trays, it seemed like only a very short time when the captain announced we would be starting our descent. Oh boy, I can't tell you how excited we were at that point!!!
We officially left the plane at 10.10am and it took us sooooooo long to get through immigration. In fact, by the time we got to the carousels to collect our luggage, it was already 11.40. Gotta love prolonging the anticipation!!!!
Found our bags ok and headed out to catch the Disneyland express to our destination.................Howard Johnson hotel Anaheim
Boarded the bus at 12.15pm and settled in to take in California...........through very tired and jetlagged eyes! It was the same day we left Australia........no wait, we hadn't even left yet!!!!
We arrived at the Ho Jo at 1.15pm and got checked in with no trouble at all. Room was ready, so off we went! I had also done some online shopping at the Disney Store before we left home, so there were 4 large boxes waiting for us to take to the room too! One of the staff happily said he would bring them round to the room for us.
Our room was on the ground floor of one of the middle buildings. It was a bit Harry Potter like as we were right near the stairs. It was only small but enough for the 2 of us. We unpacked what we needed at that point to have showers, freshen ourselves up and head up to the park. We didn't open our parcels at that point as we wanted to get right up to Disneyland as soon as we could!
I still had to pinch myself that we were actually here!!
Yup, we're here!!!
We headed straight to the ticket booth to pick up our annual passes. I had puchased them online before we left home.
And in we went..........................
We were here, we were really here, please somebody pinch me and yes, there were tears.......happy, happy tears.
We were greeted by the Dapper Dans who just happened to be singing Grim Grinning Ghosts.................yep, this was going to be a great trip
And we were blown away by the Halloween decor.......lots of pics later on!
Right, it was off to New Orleans Square so I could see my mansion once more. I waved to "my" other favourite, Sleeping Beauty castle on the way past and promised to be back soon! First ride..............Pirates.................yo ho yo ho!!!!!! And only a 5 minute wait!
Then, yep it's off to visit a very boney friend of mine and see what he has been up to this Halloween.............
I was very happy to see this addition to the grave yard......
And here is me in line in one of my specailly made for the trip shirts........
More pics of inside and outside the mansion to come later in the report I promise!!!
Another absolute favourite thing of the DD's is her beloved baked potatoes! She fell in love them in 2010 and has been dreaming of the day when she could have another one!!! So, her dad and I had been teasing her in the weeks leading up to the trip by saying things like "oh they don't sell them any more" or "they won't have them at Halloween", etc etc! So, you can imagine my complete horror when I learned that the Princess Fantasy Faire would be closing and the Troubador tavern in that same area, home of said baked spud, was closed too!!!
When I first told her, she really didn't believe me. I had to bring it up on the web so she would know I wasn't pulling her leg! But, after a bit of investigating, I found they had moved them to the Harbor Galley which happens to be directly opposite the mansion.Phew. Happy DD = happy mother!!!
So, over we went. I was none too optimistic that they would have any as it was so late in the day. But, by some stroke of Disney magic, they just happened to have 4 left!!!! Smiles all round.........................
Who would have thought a humble baked potato could bring such joy! I at this point had still not had one, not ever, but we would rectify that later in the trip!!! Had a Sprite to go with it and got what was to be the first of soooooo many discounts with our AP's!
Next we decided to go visit the Hunny loving bear, but alas, his ride was temporarily down. So, we checked out a few things in Pooh Corner and then headed over to Fantasyland.
Snow White was a walk on, so we rode it first followed by Pinocchio which also had no wait at all
. Teacups were next and we only waited about 2 minutes for them! It was a Halloween party night that night, so the park was closing early.We caught some of the Sounsational parade on our way out. We wandered back to the Ho Jo and picked up a few snacks at the great little shop they have there.
DD decided later on she would like to go to Mimi's cafe across the road for dinner.
Now, at some point that afternoon, I had started to feel quite ill. I kept it to myself, after all, it was our first day of the trip and I didn't want to upset DD. But, as the night progressed, I got worse. We went across the road, but I had to be honest with her and said I wasn't feeling well and could we just get our food to go.
All this for under $20.00....... I love America!!!
To cut a long story short, I was quite ill and had to call the doctor who arrived around 10pm. After 2 lots of prescription medication, an injection and $490.00 later I was told I should be feeling better in the morning!!!!
He was right though. I was just about back to my old self in the morning. Phew!!! I was just so worried. But, it all worked out for the best and thank goodness for travel insurance!!!
Made a very brief call home and we ended up in bed around 11pm. We had been up for over 40 hours!!!!
So, to finish, I will leave you with a photopass pic as I will do after each post. I just think it's a nice way to finish and include some of our wonderful pics!!!
Thanks so much for coming along and I hope you enjoy reading about our journey.
Next up.......DAY 2 - More Disneyland and a new favourite for DD!
But, we had an absolutely fantastic time
) but DD has a few non Disney ones too, you know, just for good measure!!!!
