Dream Big, Going West! October 2-11, 2015 (Completed 1/7)

[Chris9ty]

Found the Trip Report Thread and decided to do a Pre-trip report of our once in a lifetime trip to California. My dad has worked 30 years at the same small family owned company and they are rewarding him with a family trip to California. Our main focus is Knotts Berry Farm- we are roller coaster riders and most of the family has season Platinum Passes to Cedar Fair parks. Then we realized how close Disneyland was and were able to extend the trip. We are making plans with our local travel agent- our first time working with one, and her first time planning a vacation like this. This is also our first time to fly in a long time! I was hoping the kids would be a little older before we had an adventure like this.
So far everything has come together well.

Our family includes:
Me- celebrating my 36th Birthday on our trip, currently a stay at home mom
My husband, my oldest son- A- 6 years old in 1st grade, my youngest son- M-2- train and truck lovers
Grandma- My mom, Pappy- my dad- celebrating his 64th Birthday on our trip,
My lil and only brother Uncle J, and my SIL Aunt M


October 2015 Itinerary
Going West! Dream Big California Trip

Hotel Indigo

Friday, October 2nd -
Flight- PIT -LAX
*Disneyland- PhotoPass+
Von's Grocery order
Disney California Adventure

Saturday, October 3rd-
Knott’s Berry Farm-(Open 10am -5:30pm)
Fast Lane Passes, All Day Dining, Souvenir Cups

Sunday, October 4th- Dad’s Birthday
*Disneyland
Disney California Adventure

Medieval Times Dinner Show- Beuna Park (late lunch)

Monday, October 5th-
AM- Beach- Huntington Beach- Surf City USA
Mickey’s Halloween Party- Disneyland-

Tuesday, October 6th-
*Disneyland- Minnie and Friends Breakfast reservations at Plaza Inn 10am
Disney California Adventure-

Wednesday, October 7th-
Universal Studios Hollywood- Front of the Line pass for one time use on rides, shows

Thursday, October 8th-
Disneyland
*Disney California Adventure

Knott’s Scary Farm- 5pm Boo-fet, Souvenir cups, and early entry to select mazes
2 shows Fright Lane Pass- Priority access to 10 mazes/Skeleton Rooms

Friday, October 9th- My Birthday
Knott’s Berry Farm-

Saturday, October 10th-
Disneyland-
Disney California Adventure

Sunday, October 11th-
Flight- LAX - PIT

Anaheim Weather: High 84, Low 60
Sunrise 6:47am Sunset 6:35pm

 

[kaoden39]

Hi! I look forward to reading all about your adventures! When you're at Knott's if you get a chance check out the band Kirk Wall and the Hillbillies. They were an act at Disneyland for years and they're wonderfully fun! Both Knott's and Universal are great parks for roller coaster lovers!

 

[Chris9ty]

My brother finished designing and ordered our t shirts today! I finished our luggage/bag tags with a quote from one of my Dad's favorite movies- and the reason behind our trip- his boss calls us the Griswolds. So I wanted to make something to represent it and the quote didn't fit on the shirt.

"This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest. It's a quest for FUN." Clark Griswold, National Lampoon Vacation

 

[Chris9ty]

Woo Hoo! 2 weeks to go! Our PhotoPass+ arrived today! Already checked out the pics on the Gallery CD. Trying to show the kids some Disney movies this weekend to refresh our memory.

 

[labordefam3]

How fun! Love the t-shirt design and the luggage tag idea. Can't go wrong with a Clark quote!

 

[Chris9ty]

Thanks!
Picked up our itinerary and paperwork/tickets from our travel agent! Packed our carry-on backpacks (probably have to repack them, but basically it's all together for now). Working on packing toiletries today and setting aside clothes so I can figure out how to fit them in the suitcase!
One week to go!

 

[Chris9ty]

Here's our crew showing our Disney side! One week to go!!
I'll try to Instagram/twitter some pics using the October check in tag #OctDis15 join in the fun with your pics!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Love the design of the shirts - especially the backs

 

[Chris9ty]

Suitcases and carry ons are packed! Well, mostly- realized I had to pull out some shorts to wear at home this week and need my pants from the laundry to put it. But with highs in the 90s next week in Anaheim, we opted not to pack the sweatshirts and jeans. Jackets and capris will have to do. Panning to do laundry there and buy more shirts along the way. Ordering our groceries this afternoon for delivery on Friday. Ready to go! My son wants to go to the airport now-I told him we'd have a really long wait for our plane!

 

[VandVsmama]

OMG, your family and mine are going to be at the Plaza Inn for breakfast at the same time! We have reservations for the 4 of us for next Tuesday at 10 am as well! Your trip sounds like so much fun!

 

[Chris9ty]

Thanks! I have been following your trip plans along too! Debating on whether to pack our ponchos or not... We'll have to see if we end up packing our big suitcase or stick to keeping the medium one inside the big one- so we can bring home some souvenirs! I'm glad the weather is looking cooler (in the 80s for next week) I don't think we could handle the 90s and humidity everyday.

 

[Chris9ty]

Our shirts came in! We will wear blue one day and green another! Here's the front/back

 

[Chris9ty]

Bags mostly packed, plane boarding passes printed! Finishing up the checklist! By this time tomorrow we should be in Disneyland!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Have a great trip!

 

[Chris9ty]

So we've been back to real life for over a week now, still sorting through the thousands of pictures we've taken! But mostly back to our normal routine and I have my PhotoPass+ pictures downloaded, so I better get started on my trip report before I forget the details. To start, we had a wonderful, once in a lifetime trip with no regrets. We did a lot, saw a lot, ate good food and slept little! Luckily no major incidents happened on our trip and we were able to enjoy every moment! It got crazy and crowded at times at the park, and keeping a family of 8 together can be difficult but we survived and here's some highlights from our trip!

Friday- October 2, 2015
We woke at 2am to finish packing and left the house at 3am. Just after 4am we had our car parked and loading the shuttle to the airport. We were at the gate at 5:!5 and took the people mover to find some breakfast, bathrooms and water. Found our seats on the plane and took off just after 6:30. My youngest fell asleep before take off and slept a few hours on the plane! my 6 yr old didn't sleep at all!- he just watched out the window and watched his movies.


We checked into our Home away from Home for the next 10 days- Hotel Indigo on Katella. Our rooms weren't ready, but they held our luggage and had a bathroom we could change our clothes in.
by 11:45 we were eating brunch at the IHOP across from Disneyland- we were starving and the food and service was great!
We entered and took pics in front of the flowers and then had our first walk down Main St. As soon as we got in the gate, we got our first visit buttons and then saw a small 60th anniversary parade/band do a little show at the Main St Train station- a great way to start the trip!
I got our Photopass+ and went to have our pic taken from the partner statue back towards the castle. I had him take one with my phone so I could share with our friends back home.

We went straight through the castle and into Fantasyland. It was busy, so we rode the Carousel, and Casey Jr's Train- from the cage car.
Then the train was calling our name and we took a grand round trip tour to see the whole park. We returned to Toon Town station and then walked back to see it- we exploded the fireworks, and checked out the other fun buildings. We walked around through Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear- the line was only 10 min.
We were tired and I had a Von's Grocery delivery coming to the hotel, so we started our way back with a few stops in the stores.
Back at the room, after unpacking and getting our groceries, my boys finally fell asleep close to 6:30 pm. Since that is 9:30pm on the East Coast and we had been up since 2 am we decided to call it a day. Took showers and went to bed, I heard the fireworks going off and got up to watch them from the window- Love a Fireworks View Family Room! and went back to bed.
My parents, brother and SIL went over to DCA for a bit- they said it was so crowded you couldn't walk (there was a MHP at DLR) and ended up eating at the Pizza Port and coming back to rest for the night.

I'll do some editing and adding pics tomorrow. I just wanted to get a start on our trip report! It is fun reliving the memories!

 

[Chris9ty]

Saturday- October 3rd- First Day at Knott's Berry Farm!

My boys were up super early California time (it was 5am, normally 8am on the East Coast) but they did sleep some more and watched some videos, before it was time to get ready. We had yogurt, cereal, granola bars from our Von's order for breakfast in the room every day.
My SIL and brother took a taxi to go to a race for her to run in, she did well and won a little panther statue.
Then we met up with the rest of the family and took the Metro 460 from Disney Way to Knott's Berry Farm. It was about $8-9 for 8 of us- 2 were kids, 2 were seniors (so their rate changed based on peak time) but the first driver figured it out for us we thought it would be about $12 and then we told the others what we paid and they always said that was right. It was cheap and easy transportation- the taxi would have been $50 round trip.


As soon as we came through the gate a lady, Nancy, saw our matching shirts and asked why we were here. She was so excited to hear about my Dad's company giving him a dream vacation for working 30 years. She introduced us to everyone in the area and put us on the VIP list for Xcelerator and Silver Bullet! We took our picture with her and got our day started.
We had fast lane passes for the day and went to ride the new ride- Voyage to the Iron Reef first. What an awesome ride! We rode it again while we could. Can't wait till a dark ride like this comes to our home park- Cedar Point!
We then split up- my mom and son going on the Surfside Gliders and the rest of us riders heading to Boomerang and Coast Rider. Then we had lunch -chicken fingers/fries and chicken sandwiches fries to start our all day dining passes and redeemed our vouchers for our drink cups- first fill of Boysenberry Punch!


Next, the boys and my husband went to ride the train, and the rest of us went on Xcelerator, Silver Bullet and the Sierra Sidewinder. Then we picked up more to drink and hot dogs before a trip on the Pony Express coaster.

We took a round on the steam train, since it wouldn't be running when we came back during the week. The gunslingers were cool and a fun addition to entertainment while on the train ride.
I took my husband to ride the Timber Mountain Log flume ride- and we rode it twice in a row with our fast passes. Then we walked over to meet up and ride the Jaquar and Montezuma's revenge coasters.
Then we made it back and there was no line for the Calico Mine ride- it was cool to be in the mountain and seeing the animatronics on this. We ate dinner at the Mexican place with our dining passes and tried Boysenberry punch with some Sprite.
What a great day- we tried to do Voyage again, but it was closing so we stopped in a few stores before heading back to the bus.
My youngest fell asleep on the way to the bus, and we didn't have to wait too long for it to come.

Back at the Hotel, we gathered in our Family room (extra sofa bed and coffee table) and had Pumpkin Pie for my Dad's birthday (from our Von's order) it was delicious and he was surprised!
Then we took the boys to the pool for a few minutes and took showers. We tried to see the fireworks but they were cancelled. The boys fell asleep within minutes of laying down and we followed soon after.



Finally took the time to use Paint to resize a few pics to add!

 

[Chris9ty]

Aunt M and Uncle J with Rafiki at Breakfast.

Trick or treating at MHP

We walked a lot on our trip= here are the step counts from my husbands iphone


Medieval Times for lunch!


Adding a few pics from my phone.

 

[Chris9ty]

Our family pic in front of the Mickey Pumpking


Entering Knotts for the first time, and this is Nancy who helped get us a couple VIP rides

Playing in the sand at the beach!

Huntington Beach Pier



Minnie's Breakfast at Plaza Inn- loved the Mickey waffles with caramel and bananas. Rafiki is checking them out!

 

[Chris9ty]

Sunday October 4th, 2015- DCA/Medieval Times

Today was my Dad's birthday and on the walk to the parks he decided to check out Disney's California Adventure- time to ride some thrilling rides and less crowds! We came in the gate at 8:50 am (I had to have my picture taken again on my ticket due to the new updates in the AP program. We sent my borther to get Tower of Terror FastPasses and we stopped by the stores and took some pics on Route 66. By 9:20 our family (minus me and my 2 yr old) were on Radiator Springs Racers. So I went to get FP for WOC (that was a long walk and got to see the park) and then watched the cars racing by behind Flo's. They loved it, so immediately I went on with my 6 yr ol and my husband with the Rider Swap (so nice that it allows 3!) and my brother took my younger son to Mater's Jamboree.

By then it was time for the Tower of Terror, most of us rode that while my husband took the kids to a Bug's Land. We enjoyed Tower of Terror and used the Rider Swap and leftover FP to ride it again. Then we met up together and rode Montster's Inc. What fun! After We split up ad my brother and SIL went to get FP for Racers for 8:30 tonight and share a Mickey's Pants sundae, and we walked to Buena Vista street for my Dad to get a birthday pin in the store and we did some pin trades- my 6 yr old wasn't into giving up his pins, so I traded mine. We watched the trolley singers and headed out of the park towards the hotel for a quick break.

We took the Metro Bus 460 again to Medieval Times (just down the street from Knott's- only get off at the Wax Museum stop) We were cheering on the yellow Knight and enjoyed the entertainment and food-- delicious tomato soup, garlic bread, chicken, corn on the cob, potatoes, and apple turnover. My boys loved waving their banners and cheering/booing the Knights. We picked up our family picture, took bathroom breaks and said goodbye to the horses and falcon and then headed to the bus stop that was just across the street.

We got off at the Disneyland stop and headed straight into DCA and caught the Pixar Parade. We stood by the fountain and held up my 6 yr old (the 2 yr old was asleep in the stroller) and my husband and brother took lots of pics looking down the Hollywood street. I ran over to Soarin' to get FP for 8pm tonight.

We went over to view a Bug' Life 4D show since it was closing for the rest of our stay. My brother stayed with my 2 yr old and then we switched so he could see it too. I took my oldest on the ladybug ride and then My husband took my 6 yr old on the bumper cars while I took my 2 yr old on Heimlick's train. We stopped to take the 60th anniversary pic stop so cute!

After stopping at a few stores we made our way to Soarin' _ so neat to experience we did it twice in a ro with the riderswap. Then we grabbed a bite to eat at Smokejumpers and then took turns riding the Racers at night. My parents headed over to WOC and we weren't going to go so they had our FP. But after taking a break and getting some pics taken with the cars characters and watching the Racers in the night we decided to head over. I tried to call but the show started so I couldn't get the FP from my brother- they were down on the terraced area. But the CM was nice enough to let us stand in the top of the blue section- really we were between the bridge and the steps and behind a tree- so not a great spot but at least we could see it- my 2 yr old fell asleep in the stroller anyhow. It was neat to see, and maybe something we would go early to see if our kids were older and more into it- 9:45 was late and we were tired.

What a great way to celebrate my Dad's birthday today! It was great to be together and enjoy the park. DCA was definitely less crowded than DL and we loved seeing Medieval Times- I can't wait to see it again one day!

 

[Chris9ty]

Rearranging my report- I forgot Oct 4th!

Monday- October 5th- Huntington Beach to see the Pacific Ocean and Mickey's Halloween Party!

We started the day with IHOP for Breakfast- it was just around the corner and wasn't too crowded since it was 9 am.
We set up a driver through our Hotel for about $140 roundtrip to take us to Huntington Beach and come pick us up when we were ready to leave (about 2pm). It was fun to see the surfers, and the Pacific Ocean for the first time! we may never get to do that again! There were pelicans on the pier and people fishing. We walked all the way out, it was windy out there, and took lots of pics. Then we walked down on the sand to get down to touch the water (it was a little chilly!)
We had lunch at a little Mexican take out restaurant with $1 tacos and then stopped at a couple stores before our ride came. My boys fell asleep on the way back.

After a short break at the hotel, we put on our Halloween outfits- my boys were train engineers and then walked to Disneyland for MHP! We around and got our orange sparkly bracelet and then walked to NOS so my brother and SIL could check in for the Mystical Spirits of the Blue Bayou dinner. (It was very crowded and hard to walk in this area!) We took the train since the boys were dressed up over to Toon Town for the PreParty. We walked through the 3 trick or treat lines quickly and had a ton of candy. We liked seeing Mickey's House (glad we did because during the day the line was 60 min when we were in the area)

My brother and SIL rode Roger Rabbit and then headed over to the Blue Bayou for dinner.
They loved the MSBB! Atmosphere was amazing- we had never been in here and were impressed that the Pirates ride came through it (we rode it later to see it) and enjoyed the entertainment and food. The artwork is nice and something to collect. My brother enjoyed the nice seating for the fireworks and took some amazing pics! I'm glad they had the opportunity to experience this.

We continued on and did a few treat trails outside of Toon Town, then ate at Tomorrowland Terrace. The food was good, but the music at the Monsters party was way too loud! we couldn't go down to see if any monsters were there due to the noise. We ended up deciding not to meet any characters due to the lines and since my boys didn't seem to care anyhow.
We walked over to Fantasyland to ride the carousel, Dumbo, and Casey Jr Train- these were all fun, esp seeing the lights on in the evening. It was hard to walk and see in the dark with the crowds- I was hoping for less. The next night we wore glo sticks for the boys to make it easier to stick together. It just got crazy at times! Then we headed over to the Rivers to see the Cadaver Dans singing and ride the Pirates of the Carribbean- loved it!
We did a few more treat trails and then headed over just in time to see the end of the PtN parade and then jumped into an area on Main St for the Halloween Screams fireworks show. My 2 yr old fell asleep waiting for the show in the stroller. The show was amazing! love how it all synced together. Then we enjoyed the projections on Main St and headed to the ice cream place. We met my brother and his wife there to catch up and then to the stores for some shopping. We made it to the front gate and waited to see the Villians good bye show. as it started we headed out the gate to beat the crowds and get our Dove candies.
What a fun night, we were exhausted. It was a great atmosphere and loved seeing everyone dressed up in their costumes!