Lots of Completed Trip Reports....Nov 2009 - April 2014

[deejdigsdis]

I loved your trip report and all the beautiful pictures! Thank you so much.

I'm so excited that you now have your DS9 with whom to share Disney magic! Wishing you many happy returns...

Thanks for reading along...I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, DS9 -- who is now DS10 -- definitely "gets it." I was so happy about that. He talks about it every day and tells me that he thinks about our trip all the time. He has a school assignment where he has been given a "new identity" as a famous person and needs to do an in depth research project on that person. His first choice was to do Walt Disney. Walt was already taken, so he ended up with his second choice...Martin Luther King, Jr. I thought this was so funny, seeing as how when he came across the Partners statue for the first time he asked if that was MLK with Mickey Mouse.

Another DISer who loved your trip report! Thanks for taking the time to post. We leave a week from Saturday!!

Thanks, I enjoyed doing it. I hope you have a great trip!

Here's another Christmas tree picture I forgot to slip in earlier. It was taken at Coke Corner on our last night. I am partial to the traditional-looking trees. Lots of red and green.

 

[Yakety76]

What a great last day It sounds like you all had a very magical trip.

I too fell into a funk after my first trip back- it had been about 20 years for me. Going three times in the past two years has really helped with that . Hopefully you all can make it back soon,

 

[deejdigsdis]

What a great last day It sounds like you all had a very magical trip.

I too fell into a funk after my first trip back- it had been about 20 years for me. Going three times in the past two years has really helped with that . Hopefully you all can make it back soon,

I've always had that post-Disneyland blah-ness my whole life, but I would snap out of it after a few weeks. I knew we'd most likely be going back the next summer and all was well. But wow, this current one feels like it is going to linger forever. Just that not knowing when I'm going back is really pulling a number on me. Last night DS10 saw a commercial for the Disneyland Christmas Parade and seems to be more excited about that than opening presents on Christmas morning!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Just one more tree picture. And it's just part of a tree. My tree with my new favorite ornament. It fit in so perfectly with my pinecone/red balls/red wooden beads/other wood ornaments thing I have going on.

Time to go make some Peppermint Bark. I'm going to attempt the Williams-Sonoma recipe...hope it turns out.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I really enjoyed your TR! I am also one who guards my families safety to a t.You just never know what kind of weirdos there are lurking out there in la la land. Better to be safe than sorry. YOur photos were beautiful! Its helping me feel better about missing my first DL Xmas trip in more than 10years <sniff>. I really do appreciate you all posting your photos. Did you simply cop your kids out of the photos for posting online? Or did you intentionally take their photo w/out? I ask because I havent figured out how to do that (crop them out of the photo, etc.)

 

[deejdigsdis]

I really enjoyed your TR! I am also one who guards my families safety to a t.You just never know what kind of weirdos there are lurking out there in la la land. Better to be safe than sorry. YOur photos were beautiful! Its helping me feel better about missing my first DL Xmas trip in more than 10years <sniff>. I really do appreciate you all posting your photos. Did you simply cop your kids out of the photos for posting online? Or did you intentionally take their photo w/out? I ask because I havent figured out how to do that (crop them out of the photo, etc.)

Thank you so much! Wow, that's quite a streak you had going... 10+ years. I'm glad I could help fill the void the tiniest bit with some Christmas pictures. I really enjoyed your pictures of the fireworks as well.

And yes, I did crop my kids out of the pictures before posting them online. I use Picasa 3. It's free, and you can do all sorts of editing like cropping, changing pics to black and white/sepia/other colors, and so much more. Then I still have all the originals (ones with people ) to print out as well. Just Google Picasa for info on how to get it.

I wasn't sure how a TR would turn out with no pictures of the people involved. I really like looking at others' pictures, but like you said, you just never know. And I'm not sure how much I would think about that if my husband didn't run a treatment program in a prison for adult offenders.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

 

[deejdigsdis]

I was going through vacation pictures, getting ready to upload to Walgreens (9 cents per print right now), and I noticed a (kind of) Hidden Mickey in my jeans. Maybe it's just me??? This is me and my son when we got off Splash Mountain.

 

[onelilspark]

I see it!

 

[kjh73]

What an amazing sounding trip you had...lots of great pics...I am really hoping our next trip to Disneyland will be during the Christmas season...especially after seeing your great photos! What kind of camera do you have...I am thinking I need a new one.

 

[deejdigsdis]

What an amazing sounding trip you had...lots of great pics...I am really hoping our next trip to Disneyland will be during the Christmas season...especially after seeing your great photos! What kind of camera do you have...I am thinking I need a new one.

Thank you! Yes, it was an amazing trip. I spend way too much time thinking about it every day. I would love to go back during that same time period down the road.

As for the camera, it is a Canon PowerShot SD780 IS ELPH. My husband checks the ratings in Consumer Reports before he buys anything, and this camera had good ratings for your point-and-shoot options. We bought it a couple of days before our trip for $200. I'm wishing I had taken the time to go through the manual and learn more about it before taking it into Disneyland. I pretty much just had it on auto everything, but now I'm learning more about it. One thing we especially loved about it during our trip was that it fit comfortably in our front pocket. Really nice for carrying it around if it wasn't being used. I kept a Ziploc sandwich bag in my front pocket. When we'd go on a wet ride I'd just slide it into the bag, and then back into my pocket. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. It was easy to forget it was there. I guess that can be good or bad. It's also easy to handle, for being the smaller size that it is. We tried out another camera that was a little bigger than this one, but it was hard to handle. It just felt too small, and the buttons were more awkward. I can't remember what that one was. Anyway, feel free to ask any other questions.

Also, I use Picasa 3 to edit my pictures. You can download it for free. Here are some before and after pictures so you can see the difference.

Here's the "before edit" of the picture above:

Sailboat picture before:

And after:

My boys on the beach before editing:

And after:

So it's not totally the camera.

 

[kjh73]

Thanks so much for the camera info!! Also thank-you for the editing info and taking the time to show me the before and after...I have some photos I want to try doing this to....

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I know I'm a bit late joining your report but I wanted to let you know I loved it! When do you hope/plan to return?

 

[deejdigsdis]

I know I'm a bit late joining your report but I wanted to let you know I loved it! When do you hope/plan to return?

Funny you should ask! My husband and I are going back this spring for a very short 2 day visit. I was really excited until the recent earthquake happenings. I have regular nightmares about being in an earthquake -- even though I never have been in one in my life. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Still kicking myself about not upgrading to an AP when we were there in Nov. I thought I'd be responsible and not spend the extra $100 when the idea of getting back there within a year seemed like a dream that wouldn't really come to pass. Little did I know... I have to say it was NOT fun telling the kids, "Oh - by the way...Grandma and Grandpa are going to stay with you for a few days while Dad and I go to Disneyland..." Not feeling very Mother-of-the-Year-ish right now. It helps to know that we are planning another family trip in 2 years, though.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Who woulda guessed I'd be heading back so soon... Not I. Anyway, I've been home now for 12 hours and 38 minutes and I'm sinking into my Post-Disneyland Blues.

3 days ago at this very moment I was grabbing an FP for Space Mountain.

2 days ago at this very moment I was waiting to order lunch from my waterside table at Blue Bayou.

1 day ago at this very moment I was standing in line to see Aladdin for my first and only time, shivering in the wind.

And now I need a nap.

More to come soon!

 

[deejdigsdis]

So how did this totally unexpected surprise of a trip come about??? Well, we have to go back in time about 4 1/2 years...

Me: So how do you want to celebrate our 11th Anniversary {coming up in 3 days}?

Him: {I can't really remember exactly what he said, but we discussed restaurant and movie options, made a tentative plan, and called it good. We're both totally fine with nothing set in stone, plans-wise. Although I do remember he was going to arrange for a good friend to take our 2 kids.}

Excitement and anticipation build. A rare evening out with just the 2 of us was on the horizon. Rare because we don't use babysitters and we don't live near family.

3 Days Go By...

Me: {Thinking} Hmmm. He's usually home from work by now. Perhaps he is stopping off for some sort of Anniversary Surprise...

30 Minutes Tick Away. He doesn't answer his phone.

Me: {Thinking} This must be a really great surprise! I wonder what it could be???

More Time Goes By.

Me: {Thinking} It's getting kind of late. Where is he?

Tick Tock...Tick Tock...Tick Tock

Me: {Thinking} OK. Now there's only time for dinner OR a movie. Starting to get a little

The phone rings.

Me: {Thinking} He better be on his way home.

Me: Hello?

Him: Hi honey. I won't be home until 11 or so. I'll be taking So-n-So to dinner and a movie for Good Behavior. (At the time he was a director at a group home for teenage boy s** offenders, transitioning back into society.) I'm sorry I wasn't able to call earlier. See ya tonight...

Me: {Thinking quickly} Is this a joke? Surely he's kidding...

Me: Uh...OK. {Still waiting for him to say he was kidding...}

Silence.

Him: OK, bye.

Me: Bye.

He totally forgot our anniversary.

Now, normally I am very easy-going, laid-back, go with the flow, extremely low maintenance, etc.

But at this particular time I happened to look like this:

I was pregnant. With his 3rd child. His 3rd son.

I ended up going to bed early that night after putting the other 2 boys to bed. Of course I didn't go to sleep, though. And yes, I pretended to be asleep when he came to bed that night.

The next day I "happened to mention" that our anniversary had been the night before. He felt horrible and I was a tad hormonal. Anyway, he said we'd have a re-do. It never happened, though, as the baby came along with all that other life-changing stuff that goes hand-in-hand with a newborn.

Our 11th Anniversary became known as "the anniversary that wasn't" -- it was something we brought up occasionally but didn't really dwell on. I was fine with it once I got back to my normal non-pregnant self and it became something we could laugh at. Honest.

Anyway, fast forward 4 1/2 years later to about 6 weeks ago. My parents were planning to come to town for 4 days. We talked about how we've never done a getaway, other than 2 one-nighters in our now almost 16 years of marriage. We started talking about where we could go for 3 days while my parents stayed with the kids. I mentioned a couple of places closer to home. He said, "Well, why don't we just go back to Disneyland?" We were just there 5 months ago. Yes, 5 months ago is "just there" to me, considering it had been 13 years between that trip and the last trip. But...who was I to argue. "The anniversary that wasn't" was about to become "the anniversary that we celebrated 4 1/2 years later at Disneyland!" Let the planning begin!!!

PS: I emailed that picture to my sister so she could see my new shapely figure. When she saw it she thought, "Where did she get that crooked exotic vase? And why did she buy it? That's not her style at all..."

To be continued, with pictures.

 

[deejdigsdis]

On with the planning...

First thing was to find a place to stay. We ended up going the route of Yahoo Travel and booking the flight/hotel combo. For our dates, the Hyatt Regency Orange County was cheaper than ANY of the Harbor Blvd. places from Hojo to Fairfield to Tropicana to Best Western Park Place, etc. etc. And seeing that we were celebrating our 11th Anniversary a few months before our 16th Anniversary...we wanted to stay in a place that was on the nicer side. So the Hyatt it was.

We had our flights and hotel taken care of, now it was time to buy tickets. I had been reading about Last Minute Travel here on the DIS with some mixed reviews, but deals always catch my eye, so I looked into it a bit and in the end decided to buy 3-Day Parkhoppers online from them. They were $148 and some odd cents each. Other than a bit of confusion as to what the actual ticket voucher was that we needed to present at the ticket booth, everything about the transaction was smooth. They emailed the voucher 6 days before we left and we were set to go.

Let's see...what else? Were we going to do any PS? We were a little torn on this as it can get a little tricky to not eat when you're actually hungry because you have PS in another hour or two and it is really far from where you are when you are hungry etc. We decided to do a lunch at Blue Bayou. We had only eaten there once -- almost 14 years ago -- and we were seated by the kitchen with lots of clanking of pots and pans going on. It just wasn't fun at all. All that commotion killed the atmosphere for me. So...again, being that this was an anniversary trip, it seemed like a must. Plus we'd never take our kids there, so it was the perfect time to go. I also wanted to do a breakfast at Carnation Cafe. I enjoyed my lunch there so much last fall, I wanted to give the breakfast a go. And it didn't hurt to know there might be another Meet-n-Greet with Chef Oscar.

Flights. Check. Hotel. Check. Tickets. Check. PS Arrangements. Check.

Oh yeah... how are we getting from/to the airport??? I've never flown to DL before, so this was a new one for me. Thanks to the DIS I learned about Super Shuttle and the discount code and booking each person separately so you can each get the discount and the option to pre-pay online including tip and how great John Wayne airport is and ... I was sold.

OK, I think we're set. Weather is looking a little crazy so I pack for warm weather and cooler rainy weather. My parents come and settle in with the kids and we're off! Disneyland here we come!

I remember looking out the window thinking, "I can't believe I woke up in my own bed this morning and I'll be at Disneyland the same day! I can't believe I get to ride the REAL Haunted Mansion again after almost 14 years! (The holiday version wasn't my favorite, to say the least.) This is so exciting!"

 

[tksbaskets]

Looking forward to hearing more

 

[deejdigsdis]

Looking forward to hearing more

Yay! Glad to have you along!

Backtracking just a bit... At some point we had to tell the kids (3 boys, ages 10, 7, and 4) that we were going to Disneyland without them. We took them to Disneyland for the first time in Nov. and it was so fun. Now, here we are 5 months later, having to tell them that we are going back and they aren't. I was dreading the moment, that's for sure. My husband broke the news to them when we were all sitting around one night, about 1 month before we left. Their responses?

DS10: "Oh. Did I tell you what happened at recess today?!? ........"

DS7: Silence. A few tears in his eyes. Not tears of sadness that he wasn't going to Disneyland. Tears of anxiety that we were going somewhere and I wouldn't be here to walk him to his classroom each morning. That's what he was worried about.

DS4: "Will you bring me a Tigger Tail?" Then carries on with what he was doing, as if nothing about Disneyland was mentioned at all.

DH and I looked at each other. We were expecting at least a little disappointment about the "we're going and you're not" news. Nothing. I had myself all worked up over the announcement for nothing. They were totally fine with it.

Bringing us up to speed...we're now landing at SNA. The airport was very easy to navigate. (This coming from someone who hasn't flown since 1996. I'm not a fan of flying. Turbulence terrifies me. My husband had sore arm muscles to prove it. )

We make our way out to where we were supposed to meet SuperShuttle with no problems. We get "checked in" and hop in the van. For some reason there was a bit of a hold up. All I know is the driver was pacing around with his little clip-board. I'm not sure what he was waiting for. The van was full. We saw 4 SuperShuttle vans drive away before we did. Finally we were on our way, hoping we had a room ready so we could change. It wasn't nearly as warm as we were expecting. There was one drop-off at Residence Inn, and then it was our turn. We're here!

We thought the hotel was beautiful! More pics to come later.

 

[tksbaskets]

Yay! Glad to have you along!

Backtracking just a bit... At some point we had to tell the kids (3 boys, ages 10, 7, and 4) that we were going to Disneyland without them. We took them to Disneyland for the first time in Nov. and it was so fun. Now, here we are 5 months later, having to tell them that we are going back and they aren't. I was dreading the moment, that's for sure. My husband broke the news to them when we were all sitting around one night, about 1 month before we left. Their responses?

DS10: "Oh. Did I tell you what happened at recess today?!? ........"

DS7: Silence. A few tears in his eyes. Not tears of sadness that he wasn't going to Disneyland. Tears of anxiety that we were going somewhere and I wouldn't be here to walk him to his classroom each morning. That's what he was worried about.

DS4: "Will you bring me a Tigger Tail?" Then carries on with what he was doing, as if nothing about Disneyland was mentioned at all.

DH and I looked at each other. We were expecting at least a little disappointment about the "we're going and you're not" news. Nothing. I had myself all worked up over the announcement for nothing. They were totally fine with it.

Bringing us up to speed...we're now landing at SNA. The airport was very easy to navigate. (This coming from someone who hasn't flown since 1996. I'm not a fan of flying. Turbulence terrifies me. My husband had sore arm muscles to prove it. )

We make our way out to where we were supposed to meet SuperShuttle with no problems. We get "checked in" and hop in the van. For some reason there was a bit of a hold up. All I know is the driver was pacing around with his little clip-board. I'm not sure what he was waiting for. The van was full. We saw 4 SuperShuttle vans drive away before we did. Finally we were on our way, hoping we had a room ready so we could change. It wasn't nearly as warm as we were expecting. There was one drop-off at Residence Inn, and then it was our turn. We're here!

We thought the hotel was beautiful! More pics to come later.

Glad the boys handled the news well. What fun - a romantic trip to DL What airport is SNA? LAX is a madhouse and I'd love to fly in somewhere else.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Glad the boys handled the news well. What fun - a romantic trip to DL What airport is SNA? LAX is a madhouse and I'd love to fly in somewhere else.

SNA is John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. I meant to comment on it in your TR when you were talking about your experience at LAX on your way home. That just sounded so crazy! Anyway, just to give you an idea of the easiness of it, we were picked up at our hotel by SuperShuttle on our last day at 3:55 pm. We were dropped off at the airport, through security and all checked in and waiting at the gate by 4:30! Sheesh, if we had known it was going to be so smooth maybe we would have stayed in the park a bit longer!

Moving on...

I realized that Hyatt picture I posted was not from our arrival. It was gray and cloudy when we arrived, so this photo was most likely taken on our last day. Check-in was smooth and we were glad that a room was ready so early for us. We headed on up to the 15th floor (of 17) and I snapped some pics before our stuff got scattered around.

It was actually a 2-Queen Standard room that came with our Yahoo Travel booking. We could have upgraded to a King for a fee, but we weren't interested.

There wasn't a fridge or microwave. I believe we could have gotten them for an extra fee. Again, not interested. We were only going to be there for 2 nights. Here's the view from our 15th floor room:

It was around 10:40am by the time we got to our room and I wanted to catch the 11:00 shuttle to Disneyland. I snapped these pics while waiting for the shuttle in front of the hotel.

The shuttle to the park runs every half hour on the hour. It is shared with Crowne Plaza across the street. When I had called about the shuttle before our trip, I was told they share it with a 3rd hotel as well, but that wasn't the case while we were riding. The shuttle was right on time at 11:00, we stopped at Crowne Plaza, and then we were off to Disneyland! We were dropped off about as far as possible from the entrance, in the Silver area if that means anything to anyone. It's right on the other side of the bushes from the city bus stop on Harbor, across from the Tropicana area.

No wait to get through security. Next stop, the ticket booth to redeem our Last Minute Travel voucher for the 3-day hoppers. No wait there, either. We had our actual tickets in hand within 2 or 3 minutes -- I would definitely use this company again. Our tickets were a great deal. Now on to the turnstiles. Again, no wait. Yay!

It's sinking in that I'm at Disneyland again...

Now I really know I'm back!

More later!