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

[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]

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/special-offers/lights-camera-magic-adventures/

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

 

[arthur06]

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/special-offers/lights-camera-magic-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!

 

[arthur06]

Sorry for the delay, we had some unexpected company last night, so I wasn't able to get back on.

I can't believe that in 8 short weeks, we will be on a flight to California.

I decided a few years ago that we would try to make it to WDW, DLR and DCL at some point before the kids were out of school. Turns out, that we will complete that in under 2 years.

It was December 2010 that we did the 4 night Bahama Cruise on the Wonder. Here are a few pics of the first 1/3 of our journey. We are DVC Members and have taken so family with us many times. My FIL is not a big fan of traveling, but when presented the offer to take a Cruise with the Grandkids, he could pass it up. There were 7 of use total on this trip.

Grandpa was full after Animator's Palate, so he told the waiter he wanted "Nothing" for Dessert. That is exactly what he got.

The view from the Wonder in Bahamas

View from land back to the Wonder

Castaway Cay

CC decorated for Christmas

We went to the Blackhills and Rushmore in 2008, didn't know we were going again

Wonder

more of the cruise to come

 

[arthur06]

(cont.)

Don't let some of the pics fool you. It was beautiful, but it was so cold. Kids would want to swim in the pool and good thing they have a higher threshold for cold water at that age, cause DW and I would not get in!

Mickey Slide

It was so relaxing to just watch the calm of the open water

We really enjoyed the shows on the Cruise. We loved the Golden Mickey's!

 

[arthur06]

7 weeks from today, we will be on a plane to California.

Not that I am counting, but in 1183 hours I will be at Disneyland!

 

[arthur06]

WOW! What a crazy week for us. We just bought another house. We made an offer last week, they countered back and then we re-countered. They accepted our offer on Tuesday! We close on October 12th, so we need to get our trip plans locked in this weekend.

We weren't planning on buying another house, but the price was just too good to pass up, but the house does need some work. But we found it (at least for now) to be a great investment!

We booked our park and fly hotel in Kansas City. We are arriving at the Four Points Sheraton on November 2nd and included 14 days of parking and tax for $97. I always dread coming home, when we are parked at the airport and their $12 dollar per day parking price. Glad to know that we don't have that bill waiting for us.

We are getting to the home stretch, 6 weeks from today we will be at DLR!

 

[KCmike]

Great pics of the DCL. We have never been and just can't quite decide if its something we would like to do since the cost is so high. I know people that really love to cruise and think its the end all be all to vacations but I just can't help think that I would get bored on the boat. I know there are ports of call and castaway cay and those things interest me. Everytime I see pics like yours I tempted again. Nice shots!

Congrats on the house. That's crazy that you weren't really looking but found such a good deal.

Congrats on booking the hotel in KC. Your trip is getting ever closer!

 

[arthur06]

Great pics of the DCL. We have never been and just can't quite decide if its something we would like to do since the cost is so high. I know people that really love to cruise and think its the end all be all to vacations but I just can't help think that I would get bored on the boat. I know there are ports of call and castaway cay and those things interest me. Everytime I see pics like yours I tempted again. Nice shots!

We loved our cruise and had a great time. However, I don't know if we will do one again. For us, it was an experience that we wanted to do, but the cost is pretty high. Also, you are on the boat a lot and at port not too much. Unless there is a "Kids Sail Free" offer sometime in the future, it will probably be our last DCL Cruise.

Congrats on the house. That's crazy that you weren't really looking but found such a good deal.

Thanks. It's in my wife's hometown and was cheaper then just a vacant lot. It needs some work, but I am pretty handy with much of that stuff. Also, BIL is a contractor, so he will be helpful!

Congrats on booking the hotel in KC. Your trip is getting ever closer!

Thanks. Can't believe that it has come this quick!

 

[arthur06]

Another week down, just 5 more to go.

We have been watching both old and new Disney movies this week. Tonight's selection was The Avengers. Also this week, we watched Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Ratatouille, and Lion King.

 

[KCmike]

Vacation coming or not we find ourselves watching old Disney movies all the time. ABC family or just breaking out an old dvd makes for a great family night in.

Even though my kids are older they still appreciate it. We went last night to the movies and saw Hotel Transylvania. I went thinking the movie would just stink it up but came out surprised. I would give it a B.

 

[arthur06]

Vacation coming or not we find ourselves watching old Disney movies all the time. ABC family or just breaking out an old dvd makes for a great family night in.

Even though my kids are older they still appreciate it. We went last night to the movies and saw Hotel Transylvania. I went thinking the movie would just stink it up but came out surprised. I would give it a B.

We joined the Disney Movie Club a few months back and have been adding to the collection. We should be getting Cinderella in the mail any day now. We are trying to update from VHS on many of the classics.

We talked about taking the kids to Hotel Transylvania tomorrow. Wasn't sure on the movie, but you might have convinced me.

 

[KCmike]

I think you will like it. It's harmless fun.

We will blow our money on just about anything that looks fun or has Disney attached to it. We unfortunately saw ParaNorman and were really disappointed even after it got such great reviews on rotten tomatoes.

My wife and I saw The Master and hated it. I like Paul Thomas Anderson films but this was a disaster. PS. Not a kids movie!