princessnicchia
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2008
Hello everyone, I have never written a trip report (or as the case may be, a Pre-trip report) but I am so excited about our trip I just have to share!
First, the cast:
Me---Mom 35 I love, love, love Disneyland. Perhaps more than my children! I grew up in Arizona, so I went a few times as a child and for my HS graduation, but hadn't been back until last year when I took my oldest daughter. I got bit by the Disney bug big-time though. I think that vacation was the most relaxed and happiest I had felt in ages.
DH--33. NOT a Disneyland fan. Actually, this is his first time going, but his stated intention is to hang out in the hotel room as much as he can. He's actually hoping our children misbehave so he can do time-outs in the room! Actually, he generally says stuff like this and then goes and has a good time anyway.
DD--5 This is her 2nd trip to Disneyland. She is looking forward to seeing the princesses again and showing her little sis the ropes!
DD--2 This is her first trip to Disneyland. She is very excited about the trip, as she has been watching our old (circa '1989ish) Disneyland fun video and helping plan the trip by watching the Disneyland website. She is actually more likely to ride on any dark and scary rides than her big sis!
FIL--- This is my FIL's first trip to Disneyland. He keeps asking if there are any Costco's around and "what else" there is to do other than Disneyland. I think this is because we live in a small Alaska town and the most exciting thing we can generally think of is a trip to Costco!
MIL--- My MIL was at Disneyland sometime around the late 50s, and has not been back since. She was just a child and has very vague memories. She is looking forward to it all and is a wonderful sport about everything.
I got the little girls new Minnie Mouse Crocs, which they are going to get on Sunday the 16th as we pull the last tag off our countdown calendar. The four hours between that and when we get on the plane are sure to be long ones!
We leave for CA on the 16th---around 12:00 and get into CA around 7:30. It's a long flight for a 2 year old, which is my major concern. We do have a tiny layover in Seattle, so we should be able to grab something to eat and take a quick walking around break. Hopefully the joy of Disneyland will keep everyone well behaved (that and the million coloring books we are bringing).
My oldest child is a wonderful traveler. Whenever we fly, people always comment on how good she is. I love that---it doesn't actually happen that often in real life!
When we get in, we are taking the Disneyland Express to the Tropicana. It will be pretty late, so I'm hoping to grab a quick bite on Harbor and then try to get the kids to bed at a decent hour so we can hit the gates early. Last year, when we flew in our flights got delayed and we didn't get to the hotel until well after midnight, so we were off schedule for sleeping and getting up early all week. I'm hopeful that won't happen again.
We are planning on going with the flow, just doing a lot of FL because that is what the kids love. We are also really wanting to do the Jungle Cruise & Nemo. My oldest really doesn't like to be scared, and won't ride any of the dark rides, but she is desperate to ride Big Thunder. I think it's because her little sister is too short for the ride and big sis can torture her about being able to go on it when little sis can't. Other must-dos are both parades and the fireworks---the fireworks will be hard because it's way after our normal bedtime!
I'm hoping to do the Golden Horseshoe show (Billy Bob?) on Monday, and Tueday we have PS for Carnation Cafe. Wednesday we are doing the Princess lunch, Thursday we have PS (lunch) for Rainforest Cafe, and Friday night we are doing Goofy's. I'm considering adding a early Saturday morning character breakfast if we can get out on time...we have to be to the airport by 9ish. Other than that, no plans other than to try to do cheaper dinners (IHOP kids eat free, McD's, etc) and we have to hit the build a bear workshop because each child has been promised a new animal (now you see the need for the cheap eating).
Anyhow, this site has been super helpful with planning and we are all looking forward to a little R&R Disneyland style!
First, the cast:
Me---Mom 35 I love, love, love Disneyland. Perhaps more than my children! I grew up in Arizona, so I went a few times as a child and for my HS graduation, but hadn't been back until last year when I took my oldest daughter. I got bit by the Disney bug big-time though. I think that vacation was the most relaxed and happiest I had felt in ages.
DH--33. NOT a Disneyland fan. Actually, this is his first time going, but his stated intention is to hang out in the hotel room as much as he can. He's actually hoping our children misbehave so he can do time-outs in the room! Actually, he generally says stuff like this and then goes and has a good time anyway.
DD--5 This is her 2nd trip to Disneyland. She is looking forward to seeing the princesses again and showing her little sis the ropes!
DD--2 This is her first trip to Disneyland. She is very excited about the trip, as she has been watching our old (circa '1989ish) Disneyland fun video and helping plan the trip by watching the Disneyland website. She is actually more likely to ride on any dark and scary rides than her big sis!
FIL--- This is my FIL's first trip to Disneyland. He keeps asking if there are any Costco's around and "what else" there is to do other than Disneyland. I think this is because we live in a small Alaska town and the most exciting thing we can generally think of is a trip to Costco!
MIL--- My MIL was at Disneyland sometime around the late 50s, and has not been back since. She was just a child and has very vague memories. She is looking forward to it all and is a wonderful sport about everything.
I got the little girls new Minnie Mouse Crocs, which they are going to get on Sunday the 16th as we pull the last tag off our countdown calendar. The four hours between that and when we get on the plane are sure to be long ones!
We leave for CA on the 16th---around 12:00 and get into CA around 7:30. It's a long flight for a 2 year old, which is my major concern. We do have a tiny layover in Seattle, so we should be able to grab something to eat and take a quick walking around break. Hopefully the joy of Disneyland will keep everyone well behaved (that and the million coloring books we are bringing).
My oldest child is a wonderful traveler. Whenever we fly, people always comment on how good she is. I love that---it doesn't actually happen that often in real life!
When we get in, we are taking the Disneyland Express to the Tropicana. It will be pretty late, so I'm hoping to grab a quick bite on Harbor and then try to get the kids to bed at a decent hour so we can hit the gates early. Last year, when we flew in our flights got delayed and we didn't get to the hotel until well after midnight, so we were off schedule for sleeping and getting up early all week. I'm hopeful that won't happen again.
We are planning on going with the flow, just doing a lot of FL because that is what the kids love. We are also really wanting to do the Jungle Cruise & Nemo. My oldest really doesn't like to be scared, and won't ride any of the dark rides, but she is desperate to ride Big Thunder. I think it's because her little sister is too short for the ride and big sis can torture her about being able to go on it when little sis can't. Other must-dos are both parades and the fireworks---the fireworks will be hard because it's way after our normal bedtime!
I'm hoping to do the Golden Horseshoe show (Billy Bob?) on Monday, and Tueday we have PS for Carnation Cafe. Wednesday we are doing the Princess lunch, Thursday we have PS (lunch) for Rainforest Cafe, and Friday night we are doing Goofy's. I'm considering adding a early Saturday morning character breakfast if we can get out on time...we have to be to the airport by 9ish. Other than that, no plans other than to try to do cheaper dinners (IHOP kids eat free, McD's, etc) and we have to hit the build a bear workshop because each child has been promised a new animal (now you see the need for the cheap eating).
Anyhow, this site has been super helpful with planning and we are all looking forward to a little R&R Disneyland style!