PTR: Prepping for our June 2015 20th anniversary & mega-birthday celebration spectacular!

[VandVsmama]

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my PTR! We are a family of 4 - me (age 41), DH (42), ODD (8 1/2), and YDD (6 1/2). We will be headed to the Disneyland Resort this June! It's going to be an epic event of celebrations because on top of Disneyland's 60th anniversary, we have:

• DH's birthday on 6/17
  
• ODD's 9th birthday 2 days later
• YDD's 7th birthday earlier in the month
• our 20th wedding anniversary on 7/1!

DH asked me what I wanted to do for our big anniversary trip and of course, I said DL! Because of our schedules and other stuff going on, we are often not able to celebrate much for our anniversary, so that makes this trip extra special! Other friends and family said, "Are you SURE? And you're bringing your kids, too? don't you want a solo trip with just you and DH?"

Heck NO! I mean...how on earth could we go to the happiest place on earth and NOT bring our kids? Crazy!

Our first trip to DL as a family was 2 1/2 years ago when my kids were 4 and 6. Thanks to the DIS, we were pretty well prepared for navigating DL last time and even more so this time!

So get ready and climb aboard! Keep your hands & feet inside the car at all times as we go on Mr Toad's Wild Ride of a PTR! Weee!

 

[VandVsmama]

PART 2: WHEN IN JUNE SHOULD WE GO?

I'm so glad that you asked! When we went to DL 2 years ago, we drove from our home in Arizona to southern CA over Memorial Day weekend & checked into the DLH on Memorial Day itself, spending Tues-THurs in the parks. We drove home the following weekend because of a stop made in San Diego to visit relatives (BIL, SIL, DNiece, DNephew, AIL, UIL). We did encounter Grad Night on 2 of those evenings, but it was very manageable and was not a problem at all.

If I could, I would go that week this year as well. Why? Most CA schools are still in session. But my kids attend a different school than where they were 2 years ago and this school's academic year doesn't end until Friday of Memorial Day week. Darn it!

So much for that idea! Ok, well maybe the following week? Nope, we have other commitments here at home. The last 2 weeks of the month? Getting too close to 4th of July, bigger crowds, and all California schools are out.

...which leaves us with the week of 6/7. YAY!

Now for our travel route:
Usually, we do it this way...

• take I-10 west from Tucson
• hop on I-8 west to San Diego
• pit stop (often an overnight) in La Mesa to visit relatives
• north on I-15
• another pit stop in Fallbrook (just off of I-15, 15 min south of Temecula) to visit other relatives. Fallbrook is an avocado meccA!
• continue to Anaheim

But that seemed to take forever. I am toying with the idea that this time, we would drive on I-10 straight through to LA & Anaheim. This should shave some time off of the drive given that we won't have the lengthy pit stops on that route. i also want to rent a car in order to minimize mileage on our aging vehicles...preferably something with a DVD player so the kids can watch Disney movies the whole way there!

 

[VandVsmama]

So our rough itinerary at the moment is this:

• Sun 6/7 - leave Tucson by 8am. Arrive in Anaheim by 5pm.
• Monday 6/8 - DL & DCA!
  
• Tues 6/9 - DL & DCA!
• Wed 6/10 - free day. nothing planned for this day yet. Am looking for ideas in case anyone has suggestions. Am thinking of skipping the beach since YDD has tubes in 1 ear and last summer, we went to the beach...dumb dumb Mommy here didn't put an ear plug in that ear and she ended up with a horrible ear infection as a result. Maybe just some sleeping in, pool time. Maybe see a movie? Or go to that Discovery museum in Santa Ana (or maybe it's Orange?). Or maybe see the space shuttle at the California Sciences Center? I'm curious if others have gone to those museums and what they thought. My sister arrives in Anaheim on this day. Have dinner w/her.
  
• Thurs 6/11 - DL & DCA. My sister keeps kids overnight w/her in her hotel room. DH & I get a date night at DL all to ourselves! Definitely going to do dinner at Blue Bayou for the Fantasmic! dinner package. We have never seen Fantasmic! so we are quite excited about that.
  
• Fri 6/12 - DL & DCA. Check out of motel. Drive in evening to Big Bear. Overnight in Big Bear at AIL & UIL's cabin.
• Sat 6/13 - in Big Bear. big b-day party for DH, ODD, YDD with extended family
• Sun 6/14 - pack up & drive home. Check back into the real world. Boo!

 

[VandVsmama]

Where should we stay?
I am so conflicted! At the moment, we have 2 reservations:

• 5 nights in a double bed room at Hojo's at the Mousesavers rate (15% off regular room rate)
  
• 5 nights in a 2-queed bed room at Tropicana for $99/night!

The Tropicana room is much less expensive. Total including tax is less than $600! Hojo's is costlier, but they have an awesome kids' pool/splash pad that my children would just love and the parking is free. But the walk from Hojo's is much longer...about the same as from the DLH.

The Tropicana's pool pales in comparison to Hojo's, but the walk to the park entrance is only 5 minutes! Well, I suppose that we don't have to decide just yet. Maybe Hojo's will offer some of their last minute motel room deals in June like they had 2 years ago. Crossing my fingers!

 

[VandVsmama]

PART 5: PHOTOS, GEAR, AND OTHER STUFF!
I know that you guys like pictures just about as much as I do, so I have a few fun photos to share. We will be seeing DNiece (age 6) and DNephew (age 3) at the tail end of our trip. I just love my niece & nephew. DNiece is a dinosaur & animal lover. DNephew hums the Star Wars theme songs when he is busy doing something. It is all Star Wars, all the time for that kid, as you can see in this picture, taken by his parents at DL about a year ago...



Then we have this silly photo, taken of my kids & DNiece this past summer at the San Diego Zoo. YDD is on the left, DNiece is in the middle, and ODD is on the right. YDD & DNiece are only 3 months apart in age. All 4 kids play so well together and get along great, which makes all of us parents very happy & proud!



Here's a photo of the 3 girls with fewer silly faces! LOL!

 

[VandVsmama]

We recently had snow here in Tucson shortly after Christmas! It doesn't happen that often, so it's a nice treat. The last time we had some show up in our backyard was back when my kids were 18 months and 3.5, as you can see in this photo:



And here they were back around Christmas!


Some cool landscape pics:


and one more...

 

[VandVsmama]

PART 6 - GEARING UP FOR OUR TRIP!
A few weeks ago, ODD, YDD & I got new hats! I am rather fair-skinned, so I pretty much have to have something on my noggin when I'm outside for a length of time. The bummer part of this is that I have a huge head! I mean, NONE of the cute women's sun hats ever fit me! BOO!

But alas, there is hope! I discovered Tilley Hats a few years ago. I got this one about 4 years ago and it has stood up quite well. It's made of hemp and you can run it through the washing machine.


This is my latest Tilley addition. Same color as the first one, but has more air flow than the first hat, which helps when your head gets sweaty! And I got a cute braid thingy to go around the brim. This will be my main park hat for DL.


I love Tilley Hats (DH has one, too) because each hat comes with a lifetime warranty, so if it gets damaged or ruined, they'll fix it no questions asked. There's also a hidden pocket in the hat, so you can stash your ID or credit card there and nobody will know! It'll also stay on your head in high winds (has 2 head straps) and it floats.

What I am most excited about is the hats my kids picked out. They are oh so girly! Here's the one my purple-loving 6-year-old selected. And yes, that is an Eegee's slushee that I allowed her to eat in the car


And here's the fabulous number that my 8-year-old pinkie pie selected:

 

[VandVsmama]

PART 6 CONTINUED - GEARING UP FOR OUR TRIP:
I am having a heck of a time deciding which purse to bring. Option #1 is this small red purse. I like the color a lot and it's cute, but it doesn't hold much. That's ok because we are also bringing a backpack. Here's a pic of the purse:


Here's option #2 - a very lightweight Rick Steves purse. I have taken this purse on many trips. It holds a lot, but is much uglier than the red purse. What do you guys think? Which would you choose?


Here, also, is the backpack we'll be bringing into the parks each day. The piece of paper is there on purpose to hide my daughter's name, which is written on the backpack. Sweatshirts, snacks, water bottles will go in here.


And this is a rear view of the backpack. I like the padding that it has! ODD used this as her main school bag last year.


Here is a pic of what's in the backpack so far. Yes, I'm planning WAY in advance! But this is how I stave off the Disneyland cravings until our trip! LOL! Here's what's in the picture:

• 4 cheap ponchos from Walmart
• 3 small Dollar Store containers of bubbles (useful to kill time when waiting in line)
• my kids' lanyards & pins
• hand sanitizer - a must!
• the polka dot thing has tissues in it
• a sarong - I use it as a blanket to mark our turf for parades, as a scarf, as a cover-up when going to the pool. It only cost me $7 and is very lightweight! Less than 1 lb in weight.
• Sun Bun sunscreen - our family loves this stuff. Moisturizes your skin while protecting from sunburn. A little on the pricey side - $15 for this bottle, but it works wonders.

 

[VandVsmama]

PART 7 - PACKING LISTS!
I am a list person. I kind of have to be because ask anybody in my family, and they will tell you that I have a habit of leaving a little part of myself everywhere I go. So in order to work around that, I use a packing list! This way, we don't forget anything when we leave on our trip and we don't leave anything behind when we are ready to go home.

My DH, by the way, thinks that this is very anal retentive. Hm, I think he's probably right. But you gotta do what you gotta do! Haha! Anyway, I saved my packing list from our trip 2 years ago and have edited it a bit. We won't be needing a stroller this time around, so it's nice to not have to hassle with that! This is what I've got so far in terms of stuff that I have to bring:

• clothes for 4 days
• bathing suit
• flip flops, sneakers, Birkenstocks. The flip flops I'm bringing are 5 years old and ready to visit flip flop heaven, so I'll probably be tossing them out at the end of the trip!
• sarong (same one as you saw in the backpack picture above)
• sun hat
• back pack
• small purse
• anti-frizz hair gel
• PJ's
• cell phone & charger + extra phone battery
• tablet & charger
• printed Ridemax plans
• hotel reservation info
• Disneyland tickets
• Disney gift cards - $150 saved up already on Disney gift cards!
• Photopass+ details
• toothbrush
• eyeglasses & contact lens stuff + sunglasses
• makeup
• lanyard
• a few Ziplock bags - to put a spare change of clothes in (1 per kid)

In case anybody is interested, there's a wonderful travel packing website called http://www.onebag.com. They have a great packing list and have lots of wonderful suggestions for traveling light! My stuff is all going in a carry-on sized non-wheeled bag. It has a regular handle and also backpack straps and weighs about 3 pounds without anything in it!

Today, ODD is home sick with strep throat (thankfully fever is gone thanks to antibiotics!). Thank goodness for the Walgreens health clinic yesterday (Sunday). But this is a good reminder that I also should include some simple first aid items in our luggage, like:

• children's Tylenol or ibuprofen
• a few band aids
• blister band aids
• maybe a pedialyte packet or 2...just in case
• ibuprofen for the adults! Good for sore muscles at the end of a long day
• body glide...to put on your feet. Helps prevent blisters from forming.

 

[VandVsmama]

PART 7 CONT. - PACKING LISTS 2.0!
As far as ODD & YDD go, I am going to try and cram all their stuff into one 22" rolling suitcase. DH is on his own for packing his stuff. The plan is for all of us to bring clothes for 3-4 days, then we do laundry at the hotel. Plus, it saves from having a small mountain of laundry to do when we get home! For my kids, I think we'll need:

• clothes for 4 days
• bathing suits & goggles
• shampoo & Swim Spray - if you haven't heard of Swim Spray, then you MUST try it. You can buy it online or it's often available at pool supply stores. When you're done swimming, you rinse your hair in the shower. Then you spray on the Swim Spray on your hair and then shampoo your hair like you normally would. It neutralizes all of the chlorine so your hair doesn't end up like straw. I've used it on YDD's skin, too. One time after swim practice, she had this awful rash on her chest and I used the Swim Spray on it and 15 minutes later, no more rash.
• flip flops & sneakers
• hats
• spray-in kids' conditioner in a small bottle
• 1 pair PJs per kid
• small toys for the car ride
• toothbrushes & kids' toothpaste - I plan to just use my kids' toothpaste so I don't have to bring my own
• glow sticks - 1 per kid per each evening we'll be in the parks
• lanyards & pins to trade
• kid sunglasses - don't have these yet
• travel pack of Clorox wipes - to wipe down icky places like door handles & TV remote at the motel room when we first arrive
• Tide stain stick
• 1 favorite stuffed animal per kid

 

[VandVsmama]

Sat Feb 7:
Hi everyone! It's been a very busy week between work and school for the kids. Our kids are on a swim team and DH volunteered at a small swim meet that happened yesterday evening, so we didn't see much of him until the kids were in bed. We opted out because YDD stayed home from school yesterday with strep throat. The week started with ODD having strep throat, so now both kids are on antibiotics.

I am getting a mommy break this afternoon, so I am going in hunt of bargain prices for some tshirts & shorts. Warmer weather will be upon us soon here in Arizona. Heck, tomorrow it's going to be 82 degrees! Crazy! AND...while I'm out, I'm going to stop by the Disney store to put another $50 on my Disney gift card. I'm squirreling money away on a Disney gift card to use for food & souvenirs, so each week instead of buying my lunch, I bring my lunch to work and put some extra funds away toward our trip instead!

I saw the announcements about the 60th anniversary and I can't WAIT TO SEE THE NEW FIREWORKS SHOW!!!! Also saw some pics online of the new 60th anniversary collector pins. I totally need to get one of those when we are there!

 

[VandVsmama]

Yesterday in the travel toiletry section of the grocery store, for $0.99 I picked up a small travel first aid kit and added some blister band aids to it. Also went clothes shopping for my kids...they grow like weeds! Picked up some $3-4 flip flops at Walmart, a couple of skirt/shorts combos for $4 each and 5 tshirts from PS Aeropostale for $23! Plus I picked up two skirts for ODD at Old Navy for $8 each. All items are things that they'll wear all summer (which pretty much starts in May). Woot!

I have changed my mind in the backpack we will bring into the parks. I think that the first backpack is too heavy. So we will bring a Frozen backpack instead that ODD got for Christmas from a relative. It is much lighter weight!

 

[MommyJKM]

Wow you are most definately a list maker!

In June you just HAVE to stay at a place with a great pool...that's part of the fun of a Disneyland trip, right? Afternoon Pool Break!
I have heard the HoJo splash park is fun for kids, but have you seen the new Marriott Courtyard that people have been discussing on this board? It's being built next to the Fairfield Inn so it's actually a closer walk than HoJo and it will have an amazing waterpark!! And they have bunkbed rooms that look awesome your girls may like.
We always stay at GCH but I'm tempted to stay here instead for a weekend in June because I think the kids would love that waterpark.

They aren't taking reservations yet so there's no pricing, but maybe something for you to keep an eye on
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/snadt-courtyard-anaheim-downtown/

Just a thought for you!

 

[VandVsmama]

I thought about the new Marriott but it's not going to be open yet when we go. Definitely a possibility for the next trip afterwards though!

DH made some repairs to our minivan so it is good to go now! He has also squirreled away some more funds for our trip. Yay! The kids received $10 each from Grandma for Valentine's Day, so I told them that they had to set the money aside for a souvenir at DL.

 

[VandVsmama]

Ok, so I changed my mind on getting an AP, so I cancelled our Hojo's reservation at the AP 20% off rate. BUT I then changed my 15% off Mousesavers rate Hojo's reservation from 5 nights to 4 nights, saving us a fair amount of $$!! Enough savings to pay for the Blue Bayou Fantasmic dinner package that I desperately want to do for our anniversary dinner when we're there!

So instead of about $890 for 5 nights, it'll be $712.08 (including tax) for 4 nights. Yay for saving money!

BOO to the ticket prices going up! We've only bought 2 of our 4 tickets so far and I don't have the extra funds at the moment to plunk down another $500+ on 4-day park hoppers tonight (since the ticket prices are going up tomorrow). I don't like that! However, the silver lining to the cloud is that the total price difference for the 2 remaining tickets is only going to be $22 more than what they cost today. So it's not as bad as I thought!


So our itinerary has changed a bit. We're still going to drive out to San Diego on Sunday 6/7, but now we'll be staying at my BIL & SIL's house on Sunday night and leaving early Monday morning for Anaheim. So we'll miss rope drop on Monday morning, but I'm ok with that. Another plus side of this is that our kids will get to have some extra play time on Sunday evening with their 2 cousins. And when those 4 little kids get together, it's kind of like this:

I figure if we leave La Mesa by 7am and get to Hojo's Anaheim by 10am, then it's not too bad. I am now leaning heavily toward staying at Hojo's instead of the Tropicana mostly because of:

• FREE PARKING!
  
• And we can leave our car in their lot for the rest of the day even after we've checked out. Tropicana won't let us do that, which would mean storing ALL of our valuables in our car in the Mickey & Friends parking lot. Um, no thanks.
• Awesome splash pad/kids' pool area at Hojo's.My kids live in the water. heck, here in Arizona we have basically 6 months of summer, so they LOVE LOVE LOVE pools.

Some other good news to report!
Last week, I bought my kids their $25 Disney gift cards for the trip, so their souvenir money is now taken care of. When we went to DL 2 years ago, they blew all their money on silly trinkets like $6 Minnie Mouse pens, so this time I am hoping I can steer them toward buying something a bit more memorable. Something that will last awhile.

 

[VandVsmama]

4/17 update!
So our plans have changed a bit. We're postponing a longer 4-day trip to DL to this October. Plus side of this is that we'll be able to go to Mickey's Halloween Party, which none of us have ever attended before! And with luck, they'll still have the awesome new evening parade that looks like it's going to be totally spectacular. WOOT!

So in lieu of throwing a traditional birthday party at home, we gave our kids the option of going to DL for just one day and we're going to just 1 park. We'll be there on Monday, 6/8! Driving up to Anaheim from La Mesa (suburb of San Diego), getting up super early, eat breakfast in the car, Fantasmic! dinner reservations at BB! I'm so excited. My kids don't know it yet, but my sister is getting them fancy Elsa dresses for their birthdays and I'm going to have them open the gifts that morning, put on the dresses, and away we go!

It's a bit overkill, but I opted to get PhotoPass+ this time...yes, even though we're only there for 1 day! When we went 2 years ago, I so wish now that we would have done that. We got a regular PhotoPass, but the pay-by-the-picture prices were too costly and out of our price range, so we ended up not getting any of those photos.

....which was a SUPER MEGA BIG TIME BUMMER because those DL PhotoPass photographers really do a great job. They captured the wonder in my children's eyes when they were meeting the princesses.

So now we'll get all of those awesome pics plus ride pictures. It'll be great. I just ordered it 2 days ago, so we have plenty of time for it to arrive in the mail before our trip.

What in the world will we do the rest of our week? I'm so glad you asked! Here's our revised tentative schedule so far:

• Sun 6/7 - drive from AZ to La Mesa
• Mon 6/8 - all day at DL
• Tues 6/9 - sleep in, rest, hang out
• Wed 6/10 - go to the USS Midway Museum in San Diego's Mission Bay. DH really likes military history and our 3rd grader will appreciate it, too.
• Thurs 6/11 - no plans yet
• Fri 6/12 - Discovery Cube museum in Orange County, then drive to Big Bear in the San Bernardino mountains
• Sat 6/13 - hang out w/AIL, UIL, BIL, SIL, DNiece, DNephew at AIL & UIL's cabin in Big Bear. Maybe take the 4 kids (my 2 kids + DNiece & DNephew) to the small Big Bear zoo, go exploring in the woods, etc. AIL & UIL's cabin can't sleep everybody, so I'm thinking that we'll pitch a tent in back of the cabin and the 3 girls (ODD, YDD, DNiece) and I will sleep out there.
• Sun 6/14 - leave early afternoon (probably 1pm-ish) to hit the road for the long ride back to AZ.

 

[VandVsmama]

Almost forgot! A couple of days ago, I asked my kids to pick 1 ride that they REALLY want to go on. Just 1. Here's the list they gave me:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean
2. Haunted Mansion
3. Space Mountain
4. go see the fairies in Pixie Hollow
5. Mad Tea Party ("the tea cups, Mommy!")
6. Autopia
7. Dumbo

Um...what happened to picking just one? LOL!

 

[VandVsmama]

I got a cheap rate at Best Western Plus Pavilions on Katella for $98/night for Sunday night, 6/7! And they don't charge for parking. Even better! And they have free grab and go breakfast items. perfect!

So we will drive straight from Tucson to Anaheim on 6/7, leaving early that morning so we can arrive and check in about early to mid afternoon. This will allow my kids some pool time before dinner.

AND it is right next door to Marri's Pizza! I can get take out and we can dine al fresco next to the pool. Yay!

Here's my itinerary for Sunday 6/7:
1. Hit the road by 6:30-7am
2. 2pm-ish - arrive in Anaheim, check into motel.
3. 2-8pm - pool, eat dinner, get to bed early.

Mon 6/8:
1. 6am - everybody up! Adults shower & pack up, kids eat grab n go breakfast, check out of motel.
2. 7am - drive to Toy Story lot. Take bus to main gate.
3. 7:30am - go through bag check, wait for gates to open!
4. 8:00 am - hopefully we'll be at front of Main Street for rope drop! Head to Fantasyland to start our day!!

 

[disneydreamer74]

I am excited that you still get to go in June!! ONE day is better than none!! We are driving from Sierra Vista (we are not far from you ) but will head up to Phoenix to visit friends the day before, then leave from there. We leave May 24th technically. A few years ago we went during June and LOVED it. This will be our first May trip! Super excited! Thanks for sharing your sarong Idea. I have to do this..will be great for saving parade spots for the family. Great PTR!!

 

[kaoden39]

Hi!

I love the hats! Not only they adorable but, they will be great sun blockers!