TimandLesley Take On Disneyland - We're BACK BABY! Update 10/9

[PittypatBR]

So glad to see this!! I have been missing you and your sweet family! The kids look just like I thought they would as they grew up, but you and Tim haven't aged a day! You are all just as cute as ever! I went to a conference in Anaheim a few years ago and was very excited to go three days early so I could tour all of Disneyland. I loved it - lots of new experiences. I look forward to reliving it as I keep up with your TR.

 

[timandlesley]

So glad to see this!! I have been missing you and your sweet family! The kids look just like I thought they would as they grew up, but you and Tim haven't aged a day! You are all just as cute as ever! I went to a conference in Anaheim a few years ago and was very excited to go three days early so I could tour all of Disneyland. I loved it - lots of new experiences. I look forward to reliving it as I keep up with your TR.

Thanks so much!! You are too sweet. I just really fell in love with Disneyland and can't wait to experience it with the family. We have LOTS of fun things planned so I am glad you are joining us again!

Yay!!! I'm definitely following along!

Definitely subscribing! Im in northern California for work, and have a trip planned to Disneyland in July! I can't wait!

Awesome! Well, I am glad you are here, maybe you will want to experience some of the things we have planned during your trip : )

Yes!!! I am so happy you are doing another report! I cannot WAIT to read more about your plans.

Thanks! Glad you are here : )

Subscribing. Looking forward to hearing about your trip. You have a lovely family. We're thinking of going next summer so great to see a report starting at the planning stage.

Thank you so much. Well, I will share it all, so you will learn a lot. Thanks for reading/posting

Woo hoo!!! I am so looking forward to this!! I haven't been here in forever (I still have YET to finish my TR) but I am back to read this!!

YAY! So glad to have you back for another one, wouldn't be the same without you!!

Have been on and off the boards for the last couple of years but looking forward to reading this TR. Hoping to head to DL next summer...

I haven't been steady on the boards either, life got in the way, but happy to share our experiences so you will be able to learn more for your trip next summer!

Joining in! I can't wait to hear all about Disneyland!

YAY! Welcome!

Looking forward to reading about your trip. Your kids have grown up so much.

Yes, they certainly have! Happy to have you along for the ride

Oh wow! Welcome back. Always enjoyed your reports and looking forward to reading this one!

Happy to have you back for another one : )

Following...

TONY!!!! Yay! : )

 

[vassar36]

Awesome!!! Can't wait to read all about it

 

[UGAFan0829]

EEEEEK! TIMANDLESLEY'S BACK! TIM AND LESLEY'S BACK! I'm so super excited!!

 

[lmillercrew]

I haven't been on the DIS in years, and I pop on today and see that you are doing another TR! I followed along some of your others, when the kids were so little, and now they are practically grown ups! Looking forward to hearing about this new adventure!

 

[Donna Freibert]

o

 

[mom2my3kids]

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

Looking forward to hearing about your trip! We are heading there in just a few weeks for our first trip!!

 

[betsywdw]

SO excited you're back! Can't wait to follow along

 

[Erin Doherty]

We are going for our first visit to DL and CA Adventure in August for 3 days, cannot wait to compare to WDW as that is our usual vacation spot. I am eager to hear all you will share on here

 

[melk]

Your screen name was familiar so I opened this thread and I remember you! I had to click on a previous TR to remind myself of your kids and I'm shocked at how big they've gotten! How did that happen so fast (of course I joined here before my youngest was born and now she's 15).

Looking forward to reading along. We leave for our first DL visit in seven weeks

 

[timandlesley]

Your screen name was familiar so I opened this thread and I remember you! I had to click on a previous TR to remind myself of your kids and I'm shocked at how big they've gotten! How did that happen so fast (of course I joined here before my youngest was born and now she's 15).

Glad you found us again, time sure has gone by fast!
Looking forward to reading along. We leave for our first DL visit in seven weeks

Awesome!!!

Awesome!!! Can't wait to read all about it

Welcome!

EEEEEK! TIMANDLESLEY'S BACK! TIM AND LESLEY'S BACK! I'm so super excited!!

Haha! So glad you found us again ; )

I haven't been on the DIS in years, and I pop on today and see that you are doing another TR! I followed along some of your others, when the kids were so little, and now they are practically grown ups! Looking forward to hearing about this new adventure!

It was fate : ) Yes, they certainly are, it's crazy. Thanks for joining us again!

o

DONNA!!!! Welcome!

Welcome!

Looking forward to hearing about your trip! We are heading there in just a few weeks for our first trip!!

Awesome! I hope you have a great time! Have you ever been?

SO excited you're back! Can't wait to follow along

Thanks for following!

We are going for our first visit to DL and CA Adventure in August for 3 days, cannot wait to compare to WDW as that is our usual vacation spot. I am eager to hear all you will share on here

Wow, 3 days, FUN! I will be curious to hear your thoughts, I sure have fallen in love!

 

[timandlesley]

Alright, thanks to everyone who has joined us so far. Let's start talking planning shall we!
So we arrive on Father's Day night, flight lands in LAX around 5:45 pm. I have a town car service picking us up from the airport to take us to the hotel. We are staying at:


THE DISNEYLAND HOTEL!!!! I stayed there with my agency last summer along with the Grand Californian and we toured Paradise Pier, personally Disneyland hotel just can't be beat. I LOVE the theming, the fireworks in the night stands, the moderness of the hotel and shoot, there are characters in the lobby as you check in! ALSO it's right by Trader Sam's so capping off the night with a drink by a tiki torch isn't too shabby either : )

For those of you who have read our trip reports from years past you have watch Tim as well as the kids transform. Since we arrive on Father's Day and I have to tell you about those plans first, let's take a minute to honor this man and the changes he has made in his life. I AM SO PROUD OF HIM. Below is a picture of him during our first Dis trip report years back and the photo on the right is him today:


Inspiring right!!!!! He has since become a Beach Body coach and is helping others change their lives in a positive way. He has lost over 100 pounds. Pretty amazing right!!!!
So, that night, we are going to be celebrating him on Father's Day at Steakhouse 55, I made the reservation last week. YUM!

We will be staying the first 3 nights using an incentive trip I won from my agency for being top agent and then we are paying for 4 nights at the Disneyland hotel and those 4 nights we will move to a Concierge Level room, so I can't wait to tell you all about that!

We are going to be spending 5 days in the parks, I have a 5 day park hopper for each of us.
I can't wait to walk down Main Street and Experience the magic with my family. And can we just take a minute to appreciate how small the castle is there : )


HAHAHA! Still Magical though!

Let's talk about our first day in the parks first. I wanted to start it off with a day to explore both parks casually and to cap it off with Paint the Night. This parade is just AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It puts any Disney parade I have ever seen to SHAME!


When I was there last summer we ate dinner at Blue Bayou and even though I've read mixed reviews about this place I really enjoyed my meal there and want the family to experience it. I did some research about the Paint the Night package, and although pricey at $62 per person I decided to GO FOR IT! Heck, it's our first family trip, we are eating there anyway and it will get us a great reserved spot for the parade that night.
Can't wait!

Next installment I will discuss plans at California Adventure park:


This park is just amazing! I will share how I plan on seeing World of Color with the family and what are plans are to make that an extra special day.
We have also decided to take a day of this trip to go outside the Disney walls and take a formal tour. I will share with you what we decided on and why.

Please let me know as we go along if you have questions (for you Disneyland newbies) or want me to touch on something specific. I LOVE feedback during these reports!

Have a MAGICAL day everyone!!!!!

-TimandLesley

 

[Trentmom]

Tim looks awesome. Great job!!
We are hoping to get to Disneyland in next couple of years. How much is the cost of a town car to hotel? Wish they had free magical express like we do. So spoiled lol

That hotel looks amazing. Love the pool slides.

I watched paint the night parade online. It's looks amazing. I can only imagine how incredible it looks in person.

Cant wait for more

 

[timandlesley]

Tim looks awesome. Great job!!
We are hoping to get to Disneyland in next couple of years. How much is the cost of a town car to hotel? Wish they had free magical express like we do. So spoiled lol

That hotel looks amazing. Love the pool slides.

I watched paint the night parade online. It's looks amazing. I can only imagine how incredible it looks in person.

Cant wait for more

I am paying a little under $100 each way for the service. You can do super shuttle but you have to wait a long time until the bus fills up and then it goes to multiple stops- I wanted to invest the money to get there fast. We did it last summer when I was there with my agency and loved it. The hotel is SO great! The inside is just beautiful (I'll find my pictures)
Pain the Night is GREAT!!!

 

[mefordis]

So glad you are back, since I really missed your excellent trip reports! We went to DLR twice and stayed at GC and DLH and I prefer Disneyland Hotel, though they are both great.

What Beachbody program did Tim do? He looks awesome and he should be so proud of himself! I'll bet he is a great coach, too!

 

[timandlesley]

So glad you are back, since I really missed your excellent trip reports! We went to DLR twice and stayed at GC and DLH and I prefer Disneyland Hotel, though they are both great.

What Beachbody program did Tim do? He looks awesome and he should be so proud of himself! I'll bet he is a great coach, too!

Thanks, he did T25, Max 30 and 22 min Hard Corps and drinks his Shakeology every day and has become a pretty successful coach with Beach Body, he's LOVING helping others.
Isn't Disneyland hotel great!? I am so excited to get out there with the family : ) Happy you found us to come along for another ride : )
-Lesley

 

[heaven2dc]

Good to see you back with another TR! I have a question - you mentioned in your post about the Disneyland Hotel the "fireworks in the night stands". Can you tell me what that is? (Thanks!)

Also the Blue Bayou Paint the Night Parade package sounds like something you will really enjoy it. I'm not certain if you are aware but Disneyland blocks off a section on the sidewalk on Main Street and you'll be either sitting on the curb (if you get in the roped off area first) or will be standing behind the people sitting on the curb. A friend who was visiting us was a little bit disappointed when we saw this a couple of weeks ago when we took her to the Parks and said she was glad we didn't purchase the package. Although Blue Bayou is definitely worth the dining and the ambiance experience!! Hope you have fun

 

[timandlesley]

Good to see you back with another TR! I have a question - you mentioned in your post about the Disneyland Hotel the "fireworks in the night stands". Can you tell me what that is? (Thanks!)

Also the Blue Bayou Paint the Night Parade package sounds like something you will really enjoy it. I'm not certain if you are aware but Disneyland blocks off a section on the sidewalk on Main Street and you'll be either sitting on the curb (if you get in the roped off area first) or will be standing behind the people sitting on the curb. A friend who was visiting us was a little bit disappointed when we saw this a couple of weeks ago when we took her to the Parks and said she was glad we didn't purchase the package. Although Blue Bayou is definitely worth the dining and the ambiance experience!! Hope you have fun

Hi, in the rooms when you press a button on the night stand it plays "When you Wish Upon a Star" and the headboards light up in white LED fireworks, it's a cute little show, just love it and can't wait to show Tim and the kids. Yes, I've read a lot about the package, we will get there early to get the curb spot : )

 

[akemom]

Tim's transformation is amazing!! He looks like a completely different person!
I'm sure he is an inspiration to everyone!

I've never been to Disneyland so I can't wait to hear about every single detail! My DH spent one day there as a child but I'm sure it has changed a lot since then! We hope to make it there someday!

Does Disneyland have dining plans and packages/discounts like Disneyworld? Do they have FP+? Obviously I know nothing about Disneyland!