1st trip to DL, 1st Anniversary, 1st time on the coast...COMPLETED!!

[PrincessAlways]

Your fireworks pics were really good! I know you were disappointed in being far away from the castle, but they were good!
An Alice ride...how cute!
Love the "updated" Space Mt cars! Can't wait until they update the ride at WDW!
Dumbo....that was sweet!

 

[kmab00]

Great pictures from Alice, I love that ride!

Thank you! I know I loved it too! I thought it was just so cute!

I def remember watching the fireworks from main street when we were there and getting very misty during Walt's speech in the middle. Love it!

Aww yeah his speech....that was a great touch to add to the fireworks show! I loved it too!! Thank you so much!

That was a FANTASTIC update, Karen! I loved it! I felt like I was there, listening to the song and hearing fireworks pops going off while I scrolled down! Awesome pic of a firework w/the castle lit up and the shadow of Partner's against the castle! Really really good photo.

Nothing can beat that-- I'm definitely going to bed right NOW. 'Night!

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate your comments because I wasn't impressed at all with these photos. I'm glad you enjoyed them! LOL hope you had a wonderful night sleep filled with fantastic Disney dreams!!

Forgot to say that I like Disneyland's Remember fireworks better than Wishes at WDW.

I totally agree!!! Me too!

I love this quote! It just makes me so happy! Your pics of the fireworks were still great. They made me feel like I was there!

The Alice ride looks too cute! I wish they had one at MK!

Yes that quote is great! Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked them! I wish they had an Alice ride at MK too! And a Pinocchio ride and a Mr. Toad ride (again)....that was my favorite when I was a little girl!! Thanks for following along!

Karen, that update was awesome! I love the DL fireworks. I have the soundtrack on my Zune and I seriously (yes, seriously) listen to it everyday! The part where Walt starts talking, that's where Tink comes out and that part makes me cry everytime! I love it!!

Thank you so much!! The DL fireworks are amazing! I don't blame you...I love the music, too! Thanks for following along!

As always Karen, great update!!! I loved the fireworks pics., it was very cute, felt like I was right there. Also loved the Alice photos, one of my favorite rides!!! The Dumbo shots were great too, very cute story. As always, I can't wait to read and see more. Excellent job reliving your trip.

Thank you thank you!!! I'm glad you liked the pictures! I'm so glad you are enjoying this trip report, too! Your comments are too sweet!!

Wonderful update!!!

Your pics and quotes brought me right back to the night we watched the fireworks.........the DL fireworks are some of the best!

The Alice ride looks cute......we didn't have a chance to ride that one on our trip......after seeing your pics, that will have to go on our "next time" list!

I LOVE that Jason took you over to ride Dumbo.........how sweet!!!

Thank you!! I agree...the DL fireworks are great! Aww you have to ride Alice next time! We didn't get to ride Small World because it was closed...that was a bummer! That's definitely a "next time"!!

 

[kmab00]

Great update again!! I just love reading them.

I'm hoping that you were able to see the fireworks by the castle the next night? If you did, weren't the projections, and effects spectacular? Very nostalgic!! And did Tinkerbell show up? Sometimes because of winds, she and the whole show are cancelled. That has happened to us several times, and is so dissapointing.

Anyways, the fireworks at DL are always my hightlight of DL!! That's how much I love them.

Can't wait to hear more!

Thank you very much!! I did eventually get to see Tinkerbell! I was so excited!!

What is the webbed feet secret??? I've never heard of that one.

Webbed feet secret: (This was taken from one of the Disneyland Secrets threads that I found)

-The two droids in the second room of the queue for Star Tours used to be geese in the America Sings attraction (take a look at G2-9T's feet).

Take a look at it's feet...you'll see what I'm talking about!!

Thanks for reading along!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR HAWAII!!!

I'm so flattered that you both are interested in hearing about our trip! I wasn't really planning on writing a TR, but I just might! It could be a long one though.......we're going to be gone for 2 weeks, with one of the weeks being a cruise.

I bet you can't wait! That's so exciting!! I don't mind a long TR!!! Especially if it's about Hawaii! It feels like forever ago that I went! lol! We stayed in Maui and Honolulu! So much fun and oh so gorgeous!!! A cruise sounds fantastic! I definitely want to hear about it!!

Loved the update! You just keep making me want to go more and more! I love Alice in Wonderland and now I really want to go on that ride gosh darnit! In the next few yrs we want to hit up disneyland hopefully...and Las Vegas. I have a friend who just got back from Vegas and she loved it! Obviously we could do disneyland with kids, but vegas...not so much. So we need to do that sooner rather than later. Hehe. I can't wait to hear more. Hows the house coming along?

LOL!! Thanks! Las Vegas sounds fun, too! That's the perfect excuse! I love it!!! We need to go to Disneyland BEFORE we have kids so we can go to Vegas at the same time and you can't bring kids to Vegas! Good stuff!!! Thanks for following along!

Your fireworks pics were really good! I know you were disappointed in being far away from the castle, but they were good!
An Alice ride...how cute!
Love the "updated" Space Mt cars! Can't wait until they update the ride at WDW!
Dumbo....that was sweet!

Thank you! I'm glad you liked them!! I hope they update Space Mountain at WDW soon!!! We rode DL's SP 3 times we loved it so much!! Thanks for following along!!

 

[alabamagirl]

Ohhhhh...I want to go on the Alice in Wonderland ride so bad now! That's my favorite Disney movie!! Great update!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Loved the fireworks pictures!!!!!!!! These fireworks are one of the things I am looking most forward to for our Dec trip.
The inside of the fire station is cute & I love the light in the window of Walt's apartment.

Can't wait for more

 

[caffingdu]

great update as usual. looking forward to the next update!

 

[MA pigletfan]

hi Karen!
in case you were interested in the engagement stuff..without taking over your trippie..feel free to visit this link on the Wish thread..i just posted the story of the proposal and pics!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25631659&posted=1#post25631659
its post # 3981

can't wait for another update of your DL adventures!!!!

 

[jhch06]

Great update and pics as always! Still loving it!

Congrats MA pigletfan!! That is so exciting!

 

[JaxJags08]

hi Karen!
in case you were interested in the engagement stuff..without taking over your trippie..feel free to visit this link on the Wish thread..i just posted the story of the proposal and pics!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25631659&posted=1#post25631659
its post # 3981

can't wait for another update of your DL adventures!!!!

Ahhh - that is such a sweet story!!! Your ring is beautiful! Congratulations again!!!

 

[Disneygrl36]

hi Karen!
in case you were interested in the engagement stuff..without taking over your trippie..feel free to visit this link on the Wish thread..i just posted the story of the proposal and pics!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25631659&posted=1#post25631659
its post # 3981

can't wait for another update of your DL adventures!!!!

Great story. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!

 

[MA pigletfan]

Great update and pics as always! Still loving it!

Congrats MA pigletfan!! That is so exciting!

Thank you!

Ahhh - that is such a sweet story!!! Your ring is beautiful! Congratulations again!!!

wheeee!!!! Thanks so much!

Great story. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!

Thank you!

KAREN: DL QUESTION!! How far in advance did you make your PS ressies? I know its way different for DL than WDW..but i want to make sure that i snag a good one for Napa Rose..I am under 4 months to go now, so i am starting to get into full fledge planning mode

 

[kmab00]

HUGE trip report SLACKER HERE!! This week has been horrible...lots of things "going wrong" with the house if you know what I mean! I'm going to try to update this afternoon. Oh yeah and to top it all of, apparently mortgage interest rates JUMPED up this month and I do mean JUMPED. Why me?!?

Thank you!


wheeee!!!! Thanks so much!



Thank you!

KAREN: DL QUESTION!! How far in advance did you make your PS ressies? I know its way different for DL than WDW..but i want to make sure that i snag a good one for Napa Rose..I am under 4 months to go now, so i am starting to get into full fledge planning mode

I think that at Disneyland, PS's can only be made like 60 days in advance. I didn't even count though when I was doing my planning. I'm usually a "call on that day" kind of person but I didn't and I still had NO trouble getting into anywhere! Not even the Lilo and Stitch breakfast! I think I called like a month before our trip. You certianly can call 60 days in advance I'm just saying that you don't have to. In our experiences, WDW restaurants were PACKED full and if you didn't make your ADR's at 180 days, then you were screwed. Well here, we walked into the restaurants thinking, where are all the people?! They weren't full at all! I guess it's because of the dining plan at WDW but it doesn't matter to me! It worked out for us anyway!! Good luck!!

You asked a simple question and I gave you a complex answer!!

Your engagement story was SO sweet!!! THANK YOU for posting that link here! I'm glad we were all able to see the pictures and hear about your special day!!

 

[5/4Disney]

Karen,
Just read your report and you are right DL does seem to be somewhat busier than WDW. My thoughts are that it's because there is not as much room for people to spread out.
We have been to WDW many times, on our Honeymoon, with one child, pregnant and now with all three. Our family went twice this past year to DL (11/08 PP and 2/08 My B-day at the DL Hotel) we love the fact that everything is soo... close but the lines did seem longer.
Keep up the good work, our report is GREAT!!!!

Oh, I love the fact that you flew out of Houston, we are in Clear Lake, just south of Downtown Houston.
Julie

 

[JaxJags08]

HUGE trip report SLACKER HERE!! This week has been horrible...lots of things "going wrong" with the house if you know what I mean! I'm going to try to update this afternoon. Oh yeah and to top it all of, apparently mortgage interest rates JUMPED up this month and I do mean JUMPED. Why me?!?

Take your time with the TR! I know that new houses can be SO stressful! Good luck and hang in there!

 

[kmab00]

Loved the fireworks pictures!!!!!!!! These fireworks are one of the things I am looking most forward to for our Dec trip.
The inside of the fire station is cute & I love the light in the window of Walt's apartment.

Can't wait for more

Thank you! The fireworks are so great!! You're going to love them!!!!

great update as usual. looking forward to the next update!

Thank you so much! More is on the way as we speak!

Great update and pics as always! Still loving it!

Congrats MA pigletfan!! That is so exciting!

Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying it!!!

Ohhhhh...I want to go on the Alice in Wonderland ride so bad now! That's my favorite Disney movie!! Great update!

LOL I know I love Alice in Wonderland, too! The ride is so cute!! Than you so much!

 

[kmab00]

Karen,
Just read your report and you are right DL does seem to be somewhat busier than WDW. My thoughts are that it's because there is not as much room for people to spread out.
We have been to WDW many times, on our Honeymoon, with one child, pregnant and now with all three. Our family went twice this past year to DL (11/08 PP and 2/08 My B-day at the DL Hotel) we love the fact that everything is soo... close but the lines did seem longer.
Keep up the good work, our report is GREAT!!!!

Oh, I love the fact that you flew out of Houston, we are in Clear Lake, just south of Downtown Houston.
Julie

I agree...the space is smaller at Disneyland. I loved it, too! Thank you! Aww neat that you guys live so close! We are from Louisiana but are closer to the Texas border than anything! Thanks for following along!!

Take your time with the TR! I know that new houses can be SO stressful! Good luck and hang in there!

Thank you! YES it's stressful but it's almost over than goodness! We got a closing date of JUNE 23!!!!!! Thanks for being so patient with me, everyone!

Another update is on the way!!

 

[kmab00]

Wednesday, April 8, 2008 - Grand Tour of LA/Hollywood

For our trip, I knew that I wanted to do one day away from Disneyland. I wanted to get out, see Hollywood and LA and just have fun! We decided against renting a car (for fear of getting ourselves lost) and we ended up using www.allanaheimtours.com. They were fantastic!! I would highly recommend them for anyone! We chose the "Grand Tour of LA".

Basically, a bus starts off picking you up at your Anaheim hotel. There might be a packed bus but not everyone is doing the same thing. Some might be travelling to Universal or Knott's Berry Farm, etc.

Waiting on the bus to arrive while eating my Go-Tarts breakfast! lol!

Before too long, (just a little late from our 8:45 a.m. time frame), the bus arrived to pick us up! We were then brought to a "central station" where everyone was then dispensed into different buses. We ended up with a tour guide by the name of Gary who was fantastic! He was also Jaclyn's tour guide when she did tour a week before us.

Our tour bus

Waiting to board!

Our tour guide was great...he took us all over the place telling us the history of LA and how it came to be!

I just had to take pictures of road signs to prove that I was there! LOL!!

Paramount BLVD

Long Beach

Can you guess why I took a picture of this one? Hmmm....lol! Jason made me do it!! Haha!

We made it to LA!

The Met

Our first stop was at the birthplace of LA....

Olvera Street! After I took this picture, I was about to tell Jason to go stand by the Donkey when I saw a sign that said, "$3.00 for a picture with the Donkey".....so we ran!!! Haha!

We walked inside the Adobe that's a historical place for LA

The sun was SO BRIGHT as you can tell! I just thought that this tree was beautiful, though!

Another one under the tree.

Next stop: The Hollywood sign!!

You could barely see it from here...this was my first glimpse of it!

The Capitol Records building

Mulholland Drive

We drove up to the top of a cliff that got us fairly close to the sign. I was sad that he didn't let us out of the bus! I wanted a picture of me with the Hollywood sign in the background. I tried one like that with Jason on the bus but it didn't come out!!

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[kmab00]

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We drove around up in the hills near the Hollywood sign and saw a few "celebrities" homes.....or maybe I should say trees/shrubs/brick walls, etc.

This is Bob Barker's cement shrub! We were also told that up a huge hill where we could see nothing but trees was Ben Stiller's home.

I was astounded by these gas prices....not so much now!

Next stop: Hollywood BLVD!!!!!

The Chinese Theatre

First star I saw!! Yay Mickey!!

Judy Garland...like I said, it was SUPER bright outside!!!

Gotta love those ruby slippers!

Good ol Frank!

Julie Andrews

The newest addition....Will Smith!

Shirley Temple. It was really cool seeing all of the dates of these imprints! A lot were from the 1930's!

Bing Crosby

Favorite picture of the day!

I tried to get decent pictures of us in front of the Chinese Theatre but that wasn't possible at all! It was SO bright that we could hardly see!!

Jason found Donald and of course had to stop for a picture! lol!

Next we walked up and down the Walk of Stars to see who we could find!

I was VERY surprised to see this one!! Billy Graham!

The historic Roosevelt Hotel

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[kmab00]

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We found the Kodak Theatre.....yet there was no red carpet. Maybe they weren't made aware of my arrival? Hmmm...I dunno about that one!!

A few more stars..........

Disney Soda Fountain Shop and Studio Store! We weren't able to make it across the street, though!

The El Captain Theatre!

We found this before too long and decided to follow it!

As we drove by this structure, we were told that it was built this way so that passerby's could see the Hollywood sign through the middle.

It's super small and it's way back there, but that's definitely me in front of the Hollywood sign!!!!

Last shot on the walk of stars!

Up next: More of the LA/Hollywood tour!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

Awesome update Karen! I've always wanted to do the tourist thing in LA and see all the sites. This tour sounds like a great idea!

P.S your dress is so cute!