A Once in Lifetime Adventure in Walt's Wonderful World-lots of pics-COMPLETE

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I am about to visit DL for the first time, and reading your trip report made me want to book a 2nd trip so I can do the same holiday. What a wonderful trip report. I loved it.

 

[Disneygrl36]

I am about to visit DL for the first time, and reading your trip report made me want to book a 2nd trip so I can do the same holiday. What a wonderful trip report. I loved it.

Have an awesome time at Disneyland.....stop by the Fire Station & say hello to Walt for me.
Glad you liked my report. It was such a wonderful trip that I just had to share it.:

 

[mommykds]

Melanie,

What an awesome trip report. You really conveyed the magic you felt through your report. What a wonderful experience!

We are planning our first trip to DL in February & your report has made us even more excited about the trip.

Thanks for taking the time to post your report & your wonderful pictures!!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Melanie,

What an awesome trip report. You really conveyed the magic you felt through your report. What a wonderful experience!

We are planning our first trip to DL in February & your report has made us even more excited about the trip.

Thanks for taking the time to post your report & your wonderful pictures!!

Glad you enjoyed it. You will love Disneyland...it has a different feel. I am so glad my feelings came through the way I wanted them to in describing this report because it was just so special.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Melanie! I haven't been here for awhile. Loved the end of your scrapbook,and you have quite a fan club! I'm heading over to your PTR so I can catch all the fun for your next trip!

P.S. hmmm - won't open - I'll try again later, I guess.

 

[Disneygrl36]

Hi Melanie! I haven't been here for awhile. Loved the end of your scrapbook,and you have quite a fan club! I'm heading over to your PTR so I can catch all the fun for your next trip!

P.S. hmmm - won't open - I'll try again later, I guess.

Hey Tammie.
I think I have it fixed now.........see you in the pre-trip report.

 

[heaven2dc]

Melanie - all I can is Wow -what an awesome trip and fabulous TR!!

We all were able to live the trip through you and I felt so emotional when you spoke about Walt and his wonderful sense of bringing the magic to all of us! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Melanie - all I can is Wow -what an awesome trip and fabulous TR!!

We all were able to live the trip through you and I felt so emotional when you spoke about Walt and his wonderful sense of bringing the magic to all of us! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Thanks so much......I really felt so deeply about how wonderful this trip was & am so glad that it really was conveyed in my trip report.

 

[runskyhy]

Fantastic TR! Thank you so much for all the awesome details! We just booked this vacay for the beginning of next year. Yeah!

 

[Kurby]

i know it was a year and a half ago but i just found your tr and am LOVING it.

we're looking at ABD and Hollywood was the first one we looked in detail at. thanks for posting your tr.

can't wait to finish reading it.

i'll ask this one question though - how was it arriving before the ABD actually started? we would probably be driving in and though of staying at the Hilton before and leaving our car parked there through the trip since they have transportation that would take us away from the first hotel.

Do you think it would be better to park at the airport and go directly to the ABD hotel or wait until it officially starts. know what i mean

 

[Disneygrl36]

Fantastic TR! Thank you so much for all the awesome details! We just booked this vacay for the beginning of next year. Yeah!

Thanks runskyhy......I hope you have a wonderful trip.

i know it was a year and a half ago but i just found your tr and am LOVING it.

we're looking at ABD and Hollywood was the first one we looked in detail at. thanks for posting your tr.

can't wait to finish reading it.

i'll ask this one question though - how was it arriving before the ABD actually started? we would probably be driving in and though of staying at the Hilton before and leaving our car parked there through the trip since they have transportation that would take us away from the first hotel.

Do you think it would be better to park at the airport and go directly to the ABD hotel or wait until it officially starts. know what i mean

I think it's awesome that people are still finding my trippie & finding it helpful. It was great arriving early & we really enjoyed our morning exploring on our own before the trip started. I am not sure about your car, but you could call ABD & ask them what to do about your car since they provide all the transportation within the trip. I called them & arranged the pre-trip night through them & got a discounted rate from what the Renaissance would have charged. It was nice already being in the hotel where the tour would start & we were able to stay in the same room. Let me know if you have more questions as I would be happy to answer them.

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

We leave in 26 days for sunny California. And this trip is happening because of Melanie.

About this time last year, I found this thread. I hadn't ventured into the Disneyland section of the boards prior to then. But, we had been to WDW so much. We felt it was time to see the "original" park. So, DH and I started talking about a west coast roadtrip. In my DISresearch, I found this thread and read the whole trip report in one sitting. It was so well writtten and told a story. Like a good book, I couldn't look away. Reading about Melanie's Adventure and her emotional experience, made me want to be a part of it. Being a BIG Disney fan, I was a little jealous of her experience too.

So, it got the ball rolling of the idea of taking an ABD CA Tour. Because of the expense (we are a family of five) of an ABD trip, I had been dragging my feet on booking anything. When I heard a DISUnplugged Podcast about an upcoming ABD CA Backstage Magic Tour WITH the Podcast Crew, it was like a "sign". I had been contemplating for months on whether to book this trip and hear was a BIG sign that I should do it. However, instead of our whole family going, I decided this would be something DH and I should experience just the two of us. I didn't know how well the children would do with all the tours and dinners. So, here we are 26 days until we board a plane on our way to LAX. Our first trip without the kids. All I can say is ...

Yahooooooooooooo!

Jennifer

 

[Circusgirl]

We leave in 26 days for sunny California. And this trip is happening because of Melanie.

About this time last year, I found this thread. I hadn't ventured into the Disneyland section of the boards prior to then. But, we had been to WDW so much. We felt it was time to see the "original" park. So, DH and I started talking about a west coast roadtrip. In my DISresearch, I found this thread and read the whole trip report in one sitting. It was so well writtten and told a story. Like a good book, I couldn't look away. Reading about Melanie's Adventure and her emotional experience, made me want to be a part of it. Being a BIG Disney fan, I was a little jealous of her experience too.

So, it got the ball rolling of the idea of taking an ABD CA Tour. Because of the expense (we are a family of five) of an ABD trip, I had been dragging my feet on booking anything. When I heard a DISUnplugged Podcast about an upcoming ABD CA Backstage Magic Tour WITH the Podcast Crew, it was like a "sign". I had been contemplating for months on whether to book this trip and hear was a BIG sign that I should do it. However, instead of our whole family going, I decided this would be something DH and I should experience just the two of us. I didn't know how well the children would do with all the tours and dinners. So, here we are 26 days until we board a plane on our way to LAX. Our first trip without the kids. All I can say is ...

Yahooooooooooooo!

Jennifer

Jennifer, this is almost exactly what happened to me, too! I had looked at the ABD tours, and loved the idea of this trip especially, but thought I would never do more than contemplate it due to the expense. It was in the dream only category. Then I read Melanie's trip report, and it went from never to MUST DO IT!

Then I heard about the DISUnplugged Podcast crew's trip, it went from someday to NOW! Only I was a minute later to sign up than the last people who signed up for the tour before it was completely booked. I waited on the waiting list, and had actually given up completely as the months went by.
I was coming home from a trip to the east coast in August when I discovered a message from someone in Canada on my cell ("Who do I know in Canada?", I asked myself) when I turned it back on after the flight.
It was Katherine, telling me that a space on the tour had opened up, and to call Kevin RIGHT AWAY. Good DISfriend that she is, she had also let Kevin know I was interested. I hadn't called my home machine while I was away and after sending Kevin a message while I was still sitting on the plane, I got home to discover he had almost moved to Seattle in his efforts to reach me over the weekend. After the small comedy of phone calls, I was on the bus.

Happy months later, we are tantalizingly close to going.

Thanks, Melanie!!!

 

[aspen37]

Melanie, I'm also on the same trip as Jen and Heather. I have read your TR a couple of times since I first read it in June and still smile, laugh and get a few tears reading it. You are a great storyteller. I also wanted to say thank you again for making me so excited about this trip.
I can't believe that we are less than a month from leaving. It seems like it was along time ago that I first read your TR.

 

[Disneygrl36]

We leave in 26 days for sunny California. And this trip is happening because of Melanie.

About this time last year, I found this thread. I hadn't ventured into the Disneyland section of the boards prior to then. But, we had been to WDW so much. We felt it was time to see the "original" park. So, DH and I started talking about a west coast roadtrip. In my DISresearch, I found this thread and read the whole trip report in one sitting. It was so well writtten and told a story. Like a good book, I couldn't look away. Reading about Melanie's Adventure and her emotional experience, made me want to be a part of it. Being a BIG Disney fan, I was a little jealous of her experience too.

So, it got the ball rolling of the idea of taking an ABD CA Tour. Because of the expense (we are a family of five) of an ABD trip, I had been dragging my feet on booking anything. When I heard a DISUnplugged Podcast about an upcoming ABD CA Backstage Magic Tour WITH the Podcast Crew, it was like a "sign". I had been contemplating for months on whether to book this trip and hear was a BIG sign that I should do it. However, instead of our whole family going, I decided this would be something DH and I should experience just the two of us. I didn't know how well the children would do with all the tours and dinners. So, here we are 26 days until we board a plane on our way to LAX. Our first trip without the kids. All I can say is ...

Yahooooooooooooo!

Jennifer

Jennifer, this is almost exactly what happened to me, too! I had looked at the ABD tours, and loved the idea of this trip especially, but thought I would never do more than contemplate it due to the expense. It was in the dream only category. Then I read Melanie's trip report, and it went from never to MUST DO IT!

Then I heard about the DISUnplugged Podcast crew's trip, it went from someday to NOW! Only I was a minute later to sign up than the last people who signed up for the tour before it was completely booked. I waited on the waiting list, and had actually given up completely as the months went by.
I was coming home from a trip to the east coast in August when I discovered a message from someone in Canada on my cell ("Who do I know in Canada?", I asked myself) when I turned it back on after the flight.
It was Katherine, telling me that a space on the tour had opened up, and to call Kevin RIGHT AWAY. Good DISfriend that she is, she had also let Kevin know I was interested. I hadn't called my home machine while I was away and after sending Kevin a message while I was still sitting on the plane, I got home to discover he had almost moved to Seattle in his efforts to reach me over the weekend. After the small comedy of phone calls, I was on the bus.

Happy months later, we are tantalizingly close to going.

Thanks, Melanie!!!

Melanie, I'm also on the same trip as Jen and Heather. I have read your TR a couple of times since I first read it in June and still smile, laugh and get a few tears reading it. You are a great storyteller. I also wanted to say thank you again for making me so excited about this trip.
I can't believe that we are less than a month from leaving. It seems like it was along time ago that I first read your TR.

Wow you guys......I am overwhelmed. What a nice thing to read after a very long clinical day with my nursing students. Ya'll made my day.
I so enjoyed writing this trip report after coming back from the trip. It really let me relive it in detail & I was glad so many people enjoyed it. I am also glad it helped some of you decide to go on this magnificient trip. I am so excited for you guys to go on this once in a lifetime trip. If you get to have Diana or Kristen as a guide please tell them hello for me. Is anybody planning on writing a trip report....if so point me in the right direction so I can read it & relive my experience through you guys.
Have a blast............you will not be disappointed.

 

[aspen37]

Wow you guys......I am overwhelmed. What a nice thing to read after a very long clinical day with my nursing students. Ya'll made my day.
I so enjoyed writing this trip report after coming back from the trip. It really let me relive it in detail & I was glad so many people enjoyed it. I am also glad it helped some of you decide to go on this magnificient trip. I am so excited for you guys to go on this once in a lifetime trip. If you get to have Diana or Kristen as a guide please tell them hello for me. Is anybody planning on writing a trip report....if so point me in the right direction so I can read it & relive my experience through you guys.
Have a blast............you will not be disappointed.

Hi Melanie,

I have started a pre TR and here is the link. I have never written a TR, but your TR gave me the courage to attempt it.

Here is the link.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2408048

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Melanie,

While on the ABD tour, I know we are NOT allowed to bring our camera on portions of the Hollywood section. How do they enforce this? If we leave them on the bus, is it secure?????

Jennifer

 

[jacksparrowfan]

Melanie,

While on the ABD tour, I know we are NOT allowed to bring our camera on portions of the Hollywood section. How do they enforce this? If we leave them on the bus, is it secure?????

Jennifer

Hi! I thought I would relay my experience, if thats ok. For me, things changed from my first tour, to directions from last October. Places where it's a definite no, they would lock up our cameras (Jim Henson) or ask us to leave the cameras on the bus (Imagineering). The bus driver stayed with the bus. (Our driver has been on many of the ABD BM tours. He was wonderful!) All other places, we were on the honor system and we listened. My first tour, they took our cameras when we went backstage. In October they did not. Honor system. Also, when in the park alone, while cast members are working and getting ready for the day. They asked us to be careful. I felt very secure when they did take the camera. No problems at all. Enjoy your trip. Your in for an amazing time!

 

[TheTXTaylors5]

Hi! I thought I would relay my experience, if thats ok. For me, things changed from my first tour, to directions from last October. Places where it's a definite no, they would lock up our cameras (Jim Henson) or ask us to leave the cameras on the bus (Imagineering). The bus driver stayed with the bus. (Our driver has been on many of the ABD BM tours. He was wonderful!) All other places, we were on the honor system and we listened. My first tour, they took our cameras when we went backstage. In October they did not. Honor system. Also, when in the park alone, while cast members are working and getting ready for the day. They asked us to be careful. I felt very secure when they did take the camera. No problems at all. Enjoy your trip. Your in for an amazing time!

Thank you for the reply. The closer it gets to our Tour, the more random questions that keep popping into my head.

We have been waiting almost a year for this trip. This past year has been filled with so much anticipation and planning. I am ready to finally experience it!!! Also, we are traveling with a group of DISers. It will be great to be on this Adventure with like-minded Disney folk.

Jennifer

 

[PrincessMommyLM]

Hi! I have been lurking around for a looooong while now and finally decided to come out of the woodwork!

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading your TR.... you have totally inspired us to try out ABD... Once our DS is old enough to come along!!!! (And that is saying something since DH is very anti-group trips!)