Escape2Disney
Friendly Neighborhood Disney Fanatic!
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2009
- Messages
- 1,704
I've done a PTR before, but never seemed to finish when it became TR. This year I've decided to start it while on the trip to be sure I FINISH!
Cast of Characters:
ME - 39 - Disney Vet
DD - 16 - Disney Vet and pretty darn cool teenager!
PUP - 2 - My service dog
F1 - 62 - Lifelong friend
F2 - 48 - Spouse of F1 and lifelong friend
BB - 39 - My best buddy (won't arrive until 9/10)
BB2 - 9 - Best Buddy's daughter (won't arrive until 9/10)
Purpose of Trip
Me and DD are here for a Not Back to School Days conference. We're working part of the trip, so have decided to extend it to an 9 day trip (Sept 6-14). We'll have one day offsite to look around LA. We have a couple of stops along the way, so if you want to get to the Disneyland portion, you can skip to 9/6/2010
5/2/2010 - Travel
At 7:00 am, we started our journey with a drive to Sacramento. DD took the first leg of the trip because it was most familiar to her. Once we hit the Siskiyou pass, I took over and got us to Redding. Once again, DD drove since I was falling asleep at the wheel. She got us to the airport exit, and I took us the rest of the way into town to meet with friends.
DD spent 2 hours with her friend while I saw my friend. Once we left there, we headed to my friend house for the night. We shared dinner together and got to bed early so we wouldn't miss our 9am flight.
Best part of the day: DD got to spend time with her friend
Most Challenging part of the day: A Loooooong drive
Plan for tomorrow: Fly to LGB
5/3/2010 - More Travel
It was a LONG day of traveling! We got up at 5 to make a 9am flight. Our friend was kind enough to get up with us and drive the 45 minutes to the airport. When we arrived at the airport, we found out that our flight was cancelled! We were placed on the one leaving at 1:22 instead. At this
point, our friend had already left. Sitting in those hard, airport chairs was becoming painful, so we called another friend to come hang out with us. We left the airport and went to Mimi's for breakfast. It was nice to catch up with her, especially since she's moving across the country soon!
Once we boarded the plane, all was good. It was a smooth ride, and we arrived a few minutes early. PUP handled the trip like a trooper. He wasn't thrilled about the takeoff, but all in all it was just fine. F1 and F2 picked us up and drove us to their place in Oceanside. The ride was uneventful (aside from a few carsick moments). F1 and DD went to get chinese food for dinner while F2 kept me company while I tried to rest my back. It was
a pretty painful day, but that's expected with the travel. We turned in early to be ready for the next day.
Best part of the day: Finally seeing F1&F2 after a long absense
Most Challenging part of the day: Waiting to get on the plane - ANY plane!
Plan for tomorrow: Oceanside Pier
5/4/2010 - Oceanside Pier and Museums
For some strange reason I was up at 4:30! Good news is it gave me a chance to watch the sun rise and spend a little time with PUP. Everyone else woke up around 7. We were slow to get ready, which was just fine with me! It was nice to have a leisurely morning with friends who understand it takes me a while to get going.
We headed down to Ruby's on the pier for lunch, and spent a couple of hours at the Oceanside Art Museum. Every time we've ever gone they have had a wonderful display! When we left the museum, DD and F1 went down to the beach (F1 on a boogie board and DD swimming) while F2 and I had a frozen yogurt. I was EXHAUSTED, but happy to see DD having a
good time! It was also nice to catch up with friends. We headed back to their house and had dinner before turning in for the night.
Best part of the day: Being near the ocean and seeing a good art exhibit
Most Challenging part of the day: We were all EXHAUSTED!
Plan for tomorrow: Balboa!
5/5/2010 - Balboa
This time I gratefully had a better night's sleep. We all decided to go to Balboa Park to see some of the international houses and museums. We got there a few minutes before they opened, so parking was a breeze! We took a stroll around the rose garden, then dropped DD and F1 off at the science museum to watch the IMAX movie on the hubble space station.
F2 and I checked out a flower display and did some window shopping while waiting. We started going through the international houses until the Ukranian performance started. DD watched and got some great pictures! I found a nice shady spot for PUP and I to hang out while she watched.
We went to dinner at Soup Plantation before going back to the
house to call it a day.
Best part of the day: Being at Balboa! Enjoyed everything we saw.
Most Challenging part of the day: It was way too crowded near the presentation
Plan for tomorrow: Off to Disneyland
5/6/2010 - First day at DISNEY!
We arrived at Disney's Grand Californian. I love the check-in process at this hotel! So smoothe and so courteous! It's a wonderful way to start a vacation. The room wasn't ready when we arrived at 10AM, but was by noon. We decided to start our day in DCA. This is the first time I didn't start a Disney trip by going through the front gate of Disneyland! It was
fast, but it just wasn't the same. We stopped for breakfast at the foodcourt where DD and I had scrambled egg bowls from Pacific Wharf, and F1&F2 had a chicken burrito plate from the Mexican restaurant. Not wanting to endlessly navigate construction walls, we decided to head over to Walt's Park!
There is something calming about walking into the park - even on a rediculously crowded day! We decided to stick with the smaller, less populated rides. We quickly discovered there was no such thing today! Even Winnie the Pooh ride had a long line! We started with Mr. Lincoln, then took a spin on Buzz Lightyear. Next we shot across the park and ended up on Winnie the Pooh. Our origial plan was to ride the canoes, but
the line was simply too long. We all took a trip through the Tiki Room next. To get out of the sun we headed over to Innoventions. Unfortunately Asimo wasn't up and working yet for the day, so we'll have to go back later in the week.
At this point it was time to say goodbye to our wonderful friends. We headed back to the hotel for a nap while they made the long drive back to their house. We'll miss them, but surely do this again some day. We took a nice long rest and then headed back to the park to make our 6:30 reservations at Cafe Orleans. We started with Pomegranite lemonade and pomme frittes. DD had the Ratatouille and I had the chicken Crepes. I was so stuffed I could hardly move! We headed over to the Jungle Cruise next, where the skipper kindly agreed not to fire the gun during the ride. This was PUP's first ride after a LONG weekend, and I was afraid he'd start barking. He was a good skipper - funny and energetic.
We took another round on Buzz Lightyear and both improved our scores (yeah!). By that time it was 8:00, and the fireworks start at 9:30. We decided to opt out of the fireworks since that are pretty difficult for PUP. He could handle them on a good day, but the first day at the parks is something to get used to. Instead we took the monorail to DTD, grabbed an ice cream on the way back to the room, and decided to call it a
day.
Best part of the day: Experiencing the park with friends
Most Challenging part of the day: People who taunt my service dog.
Plan for tomorrow:Rides in the morning, conference meeting and work in the afternoon, rides in the afternoon.
I'll post more tomorrow, and promise to include pictures before it's all done!
Cast of Characters:
ME - 39 - Disney Vet
DD - 16 - Disney Vet and pretty darn cool teenager!
PUP - 2 - My service dog
F1 - 62 - Lifelong friend
F2 - 48 - Spouse of F1 and lifelong friend
BB - 39 - My best buddy (won't arrive until 9/10)
BB2 - 9 - Best Buddy's daughter (won't arrive until 9/10)
Purpose of Trip
Me and DD are here for a Not Back to School Days conference. We're working part of the trip, so have decided to extend it to an 9 day trip (Sept 6-14). We'll have one day offsite to look around LA. We have a couple of stops along the way, so if you want to get to the Disneyland portion, you can skip to 9/6/2010
5/2/2010 - Travel
At 7:00 am, we started our journey with a drive to Sacramento. DD took the first leg of the trip because it was most familiar to her. Once we hit the Siskiyou pass, I took over and got us to Redding. Once again, DD drove since I was falling asleep at the wheel. She got us to the airport exit, and I took us the rest of the way into town to meet with friends.
DD spent 2 hours with her friend while I saw my friend. Once we left there, we headed to my friend house for the night. We shared dinner together and got to bed early so we wouldn't miss our 9am flight.
Best part of the day: DD got to spend time with her friend
Most Challenging part of the day: A Loooooong drive
Plan for tomorrow: Fly to LGB
5/3/2010 - More Travel
It was a LONG day of traveling! We got up at 5 to make a 9am flight. Our friend was kind enough to get up with us and drive the 45 minutes to the airport. When we arrived at the airport, we found out that our flight was cancelled! We were placed on the one leaving at 1:22 instead. At this
point, our friend had already left. Sitting in those hard, airport chairs was becoming painful, so we called another friend to come hang out with us. We left the airport and went to Mimi's for breakfast. It was nice to catch up with her, especially since she's moving across the country soon!
Once we boarded the plane, all was good. It was a smooth ride, and we arrived a few minutes early. PUP handled the trip like a trooper. He wasn't thrilled about the takeoff, but all in all it was just fine. F1 and F2 picked us up and drove us to their place in Oceanside. The ride was uneventful (aside from a few carsick moments). F1 and DD went to get chinese food for dinner while F2 kept me company while I tried to rest my back. It was
a pretty painful day, but that's expected with the travel. We turned in early to be ready for the next day.
Best part of the day: Finally seeing F1&F2 after a long absense
Most Challenging part of the day: Waiting to get on the plane - ANY plane!
Plan for tomorrow: Oceanside Pier
5/4/2010 - Oceanside Pier and Museums
For some strange reason I was up at 4:30! Good news is it gave me a chance to watch the sun rise and spend a little time with PUP. Everyone else woke up around 7. We were slow to get ready, which was just fine with me! It was nice to have a leisurely morning with friends who understand it takes me a while to get going.
We headed down to Ruby's on the pier for lunch, and spent a couple of hours at the Oceanside Art Museum. Every time we've ever gone they have had a wonderful display! When we left the museum, DD and F1 went down to the beach (F1 on a boogie board and DD swimming) while F2 and I had a frozen yogurt. I was EXHAUSTED, but happy to see DD having a
good time! It was also nice to catch up with friends. We headed back to their house and had dinner before turning in for the night.
Best part of the day: Being near the ocean and seeing a good art exhibit
Most Challenging part of the day: We were all EXHAUSTED!
Plan for tomorrow: Balboa!
5/5/2010 - Balboa
This time I gratefully had a better night's sleep. We all decided to go to Balboa Park to see some of the international houses and museums. We got there a few minutes before they opened, so parking was a breeze! We took a stroll around the rose garden, then dropped DD and F1 off at the science museum to watch the IMAX movie on the hubble space station.
F2 and I checked out a flower display and did some window shopping while waiting. We started going through the international houses until the Ukranian performance started. DD watched and got some great pictures! I found a nice shady spot for PUP and I to hang out while she watched.
We went to dinner at Soup Plantation before going back to the
house to call it a day.
Best part of the day: Being at Balboa! Enjoyed everything we saw.
Most Challenging part of the day: It was way too crowded near the presentation
Plan for tomorrow: Off to Disneyland
5/6/2010 - First day at DISNEY!
We arrived at Disney's Grand Californian. I love the check-in process at this hotel! So smoothe and so courteous! It's a wonderful way to start a vacation. The room wasn't ready when we arrived at 10AM, but was by noon. We decided to start our day in DCA. This is the first time I didn't start a Disney trip by going through the front gate of Disneyland! It was
fast, but it just wasn't the same. We stopped for breakfast at the foodcourt where DD and I had scrambled egg bowls from Pacific Wharf, and F1&F2 had a chicken burrito plate from the Mexican restaurant. Not wanting to endlessly navigate construction walls, we decided to head over to Walt's Park!
There is something calming about walking into the park - even on a rediculously crowded day! We decided to stick with the smaller, less populated rides. We quickly discovered there was no such thing today! Even Winnie the Pooh ride had a long line! We started with Mr. Lincoln, then took a spin on Buzz Lightyear. Next we shot across the park and ended up on Winnie the Pooh. Our origial plan was to ride the canoes, but
the line was simply too long. We all took a trip through the Tiki Room next. To get out of the sun we headed over to Innoventions. Unfortunately Asimo wasn't up and working yet for the day, so we'll have to go back later in the week.
At this point it was time to say goodbye to our wonderful friends. We headed back to the hotel for a nap while they made the long drive back to their house. We'll miss them, but surely do this again some day. We took a nice long rest and then headed back to the park to make our 6:30 reservations at Cafe Orleans. We started with Pomegranite lemonade and pomme frittes. DD had the Ratatouille and I had the chicken Crepes. I was so stuffed I could hardly move! We headed over to the Jungle Cruise next, where the skipper kindly agreed not to fire the gun during the ride. This was PUP's first ride after a LONG weekend, and I was afraid he'd start barking. He was a good skipper - funny and energetic.
We took another round on Buzz Lightyear and both improved our scores (yeah!). By that time it was 8:00, and the fireworks start at 9:30. We decided to opt out of the fireworks since that are pretty difficult for PUP. He could handle them on a good day, but the first day at the parks is something to get used to. Instead we took the monorail to DTD, grabbed an ice cream on the way back to the room, and decided to call it a
day.
Best part of the day: Experiencing the park with friends
Most Challenging part of the day: People who taunt my service dog.
Plan for tomorrow:Rides in the morning, conference meeting and work in the afternoon, rides in the afternoon.
I'll post more tomorrow, and promise to include pictures before it's all done!
