A trip of 1sts for this Disneyland noob! *Oct 2014 PTR & TR*COMPLETED!!

[Disney127]

Early planning - Sssshhhhh!!! it's a surprise!!!

years ago, before my DD had been to Disney she mentioned how she would love to be surprised with a trip. She told me all about how wonderful it would be to be sitting at school and suddenly I was there whisking her away to the airport making her the happiest girl in the world. I have never forgot that conversation.

Trip ideas - travel October 2014, sometime in the last two weeks to take part in the Halloween festivities - stay at BWPPI /QUOTE]


I am following along! Your PTR sounds so much fun. I can just hear the excitement in your voice! My DD (12) and I are Disney Fanatics! And Stitch is also her favorite character, Surf's Up is definitely the place to meet Stitch, he spends quite abit of time with us and likes to steal DD's Stitch pen! Our recent DLR trips started out with a birthday suprise for DD when she was turning 11. Many times, DD had told me that she would love to go to DL for her birthday, so the planning began. I had to plan in secret for 10 whole months, many times, she would catch me on the Disboards and checking out Disney stuff but she never had a clue. We woke her up at 4:30am for our 6:30 am flight to SNA. She was still so sleepy that she didn't understand when we told her that we were taking her to Disneyland for her birthday! She actually closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep! This made quite the home video! But after some more shaking, she finally got it and jumped out of bed. We had everything packed and ready to do - hid the suitcases in the basement. This was the start of our Disney trips. We had so much fun that her and I went back by ourselves in Feb/13 and then again during Halloween the same year! We loved the Halloween parties and dressing up in our costumes. We also stayed at the BWPPI and the Disneyland hotel. It was great to just head back to our room at BWPPI when we needed a break. So, now we are heading back again in November to see the Christmas decorations and festivites! We have also decided that we are going to make DLR an annual mommy and daughter trip ... I am so glad that she shares the same enthusiasm as me!

 

[DenaRox]

Thanks bunches for the follow!!! We sure do have lots in common I have equal amounts of enthusiasm and questions lol. thank goodness for this forum!

I am seriously considering upgrading our passes to APs. My head says seeing as I got then with airmiles I didn't really pay for them so the cost to upgrade is still WAY cheaper than had I had to pay for 5 day park hopper passes. Lol gotta love disney logic right !!

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[Disney127]

For DD surprise birthday trip, we just got 5 day passes (not knowing that we would be returning again) but got APs for our Feb trip and used them again in October. Having an AP means we get to go again within the one year! For our up coming trip, we will get APs again because we want to visit DL next year for the 60th.

Yes, Disney logic is always a good excuse for me too! LOL

By the way, I see that we have the same countdown ticker and that you are also maybe planning a trip to Tokyo Disney. We also are planning a Tokyo Disney trip in the next few years, so I will have lots of questions for you after your visit!

 

[DenaRox]

So much in common

Yes, Japan trip is my #1 priority. I have been saving for a while now. DD actually requested that we postpone it to 2016 or even later. She wants to be older. Go figure.

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[DenaRox]

Oh no. The surprise might be blown!!

I was on Facebook tonight and DD came to computer to ask something. I was chatting with her not thinking about what she could or couldn't see , when I noticed her reading my fb page. She must have felt me looking at her because she suddenly looked at me then walked into the kitchen and started getting a drink. I looked to see what she could have seen and in the group section it did show "oct 2014 disneyland" that is all it said but that is enough. My DD is smart and at the vey least suspicions!! Grrr!! So mad at myself for being careless!!

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[Karin1984]

Uh oh. Just pretend like nothing happened, I guess. If you don't mention it, then she will hopefully do the same. It's still 6 months away, she can forget what she saw.

 

[ZombieDoofus]

I agree. Don't say anything about it and maybe she will just shrug off what she saw.

 

[DenaRox]

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I didn't react at the moment and am really hoping that she lets it go and forgets about it. It is a long time away lol

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[Cheshirecatty]

From what I could see of your "smash books", they look fantastic! What a great idea!

 

[DenaRox]

From what I could see of your "smash books", they look fantastic! What a great idea!

thanks. They are loads of fun. So easy to "smash" together and just a really great way to save all the little keepsakes and souvenirs. My family thought i was bonkers saving the Earl of Sandwich stickers that came on our food but i showed them cause they look lovely in the smashbook lol.

 

[DenaRox]

Update...

First I would like to say how excited I am to have saved about 200$ on my room at BWPPI. when I was first looking at hotels I was told that as a Canadian I could not use the Costco USA travel site. Recently I was on. Costco and ended up searching the cost of my room dates just out of curiosity to see the difference. It was around a $200 difference. Well being the curious mind that I am I tried to book this discounted offer and go my surprise it worked. I now have legit reservations for the exact dates and room type as before but just at a $200 cheaper cost. WooHoo for savings!!!

Also I was so surprised to open the mail yesterday and find my photopass+ looking back at me. Completely made my Monday!!! One more thing I can cross off my to do list.

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[DenaRox]

I officially took the first step in planning our trip to Japan ( and of course both Tokyo DisneyLand & DisneySea) and I am feeling very full of Disney excitement! I got back a good chunk of $$$ from taxes so instead of spending it on bills or upgrades to my upcoming DL trip I was a earl good girl and called my bank to open a TFSA & I put it ALL in there. Have earned .66$ already lol*** I am hoping to take my now 11yr old DD to Tokyo in 2 years, 3 at latest so putting away 1/4 of my estimated budget is a real good feeling and it has helped me to keep my Disney crazed brain busy researching on those times when planning the October trip gets a bit slow. My dream is to visit very disney property before my DD turns 20. Not sure that will be achievable but without goals and dreams what do we work harder for??? Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DLfan4]

Change in flights

Received an email stating there were changes to our flights to Cali. The plane will now be leaving earlier. That is bad because it totally messes up my plan to surprise mini me at school and whisk her away just like she has always dreamed because now we will have to be at the airport before school even starts.

you could still show up to the school the afternoon of the day before the flight and surprise her. then take her on a pre-trip shopping to get a new carryon or outfit for the trip!

 

[DenaRox]

you could still show up to the school the afternoon of the day before the flight and surprise her. then take her on a pre-trip shopping to get a new carryon or outfit for the trip!

Thanks for the idea. It's a definite possibility. I think I am leaning towards the wake up we are leaving for disney kind of shocker to get her super stoked. But I do like the idea of giving her the news at school. Loads of time to decide though

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[DenaRox]

both DD and I are home sick
Although i hate being sick (and hate even more when DD is feeling icky) it really is the perfect time to throw on our most favourite Disney jammies. Somehow they are MAGICAL!!!

Just sharing how we Disney up everything we do lol

 

[luulu1999]

O M G!!! I LOVE the jammies!!!!

 

[DenaRox]

O M G!!! I LOVE the jammies!!!!

i know right!! soooo cute!!

my DD gets great pleasure from her stitch jammies, she has no idea that i have bought her the summer version.



she will freak out!! Kind of sad though because if i gave them to her now she could actually use them ALL summer

 

[DenaRox]

Happy Friday friends

I have been feeling very un-Disney lately and even this site has not helped. The only thing left to do to cheer this gal up was some Disney retail therapy! I am so in love with my newest purchase for DD and myself. The bags are so cute and because they are plush they can be used as our carry-ons and will squish to size needed to comply (assuming we don't stuff them too full). I can not wait to see DD face when she sees her new Stitch Disney Trip bag!



Loving my Minnie mouse one too. They are both exactly what i needed to fill me right up with planning mojo and Disney sprit!

Now I can go back to finding a way to convince myself to upgrade to AP's from the 5 day park hoppers I got with airmiles.. anyone want to weigh in on the pros and cons of AP upgrades for people who would probably only use it once in the year?

 

[luulu1999]

I considered getting an AP just so we could do more days while we were there and just hope to get to use them again before they expired but it didn't work out for us I don't know I think if I had them in hand I would HAVE to find a way to make it back at least one more time

 

[DenaRox]

my thoughts on AP currently in point form lol

- i got our 5 day park hopper tickets basically for free(no dollar cost) using airmiles so the amount deducted from an annual pass upgrade = a really good discount on $$ out of my pocket.
- I am 90% that we could easily do at least 1 return trip in the year

questions
- does disney deduct the current face value of the 5 day park hopper from the current face value of the annual pass you are wanting to buy? example website currently states 5d hoppers 2 $266 and deluxe AP @ $519, so would it cost me $253 for an AP?? cause if so thats not really a very good incentive?? am i missing something or is it really only worth it for multiple trips??