BensWife
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2010
- Messages
- 503
Hi everyone! My DH and I just got back from a short little trip. Our APs expire in July, so we wanted to have one last hurrah so we could see the park for it's 60th. I had posted earlier that I was a little worried about going because our dog just died a few days before we left, and I was worried about being too sad to go, but in the end, it really helped get my mind off things and just what the dr ordered! Here is a little mini report...
Hotel: We stayed at the Embassy Suites South. We like ES because of the bigger rooms and the free breakfast. We had stayed at this hotel back in Nov, so when we returned we knew it was a nice place. The room was nice, and the staff was great. However, I was very much missing staying on property. Every time we walked by the Grand or DLH I told DH - I wish we were staying there! I do wish we had spent the extra to stay on property. So, I guess I learned I will add more to the budget next time for the hotel. However, that being said, the ESS was a very nice hotel to stay at.
Saturday 6/13: Flew from Denver to LAX and got in at about 2:30 and to the hotel a while after that. Didn't go to the parks since our AP was blocked. Spent the evening at Downtown Disney and hanging around the Grand. We did go up to the World of Color viewing area of the Grand and watched World of Color. It was a nice relaxing start for our trip.
Sunday 6/14: Started off at Disneyland at opening. Did miss the rope drop, but we got there right after (the morning music and welcome was still still playing). We tried to get a seat on the Lilly Belle, but we were too late. They only took 14 guests and we were #17 & #18. Boo, sooo close. We were a little miffed that a lady in front of us made the reservation for 10 people in her group and she was the only one there. But, oh well (we did get on the next day, so all is good). Well, since we couldn't get on the LB, we went over the DCA. We started off with RSR (doesn't everyone! hehehe) and walked on to single rider line and did it 2 times in a row! Then, we just walked around and did lots of rides. We did get some pixie dust as we were getting ready to ride Monsters. A cast member walked by us, asked if we were going to ride Monsters and if it was just the 2 of us (yes) and he gave us a "Buddy Pass", which is like a Fast Pass. We walked in the exit line and walked right on! Cool! We did go back to the hotel during the afternoon, and headed back for World of Color. WOW! Great show! I know some people are saying they don't like it, but we LOVED it. We especially liked the Star Wars part, but we are SW fans! It was a great day!
Monday 6/15: Got up even earlier to hit rope drop at DL - we really wanted to get on the Lilly Belle. This time, we were #4 & #5. Got on the first ride! Woohoo!! However, this day they were doing 2 trips, so if they had done 2 trips on Sunday, we would have made it. Oh well, no worries! We spent the morning just riding rides and enjoying relaxing and being away from work and the kids (yes, we didn't being our children. We are bad parents, but they were having a ball with their Grandparents making lots of great memories with them). At 11:00, we headed to the Lilly Belle for our trip. We got on, and let me tell you, if you get a chance to ride it, you won't be disappointed! It was great. We weren't expecting the tour with it, so that was great. It really was the highlight of our trip. I also loved sitting in the love seat that Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom sat!!! Enjoyed the rest of the day riding and shopping. Went back to the hotel for the afternoon again, and headed back for the parade and fireworks. I was feeling a little under the weather that night (had a slight reaction to something I ate - but I have food allergies and sometimes eating at the park can not be fun for me), so I was a little worried about sitting in so many people waiting for the shows. However, I started feeling better and made it fine. It was pretty magical when the parade started. It was like the crowd was filled with electricity. It was pretty amazing. I have to say, I LOVED both the parade and fire works. It was totally worth waiting the hour we did. Now, would I wait 3/4 hours saving a good seat - no way, but for the hour we did wait, it was worth it. We sat right by the flag pole. It was a good seat for us and we could see the parade pretty well. It was a great night! After the fireworks we hit the train, and ran over to ride pirates to make it the last ride of our trip, then back to the hotel to get to sleep for our flight out the next day.
Overall: A great trip. Crowds were manageable for being summer. Yes, it was crowded, but hey, it is June! I don't think we will get APs again at least for a while. 4 trips while we had APs, so we had a great run (considering we are from Colorado). We plan on taking our boys to WDW next year for a big long trip. I will always love DL but I think we are ready to see what WDW has to offer. We did go to WDW in 2013, but that was with my parents, and vacationing with Grandma and Grandpa is a lot different that vacationing with just our family of 4. We didn't get to do much when we were with G&G since we have to take lots of breaks and they are just older and slower (please don't get me wrong, we still had a great time, but when touring with not so healthy older parents, it does change things). Anyway, this trip was a lot of fun, and like always, wish we could have stayed longer! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Hotel: We stayed at the Embassy Suites South. We like ES because of the bigger rooms and the free breakfast. We had stayed at this hotel back in Nov, so when we returned we knew it was a nice place. The room was nice, and the staff was great. However, I was very much missing staying on property. Every time we walked by the Grand or DLH I told DH - I wish we were staying there! I do wish we had spent the extra to stay on property. So, I guess I learned I will add more to the budget next time for the hotel. However, that being said, the ESS was a very nice hotel to stay at.
Saturday 6/13: Flew from Denver to LAX and got in at about 2:30 and to the hotel a while after that. Didn't go to the parks since our AP was blocked. Spent the evening at Downtown Disney and hanging around the Grand. We did go up to the World of Color viewing area of the Grand and watched World of Color. It was a nice relaxing start for our trip.
Sunday 6/14: Started off at Disneyland at opening. Did miss the rope drop, but we got there right after (the morning music and welcome was still still playing). We tried to get a seat on the Lilly Belle, but we were too late. They only took 14 guests and we were #17 & #18. Boo, sooo close. We were a little miffed that a lady in front of us made the reservation for 10 people in her group and she was the only one there. But, oh well (we did get on the next day, so all is good). Well, since we couldn't get on the LB, we went over the DCA. We started off with RSR (doesn't everyone! hehehe) and walked on to single rider line and did it 2 times in a row! Then, we just walked around and did lots of rides. We did get some pixie dust as we were getting ready to ride Monsters. A cast member walked by us, asked if we were going to ride Monsters and if it was just the 2 of us (yes) and he gave us a "Buddy Pass", which is like a Fast Pass. We walked in the exit line and walked right on! Cool! We did go back to the hotel during the afternoon, and headed back for World of Color. WOW! Great show! I know some people are saying they don't like it, but we LOVED it. We especially liked the Star Wars part, but we are SW fans! It was a great day!
Monday 6/15: Got up even earlier to hit rope drop at DL - we really wanted to get on the Lilly Belle. This time, we were #4 & #5. Got on the first ride! Woohoo!! However, this day they were doing 2 trips, so if they had done 2 trips on Sunday, we would have made it. Oh well, no worries! We spent the morning just riding rides and enjoying relaxing and being away from work and the kids (yes, we didn't being our children. We are bad parents, but they were having a ball with their Grandparents making lots of great memories with them). At 11:00, we headed to the Lilly Belle for our trip. We got on, and let me tell you, if you get a chance to ride it, you won't be disappointed! It was great. We weren't expecting the tour with it, so that was great. It really was the highlight of our trip. I also loved sitting in the love seat that Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom sat!!! Enjoyed the rest of the day riding and shopping. Went back to the hotel for the afternoon again, and headed back for the parade and fireworks. I was feeling a little under the weather that night (had a slight reaction to something I ate - but I have food allergies and sometimes eating at the park can not be fun for me), so I was a little worried about sitting in so many people waiting for the shows. However, I started feeling better and made it fine. It was pretty magical when the parade started. It was like the crowd was filled with electricity. It was pretty amazing. I have to say, I LOVED both the parade and fire works. It was totally worth waiting the hour we did. Now, would I wait 3/4 hours saving a good seat - no way, but for the hour we did wait, it was worth it. We sat right by the flag pole. It was a good seat for us and we could see the parade pretty well. It was a great night! After the fireworks we hit the train, and ran over to ride pirates to make it the last ride of our trip, then back to the hotel to get to sleep for our flight out the next day.
Overall: A great trip. Crowds were manageable for being summer. Yes, it was crowded, but hey, it is June! I don't think we will get APs again at least for a while. 4 trips while we had APs, so we had a great run (considering we are from Colorado). We plan on taking our boys to WDW next year for a big long trip. I will always love DL but I think we are ready to see what WDW has to offer. We did go to WDW in 2013, but that was with my parents, and vacationing with Grandma and Grandpa is a lot different that vacationing with just our family of 4. We didn't get to do much when we were with G&G since we have to take lots of breaks and they are just older and slower (please don't get me wrong, we still had a great time, but when touring with not so healthy older parents, it does change things). Anyway, this trip was a lot of fun, and like always, wish we could have stayed longer! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
