Bring Me That Horizon: Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, A Pirate's Week for Me

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

After having spent many hours reading through a variety of Disneyland Trip Reports, I have decided to write one of my own!

I will be visiting the Disneyland Resort in August. These are the people in my group:
Allie - that's me!
William, my husband
Rhyen, my son
Miley, my daughter
Callie, my bear. No, that is not a typo. She is my travel stuffed animal.

I grew up on Disney and have been to Disneyland more times than I can remember. I've lived in California my whole life so getting there is easy for me.

My favorite rides in Disneyland are Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, it's a small world, and Star Tours. I enjoy character interactions. My favorite thing to do is watch the fireworks. I can watch the shows over and over and still cry every time.

I love California Adventure, and have loved it from Day 1. My favorite ride there is Soarin' Over California. I loved the Maliboomer and didn't even know they took it out until I showed up one day and it was gone. And I loved Golden Dreams something fierce and I miss it terribly.

My vacation is just over three weeks away. I have a few Disney ways to pass the time until then. I'll be sharing photos from my past trips to get excited, and will talk about the activities I have planned leading up to the big day.

 

[PHXscuba]

Sounds like fun! How long are you going to be there? How old are your kids?

PHXscuba

 

[wiigirl]

Following along.

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

Sounds like fun! How long are you going to be there? How old are your kids?

PHXscuba

We'll be there for one week. Son is 8 and daughter is 10. They still love Disney so I want to take advantage of that!

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

Following along.

Thank you!

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

Wearing a Sleeping Beauty dress in front of the Castle


The good old ToonTown tree


Dressed in her pirate gear aboard the Sailing Ship Colombia


Thunder Mountain

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

As each day goes by, I'm getting more and more excited. I'm making a mental list of all my must-do's and dreaming about just being there.

I'm ready for a Matterhorn macaroon.


And I'm always in the mood for a Dole float.


On Monday I made a countdown paper chain but haven't ripped any strips off of it yet. That'll feel nice when I can pull a bunch off at once.

Yesterday I baked Mickey sugar cookies but they all melted into one giant cookie, so they are kind of Mickey shaped.

My last planning decision is whether or not to make a reservation for Minnie and Friends. I love Captain Hook and want a picture with him. I know the characters aren't guaranteed, but I've yet to find that he hasn't been there. What is kind of a bummer about the meal is that there is no character photo at the entrance. The photo is a big deal for me, and could very well be a deal breaker. So I just don't know.

I have my Photo Pass + in hand and will take full advantage of the program. I've only used regular in the past and didn't end up even looking at the pictures.

Time to look around for some more Disney craft ideas for projects to help me pass the time!

 

[aidensmom31]

I am doing the same thing, that is finding Disney crafts to pass the time (I posted a couple in my PTR). I have over 5 months still to go though

I enjoy Minnie & friends. We have done it every time we are there (which has been once a year since 2009) and every time we have sen Capitan Hook. I always schedule an early meal so that I have more time to sit and get every character. I agree that I would like a pic with Minnie at the beginning but both pics that we actually got were cute and since I had the photopass plus last time (and didnt pay extra for the pic) the experience ended up being worth the money for us. We had tons of characters and some awesome interactions that had us .

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I am doing the same thing, that is finding Disney crafts to pass the time (I posted a couple in my PTR). I have over 5 months still to go though

I enjoy Minnie & friends. We have done it every time we are there (which has been once a year since 2009) and every time we have sen Capitan Hook. I always schedule an early meal so that I have more time to sit and get every character. I agree that I would like a pic with Minnie at the beginning but both pics that we actually got were cute and since I had the photopass plus last time (and didnt pay extra for the pic) the experience ended up being worth the money for us. We had tons of characters and some awesome interactions that had us .

Five months will go by quickly. Thank you for your input about the Minnie breakfast! I'm going to look for your PTR.

 

[PHXscuba]

Get that Dole float early in the day. We tried to get one over our spring break trip and it was a 45-minute wait, even inside the Tiki waiting area. I love me some Dole Whip, but not 45 minutes' worth.

Mickey cupcakes with Oreo ears! Mickey tie-dye T-shirts! I print out pictures/pages from the 'Net and make them into activity books for the drive for my kids. Of course they are all Disney

PHXscuba

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

Get that Dole float early in the day. We tried to get one over our spring break trip and it was a 45-minute wait, even inside the Tiki waiting area. I love me some Dole Whip, but not 45 minutes' worth.

Mickey cupcakes with Oreo ears! Mickey tie-dye T-shirts! I print out pictures/pages from the 'Net and make them into activity books for the drive for my kids. Of course they are all Disney

PHXscuba

If only they had Fast Passes for the Dole!
Mickey cupcakes with Oreos is a great idea. I have a better chance of those looking like "Mickey"! And DIY activity books is a great tip. Thanks!

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I saw The Lone Ranger today. I enjoyed it. It's not one I will watch again in the theater, but wait until it's on DVD. I liked the soundtrack and I might buy it. Pirates of the Caribbean is my all-time favorite franchise, so I thought the same team would make another good movie. The big action finale was awesome! And I have now added Armie Hammer to my list.

The trailer for Thor 2 played before the movie. I am so stoked for that one! It looks like the first Marvel movie that will be completely distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, so I am wondering if the castle will open the movie. That would be great!


I'm thinking about having a couple of movie nights with the family to get us even more excited for the trip. I'm going to try to sneak in a showing of Iron Man, since I think everyone should be prepared before seeing the special exhibit at Innoventions.
I think one or two classic animated movies would be good as well.

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I went to the Disney Store yesterday to use their email coupon and to see if there were any must-haves for my trip. I bought a Little Mermaid stamp and stationery kit. I love using stamps on cards and notes.

I love Peter Pan and am currently working on redecorating my home library. It is going to have a Neverland theme. I have been wanting this giant Tick Tock Croc for a long time. It was marked down to $17.99 from $39.00 and with the extra discount it was a great deal.



I grabbed some PVC figure sets to add to my collection.




They had some new shopping bags. Jake and the Neverland Pirates and also... THE AVENGERS!



I picked up new shirts for the family, and needed to buy one more to get the Buy 2 deal, so I picked this one out for myself:



I do love The Lone Ranger!

So two weeks from now I will be on my road trip to Disneyland.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I think the Disney Store has a better plush toy selection than the parks. The parks are so focused on the main characters. One thing that the parks offer that the Disney Store doesn't though are the crossover plush toys.

This last visit, I added Ewok Chip and Dale to Jedi Mickey, Darth Vader Mickey, Luke Skywalker in A New Hope Mickey, Darth Goofy, and Princess Leia Minnie. I was quite happy that they were not exclusive to Walt Disney World. Disney's gotten a lot better about making sure that Disneyland gets the Star Wars crossover offerings in recent years. We won't discuss how much I paid on ebay to get Jedi Mickey and Darth Vader Mickey since Disney was stupid and made them only available to Star Wars Weekends initially.

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I think the Disney Store has a better plush toy selection than the parks. The parks are so focused on the main characters. One thing that the parks offer that the Disney Store doesn't though are the crossover plush toys.

This last visit, I added Ewok Chip and Dale to Jedi Mickey, Darth Vader Mickey, Luke Skywalker in A New Hope Mickey, Darth Goofy, and Princess Leia Minnie. I was quite happy that they were not exclusive to Walt Disney World. Disney's gotten a lot better about making sure that Disneyland gets the Star Wars crossover offerings in recent years. We won't discuss how much I paid on ebay to get Jedi Mickey and Darth Vader Mickey since Disney was stupid and made them only available to Star Wars Weekends initially.

I love the Star Wars crossovers. I had to have the PVC Muppets. I haven't been to the Droid Factory yet but I will stop there for sure. The Ewoks are my favorite characters from Star Wars. I have a plush Wicket keychain on my purse. I'd love the plush backpack but it doesn't have enough room for all of my stuff.
I'd love to experience Star Wars Weekends.

 

[PHXscuba]

I love the Tick Tock Croc! He is one of my DS8's favorites. The Disney Store is a magnet for my money!

PHXscuba

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I love the Tick Tock Croc! He is one of my DS8's favorites. The Disney Store is a magnet for my money!

PHXscuba

Do you know about the Friends and Family discount this weekend? 25% off your purchase instore and online through tonight!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I love the Star Wars crossovers. I had to have the PVC Muppets. I haven't been to the Droid Factory yet but I will stop there for sure. The Ewoks are my favorite characters from Star Wars. I have a plush Wicket keychain on my purse. I'd love the plush backpack but it doesn't have enough room for all of my stuff.
I'd love to experience Star Wars Weekends.

Build your own droid was fun. I did it this last trip. My sister has the ewok plush backpack. A few years back I bought the Jedi Mickey plush backpack, but I haven't seen it for years. And Star Wars Weekends is amazing. Anyone who is a fan of both Star Wars and Disney needs to experience it for themselves. The next installment of my trip report will be about Star Wars Weekends.

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I made my PS for Minnie's this morning. I had been going back and forth with whether or not I should schedule a breakfast here. I have a severe form of IBD, I am unable to eat most foods, so spending $30 on a meal that will be mostly fruit and potatoes for me is not a great plan. But I love Captain Hook very much and I want at least one picture with him. So I just hope he makes it to this meal. He is one of the characters I most want to see.

Build your own droid was fun. I did it this last trip. My sister has the ewok plush backpack. A few years back I bought the Jedi Mickey plush backpack, but I haven't seen it for years. And Star Wars Weekends is amazing. Anyone who is a fan of both Star Wars and Disney needs to experience it for themselves. The next installment of my trip report will be about Star Wars Weekends.

I don't travel by air, so I won't make it to WDW. So I do hope they bring it to DLR. I'm all ready to have fun in the Droid Factory!

 

[DisneyMarvelStarWars]

I've been using my time this weekend to pack what I need for the trip. That means a lot of laundry to wash. Not my favorite thing to do! I will make a list of what I need to pick up, thought it shouldn't be much. I think we all have what we need, and I will also be washing laundry during the trip as well. One fun thing I did do yesterday was I went to see The Wolverine. It was amazing! I loved it!!! I loved it more than X-Men Origins. I want Disney/Marvel to be in full control of all of their properties.

Over the past few months, I have been picking up some travel goodies. Most of these things have come from dollar stores, dollar bins in craft and discount stores, or the party store. The bigger items I bought either when they were on sale, or they were from Barnes & Noble's bargain books section. It does seem like a lot, so I will probably keep some of the things and save them for Christmas.

We drive to Anaheim and usually drive at night when the kids spend a good bit of time sleeping. This time it will be a daytime drive, so I wanted to make sure they have some fun things to do that aren't on a screen. I wrapped up the larger items in wrapping paper and will let them open them up, but I haven't decided if it will be X miles or X minutes.

These lanyards came from the party store for only 99 cents. I loaded them with inexpensive keychains, and pins I found on clearance at the Disney Store.



Disney/Marvel/Star Wars/Pixar for Rhyen:



For Miley:


I figured this would also give them some things to do during down time at the hotel.

Tonight we are having family night, we will plan out what we want to do and watch a movie together. I want to watch Mary Poppins. William has never seen it and I think he would love it. But then I thought we could do a Double Feature, and watch Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. The whole family would enjoy those and they very much make me feel "Disneyland".

I also need to work on my Pixie Dust giveaways, I already have the supplies. I just need to get to work!