Bring on CarsLand! A Fun-Filled Mother-Daughter Birthday Trip! FINAL UPDATES 9/8!!!!

[podsnel]

Hi Girlfriend!

OMG, so sorry I am so late- I will be back to read all of the wonderful details after dinner tonight!

Ellen

 

[podsnel]

Ok- I know I said I would post later, but I had to peek- and WOW!!! I LOVE her HAIR! She looks so beautiful- and kind of older, too.... but I really like it a LOT!

Ok- back to cooking-

 

[amandaw]

Your cupcake shirts are so precious!!

Sounds like y'all a lovely evening. And those pool slides look like lots of fun!

Love the bday decorations and surprise!!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love it so far!!

 

[Imagineer5]

LOVE the pool photos!! YAY can't wait to swim there!! ANd you are soooo awesome, what a wonderful way to surprise her after dinner!! So great! How nice to meet up with friends too! Poor thing falling asleep at dinner, what an awesome day though!

 

[DisneyJo]

Oh wow the monorail pool slides are so awesome, such a simple yet effective idea

I love all your cupcakes shirts too, they're so cute!

 

[Simba22]

Great update, Roni! The pool at the DLH looks so nice! Maybe someday we will be able to afford the airfare from the East Coast to the West Coast!

Those room decorations are cute! You did a nice job! I remember I looked into getting the official room decorating thing in 2012 and I couldn't believe the cost! Honestly, I think doing it yourself makes it better anyway...it's more personal and you can customize it more!

 

[RGirl]

I absolutely LOVE the cupcake shirts. The Peter Pan one is adorable!

Oh, thank you so much! They have been so much fun to make.

Too funny that Willow fell asleep at dinner. Especially somewhere as loud as Rainforest Café!

I know! It was very out of character for her, but we had been going strong since 4AM, so I kind of wanted to follow asleep at the restaurant too.

I love the room surprise!

Thanks! It was a lot of fun to do!

I really need to read up on DL more. I had no idea of the Monorail slides at the DL hotel. How cool!!!!

I think they are a pretty recent addition - there was a big pool refurb some years ago. I think, I could be wrong.

And Willow rode them on her own. What a brave little lady.

Oh yes! There's no stopping her when it comes to slides or rides!

Love the idea of decorating the room yourself and you did VERY well.

Thank you! It was really fun, and Willow was very excited about it.

Aawww--willow's so adorable in her tutu swimsuit! Those monorail slides are so cool! And look pretty fun. The whole pool area is really pretty.

It's a neat pool area. We will definitely be enjoying it a lot more this August!

I don't blame willow for falling asleep! I can barely make it from 5:30 am to bedtime on a normal day, much less an exciting disney day!

I totally wanted to fall asleep too.

You did awesome decorating for willows birthday--I bet she loved it all! I was thinking about doing an in room surprise for DH on our next trip for our anniversary, but everything I've looked at is so expensive. Maybe the trip is gift enough, right?

Yes - the trip is definitely gift enough! When I looked at what Disney could do and the prices, i couldn't believe I had sprung for it the first time we went for her birthday. I knew I needed to find a more affordable solution.

Oh, and, I spy a hidden Mickey in your last pic! Did you notice it?

I don't remember what the last picture is! I will have to go back and look, but probably not.

I would have let you live, but I would have been very, very sad. I am completely obsessed with that slide. Loving all of the pictures-thank you DLH is my new favorite thing. If I ever get to DLR I'm totally staying there.

Phew! I'm so glad you would have spared my life!

The shirts look fantastic! You're doing such an amazing job!

Thank you!

Oh! And I'm so glad that the plan to plant the surprise worked out! Perfect! The note is spot on, great job!

Thank you! And thank you for listening to me stress about it before we left.

 

[RGirl]

I came over here from your other TR, and this one is just as great!

Thanks so much for coming on over and joining in here too!

Those shirts are incredible! What a unique, creative idea.

Thank you!

DL looks amazing. How cool are those headboards! And its so neat to see the similarities and differences.

DLR is a wonderful place. We really enjoy the differences between WDW and DLR and love each for what it has to offer.

Great updates! I hate getting soaked....I turned around in the Splash Mtn single rider line thus week after seeing how wet people were getting off the ride!

Cute shirts!

I am the same - I loathe walking around in wet clothes. I have NO idea what I was thinking!

Thank you!!

Those t-shirts are super cute! I predict you are going to be very busy with those! In fact, how do I find you on Etsy?

Oh, thank you so much! They are a blast to make. You can just search for willowswardrobe1 to find me on etsy.

THAT POOL! WITH THE MONORAILS! I love it so much!

Right? It's just so cool!!!

I love what you did with the in-room surprises! That's my job for my sister's birthday trip. The Disney Florist ones are way out of our budget so I plan to get Frozen and princess decorations from the party store

It worked perfectly. I bet you will do a fabulous job with your sister's surprise!

 

[RGirl]

Hi Girlfriend!

OMG, so sorry I am so late- I will be back to read all of the wonderful details after dinner tonight!

Ellen

Hi Ellen! It's great to "see" you! I've had very little DIS time myself lately. I need to check out the cruise board for updates from you!

Ok- I know I said I would post later, but I had to peek- and WOW!!! I LOVE her HAIR! She looks so beautiful- and kind of older, too.... but I really like it a LOT!

Ok- back to cooking-

She does look really different, doesn't she? She LOVES it! She is growing it out right now so she can do the BBB in August, but she wants it cut off again the second we get home.

Your cupcake shirts are so precious!!

Thanks Amanda!

Sounds like y'all a lovely evening. And those pool slides look like lots of fun!

It was a great first half-day.

Love the bday decorations and surprise!!

Thanks! It was really fun to do.

Love it so far!!

Thank you! Sorry for the long delay between updates.

LOVE the pool photos!! YAY can't wait to swim there!! ANd you are soooo awesome, what a wonderful way to surprise her after dinner!! So great! How nice to meet up with friends too! Poor thing falling asleep at dinner, what an awesome day though!

It was a wonderful day - park time, pool time, time with friends. Doesn't get a lot better than that.

Oh wow the monorail pool slides are so awesome, such a simple yet effective idea

Very Disney! We loved them.

I love all your cupcakes shirts too, they're so cute!

Thank you! They are so fun to create and make.

Great update, Roni! The pool at the DLH looks so nice! Maybe someday we will be able to afford the airfare from the East Coast to the West Coast!

Those coast-to-coast trips are pricey, huh?

Those room decorations are cute! You did a nice job! I remember I looked into getting the official room decorating thing in 2012 and I couldn't believe the cost! Honestly, I think doing it yourself makes it better anyway...it's more personal and you can customize it more!

It worked out very well. I just HAD to find an alternative after I priced the options out.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

The hidden Mickey is in the fireworks in the headboard, all the way to the left. I was sure you did it on purpose!

 

[RGirl]

The hidden Mickey is in the fireworks in the headboard, all the way to the left. I was sure you did it on purpose!

Ha! There it is! I think that was one of those many pictures that I snap without actually even looking at what I'm doing.

 

[RGirl]

Early Entry Fun​

Today (Thursday), we had early entry to Disneyland (resort guests get an hour’s jump on the masses at one park). Because this was an off time of year and a weekday, early entry was at 9:00. We were up at about 7, showered, and left the room at 8. We were excited for our first big park morning!

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We stopped here (at the Disneyland Hotel) for some coffee and cocoa. We had some big breakfast plans later, so we stuck to the beverages for now.

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We started walking through DTD at about 8:20.

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You can see here that there was a line at bag check because they had not opened it yet.

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However, we managed to get through bag check and be at the gates at about 8:40. It is so quick to get around this place!

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They let us enter Main Street shortly thereafter.

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And we were waiting there for the rope to drop at about 8:50.

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And at 9:00, the rope dropped, and we headed straight to Fantasyland on a mission.

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We headed straight for PP (no FP for this attraction at DL, so we wanted to get it done before the line could really form). We were lucky and rode with only a few minutes of waiting, watching the line quickly growing behind us.

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Of course, after appeasing me with one classic Fantasyland ride, Willow was determined to zip around a mountain or two. So we headed over to the Matterhorn next.

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We had a very short wait here as well. On this attraction, you sit single-file, so I had to kind of hold the camera over my head to try to get a pic of Willow.

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A few more lame attempts to get some on-ride pics for y’all so you could get a sense of the ride if you haven’t been to DL. This thing really moves and is a bit jerky though, so it’s not easy to get pics at all.

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Up Next: Early Entry Fun (cont.)

 

[RGirl]

Early Entry Fun (cont.)​

We quickly zipped over to Space Mountain where a 10-minute wait was posted. I don’t think we waited at all really.

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I love Willow’s face in this one!

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After our thrilling ride, we checked out the shop for a few minutes and then decided that we had enough time to ride again before breakfast.

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There was no line at all, so we asked to wait for the first row - I don’t know why, but the first row on this attraction makes a huge difference to us.

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We made a quick time check and figured that we had just enough time to do Star Tours, which had a 5-minute posted wait time, before our breakfast ADR at 10:30.

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The wait here actually ended up being quite a bit longer than the posted 5 minutes. Just before being sent to our boarding area, a couple of these guys wandered through.

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A guest stuck out his hand for a fist bump, and one of the storm troopers went to do it and then pulled back his hand and smoothed his helmet. We were all cracking up. This was a really fun touch.

Willow likes this ride a lot!

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When we got out of ST, it was a few minutes past our ADR time, so we headed out quickly and made our way to a fantastic dining establishment!

Up Next: Minnie’s Breakfast

 

[shan23877]

Wow! You guys really got a ton done that morning! I'm with Willow, bring on the thrill rides.

Her face in that ride pic is outstanding. I love it

Can't wait to hear about breakfast!

 

[caitlinnf]

How funny that early entry was at 9.

You got so much done that morning! It seems so strange that Star Tours and Space Mountain are in the same place.

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah for early entry! I for one am used to early entry starting at 9 - sounds a lot like DLRP to me. Only difference? DLRP only has about 3 rides open, while the US parks just open up!

No FP for PP? Now that is NOT good. One of the rides that has a huge wait even WITH FP in DLRP. Love Matterhorn and SM! The one in CA is awesome. So much fun and you are right - front row DOES make a difference. Can't put my finger on it why, but it does.

Can't wait to read about breakfast!

 

[emmysmommy]

You guys accomplished a lot of the E ticket rides before breakfast! Great start to your day. Your Space Mtn photo is great!

What a great way to sprinkle some pixie dust for Willow's birthday with the room decorations and the Frozen dolls. I'm sure she was beyond thrilled!

Awwww she fell asleep at dinner. At least it was a great day filled with lots of wonderful activities and fun.

 

[TinkyCheeks]

Another great update! DL looks like so much fun. Early entry at 9:00 just blows my mind! Oh my goodness, Willow on Space Mountain is so cute!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

So sorry. I fell behind in my Dising this past week.
The photos of your t-shirts are now visible. Great job!!! They turned out really awesome!

Your pool photos were great! When we were there in 2011, only the monorail pools/slides were completed and they were taking out the Peter Pan themed pool area. What is there now? And I agree that it is difficult to really tell what the slides are like. I imagine the big one is similar to the Flying Jib at Yacht and Beach Club?

Such a great idea decorating the room for Willow's birthday. So nice your friend was able to help you work out that surprise. Too bad she fell asleep at dinner. But she hung in there a long time for a travel day.

Early entry at Disneyland!! You really did get a lot done in a short amount of time. I love how everything is so close together there and you don't have to spend a long time walking from ride to ride.

Ooh, my favorite treat in DL is the Frozen Apple cider (I think) slush. Be sure to try it next time. It is sold at a little stand towards the back of Fantasyland. Soooo refreshing.