Business Trip to San Diego? I'M GOING TO DIDNEYRAND!!!!!-April 2013 TR*Update 11/18

[MissPrice]

I'm in!!! Can't wait to hear all about your trip. I'm going to Disneyrand for the first time next month. Woohoo. Your dad is so adorable! -Amanda

 

[Poolrat]

Joining in-

 

[TinksThree]

I'm here!!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm here! I don't remember where I left off on your other TRs, but I'm here for this one! DL is on my list to visit one day!

I'm glad you're here! I'm sure you'll make it to DL one day soon.

I'm here! Looking forward to hearing all about your trip to DisneyRand

Glad you're here! I look forward to telling everyone all about it.

I'm in!!! Can't wait to hear all about your trip. I'm going to Disneyrand for the first time next month. Woohoo. Your dad is so adorable! -Amanda

Yay! Congratulations on going next month! You're going to love it, I'm sure.

Haha, everyone on the DIS loves my Dad and tells me how adorable he is. I tell him this and I'm telling you, it's absolutely going to his head.

Joining in-

Yay!

I'm here!!!!

Yay! I'm glad you're here!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Okay everyone, time to get started! Everyone all neat and pretty?

Day 1 - Friday April 26, 2013

All righty! So I'll break down some details of the prior few days just for continuity's sake. I'm a dork like that. I need things to make sense!

I flew into San Diego on Monday April 22nd after work. My itinerary was to work in our corporate offices on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Jason and I work together, so he decided he would fly out on Thursday and spend some of the day at the office as well with his corporate counterparts. Then he crashed with me on Thursday night at the company paid for hotel, and then Friday, we would be off!

Dad's plane was landing in Orange County Airport (otherwise known as John Wayne Airport....yes John Wayne.....has an airport. Would it not be amazing if....go with me.....the entrance signs to the airport said "Welcome Pilgrim!" I think it would be.....).

I digress. His plane was landing at 10:45am. San Diego can be 2 hours away from Santa Ana depending on where you're staying. Fortunately for us our Springhill Suites was only about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I woke up at 7am. I didn't need to get up that early, but people.....I couldn't sleep anymore! I just wanted to get going. I was nice though and I let Jason sleep, because his travel day before had been so long. I just took my time getting all of my stuff together. My suitcase was crazy, because I had business clothes, but then I had Disney clothes. It was pretty dang full.

I texted back and forth with Mom while I was getting ready. Our conversation was pretty funny.

Me: Hi Momma. So Dad was probably like a five year old this morning, huh?

Mom: He sure was. He set 2 alarms so he would not oversleep. The flight left on time, hopefully it will arrive on time for you guys.....how was the beer?

(Clearly we know to talk about IMPORTANT things....like beer...)

The beer conversation? If anyone is ever out in Escondido, which is near San Diego, there is a restaurant called Stone Bistro and Brewery. So good.....so much beer......I love beer.

I finally woke Jason up, and then we headed down to the lobby at about 8:45am to have breakfast. I love corporate hotels and their breakfasts that are included.

We were on the road by about 9:15am. The drive was nice and straightforward. I have no pictures. Because I was driving people! My dear brother....he took some.....but I don't have them. Sorry y'all. This first part is picture light.

Dad's plane landed at 10:20am! And we were just pulling in. We got in....grabbed the Pop-adon.....and got out!

My adoration for John Wayne Airport comes from the fact that it's only 15 minutes away from Disneyland. But, we had a mission first. We were hungry. If you're hungry and in Southern California, where do you eat?

IN AND OUT BABY!

It would have been so easy. Really. If the In and Out that the GPS was directing us to was still there. I'm not kidding. We're driving. It's telling us that we're at our destination. No In and Out.

Wahhhhh. Well, my tears only lasted so long, because we just found another one on the GPS. Don't worry intrepid report readers.

We finally hit our destination. Wooooooooo. For anyone who has never been to In and Out, they have a secret menu, so if you ever plan on going, pull it up online. It's not crazy or anything, but you have to order exactly like they have it.

My order....



Mmmmm.....let's see it again!



For all you whole love my Pop's silly pictures. Here is his intro picture again. I said "you happy to be here?!"



Yup....that's what I got.

So I chastised him and said "LOOK AT THE CAMERA!"



Jason and I were excited. Clearly shown in my deer face.



Bellies full on our so healthy meal, it was time to head out. Our destination? The Grand Californian hotel!

Now, for clarification, just because the Grand Californian is designed similarly to the Wilderness Lodge in WDW, it is actually the sister hotel of the Grand Floridian.

Pretty lobby!





Check in process was quick and smooth. We were in the Brisa Courtyard. We booked with DVC points, but we were not in a DVC studio. This is because there are only so many DVC units, so they opened up other parts of the hotel for us to use on points as well. The CM was also able to get us the park tickets I had prepurchased through my work website. That was awesome! They can't do that at WDW!

Finally, we made it up to the room and we all got settled in.

One beddy beddy.



Two beddy beddy. And a Poppy Poppy.



Our view from the balcony.



Think I was excited?



It was about 2pm when we were all settled, so we were on our way!

Walking through DTD to get to the parks.



And we arrived!!!!!



Up next: Harold....my Yeti could totally take you!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

More please

 

[ZehnJahren]

Personally I like your dad's wistful look in the first picture when you ask him if he's happy to be there. It's like he's staring into the horizon, imagining things to come.

Plus, the lady behind him is cracking me up in that picture!

Of COURSE you have to go to In and Out - look at that cheeseburger!!! I want to eat it right now, and I haven't had a cheeseburger in over a year!

 

[IheartDDuck]

More please

Be patient woman!

Personally I like your dad's wistful look in the first picture when you ask him if he's happy to be there. It's like he's staring into the horizon, imagining things to come.

Plus, the lady behind him is cracking me up in that picture!

Of COURSE you have to go to In and Out - look at that cheeseburger!!! I want to eat it right now, and I haven't had a cheeseburger in over a year!

Haha. Yes, we'll call his look wistful from now on. Even though it's normally just distraction.

Good for you not having a cheeseburger in over a year! I've been strict with eating to lose weight too, but if I want a cheeseburger, within reason I eat it. I just don't eat much else during the day because it eats all my calories. Oh, except for on vacation. I didn't really care on vacation.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Haha. Yes, we'll call his look wistful from now on. Even though it's normally just distraction.

Good for you not having a cheeseburger in over a year! I've been strict with eating to lose weight too, but if I want a cheeseburger, within reason I eat it. I just don't eat much else during the day because it eats all my calories. Oh, except for on vacation. I didn't really care on vacation.

I wasn't allowed cheeseburgers on my diet when I saw the personal trainer, and I just got used to turkey burgers instead. I can't imagine eating ground beef anymore; the smell kind of turns my stomach! But I definitely will eat turkey or chicken burgers; just had one yesterday, in fact.

As for vacation - all bets are off!

 

[MEK]

Yeah! You've arrived and you dad is as cute as ever. Yum - I mean popa-don! Love the healthy meal! Great way to start the trip.

The hotel looks lovely. I hope I get a chance to stay there someday!

Can't wait to see what happens next!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I wasn't allowed cheeseburgers on my diet when I saw the personal trainer, and I just got used to turkey burgers instead. I can't imagine eating ground beef anymore; the smell kind of turns my stomach! But I definitely will eat turkey or chicken burgers; just had one yesterday, in fact.

As for vacation - all bets are off!

Yup. This is exactly the reason I don't see a personal trainer. I rarely eat beef, in all reality. I haven't purchased ground beef in years, honestly I think since I was a kid. We've been eating ground turkey that long. But, on vacation or periodically when I'm out and about, I'll eat it.

Yeah! You've arrived and you dad is as cute as ever. Yum - I mean popa-don! Love the healthy meal! Great way to start the trip.

The hotel looks lovely. I hope I get a chance to stay there someday!

Can't wait to see what happens next!

I was happy to be eating at In and Out. Love that place! I don't think their fries are as good as everyone thinks they are, but the burgers definitely are.

You'd love it there! It's so much fun. So different, but so fun.

 

[burly]

Hey Girl, did i say i'm in? Well I'm in, if I didn't say it, which is entirely possible.
Anywhoo, great little update. Did you just love that hotel?
Did you use the not so secret park entrance?

Looking forward, as always, to more...



KIM

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

I am really trying to be patient....... MORE PLEASE

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hey Girl, did i say i'm in? Well I'm in, if I didn't say it, which is entirely possible.
Anywhoo, great little update. Did you just love that hotel?
Did you use the not so secret park entrance?

Looking forward, as always, to more...



KIM

Glad you're in!

We did use the not so secret park entrance, several times.

I am really trying to be patient....... MORE PLEASE

Hahaha....well then.....

 

[Millie12591]

I'm in!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm in!!

Yay! I'm glad you're here Camille. I'm getting ready to update at some point this weekend.

 

[teekathepony]

Your Pop-adon is adorable. Love all the excited pictures of you guys! And you're there! Wow, I'd love to see that sight some day!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Your Pop-adon is adorable. Love all the excited pictures of you guys! And you're there! Wow, I'd love to see that sight some day!

It's definitely worth seeing some day for any Disney lover. I don't get there nearly as often as I get to WDW.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I last left you with us arriving at the park for the first time. I was super excited. I hadn't been back to Disneyland since 2007. I was so so so excited, which is why I don't have tons of pictures of us entering into the park. See, when I get excited, I stop taking pictures. I want to focus on the task at hand people!

Entry into the gates at Disneyland is different. The first time they scan your ticket, they make you take a picture. There are two people at the entrance, someone before the turnstile and someone at the turnstile. The person before the turnstile scans your ticket and checks your picture. If you don't have a picture associated with it yet, they take one with their iPhone style device. Then, they pass your ticket off to the person at the turnstile to scan again.

I find it to be a little bit confusing if you ask me. But, who am I to judge, right? PLUS...they still use handstamps. I don't quite get why. Meh, what can you do.

Finally, we were in the park. And I got to see this beauty again after 6 years.



As we were walking down Main Street and it came into sight, Jason goes "whoa....small". He hadn't been in 13 years, so I think he forgot how small it is in comparison to Cinderella's castle in WDW. It's a drastic difference, but this one is still amazing. It's the original!!!!

Pop-adon and I were really excited. Even though you can't tell from his face. This is his, "yeah...I'm cool" face.



We literally all halted in our tracks, because we had NO IDEA what we were going to do. So I'm standing in the hub looking like an idiot, because I'm like "ummmmmm.....what do we do now?"

Jason (he is smart sometimes, when he needs to be) says "why don't we go ride something that's not in WDW first?" I KNEW I took him places for a reason!

So...of to a mountain that we don't have in Florida.



The wait time was posted at 40 minutes, but who are we kidding? Where else were we going to go? PLUS, this is the original Yeti. I cried a little when I realized that I left my Yeti behind at home. I'm sorry my child. I didn't mean to. But Harold...he has nothing on my baby Yeti. Observe.



He's incredible.....

Anyways! We were all super excited. And I know they redid the cars recently, so I was looking forward to riding with what I thought would be more space. You know where this is going right?



We got on and took a goober selfie...



Now, the seats are bigger, as in like WIDER. Which doesn't make a difference to me, because I lost 40 pounds, I didn't gain 40 pounds. However, they're not taller. So all of us (me 5' 9", Dad 5' 11", Jason 6') were all a little cramped.

So the ride is fun, absolutely. But my tailbone was hurting! All through the ride we're turning corners and my tailbone just hurts more. On one particularly sharp turn, I yelled "MY BUTT!"

Ladies and gentlemen, if you were in the vicinity of the Matterhorn on Friday April 26th, around 2pm or so, and you heard "MY BUTT!" coming from the mountain that was me....you're welcome.

I'm sure that 40 pounds I lost would have come in handy at that moment, especially if it was placed on my butt. However, I can take some tailbone pain. But they could pad the seats, dang!

We rounded the corner to end the ride, and I yell to Jason "weight testing!!!!" I spotted these.



Jason and I worked at Six Flags by us for 6 years, and we used to participate in weight testing in the pre-season. So you had to load those sandbags into every set on every ride (they're 30 pounds each, and you have to load 6 in each seat), and then cycle the rides. Man, it brought back memories. A random part of that story is that in our sick minds, we tried to carry as many of them as possible. Meaning, we would put as many in our hands AND on our shoulders as possible. I was capable of carrying three on each shoulder and two in each hand. HOOAH! I was clinically insane I think.

After we got off the ride, we all made sure that we could feel our butts before moving on.

Butt.....check.

Since our mission was to ride things that we don't have in WDW, it was off to Toontown!





Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin was our mission.



I love this ride. It makes me giggle and giggle, because of your ability to spin the car during the ride. I find that so amusing. I also wish that Roger was represented in more parks. I love him. "P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-PLEASE EDDIE!"



The wait time was also 40 minutes, and clearly we were bored, because I was taking pictures that were clearly not well lit.



But at least you can see my hair! It's the benefit of it being so stinking bright. In crowds, apparently my family always goes "just look for her hair!"

"I'm not bad...I'm just drawn that way"



"What's the password?"



He has huge nostrils! I could literally stick my fist in there. No...I didn't!

Pop-adon was ready for some spinning action!



Jason spun furiously, while I attempted to get pictures. FAIL!





The End.



After I the ride was over, I decided that I needed a snack. Well, we all decided we needed a snack.



WOO HOO! Now, this think was super frozen. See, because it's not humid like WDW, they don't melt upon contact with the air. So I'm like "oh cool, that works for me". That's all fine and dandy until Mickey's ear completely breaks off into your mouth and freezes you straight through. That's cold dude. Cold.

Up next: Should the name be changed to "Pirates in the I'm Going to Get Danielle Wet Caribbean?"

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

I love Roger Rabbit too. Cool ride