Celebrate You June 5-14 HoJo

[BrerMama]

Well, we are back and when I went to start posting my trip report I realized that hmmmm.... I never got around to posting my pretrip report. So even though the entire trip report is done, I'm going to go back and post a little bit of the pretrip report that I wrote months ago before we left.

So this story begins way back in November. I'm a teacher (I'll put a photo of me over there so you can put a face with my name), and I had a few moments free during the day while the class was at the library. On a whim, I checked the Southwest Airlines website just to see what airfare was running. This somehow led to me discovering that Walt Disney World was running a "buy 4, get 3 free" promotion. I came home that night, talked to my husband (who is also in that photo; he's the one with the gray hair), and booked it.

Right now, I'll bet you're thinking.... I'm on the Disneyland Trip Reports board, right?

Well, the story gets a little more interesting about a month later. We tell the kids that we've decided to go back to WDW by having Mickey call them on Christmas morning (which was a laughable fiasco, but that's another story).

Then I have two weeks off, and I spend a lot of time cruising the DISboards. I should probably add here that we bought tickets to Universal Studios Florida in late 2007, thinking we'd go to USF the summer of 2008. Which did not happen. We decided to hold onto those tickets until the new Harry Potter area is open.

Except in reading message boards, I discovered that USF was running the same deal as Disney. And because we already had tickets to USF, it would be a lot cheaper to go there, and we'd get to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel.

My goal on a vacation is pretty much to sit by the pool and read a book, take some pretty pictures of my kids having fun, and maybe ride a couple of fun rides. So I was sold when I read sand beach at the Hard Rock.

My children? Not so sold. They hated the idea. My husband? He wanted to know where to jump onto the Hulk. He was ready.

So we debated. We had family meetings. We had blind votes. Always ended up this way -- 3 votes for Disney, 2 for Universal. However, the 2 for Universal were the 2 voters paying for the trip, and I thought that should carry some weight.

Finally, in mid-January, after weeks of going back and forth, my brilliant (and gray haired) husband says, "We should just go to Disneyland."

Well, duh. It satisfied everyone's need for Disney, and it also was something that was "new" to us.

OK, actually, everyone but my youngest has been to Disneyland. My husband and I went there for a belated honeymoon, during which I introduced him to the magic of Disney. We went back when our two oldest children were just 2 and 4. And I went back in 2001 for a conference, during which I got to spend a wonderful night at Disneyland.

However, my children are quite a bit older now (you'll be meeting them soon), and their memories are very cloudy. My husband's memory is just naturally cloudy. None of us has been to California Adventure. So while not a completely new place for us, it is somewhere we haven't been in awhile.

Aside: I should probably explain here that we're a little "stuck-in-a-routine" about vacations. We go to Branson, Missouri several times a year. OK, 4 or 5 times a year. Jeez. I like it there. I have friends there. When we don't vacation in Branson, we go to Walt Disney World. That's 3 times in the last decade. So trying somewhere "new" is really pushing the envelope for us.

Where was I? Oh yes, my wonderful husband had a novel idea. That was on a Sunday afternoon and by Sunday night, I'd booked us a room. More on that later.

 

[BrerMama]

By the end of January, I had purchased our airfare. Kansas City to LAX, leaving mid-afternoon and arriving at 4:40 pm. I'm guessing that's rush hour in LA. My children's first tourist attraction will be a crowded freeway.

You may be wondering why we're flying out of Kansas City when there's a perfectly good airport here where we live. The answer is complicated, but it was an easy decision to make.

First, money. It's cheaper to fly on Southwest out of KC, especially when you include luggage charges.

Second, there's Brady. (This is where you get to meet my oldest child.) Brady will turn 15 during our trip. If you're familiar with the show "The Big Bang Theory," Brady is an adolescent Sheldon. He's incredibly shy, yet hilariously funny. And deathly afraid to fly. He wasn't, but then we had some turbulence on our last flight to Orlando. I didn't really notice it until we were on the plane home from Orlando. He pretty much spent the entire flight gripping my arm, with his eyes shut and teeth clenched. Part of the reason we cancelled our 07 Universal trip was that I was afraid we wouldn't be able to get him on the plane.

He's relaxed a little about the whole flying thing. I have a plan, too. However, first in my mind is minimizing the number of take offs and landings he has to survive. So we'll drive up to KC so that we can get a direct flight. Direct flights are just so much easier.

I know. We once spent six hours in DFW airport after we missed a connecting flight. Our kids were 6 and under. By the time we hit the ground in Orlando, I seriously kissed the pavement. The only thing worse than those six hours was being in labor. At least then they offer an epidural.

"Excuse me, sir. Could I get an epidural over here? What? You don't offer them in the waiting area for AirTran? How about if I upgrade to first class?"

Basically, two days after I got my January paycheck, we had airfare purchased.

Then came the eight day park hopper passes.

I know there are those out there who will think... "You're going to California for nine nights and all you're going to see is Disneyland?!? There's so much more to see."

Yes, I know. When Dan and I did our honeymoon trip, we saw Hollywood, the Farmer's Market, Universal Studios, Sea World, Tijuana. Unfortunately, as you may be aware, the economy ain't so great, and we're trying to work within a budget here. It's a whole lot cheaper to buy eight day passes to the Disney parks and OD on Disney than it is to buy tickets for many attractions and figure out how to get ourselves to all of them. I know my family would enjoy seeing more of California, but then again, they'll enjoy the Disney resort area, too.

When booking our flights, we arranged to leave on a Friday, which Dan normally has off (did I mention my husband's name is Dan? It is), and fly home on a Sunday. So we would be spending nine nights in the Anaheim area, and I really wanted eight day hoppers. There may be one day during our trip when we only go to the parks for an hour, but I wanted the freedom to do that.

Suddenly. Abruptly. The eight day hoppers disappeared from the Getaway Today website, which was the only place I had seen them for sale on the internet. Now, could we have made do with six day hoppers? Of course. In fact, I am hoping for at least one day spent by the pool. Yet now that I have seen the elusive eight day hoppers, I must have them.

So I emailed GAT to ask about the status. Got back what I interpreted as a semi-snotty email. However, it's email and hard to tell the tone, blahblahblah. In a nutshell, they are no longer for sale by Disney, so GAT can't sell them.

I spent a whole week or so mourning the loss of those 8 day hoppers. Then someone on the boards mentioned calling Walt Disney Travel Company and purchasing them. Really? Can it be done?

Yes, yes it can. And so thankfully, in late January, I purchased our hoppers. We will have 9 wonderful nights and 8 sunny days in California.

Which brings us to our hotel choice....

Usually the most difficult choice for us when planning a trip, this one was ridiculously easy. On our pseudo-honeymoon, Dan and I stayed at the Jolly Roger. Not bad, but quite a walk.

A few years later, when we did the whole drive across the country with two preschoolers, I had reservations to stay at the Super 8. I really wanted to stay at the Fairfield Inn on that trip, but had switched to the Super 8 for budget reasons. When we finally arrived in Anaheim after 2 days of driving, I was less than impressed with the Super 8. I promptly cancelled our reservations, drove over to the Fairfield Inn and checked us in. Lesson learned -- if Kim really wants to stay somewhere, you may as well reserve it because that's where you'll end up staying.

We really liked the Fairfield Inn -- fridge in the room, 2 beds plus a pull out loveseat, McDonalds and Millie's in front of the hotel, and in walking distance. I swore when we came back to Disneyland, that's where we'd stay.

Then in 2001 (actually, on September 11, 2001), I was invited to attend a conference in Anaheim. Since I wasn't paying for the room, I tried for the Disneyland Hotel, but instead got my second choice, Paradise Pier. It was OK. That's really all I have to say about it. The view from our room (of California Adventure) was amazing, but I felt the hotel lacked that Disney charm I expected (and at that point I hadn't stayed onsite at WDW... now that I have, I definitely feel PP does not stack up to the same standard).

It probably didn't help that during the trip, I bolted up from my bed thinking that Disneyland was being bombed. It was only the nightly fireworks, but my memories of that trip will always be looked at through the viewpoint of a nation very much in terror. At the time I went on the trip, anthrax was being sent, and there was a threat on California bridges. It was a scary time to be flying.

However, I totally got to spend a late night in a mostly empty Disneyland, showing it off to someone who had never been outside Kansas. That was magic, right there.

So given all that background information, it was pretty easy for us to decide where to stay on this trip. We're still a family of 5, and our children are a lot bigger than they were 11 years ago (have I mentioned that my son is actually taller than me, and wears bigger shoes than his Dad?). Normally, we'd go for a suite or a condo, but when it comes to Disneyland, walking distance is my number one priority. I quickly ruled out the Disneyland hotels. Just money I'd rather be spending on something else.

I would have been happy with the Fairfield Inn again, but the Howard Johnson gets such amazing reviews all over Disneyland planning land that I had to check it out. To make the deal even sweeter, I get a free Entertainment book at school each year (the students sell them as a fund raiser and the PTO gives them to the teachers as a gift). Unfortunately, my kids had misplaced my card, but I know a whole bunch of teachers who never use that card, so I just asked one of them for their card. Called California, and we were set.

Premium room, with a rollaway. Disney view. I requested top floor, before my two oldest children pointed out that they hate elevators. Brady has a deep fear that he will get on an elevator alone and get stuck and not be discovered for a week.

That would be funnier if it weren't completely true.

I didn't change my request. They'll deal.

So you've met Dan, who I should probably mention is 40, and is a Schwans man. Loves thrill rides, and is perfectly content to let me do all the day to day planning. I catch him up on the weekends when we go on long walks.

Brady, my oldest and only son, will turn 15 during this trip. Cripes.

I am not old enough to have a 15 year old. Well, yes, of course, I am, but not in spirit, if you're feeling me.

That leaves two family members you have yet to meet. Well, actually, three, but the dog isn't going on this trip, so we'll stick with two.

Mykiah turned 13 in March. If you're sitting there trying to pronounce her name right now, think of it as a cross between Mariah and Makayla. With the "y" in a strange spot.

She's what I'm told is a typical preteen. Horrendous mood swings. Spends hours on her appearance. Hates having braces. Turning into a woman before my eyes. Scares me to death.

Of our three kids, Kiah is the one who loves the thrill rides. Refuses to ride Tower of Terror, but other than that, there's little she won't do. One of my favorite memories with her is our first (and my only) ride on Rock'N'Roller Coaster. I was scared to death to ride it, and had always said that I'd never, ever ride anything that did a loop. Yet the idea of RNRC really intrigued me, and when I planned our 2007 trip, I vowed that I would give it a try. I'm not much for trying to conquer my fears, so this was huge for me.

We had Fastpasses, so my mom and sister stayed with my nieces, Brady and our youngest, while Dan, my brother-in-law John, Kiah and I got in line. Seriously, God Bless those Fastpasses. We went straight into the preshow, and got straight onto a limo. If there had been any time to think in there, I may have chickened out. By the time we got strapped in our limo, I was weak in my knees and thankful to sit down.

We pull up to the launch area. The guy with the big lips starts doing his countdown. He's on 3 and -- I kid you not -- Mykiah starts crying and says, "I don't want to do this. Make them let me off."

I barely had time to laugh and we were off. For the record, we both loved it. I laughed like a total loon while we were waiting to unload. Relief, hysteria... my brother-in-law was busy pretending like he did not know the mental patient in the seat behind him.

Mykiah loved it so much she rode it again. Twice. That's the kind of girl she is.

So there's Kiah.

Our youngest is Chesney, who is 9. She is very much the spoiled baby of the family, much to her joy and her siblings irritation. Because her siblings are in the teen stage, she's growing up faster than I'd like. She never really played with dolls, for example, because by the time she was old enough to play with them, her sister had moved on to Barbies.

She loves her Stitch, though. Her birthday cake this year was Stitch shaped (and so cool), and she has a collection of stuffed Stitchi. (Mykiah collects stuffed Minnies, by the way.) She is so in love with Stitch that when we got home from our last trip to WDW and realized that we had lost her favorite Stitch, I contacted someone who lives in Orlando and had them go buy one for her, complete with accessories, and ship it priority. Cost me a pretty penny, but she was happy once again.

There's the kids in a nutshell. Should be a fun trip, no?

P.S. This is us about a year ago. More photos to come:

 

[basketballmom]

What a beautiful family! I am eager to hear more.

 

[blabbermouth]

Great report already and a beautiful family. Your son is way too cute to be a mini Sheldon! He'll get over the anxiety too, I had a very shy/nervous younger brother now he's crazier than me! Can't wait to read the rest of your report, but I'll have to subscribe so I can read it when I get back in two weeks!

 

[BrerMama]

The trip: We flew Southwest Air. Dan and I had flown Southwest to Vegas before Chesney was born, but we'd never used them for a family trip. We decided to go with them this year because they had nonstop flights to LA, and we were incredibly pleased with their airline. Our return flight even landed 30 minutes before our scheduled return time! How often does a flight arrive early?!? I checked us in both ways as soon as I could, and both time we were in the first boarding group. We had no trouble getting seats together. Brady, who is an extremely nervous flyer, survived both trips, but he was a bit clingy both times. It was a lot for me to handle, but I had no time to have my own fears when I was so busy dealing with his.

Transfers: We used Golden West Express to take us from LAX to the Anaheim resort area. Our driver was clearly a smoker (they own their vehicles and although he didn't smoke while we were in the van, you could smell the lingering smoke smell) but I thought he was a competent driver. Dan was watching the speedometer and thought the guy was crazy. Our driver didn't speak much English, so it was a quiet ride. There are many, many shared ride shuttle services that operate at LAX, but I wanted a shuttle that would be waiting specifically for us, and this really wasn't that much more than a shared bus/van. Not sure we'd use Golden West again, but they did their job.

I'm going to save the hotel and food for a separate post, so I'll just skip ahead to our day. We arrived at the Disneyland Resort area by 11 am, and just dumped our stuff at the hotel so we could eat lunch and then enjoy the parks. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so none of that first afternoon is captured on film (or memory card, as would be more appropriate). In retrospect, that might be OK because I sure enjoyed that afternoon.

That evening, we went back to California Adventure to see the Pixar Play parade. We also rode the new-to-us Toy Story Midway Mania ride. What fun!

 

[BrerMama]

What a beautiful family! I am eager to hear more.

Thanks for reading!

Great report already and a beautiful family. Your son is way too cute to be a mini Sheldon! He'll get over the anxiety too, I had a very shy/nervous younger brother now he's crazier than me! Can't wait to read the rest of your report, but I'll have to subscribe so I can read it when I get back in two weeks!

Have a great trip!

 

[indiesgirl4ever]

The trip: We flew Southwest Air. Dan and I had flown Southwest to Vegas before Chesney was born, but we'd never used them for a family trip. We decided to go with them this year because they had nonstop flights to LA, and we were incredibly pleased with their airline. Our return flight even landed 30 minutes before our scheduled return time! How often does a flight arrive early?!? I checked us in both ways as soon as I could, and both time we were in the first boarding group. We had no trouble getting seats together. Brady, who is an extremely nervous flyer, survived both trips, but he was a bit clingy both times. It was a lot for me to handle, but I had no time to have my own fears when I was so busy dealing with his.

Transfers: We used Golden West Express to take us from LAX to the Anaheim resort area. Our driver was clearly a smoker (they own their vehicles and although he didn't smoke while we were in the van, you could smell the lingering smoke smell) but I thought he was a competent driver. Dan was watching the speedometer and thought the guy was crazy. Our driver didn't speak much English, so it was a quiet ride. There are many, many shared ride shuttle services that operate at LAX, but I wanted a shuttle that would be waiting specifically for us, and this really wasn't that much more than a shared bus/van. Not sure we'd use Golden West again, but they did their job.

I'm going to save the hotel and food for a separate post, so I'll just skip ahead to our day. We arrived at the Disneyland Resort area by 11 am, and just dumped our stuff at the hotel so we could eat lunch and then enjoy the parks. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so none of that first afternoon is captured on film (or memory card, as would be more appropriate). In retrospect, that might be OK because I sure enjoyed that afternoon.

That evening, we went back to California Adventure to see the Pixar Play parade. We also rode the new-to-us Toy Story Midway Mania ride. What fun!

sounds great so far! Love the photography! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Gidget]

Subscribing! Great Pre-Trip and start of your trip report!!! You have an adorable family.

Love your photos! How did you place them with a border?

 

[QueenDoOver]

Great start. Sounds like a great trip. Wondering if the price of an 8 day hopper is not about the same as an annual pass? Wouldn't it make sense to get the AP for at least one person and get the food discounts? Hmm...can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[BrerMama]

Great start. Sounds like a great trip. Wondering if the price of an 8 day hopper is not about the same as an annual pass? Wouldn't it make sense to get the AP for at least one person and get the food discounts? Hmm...can't wait to hear the rest!

Here on the DIS Boards, I got a lot of suggestions to buy an AP. However, several of the days we wanted to go would have been blocked out and it was almost $100 more for the AP vs. 8 day. The cost of buying 2 black-out passes would not have offset the savings on food. The 8 day passes were really the perfect thing for our family.

 

[gary7n]

Great trip report and great family! We were picked up by SuperShuttle a couple years ago and we thought that driver was crazy as well. We got used to the patterns of Southern California traffic by the time we left.

 

[BrerMama]

sounds great so far! Love the photography! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks! I read the photography thread on the community board and really knew what kind of shots I wanted to get.

Subscribing! Great Pre-Trip and start of your trip report!!! You have an adorable family.

Love your photos! How did you place them with a border?

I use Photoshop Elements. They are actually framed for my blog (where I've also been posting all this), but I digital scrapbook, so I have a ton of different frames I can use.

Great trip report and great family! We were picked up by SuperShuttle a couple years ago and we thought that driver was crazy as well. We got used to the patterns of Southern California traffic by the time we left.

The funny thing is that I sat in the middle and my dh in the passenger seat, and we had 2 completely different experiences. I found the driver to be cautious. DH thought he was insane. Then again, I thought we had two different drivers for the way there and the way back, and the rest of the family assures me it was the same guy.

 

[BrerMama]

On our first full day of the trip, we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. (Actually, you can just rinse and repeat that for every day -- except Wednesday. Honestly, we went to both parks every day that we had admission.)

We had a Magic Morning admission this morning, so we were in the parks an hour before most visitors. We did the Fantasyland marathon -- the newly reopened and refurbished Peter Pan, Matterhorn, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Pinocchio. My kids thought it was fun to do rides that they had never done during our trips to Walt Disney World. This was also the day we did the Mountain Marathon -- Matterhorn, Space, Splash and Big Thunder. My family has this Splash Mountain thing. It's my favorite ride, and Brady and Chesney hate it. Let's make that past tense... they hated it until they rode it at Disneyland. In fact, they loved it so much at DL that when we pulled back into the loading station, there was no line and the cast member working asked if we'd like to go again. We all screamed yes! I bought the photo, but I have a sick feeling it didn't make it home from California.

Unfortunately, we were still having a hard time adjusting to Pacific time. We were all awake about 4:30 am, which meant we had a great time at our Magic Morning, but by early evening we were ready for bed.

And now, for the photographical highlights of our day:

And four of my favorite "atmosphere" shots:

 

[indiesgirl4ever]

Awesome! Did they really enjoy splash more then at WDW? Went to DLR eh, 2 months ago and let me tell you I couldn't take the banging against the sides, that hurt quite a bit, and I feel much safer in the logs at WDW. Hm, maybe it's just me xD Can't wait to here more!

 

[auntiegem]

Enjoying your TR and just subbed. Love your narrative and pictures.

 

[BrerMama]

Awesome! Did they really enjoy splash more then at WDW? Went to DLR eh, 2 months ago and let me tell you I couldn't take the banging against the sides, that hurt quite a bit, and I feel much safer in the logs at WDW. Hm, maybe it's just me xD Can't wait to here more!

My kids hated it at WDW. I did notice the banging that you're talking about, but I was sitting in the front of the boat and saw it coming. I'm not sure if the difference was that my kids have matured for 2 years or if they really just liked it more at DL. I know they liked the way you sit better at DL than WDW... felt safer one behind the other.

Enjoying your TR and just subbed. Love your narrative and pictures.

Thanks for reading!

 

[BrerMama]

Sunday was one of our favorite days of the trip. We started our day at Disneyland. Dan and the big kids were hyped to ride rides, so they went off to do Indiana Jones (which we all loved, just some more than others) while Chesney and I hung out on Main Street to meet characters. She had great fun playing with Pluto, and then we went to meet Alice and the Mad Hatter. I have to say that the Mad Hatter is probably my favorite character ever. He was so fun. He took Chesney's autograph book and had a lot of fun writing her messages in it. The final autograph said, "I will always remember when I met the Mad Hatter and fell in a mud puddle." Ches laughed about that the rest of the day.

About 9:30, we met at the monorail to ride to Downtown Disney. From there we walked over to the Paradise Pier hotel and had a yummy breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. Made to order omelettes, Mickey waffles and pancakes, muffins, hashbrowns, breakfast meats... and while we were eating, we met Lilo, Max, Daisy and Minnie. Stitch took quite awhile to come out, but our waitress knew we were waiting for him and told him he was Chesney's favorite and we'd been waiting awhile, so when he did come back from break, he spent a bunch of time, particularly with Chesney. It was one of the most magical experiences of our trips.

On the way back to the parks, we walked through Downtown Disney, and of course I had to browse the new Little Miss Matched shop. Mykiah fell in love with their lines, just as I have, and we both bought a few trinkets. Or a lot of trinkets. Whatever.

We ran back to California Adventure, hoping to catch seats to the Aladdin show. We were late, and all that was left were single seats scattered through the audience. The girls and I decided to stay, and the boys went off to explore CA some more. After the show, we girls decided we definitely needed to bring the boys back to see it. I've always said that the Lion King show at Animal Kingdom is the best live action Disney show, but I was wrong. I hadn't seen Aladdin yet. Just amazing.

Went back to the pool, then back to Disneyland that night. We were sort of hoping to catch a rehearsal of the fireworks, but I hadn't paid much attention to the rehearsal schedule, and they didn't have any that night. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and riding our favorite rides in the dark. By the time we got back to the hotel (which wasn't too late, maybe 9:30 pm), the kids declared this their favorite Disney day ever.

 

[casiland]

subscribing

 

[indiesgirl4ever]

fun fun! Yeah, Mad Hatter is my personal favorite at the parks also! I remember we were turning a corner at DLR then he just pops out of no where, crawling on the ground with Alice and some kids. It was so cute

 

[BrerMama]

fun fun! Yeah, Mad Hatter is my personal favorite at the parks also! I remember we were turning a corner at DLR then he just pops out of no where, crawling on the ground with Alice and some kids. It was so cute

He's not my favorite in the movies, but definitely my favorite in real life.