A very long time ago, I used to live in Orange County. Disneyland was my second home. My HS choir director was a long time Dapper Dan and the choir sang quite often at holidays and events at Disney..as did many schools in the area. My friends and I would hang out at Disneyland almost every weekend. Admission cost practically nothing in the 70s and someone always had some "B" or "C" tickets floating around if we got tired of wandering around or listening to bands and *needed* to go on a ride. Alas, we moved to the other side of the country right after I graduated from HS. DH, DD and I have been back a couple of times on family vacations and always loved it. Well, now DD will be graduating from high school this spring. Since my baby will be flying the nest, I thought I'd take her to the Happiest Place on Earth one more time before she's..gulp..an adult. Almost. She was beyond excited about the idea! DH will stay home this round; he's not a big traveler--and besides, who'll take care of the pets? 
Considering I just started looking into this about a month ago, I think I got a pretty good deal from Expedia. We'll be staying at the Anaheim Marriott, renting a car and staying 5 nights. The only wild card is the Marriott..I'm hoping it's okay. It was a really good deal, though. I also boutht tickets ahead of time for the park as well as Knott's Berry Farm (another teenage hangout of mine).
I am not overplanning (except in my head!), and am letting DD kind of drive the schedule. We do know it will be very crowded, and are pretty good about going with the flow. Here's what I have so far:
3/24 Monday- arrive late afternoon, check into hotel, hopefully get a few hours in at the park.
3/25 Tuesday- PS at Storyteller's Cafe for Chip 'n' Dale Critter Breakfast.DD loves her some CnD. Hope they're friendly with enthusiastic teenagers! Rest of the day spent at Disneyland with PS at Fantasmic.
3/26 Wednesday- In the morning, head to the beach (Seal or Huntington) for a quick visit, then drive by my old house and hopefully take some pics for my dad. Then, lunch at a sushi place as DD is convinced sushi is better in CA than in Illinois! Afternoon/evening at Knott's
3/27 Thursday- early entry at Disneyland, then go to CA Adventure. I'd like to try Wine Country Trattoria.
3/28 Friday- back to D-land. Maybe Cafe Orleans for a meal? A Monte Cristo would be nice. This will be a relatively early evening as we have a 6:30 ayem flight back home.
DD's other big plans include pictures with characters, buying Disney stuff that can't be found elsewhere and stalking Jack Sparrow. I will be watching her have fun, trying to get over the fact that Casa de Fritos has been gone for over 20 years and I *still* miss it, and drowning my sorrows in a Monte Cristo or a corn dog or the bacon wrapped asparagus at the Bengal Barbecue.
So, California here we come! Hopefully we'll get some good pictures and I'll be able to write a semi coherent, semi clever trip report when we get back.
Thanks all for your awesome ideas, tips and pictures..they really helped us get in the Disney mood!
Considering I just started looking into this about a month ago, I think I got a pretty good deal from Expedia. We'll be staying at the Anaheim Marriott, renting a car and staying 5 nights. The only wild card is the Marriott..I'm hoping it's okay. It was a really good deal, though. I also boutht tickets ahead of time for the park as well as Knott's Berry Farm (another teenage hangout of mine).
I am not overplanning (except in my head!), and am letting DD kind of drive the schedule. We do know it will be very crowded, and are pretty good about going with the flow. Here's what I have so far:
3/24 Monday- arrive late afternoon, check into hotel, hopefully get a few hours in at the park.
3/25 Tuesday- PS at Storyteller's Cafe for Chip 'n' Dale Critter Breakfast.DD loves her some CnD. Hope they're friendly with enthusiastic teenagers! Rest of the day spent at Disneyland with PS at Fantasmic.
3/26 Wednesday- In the morning, head to the beach (Seal or Huntington) for a quick visit, then drive by my old house and hopefully take some pics for my dad. Then, lunch at a sushi place as DD is convinced sushi is better in CA than in Illinois! Afternoon/evening at Knott's
3/27 Thursday- early entry at Disneyland, then go to CA Adventure. I'd like to try Wine Country Trattoria.
3/28 Friday- back to D-land. Maybe Cafe Orleans for a meal? A Monte Cristo would be nice. This will be a relatively early evening as we have a 6:30 ayem flight back home.
DD's other big plans include pictures with characters, buying Disney stuff that can't be found elsewhere and stalking Jack Sparrow. I will be watching her have fun, trying to get over the fact that Casa de Fritos has been gone for over 20 years and I *still* miss it, and drowning my sorrows in a Monte Cristo or a corn dog or the bacon wrapped asparagus at the Bengal Barbecue.
So, California here we come! Hopefully we'll get some good pictures and I'll be able to write a semi coherent, semi clever trip report when we get back.
Thanks all for your awesome ideas, tips and pictures..they really helped us get in the Disney mood!
