Disneyland and Comic-Con July 2010 PTR

[radiatorsprings]

I decided to start my pre-trip report (first ever!) for my July trip. I was hesitant to start it so early because my life isn't as interesting as all of yours but I will try to update at least once every couple weeks so that this post won't get lost into DIS oblivion. But who knows? Maybe I'll find out I have a lot more things to talk about than I thought. Anyway, on to the PTR!'

Index
Introduction
Beginning to Plan
Planned Schedule
Touring plan for 7/23

The Plan
Trip Dates: July 23 through July 27
Hotel: the Howard Johnson
Days in the park: 23rd, 25th, 26th, and 27th
Other plans: San Diego Comic-Con on the 24th

Cast of Characters
Tiffani (Me!) - 24 years old; been to Disneyland 5 times; fur-mom to two Chihuahuas; works at Michaels; originally from the East Bay Area but now living about 30 minutes from Sacramento; loves Pixar movies

Roberto (my boyfriend who I live with) - 25 years old; been to Disneyland a few times and Walt Disney World once; fur-dad; unemployed at the moment; originally from Vallejo; loves PS3 and XBox 360, comics, and action figures.

(Sorry, no pictures right now as I forgot the password to my photobucket account. I will post some soon though.)

The History Behind the Trip
My bf and I have been together for 5 years almost (Valentine's Day is our anniversary ). We just moved in together at the end of last summer, but we still live with his mom because we cannot afford our own place yet. It's ok though, his mom is nice and not a problem to live with. We first went to DLR together in February 2008 to watch his niece who had a cheerleading championship at DCA! She performed in the theater where they have the Aladdin show. We only spent two days in the parks that trip but it ended up being two half days because we spent half of the first day driving there and half of the second day sleeping in I know, I know, we were bad, right? But that was before I discovered the DISboards. My previous trips to DLR included a trip in 2004, GradNite in 2003, and a trip in 1988 or 1989 that I don't remember because I was too young.

In the summer of 2008, my bf and I decided that we wanted to go back to DLR because we had so much fun there but didn't get to spend that much time inside the actual parks in February. Also, we have always been with family and had to do what everyone else wanted to do. I started searching on Google for tips to help plan DL vacations and I came upon DIS. That's when the obsession started Ever since then I've been on the boards almost every day. Anyway I started reading all the tips including Fastpass, the benefits of staying across the street on Harbor, and the benefits of getting to the gates before opening. When two of our co-workers went in August of 2008 we decided that we had to go back and that we would go in November for my birthday. We bought our 3-day park-hoppers in August and then started saving for our trip while I read up on all the tips DIS had to offer. Here's my trip report (with pictures) from that trip if you want to read it: Birthday Trip Report

That was the last time we were there. We started planning another trip within the few months after we came back from that one but it ended up not happening. We were planning on going for my birthday so that I could take advantage of the fun card but instead my boyfriend bribed me with a second puppy instead of going to DLR It was a toughie but we didn't have money for both and I really wanted that puppy. So we got the second puppy and the trip was put off. So we had two puppies to raise and moving to a new apartment to deal with. Then in August my boyfriend decided he wanted to go to Comic-Con in 2010. So I said "Sure, we can go...as long as we go to Disneyland too!" He agreed and that's how this trip was created.


My legs are falling asleep because I have a dog asleep on my lap so I will continue this tomorrow starting from how I began planning the dates for this trip.

 

[Belle Ella]

I'll be tagging along I love the idea of doing both Comic-Con and Disneyland.

 

[goofycathy]

I'm tagging along as well, cant wait to read more!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Sounds like a good start....can't wait to read more!!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I'll be tagging along I love the idea of doing both Comic-Con and Disneyland.

Same here!

 

[radiatorsprings]

Wow, I have readers

Anyway, where was I? I was going to talk about how I decided on the dates for this trip. Well, this is going to be a long story because we have changed the dates around so much.

So when my boyfriend (DBF) decided he wanted to go to Comic-Con, I asked him how many days he wanted to go to the actual convention. For those of you that don't know Comic-Con has a preview night Wednesday, then the actual convention is Thursday, Friday, Saturday (the busiest day), and Sunday. DBF decided we were going to try for two days: Saturday and Sunday. So I went online to the Comic-Con official site to see when the dates were going to be for 2010. Btw, this was in, I think, August or September so the 2009 one just happened not too long before. If I remember correctly, they already had announced the dates as July 22 through 25, 2010. However, you couldn't buy the tickets yet and they hadn't announced when the tickets would be going on sale.

So while we waited we tried to plan our dates for Disneyland around the Comic-Con dates. Since we were planning on going to Comic-Con on the 24 and 25, we first planned to go to Disneyland for 3 days after, the 26, 27, and 28. We were planning on driving to San Diego on Friday the 23rd and staying in a San Diego hotel Friday and Saturday night. Then we would move to Anaheim on Sunday after the convention and stay there Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. So with the dates semi-planned I decided to make our budget to see how much we needed to save up. I started saving for the trip in October 2009 (very early, I know, but I have a part-time job so I don't make a lot of money at once).

First I had to look for a hotel in San Diego, which I didn't know a thing about. (I already knew I wanted to stay at Hojo when we were in Anaheim). I started looking on hotels.com, expedia, and trip advisor, to see what kind of hotels San Diego had and how much they would cost for our dates. Well, lets just say I had this face when I saw how much the hotels were that are near the convention center. Well, I searched and searched and I found two or three relatively inexpensive but not dirty-looking hotels in the area. I jotted their names down in my travel notes, and kept checking to see if I could find a better one. The least expensive one I could find that did not have really bad reviews was about $109 a night.

So we kept checking the Comic-Con site and they announced the sale of the 4 day passes first. We were only going two days so we had to wait until they announced when they were selling the single day tickets. Finally, they announced that they would go on sale December 15. Meanwhile the 4 day passes sold out quickly. We were scared that the single day tickets would sell out quicker so DBF requested the 15th off of work so he could be on the site right when they started selling them. When the day was getting closer we realized we were kinda broke because of Xmas shopping so we made the decision to only go on Saturday. So DBF got a ticket for each of us for Saturday and we saw that they sold out the next day

So since we weren't going to Comic-Con on Sunday, I moved up our Disneyland days by one day. So we would be going Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to DL and we would drive home Wednesday. So we were planning on staying San Diego one night. Well after a while of going back and forth we decided to just stay at the Hojo all nights of our trip and drive down to San Diego for Comic-Con. We decided to do this to save money and so we wouldn't have to move hotels. When I thought about how we would be in Anaheim on the Friday but wouldn't go in DL until Sunday, I decided we would get a 4 day parkhopper since it was only $15 more (online price) for the extra day and we could go to the parks for part of Friday. My boyfriend agreed (well, I should say he just went along with it). I planned for us to leave Friday early morning from our apartment near Sacramento and get to Anaheim in the morning.

At the beginning of January, I had booked Hojo at the DIS discount rate for the 3 nights we were going to be staying after we left San Diego. So I had to cancel that reservation and make a new one for all five nights of our trip. Within two weeks of making that reservation we decided to cut the last night off of our hotel so that we would save money by just driving home after the parks on Tuesday. We came to this decision because we were planning on getting APs so we figured we will be coming back for at least one more trip within the next year. So I had to cancel the reservation again and I made another for 4 nights at the AP discount rate

We decided to participate in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion so that we can upgrade the free ticket voucher to a Deluxe AP. We are making no sew fleece blankets for kids who are in hospitals. We finished one of them last night. It took two hours but it was kinda fun. Once we are done we are going to drop them off; our deadline to turn them in is February 26 but we will probably turn them in sooner. And they said within two weeks after our deadline, we will receive our vouchers. I'm excited!


So now you guys are all up to date on our plans. Hopefully that wasn't too long/boring/confusing for you. I bought three books from BarnesandNoble.com Sunday night: a Disneyland Encyclopedia, the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2010, and the Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland. Once I get them I will post pictures and let you know how awesome they are. Also on the next update, I will post my plans so far for our travel days. Thanks for reading!

 

[Belle Ella]

A lot of info, for sure Things can get crazy during the planning, huh?

I recently picked up the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2010 and and the Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland as well. Reading though the UG right now. I love having something to do that makes me feel productive. I'm dying to crack open the IFG but I want to finish one before starting another, lol.

 

[radiatorsprings]

Look what I got!

My books came already, even though they were in separate shipments. They are awesome, I already finished the Imagineering Field Guide, and now I'm on to the Disneyland Encyclopedia. I like how the Imagineering Guide tells you a lot about why and how the attractions and lands were made the way they were. I'm learning a lot about old attractions that no longer exist from the DL Encyclopedia, it's very interesting.

I also bought a new Camelbak for my trip since my old one has cat pee on it from my mom's house. If you don't know what a Camelbak is, it's a small backpack with a water pouch in it and you drink out of it thru a tube. I used to use my old one when I went dirt-bike riding; it was good to have one when I was riding on trails for a couple of hours and you could drink out of it without having to remove your helmet. Well, I brought it with me to DL last time I went because it helps me stay hydrated without having to spend a lot of money, plus I hate the taste of Dasani water. It is also useful for holding all my stuff when I'm in the parks so I don't have to carry a heavy purse on my shoulder.


Anyway, I wanted to share my plans that I have so far. Right now, I mostly just planned our meal times so that we know how much to save for food. Please give me any advice on these plans, especially regarding the times I have our meals in the parks scheduled. I was trying to schedule our meals at non-peak eating times so that the restaurants won't be too crowded but I don't really know what time they open or close. Also I'm assuming DL will be open 8AM to midnight but I'm not sure.

Friday 7/23/10

• Wake up at 1:00AM
• Get dressed and load car, leave by 2:00AM, eat snack in car
• Stop in Santa Clarita for fast food breakfast
• Take 210 to 57 to DLR
• Arrive at HoJo around 9:00AM
• Walk to DLR ticket booth to exchange GAD voucher for AP
• Enter DL first to process APs and stay till noon
• Parkhop to DCA around noon
• Lunch at White Water Snacks at 1:00PM
• Go back to HoJo when room is ready to unpack and rest
• Go back to the parks if we're not too tired/park is not too busy
• Sandwiches for dinner in hotel room, go to sleep early

Saturday 7/24/10 DL Black-out day for DAPs

• Wake up at 5:00AM, eat breakfast in hotel room
• Leave for San Diego by 6:00AM
• Comic-Con badge pick-up starts at 8:30AM
• Bring snacks and lunch in backpack
• Comic-Con ends around 7:00PM
• Drive back to HoJo
• Dinner at Rainforest Cafe in DTD between 9:00 and 10:00PM

Sunday 7/25/10

• Wake up at 6:00AM, eat breakfast in hotel room
• Leave room by 7:00AM, walk to DL gates
• Eat pretzels/churros around 11:00AM
• Parkhop to DCA around noon
• Take a break at hotel from 3:00 to 7:00PM, eat lunch in room
• Dinner at Cafe Orleans at 8:00PM

Monday 7/26/10

• Wake up at 6:00AM, eat breakfast in hotel room
• Leave room by 7:00AM, walk to DL gates
• Snack at Bengal BBQ at 11:00AM
• Parkhop to DCA around noon
• Break at hotel from 3:00 to 7:00PM, eat lunch in room
• Dinner at Carnation Cafe at 8:00PM

Tuesday 7/27/10

• Wake up at 6:00AM, eat breakfast in hotel room
• Leave room by 7:00AM, check out of HoJo and leave bags, walk to DL gates
• Parkhop to DCA, lunch at Wine Country Trattoria around 11:00AM
• Leave DL at 2:00PM
• Pick up bags from HoJo's and drive home
• Get home around 9:00PM

Thanks for reading

 

[DizNee Luver]

Looks like a good plan....but I imagine you'll be a bit tired!!

So I saw you had a different route from Santa Clarita to DLR.......tell me, is there a better (quicker, less traffic) than staying on I-5 all the way to the resort???? Any tips would be awesome. We always travel I-5 from Oregon to DL & the 2 hour drive thru the LA area is extremely stressful.

So not really sure what Comic-Con is.....is this comedians or comic books??? What do you do at these conventions??

You'll love the Disneyland Encyclopedia book if you're into trivia & history....it's packed full of info on the park & people involved.

 

[radiatorsprings]

Looks like a good plan....but I imagine you'll be a bit tired!!

So I saw you had a different route from Santa Clarita to DLR.......tell me, is there a better (quicker, less traffic) than staying on I-5 all the way to the resort???? Any tips would be awesome. We always travel I-5 from Oregon to DL & the 2 hour drive thru the LA area is extremely stressful.

So not really sure what Comic-Con is.....is this comedians or comic books??? What do you do at these conventions??

You'll love the Disneyland Encyclopedia book if you're into trivia & history....it's packed full of info on the park & people involved.

Last time I went I tried out the 210 to 57 route for the first time. I wouldn't say it's a shortcut because it feels like the same distance, but it is a lot less stressful. I get so stressed out driving in traffic because of merging and also being stuck in one spot forever. I would rather take a longer route than being stuck in traffic.

Comic-Con is a comic book convention. They sell comic books and action figures there and they also have panels of comic book creators and movie makers and stars that you can watch. It should be fun but I'm kind of scared of how crowded it's gonna be. My boyfriend is the one that's into comics and action figures but I heard they also have Disney stuff there too. Last year I think Johnny Depp was there too.

 

[splash5]

We are doing Comic con and Disney in July too! We got 4 day passes to comic con and then we are doing disney for a few days. It was going to be 4 days disney, but then we decided to go to disney for spring break (oh yeah!). I am looking forward to seeing what comic con is all about. This part of the trip was started by my DH and DS (15).

 

[radiatorsprings]

We are doing Comic con and Disney in July too! We got 4 day passes to comic con and then we are doing disney for a few days. It was going to be 4 days disney, but then we decided to go to disney for spring break (oh yeah!). I am looking forward to seeing what comic con is all about. This part of the trip was started by my DH and DS (15).

Oh wow, you got the 4 day passes. My bf and I have never been so we just wanted to start with one day and then maybe next year we will go to the whole thing. I'm scared it's gonna be crazy crowded, LOL.

 

[radiatorsprings]

Just wanted to check in (since I haven't updated in a while) and say there are 150 days left till my trip!

Sorry, it felt like a milestone to me!

 

[Belle Ella]

Just wanted to check in (since I haven't updated in a while) and say there are 150 days left till my trip!

Sorry, it felt like a milestone to me!

It's an awesome milestone!!

 

[goofycathy]

I can tell you (from recent experience ) that the time will fly by! cant wait till you get back and share your pics!

 

[lcasa]

Good job watching the Comic-con tix so closely - I've gone nearly every year for 18 years or so and never have seen them sell out so fast - may have to skip this year.

Leaving at 6 to get down there is very smart. I've done that the last 2 years (from elsewhere in Orange County) and have had no trouble. On the other hand I heard of folks getting stuck in 5 hour traffic jams who left closer to 8. I've even been able to park close. However - if there is some hot program in Hall H you want to see at 10, line ups can start earlier - last year for the Lost panel I heard people that were in line after 6 or so didn't even make it in. Any event in Hall H requires hours of waiting in line.

There will be events Saturday evening - usually the masquerade contest is held then. So you may want to stay later.

For hotels - comicon gets deals - watch the site. Just like the tix, you'll have to be on-line when they go on sale to get a room. Not as cheap as they used to be, but much better than rack rates -the hotels know they can raise the prices that weekend. You may want to try for the 1 Sat night because it is exhausting, but I've driven down and back the same day so it is do-able.

 

[radiatorsprings]

Good job watching the Comic-con tix so closely - I've gone nearly every year for 18 years or so and never have seen them sell out so fast - may have to skip this year.

Leaving at 6 to get down there is very smart. I've done that the last 2 years (from elsewhere in Orange County) and have had no trouble. On the other hand I heard of folks getting stuck in 5 hour traffic jams who left closer to 8. I've even been able to park close. However - if there is some hot program in Hall H you want to see at 10, line ups can start earlier - last year for the Lost panel I heard people that were in line after 6 or so didn't even make it in. Any event in Hall H requires hours of waiting in line.

There will be events Saturday evening - usually the masquerade contest is held then. So you may want to stay later.

For hotels - comicon gets deals - watch the site. Just like the tix, you'll have to be on-line when they go on sale to get a room. Not as cheap as they used to be, but much better than rack rates -the hotels know they can raise the prices that weekend. You may want to try for the 1 Sat night because it is exhausting, but I've driven down and back the same day so it is do-able.

I'm glad you said you were able to get close parking by leaving early. That is the one thing I am afraid of: not getting parking.

They already posted the special rates of the hotels on the comic con website but I just didn't see that good of a deal and I just figured instead of switching hotels, we would just stay in Anaheim.

 

[radiatorsprings]

So HoJo updated the Entertainment/AP rates today for the fall but no July dates yet. I'm getting impatient wanting to see July dates up. I've been checking almost every day.

Oh well, we have already budgeted for the amount without the discount so even if they don't add any of my dates, it's ok I guess. If they do though, I'll have some extra spending money!

One of the reasons DBF and I are getting APs in July is so that we can go back in October to see the Halloween decorations (I especially hope they have the Space Mountain overlay again). Now that HoJo added the $59 rates today, we are already starting to plan an October visit. I tried the sd50 code on the HoJo site today but it didn't work even though the dates that we picked are up for the discount so I guess I will have to call.

We also may be going in April 2011 because DBF's nephew might be playing in his HS band at DL again. We missed him last year when he played there so we are excited for next year and our APs will still be valid for that time. So if he's there in April, we'll be there.


In other news...our Give A Day volunteer date was this past Friday. We dropped the blankets off last Tuesday so now we are just waiting for the organization to verify our service and we should be getting our vouchers soon. I know they say that it can take 2 weeks but I've been reading on here that people have been getting them in 4 or 5 days so I'm excited. I just need to find someone with a printer I can use because my dogs chewed through my printer's power cord (luckily it wasn't plugged in at the time) and I can't find a replacement right now.

 

[ChickenCarlos]

I went to disneyland for 3 days then comic-con for four days last year in '09 and it was the best trip ever, plus when we were in disneyland we saw alot of stars, obviously doing the same thing, we saw the taylor guy from twilight, simon pegg, judd apatow, seth rogen, josh jackson, and the director of legion, i cant remember his name. but we saw them at disneyland through out the week then again, at the con. so make sure to have your cameras ready. and have a great time.

 

[Belle Ella]

It only took the 4/5 days for me to get my GAD voucher, hopefully it doesn't take yours any longer than that. It's nice to actually be in possesion of it, you know? Even though we still have so much time before July rolls around.

As for getting the Ent. rate at the HOJO, I would always call rather than trying to book it through their website. It seems like it's real hit or miss online whether it's going to work or not online. I wish the dates I had first picked for October would work for me because they showed up as the Ent. rate. GRR. Why, oh why, can't they give us July yet, lol.