Disneyland or Bust: A Mother-Daughter Coastal Road Trip

[courtneybelle]

Tinker Bell from Tinker Bell

 

[afwdwfan]

Yep... Googled it. Never seen that one. I'll leave it for someone else.


Lol got beat anyway.

 

[courtneybelle]

Awww, Hollywood Mickey is just too dapper. Love him.

Looping Animation Academy...you two would fit in GREAT with my mom and sister. And all your pictures are wonderful!! I especially like your Oswald and Willow's Sulley.

 

[afwdwfan]

Oh my! You should. It was a return to hand-drawn animation. And the music is great!

I agree. I thought it was an excellent movie. Reminded me a lot of those early to mid 90's Disney movies. I really felt like this one gets the shift compared to Tangled or Frozen... but I'd say I like it more than either of them.

And then we finally got a Mickey bar and found a seat near Starbucks (Fiddler, Fifer, Whatever - it's Starbucks) to share it.

Mickey bars are always a good thing! But yeah. Starbucks is Starbucks. Even in Disneyland.

She took the opportunity to call her grandmother and tell her that she was sitting on something that made her butt hot.

By the time we had finished with Tigger, our FPs for Soarin' were ready, so we headed over there and got in line at about 3:30.

Good drawings!

I'm glad you both had such a good time drawing the characters!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

You can share a Mickey bar? I'm impressed. It's everyone for themselves in our family when Mickey bars are involved!

Oh, Mickey and goofy look sssoooo cute!

My DH would have loved hanging with you guys--animation drawing class 3 times in a row? That would be his perfect day! Your drawings look great--nice job!

 

[Dugette]

Love the pics with Mickey and Goofy! Such cute outfits!

You guys sure love doing those animations. Nice job! And very cool that Willow got one of the animator's drawings.

 

[chattadisser]

I love Willows Elsa 'do. It looks so good on her.

Yea to multiple animation classes! We love to do the drawings and I love how their "classroom" is themed and so much larger than the one at DHS.

With every update to this TR, I just want to run away to DL!

Christine

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

After Willow's transformation, we headed back into DCA via the Grand Californian entrance

I knew it!!! I have to say, The Grand Cali may be one of the best "shortcuts" ever made. I never did use it to go directly into the park, but it was my short cut of choice daily none the less.

Ack, I love meeting Mickey in different outfits. There was a time when I found it frustrating not being able to find "regular" Mickey. But having seen so many different outfits now, I love all the variety.

Wow, I actualy do remember that Hot Dog place. You do not forget that name.

OMG you drew Oswald. Nothing else I can say. That is just awesome!!

Goodness how suave is Goofy? You'd think with a name like Goofy there is no way he could pull that off. But that is one Dapper Dog.

 

[pkondz]

Two points!!! It was indeed Lilo!

Score! And I just guessed. I figured the main speaking character would give me a decent shot.
But I'm like Andy on the next update... too late and never seen it.

When it comes to rides, this is completely true. She LOVES speed!!!!

That's a good kid ya got there.
Never take for granted a kid that'll go on rides that you actually want to go on!

Willow has actually never been able to stand wearing one of these styles (read: BBB bun) overnight. I think we just lucked out with a stylist who did not make it too tight and yet very durable. She was never uncomfortable, and it stayed put very well - and was perfect for the hot days we had, keeping her hair off of her neck.

Yup. I get it.
Mine?
DD#1: "Braid my hair!!!"
DD#2: "Don't touch my hair!!!"

Pfft - Willow will have her flinging her arms in the air throughout the whole ride if given enough opportunities!

I will accept photographic proof only.

Going back to read... possibly later. I've got a long night ahead of me and my update's already done.
(just not posted)

 

[shan23877]

Awesome animation classes! You guys did some great drawings!

Love the reason for the phone call

Oh Goofy. I adore that dog...

 

[KatMark]

Yay for TOT (my favorite), a hot dog and a kiss from Mickey.

Caught up again. Love the make-over...how very cool (although you have me now very curious about the change-over).

Great pictures with Mickey and Goofy.

 

[pkondz]

"The mouse's name is Cheese?"

Well I'm glad someone else already guessed, because I would've picked Ratatouille.

I think this hotel is just gorgeous!

Wow! I had no idea! That's really beautiful.

We grabbed FPs for Soarin' on the way by.

Because... Soarin'.

(Sorry - no recollection what their name is.)

Loved this band! But not enough to know their name or even take a picture.

Willow had a seat for a bit while I waited in line.

"Mom! Mom! I really want to do this! I'll do anything if I can do this!"
"But you stand in line while I relax, okay?"

She took the opportunity to call her grandmother and tell her that she was sitting on something that made her butt hot.

There are certain things that grandmothers are good for, right?

Oh, looks like I got a picture from over here of what Award Wieners looks like

A hot dog? At a place called... wait... didn't we do this already?

Interesting. At WDW they have long tables for you to draw on, except for the front row.

And we got to draw Oswald!

Cool!
All the pictures you guys drew were really good.
And I agree that Willow's Tigger was the best of them.

At the end of every class, they have everyone hold up their drawings and tell everyone how great they did.

Really? I like that!
At WDW, when we finished, everyone just got up and left.

The drawing animator then usually gives his or her drawing to someone in the audience.

Don't remember if our animator did that or not.
He might have, but I might have left by then. Dunno.

Well, this time Willow was chosen, and she was so excited to get to take home the animator's drawing of Sully.

Good for her! And I bet she was excited!

After that fun, what do you think we did?

Well, no more drawing, that's for sure!

Of course, we turned around and went into the next class!

we saw Goofy out meeting guests and, of course, had to stop and say hi!

Well, of course! Hello! Goofy!

 

[hstrickland]

Yikes... I was so far behind. All caught up once again...at least for a few days I actually had to go back and reread because it had been so long since I was on the Dis. Love pictures of Willow! She seems like such a fun kid....always smiling.

Keep the beautiful photographs coming

 

[librarygeek]

Willow's hair looks so cute! And I love Mickey and Goofy in their old Hollywood outfits.

I love the drawing class! I'm just like Willow, I could do it over and over again

 

[RGirl]

Tinker Bell from Tinker Bell

You have officially taken the lead!!!

Yep... Googled it. Never seen that one. I'll leave it for someone else.

Lol got beat anyway.

Awww, Hollywood Mickey is just too dapper. Love him.

My obsession with characters in different outfits is always catered to at DCA.

Looping Animation Academy...you two would fit in GREAT with my mom and sister. And all your pictures are wonderful!! I especially like your Oswald and Willow's Sulley.

The Animation Academy was definitely the surprise hit of the trip - I think we were both surprised at how much we enjoyed it.

I agree. I thought it was an excellent movie. Reminded me a lot of those early to mid 90's Disney movies. I really felt like this one gets the shift compared to Tangled or Frozen... but I'd say I like it more than either of them.

I really enjoyed Tangled and Frozen as well, But PatF is really one of my all-time favorites. I love the music, and I love what a strong character Tiana is.

Mickey bars are always a good thing! But yeah. Starbucks is Starbucks. Even in Disneyland.

I mean, if I'm going to go to Starbucks, I'd prefer it be in Disneyland, but yeah.....

Good drawings!

I'm glad you both had such a good time drawing the characters!

Thanks! It was a surprisingly fun experience for us.

 

[RGirl]

You can share a Mickey bar? I'm impressed. It's everyone for themselves in our family when Mickey bars are involved!

Willow definitely gets about 90% of it, but I do enjoy a bite of an ear or two!

Oh, Mickey and goofy look sssoooo cute!

I just love their Hollywood-wear!

My DH would have loved hanging with you guys--animation drawing class 3 times in a row? That would be his perfect day! Your drawings look great--nice job!

Thanks! I couldn't believe how much we enjoyed those classes. Definitely something we'll continue to do. How cool that your husband loves them too!

Love the pics with Mickey and Goofy! Such cute outfits!

Aren't they so cute????

You guys sure love doing those animations. Nice job! And very cool that Willow got one of the animator's drawings.

It was really a nice surprise how much we enjoyed the classes. I never would have expected!

I love Willows Elsa 'do. It looks so good on her.

Thanks! I was really impressed with the styles at Studio Disney.

Yea to multiple animation classes! We love to do the drawings and I love how their "classroom" is themed and so much larger than the one at DHS.

We have never done the class at DHS. I hope we won't be disappointed!

With every update to this TR, I just want to run away to DL!

You are going to love it there so much!!!!

 

[RGirl]

I knew it!!! I have to say, The Grand Cali may be one of the best "shortcuts" ever made. I never did use it to go directly into the park, but it was my short cut of choice daily none the less.

Isn't it great??? We never use it to get into the park at opening - rope drop is more successful from the front, but we almost always exit that way (unless heading back over to DL) and to enter in a situation like this in the afternoon. So nice!

Ack, I love meeting Mickey in different outfits. There was a time when I found it frustrating not being able to find "regular" Mickey. But having seen so many different outfits now, I love all the variety.

Oh, I have a teeny-tiny obsession with seeing characters in different outfits. Honestly, I think that's the biggest draw of DCL cruises for me!!!

Wow, I actualy do remember that Hot Dog place. You do not forget that name.

OMG you drew Oswald. Nothing else I can say. That is just awesome!!

Yeah, I was pretty excited! And it provided a great opportunity to educate Willow about Oswald (which the animator did). That served us well during the next trip.....

Goodness how suave is Goofy? You'd think with a name like Goofy there is no way he could pull that off. But that is one Dapper Dog.

Goofy is a complex fellow, Rob.

Score! And I just guessed. I figured the main speaking character would give me a decent shot.
But I'm like Andy on the next update... too late and never seen it.

Very impressive deductive skills!

That's a good kid ya got there.
Never take for granted a kid that'll go on rides that you actually want to go on!

Yeah, I'm not sure I would have adapted well to a child who was afraid of rides.

Yup. I get it.
Mine?
DD#1: "Braid my hair!!!"
DD#2: "Don't touch my hair!!!"

I will accept photographic proof only.

And I am on a mission to get just that!

 

[RGirl]

Awesome animation classes! You guys did some great drawings!

Thanks! I was surprised at how fun these were.

Love the reason for the phone call

I knew you would enjoy that.

Oh Goofy. I adore that dog...

I love Goofy - especially when he's all Hollywood-style or tuxedo'ed on the cruise. So cute!

Yay for TOT (my favorite), a hot dog and a kiss from Mickey.

Yep - that's some good old fashioned Disney fun right there!

Caught up again. Love the make-over...how very cool (although you have me now very curious about the change-over).

I was very impressed with the hair styles offered. And you should be hearing about the shop changes very soon on the other TR as we hit the place early.

Great pictures with Mickey and Goofy.

Thanks! I just love the DCA outfits the characters wear.

Well I'm glad someone else already guessed, because I would've picked Ratatouille.

Loved this band! But not enough to know their name or even take a picture.

To be fair, I don't think they really advertise the name!

"Mom! Mom! I really want to do this! I'll do anything if I can do this!"
"But you stand in line while I relax, okay?"

There are certain things that grandmothers are good for, right?

Apparently!

Interesting. At WDW they have long tables for you to draw on, except for the front row.

Interesting - I'm intrigued to try the DHS version. I hope we like it as much as the DCA one!

Cool!
All the pictures you guys drew were really good.
And I agree that Willow's Tigger was the best of them.

Thanks!

Really? I like that!
At WDW, when we finished, everyone just got up and left.

Oh, that's too bad! It was fun to look around and see everyone else's drawings.

Don't remember if our animator did that or not.
He might have, but I might have left by then. Dunno.

I hope they do it - it's a really nice touch!

Well, of course! Hello! Goofy!

You'd be crazy to pass up Hollywood Goofy!

 

[RGirl]

Yikes... I was so far behind. All caught up once again...at least for a few days I actually had to go back and reread because it had been so long since I was on the Dis. Love pictures of Willow! She seems like such a fun kid....always smiling.

Hey there, Heather! It's great to see you. I know how busy life gets.....

Keep the beautiful photographs coming

Thanks! Hoping to wrap this one up here pretty quickly!

Willow's hair looks so cute! And I love Mickey and Goofy in their old Hollywood outfits.

Hey Becky! It's great to see you again. And we can never resist Hollywood Mickey or Goofy (or Pluto, although I guess we didn't catch him this day).

I love the drawing class! I'm just like Willow, I could do it over and over again

I was really surprised we enjoyed it so much - we will definitely do that any chance we get!

 

[RGirl]

My apologies for the semi-long delay in updates here. Willow's spring break was this week, so we spent much of the week vacationing on the Oregon Coast. I may do a little mini-TR about that trip on my other DLR TR once I get pictures organized and stuff. But let's continue on with this TR for now!

The Contest: First person to provide the movie title from which the chapter heading comes gets a point; two points if the character who utters the line is also identified. If the first person doesn’t name the character, the first poster to do so will get a point.

Current Standing:
Courtney (courtneybelle): 23 points
Jill (jedijill): 22 points
pkondz: 17 points
Megan (MonsterWDWmom): 2 points
Shannon (shan23877): 8 points
Lori (STLMickeyMom): 4 points
petals: 1 point
Rob (DisneyKid4Life): 6 points
Dugette: 6 points
Kathy (KatMark): 2 points
Andy (afwdwfan): 6 points
Rory (Woodskeeper): 1 point
Gracefulskinny: 2 points

"Royalty. Nobility. Gentry. How quaint. Even the rabble."​

Day 13E - Wednesday, 6 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort

After our meeting with Goofy, we headed out of DCA as we had dinner reservations in DL tonight.

​

It was a few minutes after 4 when we entered DL, and we realized that the parade was going on. Amazingly, we were able to snag a spot on the curb right outside City Hall. We are not usually big parade people - we will sometimes watch them when we're in the right place at the right time, and DL does have VERY good parades - but Willow was actually really, really wanting to see the DL parade this trip because she had learned that it was now featuring a pre-parade float with Anna and Elsa!!!! And we were just in time.

​

Willow stood up and waved at Anna (in her Anna dress, of course), and she really lucked out because Anna spotted her and waved directly at her. Willow was quite pleased with the whole A&E pre-parade float.

​

Hey look, folks! Willow does really eat decent food - I told you!

​

Soon, the rest of the parade started going by, and we really enjoyed it all. Willow really lucked out with a lot of characters spotting her and acknowledging her. So much so that the woman sitting next to me commented on it. I really just think it was luck or possibly it just shows on her face how truly excited she is when she sees her favorite characters. Whatever it is, we had a great time. And now for total picture overload…..

​

Probably the best character interaction Willow had, however, was when her old friend Bert stopped his carousel horse and chatted with her for several seconds.

​

Up Next: Day 13F