Do you remember your last visit to DL?

[Elk Grove Chris]

Our last trip was Super Bowl weekend. My DW asked if I would rather stay home and watch the game or celebrate my 50th at DL, easy choice. We are huge Star Wars fans so we were super excited for ROTR. I was able to also go the week after ROTR opened, I added a few days on at the end of a conference and was blown away at how excellent it was.

DW also surprised me with two solo days before they came down. DW and DS came down Friday evening and our DD joined us from Long Beach. We did the Chef's counter at Napa Rose that night-sooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooooood. All evening I was hyping them up for ROTR.

Next day, DS and I were through security at 6:15 and still had huge lines in front of us. DW and DD met us near Town Hall at 7:50 for an 8am opening. I thought ok, I got this, I was able to get really low BGs for ROTR last recon trip. I was able to get BG 3, 10, and 22 on consecutive days. Then the two solo days I had this week I got BG 23 and 12. This day was not the same. Not sure what happened, but when everyone started doing a countdown my phone decided it was going to do a hard restart. A frantic five minutes later and I got back in and a BG of 120, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I felt really bad for my DS in particular since he was really into Star Wars and let them all know we probably were not going to get on the ride today and could try again tomorrow.

We had a really good day in the parks and decided to go back to the rooms for a bit of a rest around 4. I had been watching the boarding groups all day and there were no major break downs. When we decided to go back to the parks around 5:30 they were up to BG 100. I didn't say anything just in case. We strolled back to SWGE so they could see everything at night and the cool lights. Around 6:15 our BG got called and I started moving us in that direction. They were a bit puzzled when we moved to the line and then I showed them our BG up on my phone. YAY.

Everyone was just as amazed as I was at ROTR, so well done Disney. No phone mishaps on Sunday, we got BG 20. However, there were a lot of shutdowns. We got on around 1:30 and enjoyed it all again. It was a great trip and I am so glad they got to see ROTR before things closed. I honestly doubt we will go for a while even when things do open up, so grateful for those trips early this year.

 

[deejdigsdis]

I have so enjoyed reading everyone's Last Trip Memories! I know it's not planning-related, but I wish this thread could have stayed on the main board so more people would see it and respond. I have loved getting choked up over the Disneyland memories of complete strangers.

As for me, my last trip was January 29-30, 2020. I flew in from out of state and met my sister for 80s Nite on the 29th. I didn't have plans to buy a day ticket for the 29th - I just planned to enter the park at 6pm with my event ticket. Last minute I made what I called at the time a "financially irresponsible decision" and bought a day ticket that would only be used for 5 - 6 hours. (Best financially irresponsible decision I ever made!) I sneaked up behind my sister who was eating at Jolly Holiday and surprised her. (She was expecting to meet me at DTD for a late lunch). We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon, mostly taking in the atmosphere. I remember riding the Omnibus and noticing guests scattered throughout the crowds wearing Kobe Bryant jerseys. He passed away a few days earlier. We ate at French Market for the first time and loved it. We rode the train full circle and got excited when we saw the Videopolis sign up in the Fantasyland theater. We ate cake pops on the Main Street curb and talked about what 80s songs we hoped to hear at 80s Nite. We danced the night away at Videopolis. 80s Nite was more fun than we could have ever imagined. It's not every day you get to dance to The B-52's "Rock Lobster" in The Hub! The next morning we headed to the park early in hopes of securing a ROTR boarding group that would allow us to ride before leaving for the airport. Boarding Group 1! Woo Hoo! I went into it with zero spoilers (other than seeing the Stormtroopers picture). It was such a fun and unique experience. I can't wait to ride again and I'm not even a Star Wars fan.

I am so grateful for memories of time spent at my happy place!

 

[cruisehopeful]

My last visit was valentine's day. I rented 2 nights from an owner at VGC. My husband spent one night with me and my daughter met up with me the following day. I had a nearby timeshare booked for March 14th for a week. When my daughter and I said our goodbyes in February, we had a list of everything that we were going to do on March 14th when we would be back there together.

 

[ursookrazie]

My last visit was Thanksgiving weekend of 2019. My boyfriend and I live in northern California and we spent Thanksgiving with our families in San Diego. We knew we were going to spend that weekend at the parks because I needed my Disney fix. We grew up in SD so Disneyland used to be a bi-weekly thing for us. We started off the morning with brunch at Oga's Cantina and did some smaller stuff with his niece. Right before lunch, we watched the marching band play in front of the castle because we wanted to take castle pictures. Little did I know that my boyfriend was planning on proposing! I'm so glad his sister was there to take pictures and video, as well as the wonderful photographers there too. The rest of the day, I couldn't stop smiling and everything just seemed so beautiful.

The next day, my sisters were already planning on coming to meet with us. We met them in front of the castle and surprise! Our parents came too! We all took pictures in front of the castle with me showing off my ring. My sister told my fiance, "You could have waited to propose until we were here, but it's okay. I'm not mad." She was a little mad lol It was so amazing to have both of our families together in the parks. Both of our nieces are the same age and they're best friends, my sisters are happy to finally have a brother, and our parents enjoyed sitting in the shade while us "kids" ran around and rode rides.

We were supposed to go back in March, but they closed the parks the week before our trip. I was so sad/mad about it but I can't deny that it was a memorable last trip. I really need my Disney fix again, but I'm glad there's at least DTD to breathe in the Disney air. Through a mask, of course.

 

[LoriLovesMickey]

Our last trip was November 2018. Just me and my hubby. We like going when the Christmas decorations are up and the weather was great, we wore shorts the whole time. We bought MaxPass and used the photo pass to get some great Christmas shots. We even used one of them for our Christmas card last year. We didn't make it back in 2019 because we had some Caribbean trips booked instead. I was anxiously waiting to go in 2020 when everything changed. I grabbed some PH when they announced the July opening and had 3 separate hotel bookings. Now I am trying to figure it I should book a room sometime late November early December.

Disneyland has always been my happy place. I know it is crowded and expensive, but there is just something so special about walking in and seeing this sign "Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy." Something so special about the snow after the fireworks, hearing the music, eating a churro, seeing the characters, riding my favorites rides over and over, and just taking it all in! Whoever thought this all could happen?

Thanks for starting this post @WonkaKid, it has made me smile.

 

[kikismom]

Ooh I love this thread.

March 4, 2020. We were down the five days before that for a girls trip, came from Washington. Our flight ended up being delayed six hours so we had an unexpected extra six hours in the park. At the time I was pretty unhappy because my daughter had school the next day and I had to work. Our flight ended up getting into SeaTac at midnight and we had a two hour drive home.

In the ended I'm so glad we had that extra time. We ended up doing things we've never done. We did Animation Academy, Philharmagic (sp?), and shopped a lot. We really took it easy and did inside things. I had only prepared to be at the park for a few hours so we didn't have sunscreen or anything like that packed with us.

It was such a great trip that we will remember forever. It seems like years ago even though it was only six months.

 

[WonkaKid]

In my original post, I mentioned that life is short. Indeed it is and nothing is guaranteed. I was in a funk on Thursday, mainly from the endless isolation, dwelling on past failures (relationships, especially) and my sluggishness in being able to write something new -- I'm struggling to become a TV writer and spend most of my time writing "pilots," which are scripts for shows of my own creation. I got a text from a close friend around 4:00. It included a picture of her with a cable in her hand and her reserve parachute draped across the cornstalks behind her. Why was she in a cornfield? With her reserve canopy? She's a skydiver and for the next month she'll do 3-5 jumps per day. But a cornfield landing? That didn't look right.

I replied to ask what happened and she called me immediately. That's when she explained that when she deployed her main parachute, she realized quickly that there was a problem. When you're in free fall, you have until 2,600 feet before you must make a decision: either go in on your main canopy or cut it loose and deploy your reserve. When she realized that she couldn't rely on her main, she did cut it away (that's what the cable in her hand was - the release cable) and opened her reserve. Of course she landed way off target, which, in her case, happened to be in a cornfield. She said it was very scary but she simply relied on her training and made all of the right decisions. Had she panicked, she would have been hurt severely or even killed. Immediately my problems -- such as they are -- were thrown into perspective. I was reminded to be thankful for every one of my many blessings, not the least of which are my close friends. Things could have gone wrong easily. By the way, she's still searching for her main canopy. They cost around $3,500 so she'd like to have it back .

These are hard times in many ways (the isolation is my biggest challenge). If we take this thing day-by-day, eventually we'll be on the other side of it. Originally I thought that would be early next year but now I'm hearing estimates that it won't be until the fall of 2021. However long it is, we'll get through it. I make a point to identify three good things that happen to me everyday. Sometimes those are huge(ish) victories, sometimes they're as simple as I heard from a friend. But I think it helps. Hope you're all well and managing as best you can.

 

[lindyv321]

Exactly one year ago today! We attended Oogie Boogie Bash

 

[theluckyrabbit]

In my original post, I mentioned that life is short. Indeed it is and nothing is guaranteed. I was in a funk on Thursday, mainly from the endless isolation, dwelling on past failures (relationships, especially) and my sluggishness in being able to write something new -- I'm struggling to become a TV writer and spend most of my time writing "pilots," which are scripts for shows of my own creation. I got a text from a close friend around 4:00. It included a picture of her with a cable in her hand and her reserve parachute draped across the cornstalks behind her. Why was she in a cornfield? With her reserve canopy? She's a skydiver and for the next month she'll do 3-5 jumps per day. But a cornfield landing? That didn't look right.

I replied to ask what happened and she called me immediately. That's when she explained that when she deployed her main parachute, she realized quickly that there was a problem. When you're in free fall, you have until 2,600 feet before you must make a decision: either go in on your main canopy or cut it loose and deploy your reserve. When she realized that she couldn't rely on her main, she did cut it away (that's what the cable in her hand was - the release cable) and opened her reserve. Of course she landed way off target, which, in her case, happened to be in a cornfield. She said it was very scary but she simply relied on her training and made all of the right decisions. Had she panicked, she would have been hurt severely or even killed. Immediately my problems -- such as they are -- were thrown into perspective. I was reminded to be thankful for every one of my many blessings, not the least of which are my close friends. Things could have gone wrong easily. By the way, she's still searching for her main canopy. They cost around $3,500 so she'd like to have it back .

These are hard times in many ways (the isolation is my biggest challenge). If we take this thing day-by-day, eventually we'll be on the other side of it. Originally I thought that would be early next year but now I'm hearing estimates that it won't be until the fall of 2021. However long it is, we'll get through it. I make a point to identify three good things that happen to me everyday. Sometimes those are huge(ish) victories, sometimes they're as simple as I heard from a friend. But I think it helps. Hope you're all well and managing as best you can.

Virtual hug to you, Rob. I'm glad that your friend is okay (and hope she finds her main canopy!). I'm glad that you're doing okay and that you're choosing to focus on the positive. And I'm very glad and thankful that no one has to be isolated here on the the DIS -- it's not quite the same as being with people IRL -- but you do have friends here.

 

[dina444444]

My last visit was on March 7. I got to ride ROTR that day and see the new parade after dark (at the time it was the last day to see it after dark before the clocks changed). Also went over to food and wine. Hard to believe it’s been over 6 months since I’ve been to a theme park when I am normally at DLR once a week and I’m guessing my first steps back in a theme park is going to be wdw in mid November at the current rate.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

September 20-26 last year. I also met up with my penfriend of 45 years who lives in Ohio the day before I came to Anaheim. I'm glad I did both because I don't know the next time I'll be able to come to the US. She's not a Disney person, but. I'm going to try and persuade her to come to Disneyland with me for my next trip.

 

[WonkaKid]

Virtual hug to you, Rob. I'm glad that your friend is okay (and hope she finds her main canopy!). I'm glad that you're doing okay and that you're choosing to focus on the positive. And I'm very glad and thankful that no one has to be isolated here on the the DIS -- it's not quite the same as being with people IRL -- but you do have friends here.

Thank you! I just heard from my friend that she did find her canopy. It landed not far from where she did. I believe she’s had several jumps since then.

I’ll head to DTD on Sunday again... and/or Friday, depending on how my week goes.

 

[NannyBeBe]

Thank you for your post, Rob. You are always an encouragement to us. And your words are so true. Life can change in an instant, and I experienced that in the most horrible way possible. But life does go on and if we look, we can see beauty and good all around us.

 

[sophy1996]

My DH went to WDW in December for ROTR opening, and decided he just had to go to DLR in January for ROTR opening there too. I wasn't too keen on the insanity, and instead we planned a trip a bit later for me to try it out. But at nearly the last minute in January I decided to go too. And a really good thing -- our later trip was for March 14-15. If I hadn't gone in January, I guess I would still be trying to avoid ROTR spoilers.

 

[DonnerB]

I went on March 13th - arrived closer to 11am vs my usual rope drop, still got a ROTR BG! It was gloomy and rainy, a day I normally would have skipped. My boss knew I was moving to the east coast, so told me to take the day off work & get in one last visit.

It was a different day but filled with great memories and favorite rides, all the way to midnight. I’ll never forget how hard it was saying goodbye, not wanting to exit the gates. Forever grateful, especially as I never would have imagined DL being closed for this long.

We may have gone through the turnstiles or ridden RoTR together! Sounds like my last visit exactly; except I left around 10 and still regret doing so.

I last visited WDW in August 2019. I never thought I would start ranking DL over WDW, even being a DL local for 9+ years. But the many little annoyances I’ve encountered in planning/executing WDW trips combined with some really awesome solo days as a DL FlexPass holder have made me realize...there’s nothing like Disneyland. And March 13th was one of those days!

 

[Summer2018]

April 2019. We arrived on Palm Sunday and left the day before Easter. We came from the east coast to visit family in Arizona, and decided to spend 6 nights at the Disneyland Hotel since we were out west already and didn’t know when we would be back.

I’m so glad that we were able to go to Disneyland. We have been to WDW so many times, and I never prioritized going to Disneyland. We loved it so much. I actually prefer Disneyland over WDW.

 

[AuntieMe3]

February 26...DD and I went with a friend and her DIL. On the drive down, her DIL was taking a call when my friend said she sounded sick. We had all been REALLY sick, spreading it amongst ourselves, from back in Dec., beginning of Jan before a trip and then early Feb when we got back from our trip so we were like oh no...not again(not even worried about Covid yet). Friend asked DIL if she wasn't feeling well and she said she thought it might be allergies(turned out that was all it was) but we stopped at Target and picked up some meds for her, some emergen-C for us and hand sanitizer for us all.... We were sanitizing and washing hands all day and we had a great time. DD and I had made a plan to start going every two weeks beginning of Feb so that was our 2nd time and we were meant to go again Mar 11th but I decided to put it off last minute. I really wish we would've went that day and had one last trip right before they closed.

 

[abent]

My last trip was a girls trip with myself and one of my former secretaries was December 2020. Our love for Disneyland gave us a chance to escape from all the fun of being a grownup and do the trip that we never manage to do with our children. it was 4 amazing days of doing every single thing we wanted without worrying about anyone. We did tours, WOC dessert packages, Fantasmic dinners, and ate our way through the parks for every whim and craving. It was so amazing upon our return, we made reservations and booked flights for 2 return trips, October 16 & December 4th.
so hard to really comprehend our October trip isn't happening, and I am so worried about our December one.

 

[Camilo]

Mine was in the summer of 2007, it's been a while

We go to WDW almost every year (me, wife and 3 kids), but it's way more expensive to fly, stay and vacation in California. In 2007, I won a radio contest for 3 nights in Vegas plus airfare. One of the days, my friend and I left Vegas at 5 AM, he dropped me off at Disneyland that morning and picked me up at midnight after the parks closed.

This year, we FINALLY had a vacation planned to California, leaving on March 19th. One week before (12th), Disney announced it was closing the park and we canceled it. We still have the park tickets and hope to go next summer, assuming (and hoping) things will be way better than now....

 

[Epicnemesis]

Feb29-Mar1 weekend to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. Was a fantastic trip. Didn’t think that would be the last trip in over half a year when we were there, but it was a great trip nonetheless.

One regret was that she was just shy of 42inches when we went but she was wearing thick soled shoes. We contemplated going on Matterhorn with her, but decided to save it for the next trip....here we are 7 months later, I’m pretty sure she is tall enough to go on it barefoot by now .

I still think Harold might be too intense for a 4 1/2 year old, but she’s seen the ride on YouTube and swears it’s not. (Thunder is her favorite ride so the ride intensity will be fine, it’s just the visuals that sometimes can be too intense)