First/Birthday Trip 12-9-14 to 12-13-14 Updated and Completed! 1-3-15

[mlnbabies]

This was our first and birthday trip for our family. It was my dh, my almost 15 dd,.my 11 dd and me.
We have been to WDW many times but never to DL.


I turn 50 at the end of the month (12-29) along with my dd who will be 15. We share the same birthday.

I started planning our trip in May 2014 and we decided to stay at PPH. I booked a standard view room for the four of us. We flew from Dallas to LAX on Southwest.

I did lots of research by reading the threads here and learned that I didn't need to plan much. I invited our good friends to go with us so we meet them at PPH since they drove from TX to CA. My friends included a husband and wife and there 2 dd's who are 16 and 14. It was also a birthday trip for the their girls who had late Nov. birthdays.

We decided to drive up to Dallas the day before our flight so we spent the night at Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine TX. It is an indoor water park. We had lots of fun.

On Tuesday we woke up to a foggy morning. We thought planes can't land in this but we made our way to the airport for a 10:15 departure. As we drove, the fog got worse. We checked in at 8 am and at the time the flights were on time with a few cancelled ones. We ate breakfast and headed to the gate around 9 am. We were told the flight we would leave at 11 am. Then we were told noon and then we were told 12:45. I had booked Lansky's shuttle and I emailed them our flight status. They emailed me back and said that they would monitor the flights. I was happy.

We finally took off and landed at LAX around 2pm. We went to baggage claim and the driver from Lansky's meet us. We got our luggage and headed to DL! We were so excited. The drive was about 45 minutes. It was nice to be riding with just my family. The driver spoke very little English but he was a safe and good driver.

The first sign!!!


We arrived at PPH and as we walked in the carolers were singing.


I had tears in my eyes. We finally made it! I stood in the check in line for awhile and then my dh took over so I could take pictures. We took over a thousand pictures.

I went back to the counter and the CM said that we were upgraded to a park view room. I was thrilled since I knew that this was very cool. She told us that we could see World of Color from our room. The fireworks could be seen from the pool area. A great plan for the evening since we weren't going to the parks.

We go to our room and checked out the view.




Our friends arrived and they were on the 12th floor park view room. Since they drove and still needed to unpack and go to the grocery store, we went to Downtown Disney to eat and explore. Our friends would meet us later at DTD.

We ate at Earl of sandwich using our free sandwich coupons. It was good. We shopped and took pictures.
The tree at the ice rink.


Our friends joined us and we shopped some more and then we went back to the hotel. Since we were staying at the PPH, we went to PCH Grill and got the kitchen sink! It was enough for 8 people to have seconds.


After dessert we went to watch the WOC from the rooms. We checked the view from our room and then we decided to watch the show from their room.





The show was amazing! We had the TV in the room playing the songs. All adults and 4 girls were thrilled and couldn't wait to see the show in the park.

Time for the fireworks so off to the pool area. We didn't get good pictures of the fireworks but here a few.



After the show, it was time for bed so we could get early for our first day at DL which opened at 9am.

 

[crystal1313]

So fun! We love the PPH! Can't wait to read and see more

 

[tksbaskets]

You had a great view of WOC from your room! Sounds like you're off to a great start of your trip. Thanks for sharing,
TK

 

[mlnbabies]

Day One:

CA is 2 hours behind TX so my youngest and I were up at 5:30 CA time. Can you say excited? We were going to DL and it opened up at 9. My dh and oldest were up at 6:30 and we left the room about 7:30a. We all had birthday/first visit buttons on.

We went to DTD to get breakfast and we eat at the Jazz Express and had breakfast sandwiches and beignets. It was good.

My plan was to go see Elsa and Anna as soon as we could. I knew that if you were one of the first people in line, the wait would be short.

We have arrived into the park.


Our first look at the castle which was beautiful but small vs. Cinderella's.


We got through the turnstiles and headed to the castle for rope drop. We were in the group on the left side. We were about 4 people back in line. It was 8:45 at this time. After the rope dropped, everyone headed toward the castle and I saw 2 families go toward the Royal theater. I followed them and thought I needed to keep going to the right. I went past the BBB shop and went toward Pinocchio's ride. My 14 year old was in the lead, me second, and my dh and youngest following. We reached the CM at the meet and greet and asked if our party was present and we were so into the line we went. It was 9:05 and we were the 8th in line. I thought we did really well. My girls were excited and it was a great experience. We were done by 9:30.





What a great start to our day! After we left the area, we walked around the back toward Big Thunder and the reservation line for the sisters was past the JJJ area. So glad that we were first in line.

We rode Big Thunder twice with less than a 5 minute wait. This is a favorite ride from riding it in WDW.

We then called our friends who went to Indiana Jones while we saw A & E. We meet up with after we rode the Matterhorn.


We then went to Small World. It was cool to see all the landscaping around the ride and the water since WDW's ride is different.

 

[mlnbabies]

After riding Small World, we went toward main street so I could get my photo pass card and lanyard. The rest of the group went to ride Indiana Jones. I got a chance to look at the castle. Very beautiful.


IJ broke down with my group on the ride. They were just past the boulder when it broke. They were stuck on it for about 30 minutes at the incline part of the ride. Since I wasn't on the ride, I went up Tarzan's Tree House and got lots of pics. My group did get FP's for any ride in the park. That was nice.


I then walked over and took pics of the Dream suite sign and some pics of NOS.

After my group finally got off IJ, we went to ride POC. It was a 30 minute wait but it moved fast. It was cool to go by the restaurant.

We got fast passes for HM and went to Critter Country to eat. After that we used our FP's. HM was ok but since we aren't NBC fans, isn't wasn't that cool to us.

Our next stop was Tomorrowland for Space FP's, Buzz, and Star Tours. I wanted to watch the 5:45 parade so at 5pm, we looked for a spot. BIG mistake!! No spots available so we didn't watch it. The rest of the group headed to Splash while I looked for a parade spot. They rode Splash twice in a row. My dh and I meet the group and we went to ride Jingle Cruise using our FP's that we had from the broken IJ ride. We could see some Christmas decorations at night but not many of them.

We then used our Space FP's. Loved the ride! It was awesome at night.


It was now after 7pm and we headed back to PPH as we were all tired and hungry. First look at main street at night.

And the castle


We ate at the PCH grill and then headed to our rooms. We missed the WOC show and we were too tired to watch the firework show. We heard about the rain coming on Friday so new plans were made. We had intended to go to DL again on day 2 and DCA on day 3 so we could Screaming which was closed on our first 2 days. We found out that most rides would close due to the heavy rain so we chose to do DCA on day 2. The weather was nice with no rain for Thursday so that's what we decided to. Since we bought 3 day tickets, we were going to upgraded our tickets to park hoppers on Thursday morning--day 2.

 

[luulu1999]

following along

 

[mlnbabies]

Day 2--Thursday

Due to the rain that was coming on Friday, we went to add park hoppers to our tickets.

We left the room around 7:45 to get breakfast and to add the park hoppers to our tickets. DCA opened at 9am so we had plenty of time. Our friends meet us the bakery in DTD and they sat with us for awhile and we came up with a plan.

We headed to the ticket window to add the hoppers. A little after 9:15, we were headed into DCA.


Our friends headed toward Carsland to get and/or ride RSR. The ride was down so they went to Soarin.

We meet them at Soarin and headed to Grizzly to get FP's for the WOC show. We got the blue section and were told to line up around 7:15p for the 8:15 show.

We then headed to Goofy's Sky Coaster. The wheel is cool!


We rode the swings next and then to Toy Story Mania. It was a 30 min. wait so we got in line. The girls had a great time and liked the glasses. My friend and i were in one car, the dads in another, and the 4 girls in 2 cars. My friend beat me. My dh had the high score of 161,000.


We then walked around the pier to get to Ariels ride. It was a cool ride.


We then headed to Carsland.


As the group went through the arch, they heard RSR going and they ran to get in line. My dh and I hung back to take pictures. When we caught up with them, the standby line was 65 min. We went to get FP's. So we headed towards a Bug's Life to get the FP's. We pulled them at 11 am and the return time was for 2-3p. So we headed back to Carsland to ride the other rides. The main street!


We loved Tow Mater's ride!


Cool tire tree!


Lugi's ride was next. The concept was cool but it's hard to get the tire to move. Too many tires going at once and not enough people that made their tires go. My dh and I did ok in moving the tire. My youngest and my friends oldest had a tough time getting it to move. The 2 middle girls did well in moving the tire.


After the rides, we had snacks at the cozy cone. Tower of Terror was the next ride. I was really excited to do this one. We haven't done this one in WDW. I love the elevator type rides that Six Flags has so I was hoping it would be similar. We had about a 20 min. wait. The dads didn't want to ride so it was just us girls. After the ride was done, I thought it was ok. I wasn't really impressed. I guess I didn't like how much it stopped and started. My friend thought it was better than the one at WDW. The girls loved it.

Next ride was Soarin. We all have done this WDW so we know what to expect. Since we had 8 in our group, we got the front row. The front row is the best!

It was time to use our FP's for RSR. The standby line was over 75 mins. and the FP line was 30 mins. Since we had 8 in our group, my dh and I were in a different car. We loved the ride and our car won the race. The others also won their race. I enjoyed the ride but wouldn't wait more than 30 mins. to ride it again.

We then headed to do the Ferris Wheel. Only my dh and I wanted to ride the wheel so the rest of the group rode Goofy's. We rode the non swinging cars due to the wait was 45 mins. for the swinging side. I loved the ride and got great pics.





It was almost 3:30 and I wanted to hop back to DL to get a parade spot.

 

[luulu1999]

I love maters too I can't stop laughing when I am on it!!! I HATED tower of terror I didn't think it was ever going to be over!!!! This is our ToT pic were in the back row on the left side I was worried my kids were going to freak out one didn't really like it the other begged to ride it again

 

[mlnbabies]

Love your ToT picture lulu. We did rode it again on the last day and I enjoyed it more. My girls love it. Here is our picture. My group is in the first 2 rows on the right.


My group on RSR. My dh and I were in a different car. My hair blew in my face so the picture is bad.


Space Mountain was great.


The girls on Splash

 

[tksbaskets]

mlnbabies I love that you pose for the ride photos! Looks like all of you had fun on TOT.

luulu1999 Did you ride again so we'll see a picture of you being 'frightened'? This will be a good picture for when they are older "See how concerned mom was about you being OK? I sacrificed having a great ride photo for you!"

Thanks for sharing,
TK

 

[mlnbabies]

It's time to hop to DL to get a spot for the 5:45p parade. My youngest and I went to look for a spot while my dh and oldest dd went to the hotel to get jackets. We are going back to DCA to see the WOC show.


We entered DL after pictures and started walking down main street. It was about 3:45 and tons of unoccupied blankets were on the curb. There were a lot of people saving spots. One lady told me she was saving spots but didn't have anything holding the spot so we kept walking toward Tomorrowland. No luck so we walked back down main street. We found a spot on the corner of the Emporium. It was now 4p. It will be a long wait.


I took some pictures, watched the flag retreat ceremony, heard the Dapper Dan's, and watched the tree lighting.




My dh and oldest joined us around 5p. They went to shop since we still had lots of time.

It's time! We had a great view of the parade as it turned the corner from the train station to the fire station but it was a bad spot to take pictures due to the spotlight. We did a few good ones.







We loved the parade and when it was over, we headed to DCA to see the WOC show. It was about 6:30 when we got to the WOC area. It was unclear at first where to start lining up for the blue section. I went to a rope section that was empty and started talking to a lady and she said I was in the right area. The line started moving so I told my dh and girls to come over and then my friends showed up. So all 8 of us got in a line and we were moved to the first section about 6:45. Then at 7pm we were moved to the next section. Then at 7:15 we were moved to the last section. We chose the back section vs. the wet zone. We were right next to the rope so we had a great view. It was time to sit for an hour. We were packed in like sardines.
Waiting for the show to start.

At 8pm everyone stood up. It would start soon. At last….

It was a very cool show. There were lots of frozen songs which the 4 girls and of course they sang to all of them. The images were cool but I could't get very good pictures of them.

After the show was over, we hung around to let the crowd thin out since DCA was closed. We were going back to the hotel. The girls wanted to walk down to the wet zone to check out how wet it was. We did get some water sprays from the big blasts.

 

[dadof2boys]

Love the report! It's great to read from someone who's perspective is that of a WDW enthusiast. We have been season pass holders at Disneyland for about 15 years and are planning our first trip to WDW.

 

[mlnbabies]

Love the report! It's great to read from someone who's perspective is that of a WDW enthusiast. We have been season pass holders at Disneyland for about 15 years and are planning our first trip to WDW.

We love WDW as well and we are going next Dec.

One of the post positive was the weather in CA. No humidity! We live in TX so we are sort of used to humidity but in FL it's worse. The humidity is year long with some changes depending on when you are there. We have been to WDW in May's, June's, Feb. and Dec. We have stayed off site and on site. Pro's and con's to both.

I hope to go back to DL sometime in the future. Before this trip, I didn't think my dh would ever consider a return trip but I think he may go for a return trip.

We never waited more than 30 mins. for any ride, used FP's when necessary, rode and saw that things that are unique to DL. It was a great trip to celebrate my 50th birthday.

 

[mlnbabies]

What an amazing day with a parade and the WOC to end it.

We were worried about the rain coming in on our last day--Fri. the 12th. We needed to come up with a plan the night before so we decided to go to the Grand California in the morning and hang out. So off to bed we went.

I woke up around 6am, showered and then woke everyone up at 7am. Our friends were going to call to make a plan based on the weather. They were going to DL since they didn't have hoppers and there was a less chance of rides being down due to the rain at DL vs DCA.

At 7:30, we headed to the Grand with jackets and ponchos on. It was cold and moderate rain. It was so convenient to walk from the PPH to the Grand! Loved that.

At 8am, we wanted to find breakfast so we went to Storytellers to see if they had tables for walk ups. They did! I was surprised that they did and they it was pretty empty. I thought it would be busy due to the rain but I was wrong and glad. My dh was keen on spending $30 per person for breakfast but the smoked salmon was worth every bite. The gingerbread house was cool.


I know it was a character breakfast but we weren't sure who the characters were. My girls were thrilled. We were taken to a table and immediately Dale came to our table. He was great! The interaction was priceless.





After Dale, we went to get food. After some time, Mackenzie, my youngest, went with the two brother bears to parade around the restaurant.

Then Chip, Meeko, and the 2 bears came to the table.

Our birthday cupcakes! Rebecca and I both got one. A nice surprise.


It was now about 9:30 and time to go to DCA since we were so close. We didn't know what rides would be open but we were up to deal with the rain. Soarin' was first then we walked to the Animation building. Since it was still raining we thought going inside was good. We went to the art class and drew Oswald. It was really fun. I'm glad that we did it.

We came out and it was still raining a little so the girls and I rode ToT again. Everyone had ponchos on. We are the last 3 on the middle row on the left. Mackenzie has a pink hood.

The street cars were running so we rode it from ToT to the circle. Still drizzling so we walked to Carsland.

It was starting to clear up. Our friends were in DL and my girls wanted to go there. We need this picture at DCA.

I needed to add my Anna and Elsa pictures to my photo pass card so we went into the photo store at the front of DCA. Picture of the tree inside the store.

We did was shopping in the Elias store. I loved the Santa set up. We didn't have pictures taken with Santa but I did take some of the area.

It was around 12:30 so we headed to DL. It was a great morning with only some rain but it wasn't enough to bother us.

 

[mlnbabies]

It is now Friday and the last afternoon at DL. Hopefully since the weather is clearing, we can hop back to DCA to ride Screamin' when it opens. It has been closed all morning.

My objective for the day was to do the rides they we didn't do on our first day. Most of that was the rides in FL, Small World lights at night, castle lights at night, and Toontown.

As we head down Main Street, I call my friends to see where they are. They were in Fanatsyland. They had a great morning with lots of walk on rides due to the rain. We wanted to ride Space so they meet us and off the ride Space. 30 minute wait time so we hopped in line.

After Space, we rode Nemo.

Next we headed to FL to ride the carrousel, Toad, Pinocchio, and Snow White. Peter broke as we got in line so we did another ride. We would try later. The wait was 30 min. We walked through the castle. That was cool.

The castle from the carrousel.


Next was Indiana Jones. My dh and I didn't want to ride it so the group headed off. My dh said the ride was rough and didn't want to ride it again. Since it was rough, I had no desire to ride it. My dh and I needed a our 2nd Dole Whip of the trip.

After they were done, we went off to Splash. Only the girls rode it this time. The guys waited for us on benches while the moms went to wait for the girls in the look at your picture area. When we walked into the viewing area, A guy proposed to a girl. The Splash picture was the girl in front, and people holding Will you Marry Me Signs. She said yes and was very excited and surprised. That was a cool moment.

Next was treat time. I took the oldest girls for Dole Whips and the others got a treat at the Pooh shop.

Next was the train ride. It was starting to get dark and we wanted to ride it at dusk.


Before the IASW lighting


We rode the train back to Main and we saw DCA lit up.


We stayed on and got off at NOS. We were hungry so we ate at Rancho Del Zocalo. Very good Mexican food. Everyone loved it.

Next ride was BTM. It was cool to see DL lit up. Since it was after 7pm, we headed to IASW. The lights were simply breathtaking. I had seen pictures of the lights but pictures can't really capture how magnificent it was. I had tears in my eyes. Lots and lots of pictures were taken.



Then the projection show came on. I was totally surprised and thrilled with the show!


Next ride was Alice. We all loved the ride. Mickey's Toontown was next. The older girls who were 16, almost 15 and 14 thought it was fun. My 11 year old loved it!! She wants to go back and spend more time there. We got there about 7:45 and didn't know it closed at 8p. We rode Roger rabbit. It was a cool spinning ride. The girls ran through the playhouses and rode Gadget. We did see everything and we left around 8:10p.

My youngest in the post office

We wanted to ride Peter Pan but we couldn't since the area was blocked off for the fireworks were going to be starting at 9:15. We were upset but at least we did ride Peter in world.

So we walked the back way to Splash. When we got there, the area around the River was roped off for Fantasmic. At this point, we are all tired and no place to go since things were roped off. We knew Main street would be crowded. I wanted to take pictures of the castle all lit up. Our friends didn't care about taking pictures, so decided to call it a night and the families split up.

I went to the hub to take pictures and my dh and girls went shopping. I took lots of pictures from lots of different view points.



Such a beautiful setting! Just breathtaking. I get teary eyed. I finally pulled myself away to find my family. My phone was almost dead but found them in the Empourium.

 

[mlnbabies]

My dh and the girls went into Story building and took pictures of the park in 1955.

We then went to the fire station and saw Walt's tree. I told the girls that Walt's apartment was there. One last look down Main Street. It was time to go. I again get teary eyed. It maybe my last trip to DL.

As walked through Downtown Disney, the fireworks were going off. My youngest was wiped out and my dh was carrying her piggyback until we reached the GC.

We stopped to rest and look at the tree, gingerbread house and maybe a snack. My youngest closed her eyes for a minute.

We sat and listened to piano music and thought that the GC had a "woodsy" feel to it. My oldest wasn't very impressed with it.

Off to PPH. We need to be in the lobby at 9am to get our ride back to LAX.

 

[mlnbabies]

Back in the room. Time to pack. My youngest is already asleep. She slept on the day bed every night and loved it. My oldest slept in the queen by herself and thought that was great.

I saw the last WOC show from the room. What a good way to end our vacation.
Off to sleep. We need to be in the lobby at 9:15 in the morning.

Up at 7am to head back to TX. Last minute packing, picking up souvenirs from the lobby, breakfast at the Surfside Lounge, and taking more hotel pictures.
View from the outside exit on the ninth floor.

Splash Mtn.

View from the other end of the 9th floor outside exit.

Back to the room to get our luggage and head out.

One last picture before getting in the car from the Lansky shuttle service.

The hotel as we were driving away

The drive to the airport was very smooth and traffic was very light. I had lots of time to think about the trip as we went.

My recap on the first and maybe last trip to DL. The reason I say that is because we are going to World in Dec. 2015. My husband told me that when we booked this trip to DL in May 2014 and the next one to World we are done going to Disney for a long time. Even now he still says that Disney vacations can't be done cheaply. Sure you can get room discounts but you can't on the tickets themselves. Food is expensive and getting there isn't cheap either.

I was surprised that my husband likes DL better than World. He doesn't like Epcot. He can do without DHS. He likes AK and MK. He did a lot of comparing DL to MK and DL won other than the fact the castle is small. He was impressed with the theming of DL. So with that attitude just maybe we will make it to DL one day.

I also fell in love with DL. It definitely beats MK at Christmas as far as the holiday overlays and decor. MK's fireworks are much better than DL's. We were really disappointed in them. DCA was really cool and we loved Carsland. We never did ride Screamin.

My girls love both DL and WDW. Each park has favorite rides for both of them. I really hoped that my oldest would pick DL for her 16th birthday trip in 12-15 and she almost did. She really wants to stay at the Grand Floridian in Dec. so that's what we will do. She was promised that we could go to WDW before we planned our DL trip so I can't fault her for wanting to go there.

Another big advantage DL has is the weather! We hate the humidity in FL. The crowds weren't too bad. Never had to wait more than 30 minutes in a ride line. The one day we noticed an increase in crowds was on Wednesday afternoon in DL. Even on Friday afternoon, DL wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after the weather cleared. We used FP when needed. Being able to walk from PPH to the parks by going through the GC was so easy. Park hopping was great. The food was good everywhere we ate. Didn't run into rude people or CM's. We got lots of "Happy Birthday's" from CM's. All in all it was a wonderful and amazing trip to DL. I can't wait to come back to DL.