Freaking out! In a good way

[newkie]

Hi everyone, I haven't been in here much since my last Disneyland trip in 2014, because I thought it would be many more years before I got a chance to go back. Buuuuut my 40th birthday is coming up, and my parents have said they would like to give me some money for travel, so combined with some savings, it looks like Hubby and I can get away on a decent holiday! Yay!

Now comes the hard bit - deciding where to go. My birthday is April 28th, so no where near as much time as I would like to do all the planning involved, but I'll take it! Obviously I would like the holiday to be Disney-centric, and I would dearly love to go back to DLR, but part of me really wants to have a go at WDW too. Because we are leaving the kids at home with my inlaws and have only a moderate budget, we can't go for very long. The travel time, plus extra airfare costs were putting me off WDW, until yesterday when I saw that their is a Disney 4 day Bahamian cruise right around my birthday and now I want to do that and maybe 5 days in WDW.

I just don't know if it's worth going all that way for 9 or 10 days, and will I regret not having longer in WDW itself? If we do DLR, we will probably do 5 days there, 1 at Universal and a night in Palm Springs for a bit of extra fun.

I have a meeting with my travel agent today at 1.30, and I'm really not sure what I'm going to tell her!

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

Hey newkie, we share a birthday and as your birthday buddy, I say go for it!

Do WDW, you won't regret it. If it's just you and DH, 5 days is fine at WDW + cruise. You might even fit the two Universal parks in Orlando in as well depending on your touring style.

FYI, in October 2014 Crazy Cat Boy and I did 7 days in Orlando and with some commando style touring and park hoppers (You can sleep on the plane I say! LOL) This is how we did it:

1/2 day AK - Day 1 and we were exhausted but sill roped dropped. Pandora wasn't open then, so AK will probably need a full day now. Pro Tip: don't leave the park and go outlet shopping in the afteroon when tired and slightly jet lagged, you will question your purchases from that day down the track! LOL

1 Day MK - Rope drop, full day, then I think we took the bus to Disney Springs for dinner that night before going back to the hotel

1 Day Epcot, Rope drop with a hop to HS (so close this is a no brainer, take the Friendship boats and float down past the Swan and boardwalk hotels for a relaxing trip rather than taking the bus or walking - these leave from the international gateway at the back of the world showcase). Pro Tip: Remember that the World Showcase at Epcot generally opens an hour or so after the balance of the park, so make use of that time to knock over your rides.

1 Day HS - Rope drop, hopped back to Epcot (it was food and wine festival there at the time)

2 days at USO and saw/rode everything we wanted. USO we probably could have done in one day if we wanted using their front of line pass and park to park tickets (their version of hoppers). The Harry Potter gear alone is worth including USO.

We stayed offsite, rope dropped, made great use of FP+, used PhotoPass+ and had a ball. My FP+ tips are book for early morning, that way when you've rope dropped and used all your FP+ you can then book more and maximise your time on the ground. Disney transportation is free. We found the boats and the monorail less crowded and more enjoyable than the buses, but the buses will take you more places obviously.


We are just back from a DL, Vegas, Palm Springs, LA + National Parks trip and while Palm Springs is nice, once you've see the architecture and been up to the top of the mountain, apart from golf, eating and shopping it doesn't have a massive amount to offer - it's a relaxation kind of place IMO. I'm glad we did it, I just wouldn't rush back if we didn't have plenty of time.

HTH, you'll have an amazing time and I'm so jealous, I know I'm out of the running for a trip for at least 3 years.

 

[newkie]

That helps a lot, thank you birthday buddy! After reading that you felt you could do that all in 7 days, I feel confident that we can do almost as much. We don't normally see the value in Park Hoppers, but I think in this situation, it would be a must for us, and if we did US we would pay the extra for their front of line pass too. Now I just have to crunch the numbers and hope we can afford it all! Heading off to the travel agent soon - excited!

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

Glad to be of service! ;-)

You do know that Disney budget dollars are waaaay more valuable than ordinary everyday dollars don't you?? LOL

 

[newkie]

Thanks again the other day crazy cat lady, I probably should have mentioned that I'm in Hobart, so the extra travel time and dollars have made doing WDW not worth it. Plus, the parent guilt also kicked in pretty badly, though we figured that we could get away with going to DLR because the kids have already been there And after I realised that the 50th Anniversary of WDW was only 3 years away, I decided that it would be a much better option for us to save for that and also take our 4 kids then too.

So, we have decided to do 6/7 days in Anaheim and 2 in Palm Springs. Which we are very excited about doing it on our own! We are desperate to try the Blue Bayou and Trader Sam's and all the other things our kids complained were too boring last time LOL

I'm trying to decide now if it's worth doing a character breakfast. We did Goofy's Kitchen last time and loved it, but our TA is saying we should try Minnie and Friends purely to see the park before it opens officially. I can't decide if I want to spend the money because hubby and I aren't big breakfast eaters.

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

LOL, the old parent guilt! That's why I just have cats!

You'll have a ball and then the pleasure of planning WDW for the next 3 years - Whoo!!

The Arial Railway just outside Palm Springs is worth the trip if you want to get some great photos. It's actually a State Park at the top and you can hike if that's your thing.

 

[carnivalkid]

my response is probably too late but if you are going without your kids VEGAS!!!!

 

[viaggiamo]

I love Palm Springs! The food! The architecture! So much fun.
Good on you for deciding, WDW is a long way to go for 10 days...even without the kids LOL.
Enjoy x

 

[newkie]

I’m glad to hear the aerial tramway is worth doing, that’s on our list along with a mid century modern house tour and just some general sightseeing. I’d welcome some ideas on places to eat if anyone has any to recommend. I’m all set for places to eat at Disney, but Palm Springs is a mystery!

We thought about Vegas, but we aren’t big gamblers or big shoppers, and we couldn’t see any shows that we were really desperate to go see, so it felt like a waste. I’m sure I’ll regret that, but it meant more time in Disneyland, so I wasn’t too disappointed

 

[viaggiamo]

There is a Mexican restaurant at La Quinta resort called Adobe Grill. It was divine food and I still dream about it. We were there on Christmas eve a few years ago. The Margheritas were great too...LOL
I love Mexican food and there was plenty to be had in the USA, but this one stood out for me for the atmosphere, food, everything...if you go, go at night as they have fairy lights in all of the palm trees.
See's candies is a must too (they are in many places but the one in Palm Springs is good) and there is a cool diner opposite See's candies too called Ruby's if you like that sort of thing. It was fun and the kids loved it.

We all really loved Palm Springs and would go back again for sure. We stayed at the Hyatt and it was nice enough. The staff were amazing and helped me organise Christmas for the kids. DH golfs, so that's why we went there.

The train up the mountain is fun, we went on new years day and there was a bit of snow!

https://www.rubys.com/locations/palm-springs/

https://www.laquintaresort.com/dining/adobe-grill/

http://www.sees.com ... the caramel marshmallow candies and the peppermints are my favourites...but they are all amazing and when you go in they always give you a free full chocolate sample of the day. Gotta love the USA! x

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

If you like BBQ we stumbled on this place accidently in Palm Springs - Smoke Tree BBQ, 1775 E Palm Canyon Dr. It's next to a Ralphs supermarket if you need any groceries. Plenty of free parking and it was just inside the little alley of the shops. http://smoketreebbq.com/

 

[crazy Cat Lady]

Oh, and if you want to bring back a little bit of Palm Springs to hang on the wall, check out the Nat Reed Gallery, 333 N Palm Canyon Dr. For his prints and postcards (buy some and frame them at home yourself) they were pretty well priced, the larger works are well larger (transport issues) and more expensive (budget issues LOL). https://natreed.com/ We love looking at ours.. go after your house tour and you might even find one that you saw.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

I’m glad to hear the aerial tramway is worth doing, that’s on our list along with a mid century modern house tour and just some general sightseeing. I’d welcome some ideas on places to eat if anyone has any to recommend. I’m all set for places to eat at Disney, but Palm Springs is a mystery!

We thought about Vegas, but we aren’t big gamblers or big shoppers, and we couldn’t see any shows that we were really desperate to go see, so it felt like a waste. I’m sure I’ll regret that, but it meant more time in Disneyland, so I wasn’t too disappointed

We're not gamblers or big drinkers and found the crowds in Vegas really got to us - especially just trying to walk from one venue to another. Was so much worse our 2nd visit than our first (only went back because of hire car and airline routing). So if no shows you fancy i wouldnt regret no Vegas.

 

[LivingforDisney]

Did you look at Disney cruises from San Diego, not sure what's months they sale. You can get train from Anaheim down to San Diego.

 

[newkie]

I did look at doing a cruise out of San Diego, but they were all only 2 or 3 nights and it didn't seem worth it. I'm still hanging on for a Florida/Bahamas trip sometime in the future, I'll get my cruise then

I'm all booked for Disneyland though! DH and I leave Hobart on April 28th (my 40th!) and we are staying at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim for 7 nights, and then 1 night at Caliente Tropics in Palm Springs, then home again on May 6th (back in Hobart on the 8th). We booked the 10 day pass, because although we only need 6 days it was the cheapest way to do it.

Soooooo excited! Only 84 days to go

 

[viaggiamo]

Woohoo! I love it when a plan comes together, sounds like a great trip!

We fly out on the 26th April, but to Italy...82 days...eeek!

 

[newkie]

How exciting viaggiamo! Europe is my next conquest after we do Florida in a few years. Have fun in Italy!