Is it December Yet?? Cancelled with a Heavy Heart!

[DisneyStitch626]

Where did you get all the stickers? They are awesome. It looks like you will have a very organized first trip to WDW!

 

[DizNee Luver]

oooh...Loving the new pages ....so cute

amazing work on the binder!

Where did you get all the stickers? They are awesome. It looks like you will have a very organized first trip to WDW!

Thanx everyone!!! It's fun to do & it helps everyone get excited!!

Andrea I found the stickers at Michael's Craft stores. Pretty much any scrapbook supply store that carries Disney should give you an assortment. Of course, that is where a lot of my expensive came from putting this book together......that & the ink for the printer!!!

 

[tofubeast]

Thant binder RULES!!! I think I might have met someone just as fanatical as me, although all my notes and stuff are NO where near as neat and organized (oh and as fun) as yours!! I love some of the pages regarding the resorts that are decorated. I need a copy for my records too!!!

Glad to be reading along! Nice PTR so far!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Thant binder RULES!!! I think I might have met someone just as fanatical as me, although all my notes and stuff are NO where near as neat and organized (oh and as fun) as yours!! I love some of the pages regarding the resorts that are decorated. I need a copy for my records too!!!

Glad to be reading along! Nice PTR so far!

Welcome!!! Yup, it is an obsession......but I could think of far worse things!!! Feel free to use any of the ideas in the binder.....I like being able to read stuff & look at the pictures when I'm needing a pick me up!! The more colorful the better.....the kids enjoying looking through it as well!!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

I thought that might be it. I've got tons of stickers from Michaels before, but never saw any like that. But then again, I haven't looked at the sticker section for quite some time, so maybe some new ones have come out since I last looked.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I thought that might be it. I've got tons of stickers from Michaels before, but never saw any like that. But then again, I haven't looked at the sticker section for quite some time, so maybe some new ones have come out since I last looked.

It will be fun for you to go & look......they really have a ton of Disney stuff......just wish they would have had stickers for each of the 4 lands at WDW....but I imagine there are some out there....might have to look elsewhere (like online) or when I get there....I'm sure there will be lots of options at the parks!!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

LOL....I guess if I had actually looked at your signature, I would have noticed your trips & tickers.......

A Halloween trip should be fun!! How old are your kiddos? We almost went to DL this past October for the Halloween fun, but finances kept us from going. I think the twins will do better with holiday lights & stuff better then the villians.

Yay for a DL trip....let me know if I can help you on that!!!

This year is gonna go so slow..........ready for December already!!! (actually I'm not.......but I can't wait to get there!!!)

The kids will be 10, 9, barely 3 (turning 4 the following month), barely 2 (turning 3 the following month).

I havent had a chance to read anymore of your DL trip report you told me about, but I am hoping to get a few more pages read tonight. I'm sure I will be asking lots more questions!!

I started a Dec PTR today if you want to stop by...link in my sig.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Love the new pages for your binder. So organized!! I cant wait to see all the holiday decorations.

 

[DizNee Luver]

The kids will be 10, 9, barely 3 (turning 4 the following month), barely 2 (turning 3 the following month).

I havent had a chance to read anymore of your DL trip report you told me about, but I am hoping to get a few more pages read tonight. I'm sure I will be asking lots more questions!!

I started a Dec PTR today if you want to stop by...link in my sig.

Love the new pages for your binder. So organized!! I cant wait to see all the holiday decorations.

So you have your hands full too!!! I tell you starting "parenting" all over in my 40's brings knowledge, experience & maybe more patience.....but man, I'm exhausted. I used to be a night owl & now I'm dying by 7:30pm.

I'll go check out the new PTR!!! My reports tend to get long.....so take your time.......If I can help with anything, I'll sure try!!!

Thanx!! The book's coming together nicely!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I'm not feeling so hot today, so figured it would be a great day to reminisce on how our family fell in love with Disneyland. Its funny, I distinctly remember having a couple old Disneyland pics from when I was a kid.....but I can't find them anywhere!! I got an early taste of what Disney offered going twice as a child. My husband's first time was when we did a one day stop not long after we were married in 1984. Can't find pics from that either!! So I'll be starting when I finally got to share Disneyland with my boys. The boys were 20, 18, 16 & Anthony (who was close to becoming permanently ours) was 4. The year was 2005~~Disneyland's 50th Anniversary!! What a wonderful time to go & experience all the special things that park had going on that year. We went for 5 days at DL, 1 day at a Dodger Game & 1 day in Hollywood over the 4th of July time. I would have to say....this was our most *+*+*Magical*+*+* trip to date. Of course, looking back....I wish I had half the knowledge I do now on that trip!

So this is what greeted us as we passed through the ticket gates:

I think that floral Mickey has been my favorite......

Since it had been YEARS since I had been to Disneyland & California Adventure was a parking lot when I was there......we figured doing a tour to get a bit of a rundown of the parks & hints would be a great way to start our trip. Well RUN was right......we had DH's mom with us & she was slower than our long legged group....so we did a lot of hurry up & waits....lol I think everyone in our family had blisters by the end of this tour......we covered a lot of ground in the 2 1/2 hrs our tour guide tortured I mean toured us around both parks. It was very informative & I highly suggest it to anyone new to those parks...but be ready to race!! I really have no idea how the tour guides can wear those high heels & do what they do!!

Here's a pic of the 4 boys in one of the photo op "Golden" Ride Vehicles in Fantasyland:

So lets get back to the *+*+*Magical*+*+* parts of the trip!! Anthony was like a magnet for characters, opportunities & just good stuff!!! We couldn't have been more happy for him. He had a pretty rough start in life & came to us at 13mths, went home a month later.....came back to us at 18mths & stayed until right after his 3rd birthday, went home again for 4 mths & then came back to stay permanently. These poor kiddos go through the wringer because of the parents rights & it's extremely frustrating to watch bad things happen over & over again & not be able to stop it!! So this kiddo deserved what happened on this trip!!

We found out very early in the trip that Anthony LVED the ladies......lol We were in the character meet line to see a princess & he got up to the front right when they were going to change characters.....so he got to have a picture with the both of them.....he was thrilled!!

We went to the Block Party Bash parade & he got picked to go dance!

We went to see Ariel and she laid a huge red lipstick kiss on Anthony's cheek.......he was in heaven!!

You'll notice, this is the same Belle, Anthony saw earlier in the trip.....in fact we saw her a number of times & she always yelled to Anthony (by name) & waved or blew kisses to him. We were at the Plaza Inn Princess Breakfast & she was there again.

We were getting ready to leave & she whispered to me to stay a few more minutes & she held Anthony's hand and wandered towards the patio. Next thing we knew.....here comes the beast to join her!!

We went up to Pooh's Corner to see Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore & Tigger. Look who Anthony found coming out from the back.......PIGLET!! Now for WDW vets that may not seem like a huge deal.....but those of us from DL will tell you that see Piglet or Rabbit is EXTREMELY rare!!!!!

We get done with all the character greetings & low & behold, look who finds Anthony........RABBIT!!!!

So Alice was another character that we got to know pretty well this trip......she also called Anthony by name. She was riding in the Parade of Dreams & jumped off the float & said hello Anthony & bopped his nose....she then jumped back on the float!!

But this is the BIGGEST AWWWWWWW Moment of the entire trip. It was the afternoon of our last day.....Anthony had seen almost every character we could think of.....all but Woody. We had seem him in the Block Party Bash parade but not in a meet-n-greet. So my hubby looks at the schedule & realizes there's one more M&G in about 15 mins in Frontierland.....so they run over & wait in the area. A custodial CM wanders by & starts talking to them. DH tells them about Anthony's story & how this was our last day & he really wanted to see Woody. She says, I don't think he's doing that M&G because he has to get over to the other park for the parade. She tells them to hold on & disappears behind a cast member only door. She comes back out with Jessie. Jessie posed for a pic with him & signed his autograph book for her & Woody......but she could tell Anthony was very disappointed. Woody comes out with his character "handler" & passes right by. Jessie looks at Anthony's eyes welling up with tears, grabs his hand, motions to my hubby to keep up as she drags Anthony through the crowd to catch up with Woody. When she does, the character "handler" clears the area around them....my hubby takes the picture & gives them a thumbs up that he got it & they're off......leaving a huge crowd of people behind.

I tell you, that picture is priceless to our family!! What a way to end an amazing trip!!!! That little boy was so happy & so were we!!!

People ask, "why do you love Disneyland so much?".....it's because stories like that happen all the time & who doesn't need a little *+*+*Magic*+*+* in their lives now & then?!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

During our 2005 trip, we also went to our very first professional baseball game!! We went to the Dodger's Game.....it was thrilling for me to step into Dodger Stadium as I had been a huge Tommy Lasorda fan. It was HOT that afternoon, but since the stands weren't full, we just kept moving around to find shade.....lol Anthony got to get an autograph & he ended up being put into JD Drew's line.....so that was pretty exciting too!!!

We did a Hollywood day so we could go see the Walk of Fame stars.....lets just say we were in for quite a shocker!! On tv, the stars & that area in front of Mann's Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater, etc looks so glamorous & nice.....but woof, when we were there it was dirty, sticky & nasty. A number of the shops that line that street are "head" shops & porn store....ewwwwwwww!!!! Not what we had envisioned at all!! So we grabbed some picks of the stars & here's a few of the Disney related ones. You'll notice, they're not very clean or shiny......in fact some of the stars we saw we're broken up from tree roots.......Congrats, you're being given a "star" on the Walk of Fame!! (uhhhh, no thanks!)

I'm sure there were more, but to be honest with you....we were tired of telling the people begging and sitting on the sidewalks no. So we didn't stay very long.

I think the thing that irritated me the most, was we couldn't see a thing at Mann's Chinese Theater (the foot & hand prints) because the place was crawling with people in costumes. Well my son sees Spiderman, gets super excited & bolts off (like he would in DL) & I pull out my camera and I get told no pictures for free.....you HAD to pay them to take the picture!!! Well poor Anthony, I ended up scraping up $5 & snapping the photo...but I was pissed off & that was it.....we left!!

NOW, I will say.....things have gotten much better since that trip!! We braved another trip down to Hollywood in 2010. I had been told, things had been cleaned up, the transient's weren't as heavy in that area, a lot of the "shops" had moved on & the characters were banned from the front of the theater. I was amazed at the difference in 5 yrs. We actually got to look around at the prints in front of Mann's, see a few more of the stars & just enjoy a few hours looking around.

So if you get the chance to make it out to Disneyland.....try to work a day in to seeing the sights.....they have a Disney Soda Fountain right next to the El Capitan Theater...it's a MUST DO!!!

 

[newtexan]

what sweet memories from that DL trip.

 

[DizNee Luver]

what sweet memories from that DL trip.

Thanx....it really was a special trip!!!

 

[Trentmom]

The kids first trip to DLand sounds awesome. Anthony sure lucked out with characters and it sounds like a magical trip

We really want to see Stars Sidewalk. Glad to hear it is not as bad anymore.

How close is Disney Soda Fountain to there?

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Laura, again I have to say how much I love your binder! Wow ... I should hire you to make me one just so I have the memories!

We did the Wishes Dessert Party for the first time last trip. The best part of it for us is having a place to sit and chill rather than fight the masses for a seat on Main Street. We made the mistake of eating dinner at Garden Grill before the Party so we were actually pretty full and didn't eat much of the desserts. We enjoyed the iced tea and the place to relax. We were there in August and it was HOT! There is a photopass photographer there to take pics with the Castle at night so that was an added bonus.

I know you don't like fighting crowds so it may be a good deal for you guys. We would definitely do it again, possibly not this trip because we really want to hit the signature restaurants for dinner but definitely on a future trip.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Just my two cents on the EMH ... of course our situation is totally different with only having Andrew and his being now almost 16!

We rarely hit the morning ones as it is enough for us to be up and out for Rope Drop. We try to hit DHS to get to TSMM but don't always make it (although we do hit RD on non-EMH days).

But we LOVE the evening hours! That is our 'prime time'. Our first trip to WDW was when Andrew was 8 and we were shocked at how run and gun he was right from the get go. At about 1am he said what has become our mantra ... "there's no sleeping in Disney". LOL If we get 6 hours a night we are thrilled. Last trip we noticed they really cut back on the evening hours so we got more rest than I think we ever have. I think I told you, one of my best memories is being in the MK with Andrew at about 2am. But I realize that would be very tough for your family!

 

[DizNee Luver]

The kids first trip to DLand sounds awesome. Anthony sure lucked out with characters and it sounds like a magical trip

We really want to see Stars Sidewalk. Glad to hear it is not as bad anymore.

How close is Disney Soda Fountain to there?

Anthony was definitely a magnet for the characters....I was amazed at how many we saw!!!

So if you park at the Hollywood & Highland Center, the El Capitan Theater & Disney Soda Fountain are across the street. That entire area is covered with stars on the sidewalks.....this is where I saw most of the Disney ones. You won't be disappointed in going to the soda fountain....don't eat a meal...just go for the sundaes!!!!!

Laura, again I have to say how much I love your binder! Wow ... I should hire you to make me one just so I have the memories!

We did the Wishes Dessert Party for the first time last trip. The best part of it for us is having a place to sit and chill rather than fight the masses for a seat on Main Street. We made the mistake of eating dinner at Garden Grill before the Party so we were actually pretty full and didn't eat much of the desserts. We enjoyed the iced tea and the place to relax. We were there in August and it was HOT! There is a photopass photographer there to take pics with the Castle at night so that was an added bonus.

I know you don't like fighting crowds so it may be a good deal for you guys. We would definitely do it again, possibly not this trip because we really want to hit the signature restaurants for dinner but definitely on a future trip.

Vicki, that's great to hear about the dessert party!! I'm leaning heavily on doing this.....I love seeing the fireworks & having an unobstructed view sounds amazing. We also would see the holiday show during the Christmas Party (if I understand, it will be a different show) & will try to line up with the castle.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Just my two cents on the EMH ... of course our situation is totally different with only having Andrew and his being now almost 16!

We rarely hit the morning ones as it is enough for us to be up and out for Rope Drop. We try to hit DHS to get to TSMM but don't always make it (although we do hit RD on non-EMH days).

But we LOVE the evening hours! That is our 'prime time'. Our first trip to WDW was when Andrew was 8 and we were shocked at how run and gun he was right from the get go. At about 1am he said what has become our mantra ... "there's no sleeping in Disney". LOL If we get 6 hours a night we are thrilled. Last trip we noticed they really cut back on the evening hours so we got more rest than I think we ever have. I think I told you, one of my best memories is being in the MK with Andrew at about 2am. But I realize that would be very tough for your family!

I think keeping the twins up long enough to see the fireworks & night time parades will be a miracle. Of course, if they fall asleep in their strollers & seem content....we're always open to staying longer. I love late hours....the parks empty out a lot & riding some of the rides at night is a totally different experience!!! Not planning how long we'll stay each night......will play it by ear & let the 4 kids pretty much make the call.....lol

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Vicki, that's great to hear about the dessert party!! I'm leaning heavily on doing this.....I love seeing the fireworks & having an unobstructed view sounds amazing. We also would see the holiday show during the Christmas Party (if I understand, it will be a different show) & will try to line up with the castle.

Yes, I think they are. And Main Street is the very best view for the fireworks. The dessert party is a bit to the right as you face the Castle. But still very good. If you can see them twice, go for it. I don't think it will be as crowded at the Party. The Hub is the best spot to be for the fireworks!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I think keeping the twins up long enough to see the fireworks & night time parades will be a miracle. Of course, if they fall asleep in their strollers & seem content....we're always open to staying longer. I love late hours....the parks empty out a lot & riding some of the rides at night is a totally different experience!!! Not planning how long we'll stay each night......will play it by ear & let the 4 kids pretty much make the call.....lol

That is definitely the way to do it. We don't plan daily breaks but we know that one day during the trip we will hit the wall and just have to go nap. Sometimes that day is early in the trip, sometimes towards the end so I can't even really plan for it. I am trying to plan a resort-ish type day this trip so we will see if that prevents the 'wall' day. That is my very best advice for WDW ... don't push beyond the family's limits. But I know that you definitely know that. We have seen too many sad meltdown scenes. Just not worth it for anyone.