It's our One Year Anniversary so we're going to Disneyland!! DAY TWO STARTED 7/24!

[ariel1025]

Hi Everyone!!

I am very excited to start this (pre) trip report and I hope that I will have some readers to follow along ... and help me out!!

First I will give you a little bit of background starting with introductions...

My name is Shannon and I am 26 (soon to be 27) years old. I (of course) love everything Disney!!! I have so many favorite movies that sometimes the top spot changes. But currently my favorite Disney movie is "Beauty and the Beast" and my favorite (non Disney) movie is "Mermaids." I love listening to all kinds of music, but typically lean towards country music. However, I also hold a soft spot for old rock (i.e. Aerosmith, Queen etc)...I can't help it and you can blame my Dad for raising me on that stuff Besides movies and music I love, love, love to swing dance and take pictures. I have been to both WDW and DL twice and cannot wait to get back to both of them!!!

Ok, enough about me....

This is my "partner in crime" (aka my Husband), Candido. We call him Candi for short because he is the 4th out of the bunch and well, I'm white and my Spanish accent sucks so Candi is a whole lot easier for me to say He is 27 (soon to be 28) years old and is beginning to love Disney as much as I do, although he will probably never admit it His favorite Disney movie is "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" (animated it would be "Peter Pan") and his favorite (non-disney) movie is "Stand By Me." For the most part, Candi will listen to any type of music and he goes through phases. However, currently he is in his "sports radio" phase that I am praying passes quickly...just kidding...sorta He also loves to swing dance (thank goodness, I do need a partner after all ) and he is a major sports addict, with basketball being his favorite. Candi has been to WDW once and DL more times than he can remember...lucky duck!!

We have been together for over 7 years and will be celebrating our One Year wedding Anniversary on May 24 of this year.

Here is how this trip came about....

We originally were planning on going back to Walt Disney World (that's where we spent our honeymoon). In the process we ended up buying into the Disney Vacation Club and set up all the plans. Well, as they say "life got in the way." Unfortunately, we weren't able to get the time off that we wanted for the trip. We compromised and moved the trip to September and figured it was "better late than never." Then the most magical thing happened....

I got a phone call today and it went like this...

Candi: "Hey babe, do we have any developer points left from our DVC contract?"

Me: "Yeah, why?"

Candi: "Well, how much does it cost to fly to California?"

Me: (as I am frantically typing in southwest.com on my computer) "depends on the dates, why?"

Candi: "Does our anniversary fall on Memorial weekend"

Me: "Yep, it's the day before, why????"

Candi: "Because Melissa (his boss) said we could have a four day weekend and I want to take you to Disneyland"

Me: (Speechless)

So, that's how the trip came about and I have been frantically planning ever since. And, of course after going to the DVC website to request the dates I came straight to the DIS!!!

Here are the tentative plans so far...

Dates: May 21-25, 2009

We will take a late flight (after work) out on May 21 and then take the latest flight back on Monday May 25. This way we can get as much time out of the trip as possible.

Hotel: I just put my request for the hotel in, but I put my first choice as Paradise Pier and my second choice as Disneyland Hotel. Either way it will be a standard view as we have already used part of our developer points and all of our regular points for the use year.

So, that's all I have so far....

I am SO excited!!! Now I just have to cross my fingers that the request is accepted...wish me luck!!

I would love all your input!! Do you think I made the right choice putting my first choice as Paradise Pier? Or should I have put Disneyland Hotel? I would love to stay at Grand Californian but we just can't this time. Either way I'm excited because I've never stayed at any of the Disney hotels at Disneyland!

 

[tiggersam00]

yay another TR from Shannon! I love it, so jealous of your DL trip, I have never been but I am very excited to hear all about it

 

[MommyWithDreams]

I can't wait to read more....

 

[ariel1025]

yay another TR from Shannon! I love it, so jealous of your DL trip, I have never been but I am very excited to hear all about it

Hi Samantha!!! I feel so special to have such a loyal reader You will definitely have to go some day...it's quite a bit different than WDW but still SO much fun!!

I can't wait to read more....

Hi and thanks for joining!! I love meeting new people on the DIS

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Ok so I'm going to become addicted I can tell already. I was just looking through your past TR to the world...and what great pictures. And for what it's worth...you looked BEAUTIFUL on your wedding day. The dress, your hair everything was perfect, I'm sorry others didn't think so. But you're right..it was your day and nothing else should have mattered.

 

[ariel1025]

Ok so I'm going to become addicted I can tell already. I was just looking through your past TR to the world...and what great pictures. And for what it's worth...you looked BEAUTIFUL on your wedding day. The dress, your hair everything was perfect, I'm sorry others didn't think so. But you're right..it was your day and nothing else should have mattered.

Awww you are too sweet That is such a nice comment and I truly appreciate it!!

 

[ariel1025]

I said I wasn't going to do it. I said I was going to go to work yesterday, get all my paperwork completed, then come home and check the DVC website to see if our reservations had been confirmed yet. I, however, was not going to be a crazy mad woman waiting for it to happen Yeah right, who was I kidding?? I did go to work (I'm not that insane ) but I checked the DVC website (from my phone of course) at least once an hour. You would have thought I was waiting to see if my lottery check had been deposited or something I then came home from work and continued checking the DVC website...sadly, even after I knew the offices were closed. Then today (when I don't have to be to work until noon) I was up at 7am checking the website again...geesh, am I the only one who is this pathetic?? Sadly, still no reply to our reservation request So, what's a girl to do while she is going insane waiting on Disneyland reservation confirmations??


Wait...I know, I know....


Write a mini-TR of her last Disneyland trips of course...

 

[ariel1025]

So, my first trip to Disneyland was a Christmas gift from Candi's parents in 2005. They actually "gave" it to us early and we went about two weeks before Christmas.

The cast for this trip consisted of:

Shannon: Hey, that's me!! I was super duper excited to finally see the "original" (I had already been to WDW).

Candi: That's my Hubby!! He was my boyfriend at the time, but that was the same year he gave me my promise ring for Christmas (Did I mention I had a SPECTACULAR Christmas that year!!!)

Flora: That's Candi's Mom and this trip was her idea...gotta love a woman with a plan!!

Candido: That's Candi's Dad, he was kind enough to agree to the trip and had many "firsts" along the way

Brian: That's Candi's Brother and he was like a little kid (I mean that in a good way) when he found out we were going.

Erica: That was Brian's girlfriend and we weren't exactly what you would call friends before this trip ... we did bond a little along the way though (I guess Disney brings out the best in everyone huh?)

This was the first time going to Disneyland for me and Erica (Candi's family had already been about a million times...tough life right? ). And this was Erica's first trip to a Disney park in general (she wasn't very excited about it though )

I don't remember the exact dates of the trip, but that's not really important right??

Alright...here we go....

So Candi's parents came into town the night before we were set to leave (they live about an hour from where we live) and we went over to give them their Christmas gifts before the trip. We ended up staying up most the night talking to them about how much fun we were going to have...we were all like little kids the night before Christmas morning...but for us this was the night before Christmas morning!! The next morning (at the crack of dawn) we packed up the car (yes we were driving over 11 hours to get there ) and got ready to go. However, one minor problem was overlooked...there were 5 seats but 6 of us...???? We spent more time than I would have liked debating whether or not we were going to take a second car. In the end we did it (illegal style) and one person was in the back of the SUV with the luggage while everyone else sat in their seat. Man was it crowded!!! About a billion hours and half a dozen arguments later we arrived.....

We were staying at the Hilton Anaheim (across the street from Disneyland) with that many people going we couldn't afford to stay at one of the Disney hotels. But, I didn't care I was there...finally!! However, we were all exhausted, we had gotten a late start and had to take a ton of restroom breaks along the way...man, traveling with 6 people takes a lot of time!! I don't remember exactly what time we got there, but I know it was after midnight because I had called the hotel at 11:45pm to make sure they wouldn't give away our room if we didn't make it by midnight. I did however, stop for one picture on the way up to the room....

So pretty!! I was in love with this hotel already and I had only seen the lobby!

So, off we all went to bed. Candi's parents had their own room (of course, they paid after all) and then we had an adjoining room that we shared with Brian and Erica. I didn't even bother to unpack, all I wanted was a shower and a bed...but, a shower is difficult when you have four people who all want it. The boys agreed to let the girls go first and I let Erica go before me because she clearly needed sleep more than I did (she was just a tad bit grumpy ). I laid down while she took her shower and next thing I know Candi is waking me up telling me "you better get up now if you want to shower before going to the park." What??? Geesh, Erica that was one long shower Apparently, I fell asleep and nothing was going to wake me, Candi even had Brian and Erica leave the room so he could change me into PJ's and I had no clue the entire time

Anyway, to the shower I went and while I was washing my hair it hit me ... It was real, I was at Disneyland!!! After my shower went next door to the parental unit's room and had breakfast (they had gone and picked it up while we were getting ready ) and then we were off....

Of course, I had to stop for pictures in front of the pretty tree!! For some reason Brian and Erica wouldn't take a picture...who knows

Ok,now we were really off...

This was the only thing standing between me and my happy place....

And there it was...I was finally standing on Disneyland property!! I think I might have started to cry a little...I was just so happy to be there and it was such a generous present and it meant so much....

 

[kaoden39]

Oh what a great gift for your anniversary. I am looking forward to reading your trip report.

 

[ariel1025]

Oh what a great gift for your anniversary. I am looking forward to reading your trip report.

Welcome!!! Thanks for joining in on the fun, I will need all the help I can get from Disneyland vets!!

 

[kaoden39]

Welcome!!! Thanks for joining in on the fun, I will need all the help I can get from Disneyland vets!!

Oh I am a vet. I started going to Disneyland close to 40 years ago. Wow I am old. We are planning a trip for December. My teenage daughters and I are gonna start a pre-trip report soon.

 

[tiggersam00]

Love your previous TR! Your too funny, I love that you are making me forget about the upcoming trip by posting your old one, great idea!

 

[ariel1025]

Oh I am a vet. I started going to Disneyland close to 40 years ago. Wow I am old. We are planning a trip for December. My teenage daughters and I are gonna start a pre-trip report soon.

Oh wow, I can't imagine how different it must be now compared to when you first started going!! I can't wait to read your pre-trip report. How old are your daughters??

Love your previous TR! Your too funny, I love that you are making me forget about the upcoming trip by posting your old one, great idea!

I don't know if posting the previous trip is making it easier or harder for me to forget about our (possible) new trip I love "reliving" it though, so either way it's fun

 

[ariel1025]

It looks like I left off with me crying at the entrance to Disneyland. So, we actually enter the park and I am overwhelmed with emotion. It was decorated so beautifully for Christmas and I had been looking forward to this trip for so long....

Then I see my first Character

It looks like she isn't very happy though Oh well, I still love me some Belle!!

I was honestly shocked because it was so CROWDED...of course I knew it would be because of Christmas and everything...I just didn't realize it was going to be this busy. It was extrememly difficult to move at times

Anyway, we finally get past the train station area and I see another beautiful Christmas tree

Of course I have to stop to take a picture

Some crazy person started yelling at them...apparentally somebody actually thought they could get a picture of the tree without any people in the shot...umm ok do you see how many people are here today???

Again, Brian and Erica refused to take a picture...I just don't get it
And then there it was....

It was so pretty (and no I never compared it to Cinderella's Castle ). I loved everything about Sleeping Beauty's castle...it was so charming. After I had my castle "fix" we started to explore.

Love it!!

Then Candi's Mom says "ok, we can't break tradition let's go." I was incredibly confused and excited all at the same time. I kept trying to figure out where she was taking us

Then she said "ok Brian we didn't forget"

Apparentally every time they go to Disneyland this is where they start their adventure. According to Candi it just so happened to be the first ride his brother ever rode (when he was around 4) and then every time they went back he would refuse to get on anything else until they rode "the vacation ride" So it became tradition!

Due to the time of year they had it decorated for Christmas

I have to admit that I enjoyed riding more because I felt like family taking part in their traditions, than I did because of the ride itself.

After we left "the vacation ride" we saw that they were seating for the Snow White show so we decided to stay and watch

Taking pictures of the props before the show began

Bad, bad mirror ... putting Snow White's life in danger for telling the truth

Awww, they lived happily ever after

I really enjoyed the show and watching that one got me really excited to see Aladdin over at California Adventure later in the week. However, at that time we had more riding to do. Now what do you ride when you have just watched the Snow White show???

The Snow White ride of course!!!!

Unfortunately, I don't have anymore of the pictures from our afternoon at Disneyland. I just wanted to relax and enjoy everything for the rest of that day. I can tell you that we had a really good time. There were a couple of complaints from a certain someone that Disneyland was for little kids. But for the most part everyone was able to ignore her. My favorite part of the day is when it had just gotten dark we decided go ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad .... SO MUCH FUN!!! After our runaway train experience we all split up to do dinner. Candi and I wanted to go to Rainforest Cafe, his parents went to do room service and Erica wanted to get off Disneyland property so they took the car and went to Carls Jr

All in all it had been a great first day, but it wasn't over yet....

 

[Sarah84]

The upcoming anniversary trip sounds fantastic, and im enjoying your xmas trip report what a great xmas present

Im going to Disneyland for the first time in september and am so excited

 

[kaoden39]

Oh wow, I can't imagine how different it must be now compared to when you first started going!! I can't wait to read your pre-trip report. How old are your daughters??



I don't know if posting the previous trip is making it easier or harder for me to forget about our (possible) new trip I love "reliving" it though, so either way it's fun

They are 14 and 15 years old. They were taking today about the pictures they plan on taking being of hot guys that they see there.

 

[kaoden39]

It looks like I left off with me crying at the entrance to Disneyland. So, we actually enter the park and I am overwhelmed with emotion. It was decorated so beautifully for Christmas and I had been looking forward to this trip for so long....

Then I see my first Character

It looks like she isn't very happy though Oh well, I still love me some Belle!!

I was honestly shocked because it was so CROWDED...of course I knew it would be because of Christmas and everything...I just didn't realize it was going to be this busy. It was extrememly difficult to move at times

Anyway, we finally get past the train station area and I see another beautiful Christmas tree

Of course I have to stop to take a picture

Some crazy person started yelling at them...apparentally somebody actually thought they could get a picture of the tree without any people in the shot...umm ok do you see how many people are here today???

Again, Brian and Erica refused to take a picture...I just don't get it
And then there it was....

It was so pretty (and no I never compared it to Cinderella's Castle ). I loved everything about Sleeping Beauty's castle...it was so charming. After I had my castle "fix" we started to explore.

Love it!!

Then Candi's Mom says "ok, we can't break tradition let's go." I was incredibly confused and excited all at the same time. I kept trying to figure out where she was taking us

Then she said "ok Brian we didn't forget"

Apparentally every time they go to Disneyland this is where they start their adventure. According to Candi it just so happened to be the first ride his brother ever rode (when he was around 4) and then every time they went back he would refuse to get on anything else until they rode "the vacation ride" So it became tradition!

Due to the time of year they had it decorated for Christmas

I have to admit that I enjoyed riding more because I felt like family taking part in their traditions, than I did because of the ride itself.

After we left "the vacation ride" we saw that they were seating for the Snow White show so we decided to stay and watch

Taking pictures of the props before the show began

Bad, bad mirror ... putting Snow White's life in danger for telling the truth

Awww, they lived happily ever after

I really enjoyed the show and watching that one got me really excited to see Aladdin over at California Adventure later in the week. However, at that time we had more riding to do. Now what do you ride when you have just watched the Snow White show???

The Snow White ride of course!!!!

Unfortunately, I don't have anymore of the pictures from our afternoon at Disneyland. I just wanted to relax and enjoy everything for the rest of that day. I can tell you that we had a really good time. There were a couple of complaints from a certain someone that Disneyland was for little kids. But for the most part everyone was able to ignore her. My favorite part of the day is when it had just gotten dark we decided go ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad .... SO MUCH FUN!!! After our runaway train experience we all split up to do dinner. Candi and I wanted to go to Rainforest Cafe, his parents went to do room service and Erica wanted to get off Disneyland property so they took the car and went to Carls Jr

All in all it had been a great first day, but it wasn't over yet....

Why is it every family has one? At least for a little while.

 

[ariel1025]

OUR RESERVATION WAS (finally) CONFIRMED!!!!!!!

Paradise Pier Here We Come....Let the (real) planning begin......

 

[kaoden39]

OUR RESERVATION WAS (finally) CONFIRMED!!!!!!!

Paradise Pier Here We Come....Let the (real) planning begin......

Yay! That is wonderful!

 

[Sarah84]

OUR RESERVATION WAS (finally) CONFIRMED!!!!!!!

Paradise Pier Here We Come....Let the (real) planning begin......

YAY! thats great news