(More than)A FIVE years of Trips! -- TR Started! Day One - updated 6/10

[hurleysweety]

And now for some fun! Pictures from our Honeymoon - June 2008, WDW!

MOST FUN ever! Seriously - this was a great evening and so worth the extra ticket price! Used my birthday gift card from the parents to pay for the tix and it was amazing. I was just all smiles all night. Oh ya, haha, I forgot to mention that I'm a pirate freak!

We spent most of our time at Hollywood Studios - mostly because of Toy Story!

We arrived on the last day of the garden festival. Or maybe the day after. Either way, the pictures from the first day are the only ones with the flower sculptures in them. I guessed they removed them overnight? I was pleased we got a few pics with them!

 

[cinderella-princess]

I love all the pictures! You guys look so cute in your disney wedding ears. Its too bad they took down the flower sculptures but I'm glad you were able to get some pictures in front of them. They look beautiful!

 

[hurleysweety]

I know I kinda went on a rant the other day about the Mother's Day deal and how bitter I was that DTD would probably be pretty crowded that night since CA closes at 6 and DL closes at 8. But then I realized that the festival is for CHOC, and realized that CHOC was a hospital! So I was bitter about an event to help kids. So here is my little rant about how excited I am about this event now:

How neat that its a fund raising event! I wish we could swing spending the $200 to go, but its just not gonna fit into our plans this trip. Wish we could have another option of doing like a $50 ticket just for food and like non-alcoholic drinks - or just water, thats all we drink anyway! So, just to clarify, incase I rubbed anyone the wrong way...I think that it is awesome that DTD and CHOC are doing this event to help out many many children will all kinds of situations and problems, in the present and future. Way to go for all the restaurants participating too. I'm no longer bitter that you will all be busy on the night of DH's birthday. You're doing a good thing. I can save my complaints for something MUCH much more of a dilema. We'll eat elsewhere and it will be great because we're in Disney! And we'll come see you, DTD, on another night. Someday we'll be able to attend events like this, I hope. I would love to hear from someone how it goes - and if in the future we should look into attending it, that is if they do it again a-la-Dinsey.

 

[kaoden39]

You know what? You are human, you are allowed rants and you are allowed to be upset. That's what I do when I am frustrated because my well laid plans go awry.

 

[blabbermouth]

Aww... I wasn't offended. You can definitely be both supportive and annoyed at the same time! I can totally understand, it's kind of like at work, when there's Jeans Day for charity... and then there's cupcakes for charity and then someone is taking donations for a charity walk and then... it's for charity and it's good, but it can also be awkward and annoying always being asked for money.

 

[hurleysweety]

You know what? You are human, you are allowed rants and you are allowed to be upset. That's what I do when I am frustrated because my well laid plans go awry.

Haha, thanks. Glad to be human and be excused

Aww... I wasn't offended. You can definitely be both supportive and annoyed at the same time! I can totally understand, it's kind of like at work, when there's Jeans Day for charity... and then there's cupcakes for charity and then someone is taking donations for a charity walk and then... it's for charity and it's good, but it can also be awkward and annoying always being asked for money.

Good point. Glad you weren't offended. I just didn't want someone to stumble upon it and be like, "WOW, this girl is SOO rude.." but I'm pretty sure that I don't come across that way at all!

 

[hurleysweety]

Woohoo! I have time to work on our schedule for the trip.

Wednesday, May 6th
Pack car for trip
Prepare all clothing and toiletries for next morning
Use checklist to ensure all paperwork and copies are packed

Thursday, May 7th
Leave as soon as we are up and ready to go, no later than 7:00 AM
Eat breakfast on the road
Eat lunch on the road
Arrive in Anaheim around 1 PM
Try to check into our hotel, if not, head to the park for our AP craziness

1. 
   
   
   1. Go to ticketbooth with
      
      
      a. DH's birthday email and ID​
      b. my ID​
      c. AP E-tickets​
      d. parking receipt​
   2. Redeem our AP vouchers for APs
   3. Upgrade our APs to Premium APs and get refunded for parking
   4. Get DH his fun card for his birthday
   5. Go through turnstiles and head to bank
   6. Proceed to bank to process our APs and get pictures taken
   7. Tour the park
   Head back to hotel around 5 for short nap, or to check in for first time
   Eat dinner in park - Where??? Wherever DH picks
   Tour DTD after park closes, if not too busy from CHOC Festival
   Head back to hotel
   
   Friday, May 8th
   Leave hotel at 8 AM
   Arrive at Disneyland parking at 8:15
   Be in line by 8:30
   Ride a few rides (based on wait times)
   Breakfast at Cafe Orleans - around 9:20
   Ride a couple rides according to RideMAX/collect fastpasses
   Head over to DCA (won't be in time for rope drop, but DH wants breakfast at Cafe Orleans, so we'll do that and hope that toy story lines aren't too bad by the time we get there)
   Join stampede for Toy Story Mania/collect fastpasses
   Munch on snacks from room
   Break at hotel
   Dinner (fast food, or something quick and cheap)
   Quick stop at Starbucks before heading back to DCA
   Use fastpasses from earlier at DCA
   Ride Toy Story Mania, AGAIN
   Head over to DLR after DCA close and finish riding fast pass rides
   Treat myself to a tiger tail or dole whip!
   Back to hotel to SLEEP for tomorrows busy day!
   
   Saturday, May 9th
   Breakfast in room
   Leave hotel at 7 AM
   Arrive at Disneyland parking at 7:15
   Be in line by 7:30
   Ride according to RideMAX
   Toy Story Mania, Soarin, animation studio
   Lunch outside park
   Break at hotel
   Dinner at House of Blues (5:30?)
   Try to ride toy story mania again, if lines aren't too long
   Head back to DLR til close (12AM)
   
   Sunday, May 10
   Wake up and pack car early
   Breakfast in room
   Check out of room
   Leave room at 7:30
   Arrive at DL parking at 7:45
   Be at entrance just in time for opening at 8 AM
   Head to DL for fantasyland rides/finding nemo?
   Try and hit up Toy Story Mania again
   Lunch at Taste Pilots
   Leave park around 5 PM to head home
   Dinner on road
   arrive home by 10 or 11 so that we (mostly DH cuz he is driving!) can sleep before heading back to work - BOOO!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Just a question......does Cafe Orlean's do breakfast???? We did lunch there in March & the restaurant was closed until our seating time (11?)..... wasn't aware they offered a breakfast........

 

[hurleysweety]

Just a question......does Cafe Orlean's do breakfast???? We did lunch there in March & the restaurant was closed until our seating time (11?)..... wasn't aware they offered a breakfast........

On the allears.net menu site it lists the restaurant open as "Seasonal" so I HOPE that it is open. If not, man DH is gonna be a sad guy! After giving him all the menu's it was the first thing he wanted!! And he even mentioned it again later! It made me so happy!!! I was like, finally after planning this trip for almost a year now, he finally tells me something he wants to eat and that he looks forward to it!!

 

[hurleysweety]

Yes, I'm that excited.

DH has gone Disney. Its official.

Only took him a year to become officially Disney obsessed in my books. He woke me up this morning, as usual, and then the first thing out of his mouth was, "I don't want to go to work, lets go to Disney." I was so happy! He started talking about rides and such and all the fun we were going to have. He talked about how he wishes we could stay longer and go more often and all the things he wants to do while we're there. I was all smiles and all happy - even though I was waking up to go into work early to finish a project non-work related - booo! (The life of a freelance designer - you learn to say "yes" to quickly, and "no" not nearly soon enough!)

So while at work, DH and I will sometimes chat on gmail about our day or that evening or whatever. He sent me an "IM" that said: "you get to use your Disney planning thing today" and I was just confused. Then I remembered that he had ordered his new laptop (we so needed it!) and that message meant it will be delivered today! So why am I so excited? That means I get to download RIDEMAX! (Stupid RideMax doesn't work on Macs...and thats pretty much my life (work and home))I'm so excited to play around with this new "toy" that will add to my Disney madness. I'm also glad to finally get some sort of ride schedule together too. I want to make sure we have time to do all the things we want, and then maybe time to just hang out and enjoy things like appetizers at the Cove Bar or a churro by the rivers. Ohh, I'm so ready to just be there.

So I made a list earlier of all the things I wanted to do before we left. And so far I've done a lot of them. I should start checking things off, but that would mean I was going against nature and my personality and actually being organized. While I am a planning freak, I'm also a lazy and disorganized mess too. DH and my mom both say its because of my creativity in my brain. Apparently my rational and analytical side only come through like once a week when I go on a super cleaning spree and vow to never leave the house messy and always be right on top of the laundry. Oh well...we try, we fall on our faces, we fail and get back up. Story of my life! Now if I can only find all those papers I printed...I should stick to my rule of not printing something til I need it, otherwise I'll loose it. Luckily there is email and confirmations are saved in my email, on the website if I login, and DH has some pretty awesome organizational skills - if all else fails on my end. Wow...I've just exhausted myself. Anyone else feel my bittersweet lazy planner pain?

And one more awesome and amazing thing - DH and I will be going to Blue Bayou for our Anniversary. MIL and FIL have agreed that BB is certainly a special place and would like to celebrate with us as our anniversary gift. So not only do I get to go, but I also am not paying for it! I love family!

 

[blabbermouth]

Those pics from your honeymoon are sooo cute!

I'm a bit of a lazy planner... I always plan stuff out and write it out (when I'm bored at work) but then when it comes down to it I don't follow the schedule. DF is much more spur of the moment than me... he's not ready to decide where to eat until he's hungry! But he gets moments of excitement about the trip at least.

And wow! Only 9 days, sooo exciting!

 

[hurleysweety]

I just got an email because I'm part of the ESPN zone club or whatever to get discounts and special annoucements...So today I get this email and it is inviting me to attend the CHOC event in DTD:

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009

Time: 6:00 pm Location: Downtown Disney® District – Anaheim, CA

Tickets: $50.00 per person

Complimentary Valet

Which means that they must have listened to me and seen that I wanted them to lower the price to $50 in order to go. Hmm...maybe I will consider going. We'll see if DH is up to spending his birthday AWAY from toy story mania and all the other rides he's been dreaming about...Its a beautiful thought, but it won't happen. Just strange that they would suddenly change the price and send out an email blast? Maybe they weren't selling enough? If so, that is really sad. I hope that they have a wonderful turnout and that the CHOC raises a good amount of money to benefit all the children!

 

[hurleysweety]

Those pics from your honeymoon are sooo cute!

I'm a bit of a lazy planner... I always plan stuff out and write it out (when I'm bored at work) but then when it comes down to it I don't follow the schedule. DF is much more spur of the moment than me... he's not ready to decide where to eat until he's hungry! But he gets moments of excitement about the trip at least.

And wow! Only 9 days, sooo exciting!

Thanks for the compliment! They were lots of fun to take too! Hope you and your soon to be DH have lots of fun taking all kinds of pictures. Its great to have pictures of the both of you from your honeymoon. Most people just have random pictures of each other. Or those hilarious close-up photos where half of someone's face is always cut off!

And totally understand the "not ready to decide until he's hungry!" DH will probably change his mind a ton and then use the old standby, "Whatever makes you happy." Oh thanks hubs, that sure helps a ton....

 

[kaoden39]

I just got an email because I'm part of the ESPN zone club or whatever to get discounts and special annoucements...So today I get this email and it is inviting me to attend the CHOC event in DTD:

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009

Time: 6:00 pm Location: Downtown Disney® District – Anaheim, CA

Tickets: $50.00 per person

Complimentary Valet

Which means that they must have listened to me and seen that I wanted them to lower the price to $50 in order to go. Hmm...maybe I will consider going. We'll see if DH is up to spending his birthday AWAY from toy story mania and all the other rides he's been dreaming about...Its a beautiful thought, but it won't happen. Just strange that they would suddenly change the price and send out an email blast? Maybe they weren't selling enough? If so, that is really sad. I hope that they have a wonderful turnout and that the CHOC raises a good amount of money to benefit all the children!

They must be reading your mind!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Just caught up on all your posts. You've been busy! Love your pix form WDW! Are you taking the laptop with you? If so you'll be able to upload and edit your PP pix. That way you'll be able to see ones you might want to retake.

Have a great time!

Oh, BTW, there maybe a small MnG of some of use from the PP group on Thursday, the 7th. Are you going to be at DCA that day-I'm thinking at the DV MnG. Let me know. Thanks.

 

[blabbermouth]

Wow, now all you have to do is start wishing other things cheaper, like the Disneyland Hotel!

Yeah, I love photopass... sorta 'spensive (Maybe you can wish for that to be cheaper!) but worth it to have so many neat photos together. We really liked it on our WDW trip, but we were there with another couple too, so there was usually someone else to take a pic. This time it's just the two of us, so we'll have to use it more. Think they'll come with us to San Diego and San Francisco??

 

[hurleysweety]

Just caught up on all your posts. You've been busy! Love your pix form WDW! Are you taking the laptop with you? If so you'll be able to upload and edit your PP pix. That way you'll be able to see ones you might want to retake.

Have a great time!

Oh, BTW, there maybe a small MnG of some of use from the PP group on Thursday, the 7th. Are you going to be at DCA that day-I'm thinking at the DV MnG. Let me know. Thanks.

Just confirmed with DH last night that we'll take my laptop to upload our photos for that very reason!

Also, we will be leaving here early EARLY Thursday morning, but there is no way we'll have done all our AP stuff before 10:30 in order to meet you all at the MnG. We could do Friday or Saturday, but I didn't look at the dates, so people might be gone by then. We will be in DCA as soon as all of our AP and birthday stuff is taken care of - hopefully by 1:30 at the lastest? Not entirely sure how long everything will take though.

Wow, now all you have to do is start wishing other things cheaper, like the Disneyland Hotel!

Yeah, I love photopass... sorta 'spensive (Maybe you can wish for that to be cheaper!) but worth it to have so many neat photos together. We really liked it on our WDW trip, but we were there with another couple too, so there was usually someone else to take a pic. This time it's just the two of us, so we'll have to use it more. Think they'll come with us to San Diego and San Francisco??

Okay here goes nothing, I wish that DLH would offer all the DISboards members some sort of awesome discount that would allow all of us budget minded people to stay there!

Photopass definitley comes in handy when its just the two of you. I wish they would come on all our excursions too!! (Are they available for rent???)

 

[hurleysweety]

3 Days, 17 hrs, and 40 minutes til we LEAVE!

I've been working on my planing journal and once its done, or almost done, I'll take some pictures and show you all my efforts! I've kinda become a little planning obsessive thanks to this PTR and reading other's trip reports! I stole the idea from DizNee Luver...so I hope you don't mind! I thought I'd put my design loving skills to use, combined with my love for Disney - and presto, a new found craze has overcome me - and my living room!

 

[kaoden39]

3 Days, 17 hrs, and 40 minutes til we LEAVE!

I've been working on my planing journal and once its done, or almost done, I'll take some pictures and show you all my efforts! I've kinda become a little planning obsessive thanks to this PTR and reading other's trip reports! I stole the idea from DizNee Luver...so I hope you don't mind! I thought I'd put my design loving skills to use, combined with my love for Disney - and presto, a new found craze has overcome me - and my living room!

It's so darn close. Woo hoo!

 

[hurleysweety]

So its not done yet - missing dining info and a day-by-day schedule!
But here are the pics from my fun with the binder so far:
Here is the front cover that I did for this trip

Close up of the design

Table of Contents

Turn by Turn directions from Google Maps

Food and Wine Festival Schedule

Park Times Schedule

AP Info

OHMYGOODNESS!!!! We leave in like 32 hours!!!