yupikgal
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 953
We’re going to Disneyland in mid-November, (18-23rd) to enjoy the holidays!
Cast of Characters:
DH: 48
Me - 53 (I just celebrated my birthday, and yes I’m the older one):
DD – 22 & her boyfriend (23):
DS - 19: (previous Goofy's Kitchen Character Meal!)
My husband and I are flying down ahead of them, we will be there for 3 days beforehand. We decided to have a little down time and stay in a nice beachside resort before our Disney visit. We’ll both be super busy at work before we leave, trying to get things done, so the relaxing time will be well deserved! I’ve already made spa appointments, and we are so looking forward to this!
Ok, I have to say that I’m not a wild ride type of gal, the scariest rides I go on are Indiana Jones & Splash Mountain. There’s no Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Screamin’ or Tower of Terror for this gal. My family loves those rides though, so normally I just sit it out or walk around and check out the sights. For me, it’s all about the atmosphere, enjoying my happy place and not worrying about a thing!
My Family’s idea of a good time:
My Idea:
My daughter and I are the uber planners, so we have a daily itinerary of what we plan to do, including where we will eat. This includes my husband and my pre DL time!
Here’s a play by play:
11/13-14: We leave our little Northwest community on the Bering sea in Alaska on a late flight for the big shining lights of Anchorage. I booked 2 nights for us at a nice hotel that we like, which is right next to a Walmart & a mall with a theatre, ice skating rink, shops such as Old Navy, Gap, Body Shop, Best Buy, to name a few-and for dinner probably Olive Garden! I booked 2 nights, even if we are really only spending 1 full night there. I booked the 2nd night since we are flying out on a red eye flight, and we’ll need a place to lay our heads until boarding time. Luckily, it’s close to the airport, so we won’t have to leave the hotel until late that night.
Flying into Nome, our little home on the Bering Sea!
11/15: We leave with AK Air in the wee hours of the morning, make a stopover on the westcoast and continue on to John Wayne airport, arriving shortly after 9a. We have a shuttle reserved to whisk us away to our resort! I reserved club level so we can have breakfast included, appetizers & drinks in the afternoon, etc. The first day we will be tired from our long journey, so we plan on staying on resort property and enjoying all it has to offer. If the weather is decent, we may head to the beach, which is just across a walkway. We also have spa appointments for late afternoon, then plan on eating at the hotel that night, either room service or in one of their restaurants.
11/16: We will pick up our reserved car, head to Long Beach to enjoy the Queen Mary. I got a deal on Travelzoo for ½ price tickets, which include the Princess Diana exhibit. I can’t wait! We’ve never been! We will probably hang around Longbeach and have lunch, and who knows what else the day will bring? Maybe continue driving up the coast, or whatever our hearts tell us to do!
11/17: This day we will head to Newport & explore that area. I’d like to go to Balboa Island, maybe rent a boat or take a Whale watching cruise. We could also head to Catalina for the day? We don’t really have an exact plan, which is nice!
11/18: Today we check out early to head to the airport & pick up the kids! Can’t wait for this day, it will be so exciting to see them and all be together! Their flight gets in around 9a, so maybe to kill time we will head to their offsite hotel first to see if they can ck in or at least drop off the luggage, then we want to go straight to In n’ Out! I gave the kids gift cards at Christmas, and we are dying to use them! After we eat, we’ll head back to their hotel, drop them off, then head to the DL Hotel to ck in (surprise for our son)! We are really looking forward to his reaction, since we always have stayed at the PPH when staying onsite! We will return the car, then DH and I will be going to DL alone for a few hours. I reserved a special treat for our DS, since he works so hard-a massage at the Mandara Spa at the GC @ 3p. They will be closing early during the weekday, so we will head back to the DL hotel & go to Trader Sams. My DD is excited, since they’ve never been. I discovered it with my sister & adult niece a couple of years ago, and we loved it! Our youngest is not of drinking age, so we would have to leave at 8p. I’m thinking we can just have a drink & appetizer there, then head to Earl of Sandwich for dinner! We want to call it a night early this night because the kids will be tired from the long flight, and we plan on getting to DCA bright & early the next day!
11/19: Since we are staying onsite, we get MM every day, yippee! My husband has never seen DCA since it’s been redone, so I’m very excited for him to see it!! Also, the kids haven’t been for the holidays since they were very young (they don’t remember it) and that was before DCA was around! DH, DS & me are going in early. Our plan is to make a beeline for RSR. Our DD and her boyfriend only get 1 MM and they can't use it to DCA (sad) so we plan on making the best of it!! We will have to meet up with them shortly after they can get in, which I think is 10a. After RSR, we want to do Soarin’, which is traditionally the first ride we do when we get there, but I really want my DH to experience RSR so we are deviating! We want to do TSMM together too, and then after that, we may split up. If it’s warm enough, we may get fastpasses for Grizzly & come back to do it later. I know that November isn’t as warm weather wise as we are used to, since we normally go in the summer, but we are hardy Alaskans, and we can do it!! Since this is a weekday & off season, I’m assuming it will close at 8p, so we will take advantage of our time as much as possible! That evening, we have WOC dinner reservations at Carthay Circle at 5:30p, then we plan on ending the evening at the 8:15p WOC showing.
That should be a wonderful end to our first day together in the parks! I think that this is the only showing they will have, which is good for us since we want to hit the sack early again and do MM the next morning.
11/20: Disneyland! Yay! This is our DS, DD & her BF’s 1st day into this park, I can’t wait until they see all the decorations & sights & sounds of Christmas!
We have a character breakfast planned Minnie & Friends breakfast @ 9:50am this morning. DD, DS & I did this one last summer, but it’s DH & BF’s first time! Since early morning entry is at 9:00 this morning, DH, DS & I will be heading in early to take advantage of MM! Anyway, once we are in, we are sprinting to Peter Pan first (another tradition) then riding some of the other Fantasyland rides. Since we have our Minnie breakfast, we will meet up with DD & her BF, have breakfast with all the characters, then start our day!
*There are a few rides we need to keep them away from until later in the afternoon!* My DD and are keeping a surprise from the boys-the Holiday Tour! I’m so excited about this because they’ve never seen the HM all decked out, and apparently we will get to go on the HM & IASW rides with the tour guide, and we will have actual seats for the parade! I just booked this tour and we are SOOOO EXCITED! I used the Disney Visa to buy them & got 20% off!
From there, we split up so the braver of the bunch (all but me) can get on Space Mountain, Star Tours, etc. I’ll get our FP for Indy, then we will meet up to ride Buzz Lightyear! I’m not sure where lunch will fit in timewise, but thinking Jolly Holiday! We love their turkey sandwiches & homemade chips!
The tour starts at 2:45p, and it goes for 3 hours, until the parade that starts at 5:45p! I don’t think we will have a lot of time for dinner after this since the park closes @ 8p, so we will either have to have a reservation already planned for right after the parade (how long is it?) like at French Market or Café Orleans, does this sound possible, or do they kick you out right at closing? We will probably be bushed after a long day anyway, so maybe just head back to DTD or the resorts to eat!
11/21: DCA Day again!! I can’t wait, I love this park! There is MM this morning from 9a-10a, so my DH, DS & I will be able to do that! Guess where we will head to first?
Afterwards, I want to hit all of my favorites! Soarin’, Grizzly River, Toy Story Mania, Monsters! This day I want to spend some time alone with my DS, we normally do that on each trip, and this is no exception. It’s always fun catching up since we don’t live with them anymore I make him go on all the “baby” rides with me, like Heimlich’s Choo Choo train, and Monsters Inc, and Little Mermaid. We love it!! Also have to see another fav attraction, “Bug’s Life”!
DD & BF have an 11:30am reservation at the Blue Bayou, so we will head over to DL. DH, DS & I might eat at Hungry Bear-one of our favorites!
11/22: This is my DH & I’s last day in the parks. The kids are staying an extra day after we leave, so they will be going to the parks one more day the day we head to Vegas. This is also my DD & her BF’s ONLY early entry day!! It will be a fun day, but also tiring since it’s the last day and it will be a long one. I’m sure we will ride HM over again, as well as POTC, Indy, Buzz Lightyear, Splash. The rest of the crew will most likely want to ride Star Tours again, and Space, Matterhorn and other things that I don’t. That’s fine with me! I also like to rest my tootsies and people watch! Another thing I forgot that I love doing is riding the train around the whole park and also getting on the monorail! Two of my favorite things to do!
We have a special character breakfast reserved at Storyteller’s Café at 10:50a, so we will probably head over about 10:30-10:40 to the GCH. Since this is sort of a late breakfast, we most likely won’t eat lunch until late, then most likely eat a light dinner or snacks. Haven’t decided on this yet!
Today I planned something special for my daughter and I at 3p, we normally try to spend time with the kids individually at DL. I can’t say what it is yet because she will be reading this PTR, but it will be enjoyed, I’m sure! We like to do girl time, so I can’t wait!!
11/23: This is a sad day
We are checking out of the Disneyland Hotel, heading over to Ho Jo’s to meet up with the kids for breakfast and then dropping off our DS with them, for their last night. The kids will be using their last park ticket this day after we leave. My DH & I are heading to Vegas!! We have tickets to see Rod Stewart the first night, and the Cirque Du Soleil “Love” Beatles show! I can’t wait until my DH sees it, I’ve seen it twice and loved it! We are staying at the Palazzo, so we are in a good location. I also want him to see Freemont Street and a few other sights that he hasn’t.
11/26: This is the day we head back to Alaska, to spend Thanksgiving with the family! We don’t fly home to Nome until Sunday the 30th. We will be tired and ready to get home by then. Another fun filled family trip in the memory book!! Happy Holidays everyone, HO HO HO!!
Cast of Characters:
DH: 48
Me - 53 (I just celebrated my birthday, and yes I’m the older one):
DD – 22 & her boyfriend (23):
DS - 19: (previous Goofy's Kitchen Character Meal!)
My husband and I are flying down ahead of them, we will be there for 3 days beforehand. We decided to have a little down time and stay in a nice beachside resort before our Disney visit. We’ll both be super busy at work before we leave, trying to get things done, so the relaxing time will be well deserved! I’ve already made spa appointments, and we are so looking forward to this!
Ok, I have to say that I’m not a wild ride type of gal, the scariest rides I go on are Indiana Jones & Splash Mountain. There’s no Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Screamin’ or Tower of Terror for this gal. My family loves those rides though, so normally I just sit it out or walk around and check out the sights. For me, it’s all about the atmosphere, enjoying my happy place and not worrying about a thing!
My Family’s idea of a good time:
My Idea:
My daughter and I are the uber planners, so we have a daily itinerary of what we plan to do, including where we will eat. This includes my husband and my pre DL time!
Here’s a play by play:
11/13-14: We leave our little Northwest community on the Bering sea in Alaska on a late flight for the big shining lights of Anchorage. I booked 2 nights for us at a nice hotel that we like, which is right next to a Walmart & a mall with a theatre, ice skating rink, shops such as Old Navy, Gap, Body Shop, Best Buy, to name a few-and for dinner probably Olive Garden! I booked 2 nights, even if we are really only spending 1 full night there. I booked the 2nd night since we are flying out on a red eye flight, and we’ll need a place to lay our heads until boarding time. Luckily, it’s close to the airport, so we won’t have to leave the hotel until late that night.
Flying into Nome, our little home on the Bering Sea!
11/15: We leave with AK Air in the wee hours of the morning, make a stopover on the westcoast and continue on to John Wayne airport, arriving shortly after 9a. We have a shuttle reserved to whisk us away to our resort! I reserved club level so we can have breakfast included, appetizers & drinks in the afternoon, etc. The first day we will be tired from our long journey, so we plan on staying on resort property and enjoying all it has to offer. If the weather is decent, we may head to the beach, which is just across a walkway. We also have spa appointments for late afternoon, then plan on eating at the hotel that night, either room service or in one of their restaurants.
11/16: We will pick up our reserved car, head to Long Beach to enjoy the Queen Mary. I got a deal on Travelzoo for ½ price tickets, which include the Princess Diana exhibit. I can’t wait! We’ve never been! We will probably hang around Longbeach and have lunch, and who knows what else the day will bring? Maybe continue driving up the coast, or whatever our hearts tell us to do!
11/17: This day we will head to Newport & explore that area. I’d like to go to Balboa Island, maybe rent a boat or take a Whale watching cruise. We could also head to Catalina for the day? We don’t really have an exact plan, which is nice!
11/18: Today we check out early to head to the airport & pick up the kids! Can’t wait for this day, it will be so exciting to see them and all be together! Their flight gets in around 9a, so maybe to kill time we will head to their offsite hotel first to see if they can ck in or at least drop off the luggage, then we want to go straight to In n’ Out! I gave the kids gift cards at Christmas, and we are dying to use them! After we eat, we’ll head back to their hotel, drop them off, then head to the DL Hotel to ck in (surprise for our son)! We are really looking forward to his reaction, since we always have stayed at the PPH when staying onsite! We will return the car, then DH and I will be going to DL alone for a few hours. I reserved a special treat for our DS, since he works so hard-a massage at the Mandara Spa at the GC @ 3p. They will be closing early during the weekday, so we will head back to the DL hotel & go to Trader Sams. My DD is excited, since they’ve never been. I discovered it with my sister & adult niece a couple of years ago, and we loved it! Our youngest is not of drinking age, so we would have to leave at 8p. I’m thinking we can just have a drink & appetizer there, then head to Earl of Sandwich for dinner! We want to call it a night early this night because the kids will be tired from the long flight, and we plan on getting to DCA bright & early the next day!
11/19: Since we are staying onsite, we get MM every day, yippee! My husband has never seen DCA since it’s been redone, so I’m very excited for him to see it!! Also, the kids haven’t been for the holidays since they were very young (they don’t remember it) and that was before DCA was around! DH, DS & me are going in early. Our plan is to make a beeline for RSR. Our DD and her boyfriend only get 1 MM and they can't use it to DCA (sad) so we plan on making the best of it!! We will have to meet up with them shortly after they can get in, which I think is 10a. After RSR, we want to do Soarin’, which is traditionally the first ride we do when we get there, but I really want my DH to experience RSR so we are deviating! We want to do TSMM together too, and then after that, we may split up. If it’s warm enough, we may get fastpasses for Grizzly & come back to do it later. I know that November isn’t as warm weather wise as we are used to, since we normally go in the summer, but we are hardy Alaskans, and we can do it!! Since this is a weekday & off season, I’m assuming it will close at 8p, so we will take advantage of our time as much as possible! That evening, we have WOC dinner reservations at Carthay Circle at 5:30p, then we plan on ending the evening at the 8:15p WOC showing.
That should be a wonderful end to our first day together in the parks! I think that this is the only showing they will have, which is good for us since we want to hit the sack early again and do MM the next morning.
11/20: Disneyland! Yay! This is our DS, DD & her BF’s 1st day into this park, I can’t wait until they see all the decorations & sights & sounds of Christmas!
We have a character breakfast planned Minnie & Friends breakfast @ 9:50am this morning. DD, DS & I did this one last summer, but it’s DH & BF’s first time! Since early morning entry is at 9:00 this morning, DH, DS & I will be heading in early to take advantage of MM! Anyway, once we are in, we are sprinting to Peter Pan first (another tradition) then riding some of the other Fantasyland rides. Since we have our Minnie breakfast, we will meet up with DD & her BF, have breakfast with all the characters, then start our day!
*There are a few rides we need to keep them away from until later in the afternoon!* My DD and are keeping a surprise from the boys-the Holiday Tour! I’m so excited about this because they’ve never seen the HM all decked out, and apparently we will get to go on the HM & IASW rides with the tour guide, and we will have actual seats for the parade! I just booked this tour and we are SOOOO EXCITED! I used the Disney Visa to buy them & got 20% off!
From there, we split up so the braver of the bunch (all but me) can get on Space Mountain, Star Tours, etc. I’ll get our FP for Indy, then we will meet up to ride Buzz Lightyear! I’m not sure where lunch will fit in timewise, but thinking Jolly Holiday! We love their turkey sandwiches & homemade chips!
The tour starts at 2:45p, and it goes for 3 hours, until the parade that starts at 5:45p! I don’t think we will have a lot of time for dinner after this since the park closes @ 8p, so we will either have to have a reservation already planned for right after the parade (how long is it?) like at French Market or Café Orleans, does this sound possible, or do they kick you out right at closing? We will probably be bushed after a long day anyway, so maybe just head back to DTD or the resorts to eat!
11/21: DCA Day again!! I can’t wait, I love this park! There is MM this morning from 9a-10a, so my DH, DS & I will be able to do that! Guess where we will head to first?
Afterwards, I want to hit all of my favorites! Soarin’, Grizzly River, Toy Story Mania, Monsters! This day I want to spend some time alone with my DS, we normally do that on each trip, and this is no exception. It’s always fun catching up since we don’t live with them anymore I make him go on all the “baby” rides with me, like Heimlich’s Choo Choo train, and Monsters Inc, and Little Mermaid. We love it!! Also have to see another fav attraction, “Bug’s Life”!
DD & BF have an 11:30am reservation at the Blue Bayou, so we will head over to DL. DH, DS & I might eat at Hungry Bear-one of our favorites!
11/22: This is my DH & I’s last day in the parks. The kids are staying an extra day after we leave, so they will be going to the parks one more day the day we head to Vegas. This is also my DD & her BF’s ONLY early entry day!! It will be a fun day, but also tiring since it’s the last day and it will be a long one. I’m sure we will ride HM over again, as well as POTC, Indy, Buzz Lightyear, Splash. The rest of the crew will most likely want to ride Star Tours again, and Space, Matterhorn and other things that I don’t. That’s fine with me! I also like to rest my tootsies and people watch! Another thing I forgot that I love doing is riding the train around the whole park and also getting on the monorail! Two of my favorite things to do!
We have a special character breakfast reserved at Storyteller’s Café at 10:50a, so we will probably head over about 10:30-10:40 to the GCH. Since this is sort of a late breakfast, we most likely won’t eat lunch until late, then most likely eat a light dinner or snacks. Haven’t decided on this yet!
Today I planned something special for my daughter and I at 3p, we normally try to spend time with the kids individually at DL. I can’t say what it is yet because she will be reading this PTR, but it will be enjoyed, I’m sure! We like to do girl time, so I can’t wait!!
11/23: This is a sad day
We are checking out of the Disneyland Hotel, heading over to Ho Jo’s to meet up with the kids for breakfast and then dropping off our DS with them, for their last night. The kids will be using their last park ticket this day after we leave. My DH & I are heading to Vegas!! We have tickets to see Rod Stewart the first night, and the Cirque Du Soleil “Love” Beatles show! I can’t wait until my DH sees it, I’ve seen it twice and loved it! We are staying at the Palazzo, so we are in a good location. I also want him to see Freemont Street and a few other sights that he hasn’t. 
11/26: This is the day we head back to Alaska, to spend Thanksgiving with the family! We don’t fly home to Nome until Sunday the 30th. We will be tired and ready to get home by then. Another fun filled family trip in the memory book!! Happy Holidays everyone, HO HO HO!!
I know it's early, but I have a lot to remember coming from so far! 
I can barely sleep these days! I think what makes it even more exciting is that I started planning for this almost a year ago, bought our airline tickets + put down the deposit in February of last year! I was so happy to have it paid off last month. 
That is going to be such a fun trip, we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary + our daughter's college graduation! She loves Harry Potter, so of course we will have to go to Universal too! We will most likely go in the spring of 2016 (husband's choice) but I would love to go back during the F & W Festival, we have only been in October in the past! That trip will require a lot of planning, but my daughter and I can take it on!
I'm most excited to have us all together!!
Thanks for reading along! I will add more tidbits daily until we leave, and then I will take tons of pics & videos for my eventual TR!! Kick back and enjoy the show! 
Loving your pre-trip report, it's making me very excited to go too! We will be at DL from Nov 15-23 so maybe we will run into you! 
