(our kids') California Dreams! (COMPLETE)

[Moodyzblu]

We always spend the last night looking at the castle (either in WDW or DL) and leaving can be so heartbreaking ! But we never say "goodbye" .. we always say "See Ya Real Soon !" .. somehow that makes it a little easier to know that we plan on coming back ..

 

[DisneyDez]

Hi, Jaina
This is my first time on DISboards and I would like to say that I saw your trip to dl with ur family and I loved it! What great pics. you have really cute kids. Thanks for all the info you supplied for us. I do have a question though, we are taking our daughter and two young grandkids 6 & 7 to dl in may, 14th - 17th and was wondering what the temp was when your were there? Some of the pics of your kids had them with red checks. I just want to be prepared for the weather as we are from Sequim, WA and it rains a lot here.
Thank you

 

[Jaina]

We always spend the last night looking at the castle (either in WDW or DL) and leaving can be so heartbreaking ! But we never say "goodbye" .. we always say "See Ya Real Soon !" .. somehow that makes it a little easier to know that we plan on coming back ..

It took me a minute to figure out -where- that was from, though it was playing animatedly in my head as I read it..."

Geez your gonna make me cry, and I'm at work so I can't.

I hope your going to do a follow up post with impressions and best times and other such stuff?

I will -try-. It's hard to think about already a month out, without specific questions!

Here is a post I did right as we got back with some impressions:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3074275

Ahhh!! What a sweet last moment!! We love the fireworks!! I'm so glad you at least got to experience them!!! Enjoy the memories and know you will be back sometime!! And then the kids will be a little older and it'll be a whole new experience!!

I am still enjoying the memories! It's hard to tell whether watching the videos and looking at the pics often will make me remember it better or if I do it too much, if they'll get almost boring, you know (from overexposure)? Never want that to happen, so I have to walk a fine line. ;-)

Hi, Jaina
This is my first time on DISboards and I would like to say that I saw your trip to dl with ur family and I loved it! What great pics. you have really cute kids. Thanks for all the info you supplied for us. I do have a question though, we are taking our daughter and two young grandkids 6 & 7 to dl in may, 14th - 17th and was wondering what the temp was when your were there? Some of the pics of your kids had them with red checks. I just want to be prepared for the weather as we are from Sequim, WA and it rains a lot here.
Thank you

I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! The thing with that part of California is that there is no planning for the weather! Until just a week or two before we didn't have any idea, and I brought ponchos and sweatshirts and pants as well as sunscreen, shorts, and hats! My family has gone in May quite often, and sometimes it's cool and breezy parts of the day and sometimes it's really toasty. It often cools off at night. When we were there it was unseasonably warm, and hit just over 90º that last day we were there, which is why there were pink cheeks! When my parents went last October (I think) they had a heat wave that put it over 100º for their trip! I just try to prepare for both, though it means a little extra packing.

 

[yupikgal]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience! I cried a little bit at the end just imagining you riding the carousel, watching the fireworks, people walking out of the park...I've done those things so it brings me right back! Your DH is a sweetie alright, that was thoughtful & unselfish to bring the kids back to the hotel and let you enjoy the last of the evening solo!

What a fun TR with the videos! I love that, it made it that much more real!! Sweet & Magical dreams!

 

[cptmemo]

Loved reading the rest of your trip! Truly magical Can't wait for our trip in June! We're going in a large group, but haven't been since the big kids were 5 and 7...and they' will be 10 and 12! plus a 18 month old. It'll be a bit crazy

Thanks for sharing this with us all!

 

[Jaina]

Thanks for the nice comments! Sorry I have not been paying attention. I have mostly been in bed the last 2 weeks with really bad "morning" sickness. Exciting, but I can't wait for the next 2-3 months to pass...

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

This was really good!! I'm actually a former VMK'er too. I love the kids shirts.

 

[ladylyons]

Thanks for the nice comments! Sorry I have not been paying attention. I have mostly been in bed the last 2 weeks with really bad "morning" sickness. Exciting, but I can't wait for the next 2-3 months to pass...

Congratulations!! I hope you feel better soon!!

 

[Jaina]

This was really good!! I'm actually a former VMK'er too. I love the kids shirts.

A very late "thanks!" I still miss VMK at times. My kids would love it now, too.

Congratulations!! I hope you feel better soon!!

Thanks, as well! (Also very late) I am starting to feel better most days and things are going well. Starting to get my head above water again - yay!

 

[Sisa]

I just wanted to say thank you for the great trip report. We will be taking our little ones for the first time and it really helped me prepare by reading your TR. I loved all the pictures and the video clips.

 

[Jaina]

You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful. You will have such a great time!

 

[AussieMumma]

I just read through your TR and really enjoyed every single part. I had tears in my eyes when I read your last part about riding the carousel!
Congratulations on number four

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Gross, I know, but it just goes to show that having fun and enjoying yourself are largely about perspective!

I love this quote - a strange thing to love perhaps but I also take this attitude - in life, and particularly on holidays - that it's your attitude and perspective on events that happen which will decide if you have a good time or not...Am loving your trip report - your family is adorable and i'm so happy you guys got to take a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth when it seemed that it might not happen!

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Love, Love, Loved your trip report !
Your children are adorable, I loved their cute smiles in your pics !
I can totally see the love you have for Disney and its magic !

You trip reminded me of our first family trip when my children were 3, that is when I really understood the magic of Disney and have loved it ever since!

One question: you said you used the mouse wait app ? Did it seem pretty accurate with the wait times and closures ?
We are going next month and wasn't sure which app to use.

Once again, wonderful report. Thanks for bringing us into the magic with you !

 

[Jaina]

I just read through your TR and really enjoyed every single part. I had tears in my eyes when I read your last part about riding the carousel!
Congratulations on number four

Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for the congrats - I am much more excited now that I'm over the sickness (mostly). And they -think- the baby is a boy, which I'm kind of hoping for, because we haven't had a baby boy around here in about 7 years now! ;-)

I love this quote - a strange thing to love perhaps but I also take this attitude - in life, and particularly on holidays - that it's your attitude and perspective on events that happen which will decide if you have a good time or not...Am loving your trip report - your family is adorable and i'm so happy you guys got to take a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth when it seemed that it might not happen!

Thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed it. My kids still talk about it weekly if not daily. I just finally got our own (longer) version of the video version on a DVD for them the other day, and they've already watched it several times. Even though there are times we could -really- use the money we spent -now-, I still don't regret taking that trip even a little bit!

Love, Love, Loved your trip report !
Your children are adorable, I loved their cute smiles in your pics !
I can totally see the love you have for Disney and its magic !

You trip reminded me of our first family trip when my children were 3, that is when I really understood the magic of Disney and have loved it ever since!

One question: you said you used the mouse wait app ? Did it seem pretty accurate with the wait times and closures ?
We are going next month and wasn't sure which app to use.

Once again, wonderful report. Thanks for bringing us into the magic with you !

You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I found the Mouse Wait app times fairly accurate as long as I made sure to check when the times were last updated. We never had any upsetting surprises when using it, if that makes sense.

 

[TheChapman6]

I just noticed your update we were planning at the same times. Congrats on your pregnancy! Are you by chance LDS? I thought I say some BYU stuff on your post LOL.

 

[Jaina]

I just noticed your update we were planning at the same times. Congrats on your pregnancy! Are you by chance LDS? I thought I say some BYU stuff on your post LOL.

Yep. I graduated from BYU in 2004. (or 2005, depending on if you look at my transcript or when I actually "walked...")
Did you guys have a good trip, too?

 

[trishakay84]

I know this is an older thread, but I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed reading your TR, and your videos were a nice touch, too! They make me want to bring our video camera with on our next Disney trip! Your kids are adorable! My 2 are fairly close in age to your kids, I have 2 boys who are 5 & 3. We went to Disneyland last year (first visit for both me and the boys) and are going again in December! I can't wait! Your TR was wonderful and made me even more excited. I also loved the pictures and memories you shared from visiting Disneyland as a child with your family.

 

[Jaina]

Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! This was a long-awaited trip (that we knew wouldn't be happening again for several years) so we made sure to document it more than we normally would. That being said, I don't think I could do something awesome like Disneyland without a video camera. (Or at least a regular camera that took really good video, and lots of memory cards!) Some of the video was even from DH's iPhone 4S and it transferred and fit in relatively well. I'm excited for you to go in December! Someday we're going to do that, but when we can afford another, less-crowded trip a little before or after.