Places I Want to Go Before I Die Trip: Disneyland and Southern california

[LuvEeyore]

A little note about the title: no it is not morbid however my mother started a list of places she wanted to visit before she died shortly after my father died in 2004 so the list is dwindling slowly. Alaska last year and Southern California this year.

Cast of characters
'Me" 43 year old female that loves everything Disney and rollercoasters, Goofy and Eeyore, amd 'Tink' my God daughter
"DM" dear mom age 74 that loves everything Disney, traveling, and was diagnosed with early alzheimers over22 months ago age 73
'Tink'- my 13 year old goddaughter who loves rollercoasters and traveling with me and loves everything Disney especially Tinkerbell
'Beanz'-Morgans 14 year old best friend since the church nursery that recently moved 3 and 1/2 hours from her


This trip started after one of the places Alaska was marked off the list last august when we went to Alaska. About October I began to check out the boards and try to see what we could do. Had flights in February on Skybus that went out of business after Easter. Bummer!!! Now what do I do? Changed dates by a few days and fly Southwest.

So here goes a trip report and I am not a writer like Momma4u or Bumbershoot but here goes anyway.

'Tink' and I have gone on an amusement park adventure every summer and 'Tink' loves mysterys so she chose not to be told where the amusement park adventure was going this summer. She wanted a friend to go and I knew 'Beanz' well and so I suggested her. The girls were given a crossword puzzle with clues and answers for amusement parks, rides, water parks, zoos and parks all over the world with our itineary included back in January.

We were leaving home on June 19 and both mothers not going wanted to see their faces when they were told so they were told June 18 where they were going. A big gift bag had 2 dollar store black formal 'purses' photo albums in it with 2 beach towels, 2 mickey shopping bags found at the local disney store for 2.50 each, a childs puzzle with mickey on a bicycle, a Southern California map, 2 disneyland luggage tags, 2 Hannah Montana lanyards with clear id holders attached, 2 1 quart zip lock bags, some pins for trading, a Disney land pen and an autograph album each.

The first guess was someplace to take pictures and fun. The second guess was we were flying, and the third guess for the east coasters that we all are was Disney World. After finding the Disney land luggage tags and autograph albums and pens the girls were both laughing and screaming 'No Way!! No Way!! Yeah!! This is tooooooooo cooooooooool!

Wednesday June 18 was the end of a church meeting that lasted 4 days and of a 5 night work stretch. I got to 'Tink's' house at 8;00 and slept while she showered and finished getting her stuff togethcer. We met 'Beanz' and her mom at 'Tinks' mom's workplace, packed the Jimmy and left to pick up my mom who lives an hour and 20 minutes from where I work. By 1 pm June 18 we were off to Raleigh Durham Airport.

I have to work tonight so I guess it is time to put the clothes in the dryer and try to take a nap. More later.

 

[maryr1oz]

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your adventure!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

That's quite a way to find out one is going to Disneyland. I'll never forget the time my parents surprised us when I was 12. We were literally in California before I figured out that we going to Disneyland.

 

[bumbershoot]

Sounds like fun so far!!!!

 

[LuvEeyore]

june 19 2008- the trip to the airport was just that a trip to the airport. The spot we found to park in the parking garage was on the top level, the furthest from the elevator. With the luggage of an all woman (two teen girls) that was a bummer. Got all the luggage in the airport, all checked in and through security we go. now about to starve, we would look for food. I though a good sit down meal would be great. We had that. A picnic with me and the girls sitting in the floor of the airport eating from A and W. O well, it was good. Got to run. I am writing this at work

 

[LuvEeyore]

We flew Southwest from Raleigh/Durham to Burbank, via Las Vegas. The strip in Las Vegas is really cool to see from the plane at night. Flying Southwest was fine. We arrived in Burbank at 955 pm. Getting luggage in Burbank was interesting. The baggage claim was outside.

We drove from Burbank to Ventura and stayed at the Comfort Inn. The continental breakfast was a vouchure for Breakfast at Denny's. You chould choose from 4 items on a list which included eggs, fruit, bacon, sausage, cereal, oatmeal, hashbrowns, juice and buscuits and milk. We had our hot breakfast at Denny's, got directions to the pacific coast highway and were off on our adventure.
Always know what your rental car looks like and where it is parked!! License number is good too!

Friday, June 20, 2008
We headed down the Pacific Coast Highway after driving 45 minutes in a circle to find it. The drive was slow, peaceful and beautiful.
<a href="http://s343.photobucket.com/albums/o450/APrice6768/?action=view&current=100_0207-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o450/APrice6768/100_0207-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Different from our east coast lines. We stopped along the way to take pictures which I will have to post later today. We waltched people trying to surf. We stopped in Malibu for ice cream and sunscreen. We enjoyed the coast line. We continued down the coast to Santa Monica and stopped at the pier. FYI parking beside the pier costs $7. We had lunch at Bubba Gumps. We wandered around the pier, rode the roller coaster which would compare to Gadgets Go Coaster. After enjoying the pier, we looked at the time and it was 300 p.m. so we decided to get off the Pacific Coast Highway and get to San Diego.
My phone has GPS on it so the 13 year old programs in the address of the hotel in San Diego and where does the GPS send us--to 405. That was slow going. After about an hour and 1/2, I had to go to the bathroom so we get off at San Juan Capistrano. I stopped at the jack in a Box and headed to the potty and the girls wanted a snack and a drink.

Work is calling again. Back later today and hopefully with some pictures

Help!! I am trying to post pictures and can't seem to figure it out. Any ideas?

 

[julezdisney]

Loving this! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait till you get to the parks!

 

[Mickey714]

That is a cute story. They must of been so excited

 

[mommaU4]

This is great so far.

And you're right, Vegas is really cool to see at night, especially from a plane.

Did you get the pics figured out? I put all mine in a photobucket account and it's easy to edit or resize them there (if needed) and post them here.

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[LuvEeyore]

After stopping in San Juan Capistrano, we trying to get back on 405 ended up on I 5. What a relief!!!!! We moved faster. It was gorgeous driving down I 5 with water to the right. We went to the hotel-Comfort Inn Airport at Old Town.

The thing I learned...13 year old still have melt downs. We checked in unloaded and then Beanie and I went to the grocery store. Ralph's...this was fun and we got water and somthing for dinner, sandwiches and snacks.

After a late dinner, we settled down for the night setting the alarm for out Saturday adventure...the San Diego Zoo and San diego.

Saturday June 21
Got up early, had bagels, cereal and fruit at the hotel breakfast. Packed the cameras, water, sunscreen, sunglasses and tickets. We got our tickets through AAA/Disney Travel. For the cost of the regular ticket, we got a ticket and lunch. Very convientent as we did not need alot of money with us. One tip I read somewhere was to take a picture of the car and where it was parked. Great tip which we did and after several hours in the zoo this was useful.
We went to the Elephants, giraffes and tried to take the express bus. That didnt work as the express bus did not open until 10 a.m. We saw the koloas. They were so cute. The down bear alley and stopped for drinks. If you have little ones, pack your sippies and they do not use straws or lid in the zoo. We then went to see the pandas. The cub was hanging upside down asleep and mom was propped up on a barrel in the corner of the enclosure asleep. Then up the escalator by the new elephant enclosure (not yet complete) to see the polar bears. We probably spent 45 minutes or so here.
by This time we were hungry andlegs were tired so we rode the sky fari back and were able to take some pictures from above of the zoo and balboa park. Lunch was next. After resting and viewing our pictures that were taken upon entry we headed to the bus tour of the zoo. This was informative and hot as we sat on the top level. After we finished this, we were hot so we did our shopping at the zoo and then headed to the car. The picture of the parking sign was helpful as this lot is huge.
Thanfully our frozen water bottles had thawed in cool drinking water so we drank and headed back towards Coronado. I'll need to post pictures later. This was beautiful and the girls played in the water. After exploring Coronado for a couple of hours, I decided that my sun burnt body in spite of SPF 50 sunscreen needed good lotion so we headed into downtown San Diego.
We went to Horton Plaza. If you ask the girls about their trip, one of the highlights for them was shopping at "the five story mall that takes up a city block and has its own parking garage!!" We had mexican at the fast food mexican place in horton plaza. Mom and I ordered shrimp and fish tacos. The girls ordered more familiar items but ate some of ours and loved them.

Ater dinner, we headed back to the hotel and the girls and I went to the pool while I washed a load of clothes and Mom propped up her tired, swollen feet and watched some tv. We all were alseep after showers by 930 pm. Cutting some zzzzzz's and dreaming about tomorrows adventure into Walt's Imagination.

 

[LuvEeyore]

And the story continues!!!

Sunday June 22, 2008

Our day began about 6:00 a.m. waking up then up stairs to get breakfast to take with us. Thankfully we had packed the car mostly Saturday night. We left about 6:45 am and stopped twice--a gas stop and a Starbucks stop. We arrived in anaheim about 9o a.m. We followed the signs to parking and ended up in the Pumba lot and not at Mickey and Friends. After a walk to the parks and trying to keep up with two excited teens we arrived after finding our hotel that we would check into later in the day.

By the time we got through the gates to Disneyland and up on Main street it was about 9:45 am (Bathroom breaks were more important than getting to rides at this point since we all had something from Starbucks.) We had a tour scheduled for 10:00 a.m. so we headed to the tour gardens to check in. Mom sat down, the girls sat and checked out their maps and I checked in. prior to this we got our 1st Timer buttons and the cast member gave us hints and then took our pictures with our buttons on.

By about 10 :15 we started on our tour. We did the Welcome to Disneyland Tour. Our tour really became a personal tour as we were the only 4 on the tour. By 10:15 the girls who had been excited about a tour were saying, 'cant we just go ride space mountain!!???!!" I learned that this was the tour guides very first tour that she was giving. The tour trainer was with her. By the end of the day, the tour was the 'coolest thing' according to the girls. On the tour we went into both parks. First to DCA. We went to Grizzly to get fast passes, saw 'It's Tough to Be a Bug" which everyone loved, the Misson Tortillia factory was part of the tour which was great as we needed the snack. They were great. I wish it had been someone's birthday!!! We also went into the anamation gallery and did the character personality tests. I am Belle. We went back into Disneyland after walking through and getting an idea of the lay of the park.
In Disneyland, we went down Main Street, went through Fantasyland, then onto Fronteirland and more. In New Orleans Square we saw the entrance to Club 33 and the Disney Suite. We went on Priates. This is really better than WDW. We all loved this. Feet were tired by now. the girls were soaking up Disney trivia and loving the tour.
I kept looking for the Dream Squad and never saw them but this is where I sorta got 'dreamed.' Mom was tired and we were all hungry. It was about 12;30 and we knew we wanted to see Alladin and High School musical. We were going to the train to go to tomorrowland. The guide trainer had us all walking to the exit of the train. she said wait here and we did. Next thing I know were are all walking in to the train through the exit and following a conductor to a car---'The Lilley Belle' The conductor opened the car and the four of us and our two castmembers got into the chairs. We decided to keep riding and forego the Tomorrow land portion of the tour. The Lilley Belle is a beautiful car with antique furniture. Just beauriful. It was hot but worth the ride. As we went to get on and off the train from our private ride in the Lilly Belle, I heard people asking who were we and how did we get to ride in there? 'Tink' was talking to one of her friends recently and showing off some pictures and her friend asked her what was the coolest thing at Disneyland and she said 'Indiana Jones and riding in the Lilly Belle!' Her friend asked her what the Lilly Belle was and why was it so special? Tink told her she didn't know what was so special but 'if I had said that it was the highlight of my trip and she told her if it was Lee's faovorite thing then it was really special.'
After getting off the train on Main street we got our fast passes and priortiy seating at Alladin. The girls made an afternoon plan and Morgan and I headed to find food and drinks before heading to DCA. We had chimichanga's and turkey legs and frozen lemonade.
More to come

 

[LuvEeyore]

Okay, I am back and trying to add photos...lets see if this works.
the pacific ocean

Figuring it out-the bag of clues

How much luggage can Tink take?

Tink, Me and Beanz-This is only part of the luggage.

 

[LuvEeyore]

I did it!! A few more pictures
Sit down dinner in the RDU airport.

Las Vegas Airport

Necessary information

Beanz, Tink and Mom on the Beach

 

[LuvEeyore]

Needess to say almost 2 months later, I wish I could be in Disneyland today but since I can't, I'll write more trip report. I really like this now that I think I have this picture thing down, though all the uploading to photobucket does take time.
More pictures.
The girls in Malibu

http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o450/APrice6768/100_0217.jpg

T

he Shrimp Bucket at Bubba Gump's on the Santa Monica Pier

Pacific Park from the Back of the Pier

The Turkey Drumsticks are huge!!!! and great. When the thermometer reads 90 in Anaheim the frozen lemonades are a huge hit. What I can say it the 90 in Anaheim beats 90 in Southwest Virginia anyday!!

Time to try to sleep. More another day

 

[LuvEeyore]

A few pictures from the San Diego Zoo

Giraffes

Elephants

 

[LuvEeyore]

This was a great zoo!! We enjoyed all the plants and natural enclosures. I would however recommend a short day like we had or a cooler day. We had also decided to try to see the Koloas, Pandas and Polars were the top 3 things that everyone wanted to see. Pictures of the Panda, and Polars are somewhere.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Polars

view towards Balboa Park from the Polar exhibit

I hope to find Disney Pictures sooN

 

[heatherleigh]

I'm really enjoying your report. We're taking the family to SD for the first time this winter. It will be short, like your trip. Legoland and Seaworld. Hopefully it won't be too cool there.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Heatherleigh- glad you are enjoying this. More will be coming soon, maybe even tonight. Don't forget Disneyland on the trip...it will be worth the day.

 

[LuvEeyore]

After getting our greasy hands stamped we leave DL and walk over to DCA. We head to Hyperion Theater for Alladin. We had reserved seating and loved the show. It did not take us long to get in the Theater and we were about 12-13 rows from the front in the middle.After this we headed out to try to catch High School Musical 2.
By this time we were tired and the girls were hungry again. Almost daily icecream was a theme for us. The show was okay. After this we headed to check into our hotel and get the car which is in the Pumba lot.

We stated at the Tropicania Inn and Suites. More about that later. After getting the car, checking in and taking a power nap, we headed out to make the most of our Sunday evening.