chezpixelpixie
Authorized Disney Vacation Planner
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2008
- Messages
- 22
This trip report is almost a year old already. What kid gets a "surprise" vacation to the other side of the country for her birthday? Maybe rich kids get stuff like that? I have eaten bean soup every day for the last 8 months because it's $0.25 a bowl to make. I'm not rich by any normal American standard, just frugal enough to save my pennies and blow it all on spontaneous trips! If I can make it happen, anyone can 
It began like a normal Wednesday. We got up, dressed, brushed teeth, hair, ate breakfast, and off to school. What DD6 doesn't know is that when I pick her up from school this afternoon, we're going to the airport. I have been trying to think of some spectacular way of breaking the news to her, confetti, glitter, streamers, balloons, FIREWORKS... but it all seems so anti-climactic. There really isn't any way to say, "I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!" that really conveys the excitement that YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND should convey. I almost don't want to tell her until we get there. It seems cruel to get her all excited and hyped-up for the big weekend, then tell her to sit still on a plane for seven hours (or ideally *sleep* on the plane for seven hours.) So I tell her that I booked us a sleepover on an airplane as a birthday surprise, because I know how much she loves flying. I think she'll buy it. Then in the morning I'll tell her where we are. Maybe I'll pack a bunch of balloons, and fill the hotel room with them. And confetti. And glitter. Whee!! But not really.
The short version
So, I didn't schedule most of our time out there. I figured we can take it easy and go with whatever we felt like on a given day. The first day we just took it easy and hung out around the hotel, the pool and spa, Downtown Disney, etc. On Friday, DD's Birthday, and Saturday, we went to Disneyland. Sunday, SUNDAY we went to Santa Monica Pier. We had Trapeze Lessons at 10am, then there's an arcade, a merry go round, a roller coaster... and of course the Pacific Ocean (which is 10% of the reason I went to California!! 90% of the reason, of course, is to see my brothers, so that 10% is HUGE! ;-) Monday, Monday, so good to me, Monday Monday, I'm sure you're all I dream you will be... My brothers and my dad went to see the new Terminator movie, which believe it or not was one of two movies playing at the AMC Downtown Disney that weekend. Then Tuesday morning we flew home.
The long version
It happened almost just like that. I picked up DD from school and told her that, for her birthday, we were going to have an airplane slumber party. "But mama, my birthday isn't until Friday." "Yes dear, but plane tickets are very expensive and reservations are hard to get for Fridays, so we're doing it on Wednesday." *pause* "Where is the plane taking us?" "You ungrateful girl! We're going on an AIRPLANE SLUMBER PARTY!! What more could you want?" "Well, thank you mommy!" *pause* "Are we going to see Daddy?" "Nope." etc...
She slept great on the plane, sprawled across three seats, kicking me in the face the whole way, resting her head on my dad's lap. I didn't sleep at all, and I felt sick the whole time. But nothing could put a damper on our arrival, and seeing my brothers at long last! DD hasn't seen my brothers since she was 16 months old! She was so exhausted and giddy that she didn't even notice all the Disneyland buses driving by! We got to the hotel by about 1am PST, which is actually 4am EST. I still hadn't slept. But that didn't stop me from waking up at 4am PST. Then 5am. Then 6, then 7. DD woke up about then, and my brother Joe helped her build her WOW character (that's the computer game "World of Warcraft", for the uninitiated!) This is what they did during all of their downtime for the next 5 days... While he was introducing her to the World, my brother Mike and I went running together, then went a few laps around the pool. After everyone had taken their showers and made themselves pretty, we went to Lilo and Stich's beach party character breakfast. I still felt a bit ill, so I just had the oatmeal. Unfortunately, since it was a buffet breakfast at $20 a head, it was the most expensive bowl of oatmeal I have ever had in my life. But we're on vacation, so who's counting? The waiter learned of our reason for celebrating, and brought DD cake (the first of many) at the end of breakfast. Stitch, that little rascal, kept blowing out her candle!
I had taken into account being jetlagged and just generally tired from travel, so we spent the day just hanging around the hotel and checking out Downtown Disney. My brothers determined that they had 7 years worth of birthdays and Christmases to make up for, and bought DD anything she asked for. By the end of the week, I had 1.5 new suitcases to carry all the loot home. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We spent the next two days touring Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure parks. We started DD's birthday with a Minnie and Friends character breakfast in Disneyland.
And DD with my boyfriend, James:
DD's #1 favourite ride was Space Mountain; her #1 scariest ride was the Tower of Terror. She wanted to try everything at least once, which we didn't have time to do in 2 days, but we gave it a good shot. This is a teacup:
The first day, DD got her face painted (and they did a really amazing job!) The second day she got her hair and makeup done at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. It's a girl thing I guess.
For grown-up things, lucky me, we showed up during Disneyland's Food and Wine festival! My dad and I did a wine tasting. I discovered my love for grenache. I also discovered that steel barrels ruin wine. Ick. My favourite thing at Disney (besides the Bahama Mamas) was the Aladdin musical. It was really beautiful and well done. The Genie was the real star of the show, his jokes were mainly about current affairs, and I think a lot of his humor was improv. At one point he was arguing with Aladdin about using the third wish to set him free, and a baby in the audience started crying. Genie immediately pipes up with, "See, you made that kid cry! Way to go, Al!" It was a great time.
Micky bars are always a big hit!
Our last day at Disneyland we let DD stay at the park as late as she wanted, which ended with us carrying her near death out of the Indiana Jones line at 11pm PST (after having been in line for 20 minutes!) She was dog tired, but happy as a clam. I carried her to bed and then had to wake her up at 8am to get ready for our day in Santa Monica!
Santa Monica was beautiful! The Pacific Ocean was real as far as I could tell (and there was some doubt!) It stretched pretty far in both directions, and off into the horizon.
There were big waves and little waves, and it was kind of chilly, but not really in comparison with the Atlantic waters around here!
We had our trapeze lessons on Santa Monica Pier, which were amazing! DD was born to join the circus! She has no fear, and did really well! I, on the other hand, screamed every time, and was shaking in my skin every time I crawled off the net. But, I did it! I jumped every time, and I did tricks, and I hung by my knees, and flipped in the air, and let the guy catch me on the other side! So, I might be afraid, but I don't let it get in my way, ha ha!!
After that I met up with an old friend (not that Heather is old, because of course she is not!) and we had lunch and chatted about times old and new over a nice walk on the beach. Meanwhile my brothers are taking DD on all the rides on the pier, and playing all the carnie games with her, and generally spoiling her rotten. Still. We cut the day short due to an all-around feeling of tired-and-too-much-sun. Back at the hotel we had a quiet dinner in our room, followed by some pool time and WOW.
Last day. Today was the lazy day. You know, that vacation that everyone needs after their vacation, before they go back to work. I took the opportunity to have some Bahama Mamas before rejoining the "real world". We went to Downtown Disney to acquire souvenirs for the audience at home. Spent some time at the pool. Played on the computer. Picked our noses. Then we went to Medieval Times for dinner. I have to be honest, it wasn't as cool as I remember it being. But then again, I was maybe 13 last time I was at a Medieval Times. DD thought it was brilliant! Our knight appointed her "Queen of Love and Beauty" out of everyone in our section. She was delighted
Back at the hotel, it was time to pack. Either my Tetris skills needed to advance a few levels, or I needed a new bag. So I got one of the Disneyland Rolling Duffel (only $20 with your purchase of $50 or more!) And as my brother was chuckling at my efforts to fit everything into our luggage, he came up with a brilliant plan to trade his big suitcase for my little one. I knew that my Tetris skills were sufficient for the task at hand... but, his way was easier. So I quit my game, and went back to lvl1. Once everything was packed, we got some rest so that we could leave for LAX at 4am. I weathered the return flight much better than the flight there, and we had an uneventful trip home. DD did some writing in her journal, played some DS, read a book, and watched TV a la Virgin America.
Now her birthday is coming up again. I'm afraid that I have set the bar too high! The kid has gone backpacking in the white mountains, surfing, kayaking, rock climbing, and swam with dolphins. She has ballet danced, jazz danced, salsa danced, and danced a maypole! She has been to more states than she has had years of life! And she has had a surprise Disneyland vacation. Now what to do for birthday number 8...
It began like a normal Wednesday. We got up, dressed, brushed teeth, hair, ate breakfast, and off to school. What DD6 doesn't know is that when I pick her up from school this afternoon, we're going to the airport. I have been trying to think of some spectacular way of breaking the news to her, confetti, glitter, streamers, balloons, FIREWORKS... but it all seems so anti-climactic. There really isn't any way to say, "I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!" that really conveys the excitement that YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND should convey. I almost don't want to tell her until we get there. It seems cruel to get her all excited and hyped-up for the big weekend, then tell her to sit still on a plane for seven hours (or ideally *sleep* on the plane for seven hours.) So I tell her that I booked us a sleepover on an airplane as a birthday surprise, because I know how much she loves flying. I think she'll buy it. Then in the morning I'll tell her where we are. Maybe I'll pack a bunch of balloons, and fill the hotel room with them. And confetti. And glitter. Whee!! But not really.
The short version
So, I didn't schedule most of our time out there. I figured we can take it easy and go with whatever we felt like on a given day. The first day we just took it easy and hung out around the hotel, the pool and spa, Downtown Disney, etc. On Friday, DD's Birthday, and Saturday, we went to Disneyland. Sunday, SUNDAY we went to Santa Monica Pier. We had Trapeze Lessons at 10am, then there's an arcade, a merry go round, a roller coaster... and of course the Pacific Ocean (which is 10% of the reason I went to California!! 90% of the reason, of course, is to see my brothers, so that 10% is HUGE! ;-) Monday, Monday, so good to me, Monday Monday, I'm sure you're all I dream you will be... My brothers and my dad went to see the new Terminator movie, which believe it or not was one of two movies playing at the AMC Downtown Disney that weekend. Then Tuesday morning we flew home.
The long version
It happened almost just like that. I picked up DD from school and told her that, for her birthday, we were going to have an airplane slumber party. "But mama, my birthday isn't until Friday." "Yes dear, but plane tickets are very expensive and reservations are hard to get for Fridays, so we're doing it on Wednesday." *pause* "Where is the plane taking us?" "You ungrateful girl! We're going on an AIRPLANE SLUMBER PARTY!! What more could you want?" "Well, thank you mommy!" *pause* "Are we going to see Daddy?" "Nope." etc...
She slept great on the plane, sprawled across three seats, kicking me in the face the whole way, resting her head on my dad's lap. I didn't sleep at all, and I felt sick the whole time. But nothing could put a damper on our arrival, and seeing my brothers at long last! DD hasn't seen my brothers since she was 16 months old! She was so exhausted and giddy that she didn't even notice all the Disneyland buses driving by! We got to the hotel by about 1am PST, which is actually 4am EST. I still hadn't slept. But that didn't stop me from waking up at 4am PST. Then 5am. Then 6, then 7. DD woke up about then, and my brother Joe helped her build her WOW character (that's the computer game "World of Warcraft", for the uninitiated!) This is what they did during all of their downtime for the next 5 days... While he was introducing her to the World, my brother Mike and I went running together, then went a few laps around the pool. After everyone had taken their showers and made themselves pretty, we went to Lilo and Stich's beach party character breakfast. I still felt a bit ill, so I just had the oatmeal. Unfortunately, since it was a buffet breakfast at $20 a head, it was the most expensive bowl of oatmeal I have ever had in my life. But we're on vacation, so who's counting? The waiter learned of our reason for celebrating, and brought DD cake (the first of many) at the end of breakfast. Stitch, that little rascal, kept blowing out her candle!
I had taken into account being jetlagged and just generally tired from travel, so we spent the day just hanging around the hotel and checking out Downtown Disney. My brothers determined that they had 7 years worth of birthdays and Christmases to make up for, and bought DD anything she asked for. By the end of the week, I had 1.5 new suitcases to carry all the loot home. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We spent the next two days touring Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure parks. We started DD's birthday with a Minnie and Friends character breakfast in Disneyland.
And DD with my boyfriend, James:
DD's #1 favourite ride was Space Mountain; her #1 scariest ride was the Tower of Terror. She wanted to try everything at least once, which we didn't have time to do in 2 days, but we gave it a good shot. This is a teacup:
The first day, DD got her face painted (and they did a really amazing job!) The second day she got her hair and makeup done at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. It's a girl thing I guess.
For grown-up things, lucky me, we showed up during Disneyland's Food and Wine festival! My dad and I did a wine tasting. I discovered my love for grenache. I also discovered that steel barrels ruin wine. Ick. My favourite thing at Disney (besides the Bahama Mamas) was the Aladdin musical. It was really beautiful and well done. The Genie was the real star of the show, his jokes were mainly about current affairs, and I think a lot of his humor was improv. At one point he was arguing with Aladdin about using the third wish to set him free, and a baby in the audience started crying. Genie immediately pipes up with, "See, you made that kid cry! Way to go, Al!" It was a great time.
Micky bars are always a big hit!
Our last day at Disneyland we let DD stay at the park as late as she wanted, which ended with us carrying her near death out of the Indiana Jones line at 11pm PST (after having been in line for 20 minutes!) She was dog tired, but happy as a clam. I carried her to bed and then had to wake her up at 8am to get ready for our day in Santa Monica!
Santa Monica was beautiful! The Pacific Ocean was real as far as I could tell (and there was some doubt!) It stretched pretty far in both directions, and off into the horizon.
There were big waves and little waves, and it was kind of chilly, but not really in comparison with the Atlantic waters around here!
We had our trapeze lessons on Santa Monica Pier, which were amazing! DD was born to join the circus! She has no fear, and did really well! I, on the other hand, screamed every time, and was shaking in my skin every time I crawled off the net. But, I did it! I jumped every time, and I did tricks, and I hung by my knees, and flipped in the air, and let the guy catch me on the other side! So, I might be afraid, but I don't let it get in my way, ha ha!!
After that I met up with an old friend (not that Heather is old, because of course she is not!) and we had lunch and chatted about times old and new over a nice walk on the beach. Meanwhile my brothers are taking DD on all the rides on the pier, and playing all the carnie games with her, and generally spoiling her rotten. Still. We cut the day short due to an all-around feeling of tired-and-too-much-sun. Back at the hotel we had a quiet dinner in our room, followed by some pool time and WOW.
Last day. Today was the lazy day. You know, that vacation that everyone needs after their vacation, before they go back to work. I took the opportunity to have some Bahama Mamas before rejoining the "real world". We went to Downtown Disney to acquire souvenirs for the audience at home. Spent some time at the pool. Played on the computer. Picked our noses. Then we went to Medieval Times for dinner. I have to be honest, it wasn't as cool as I remember it being. But then again, I was maybe 13 last time I was at a Medieval Times. DD thought it was brilliant! Our knight appointed her "Queen of Love and Beauty" out of everyone in our section. She was delighted
Back at the hotel, it was time to pack. Either my Tetris skills needed to advance a few levels, or I needed a new bag. So I got one of the Disneyland Rolling Duffel (only $20 with your purchase of $50 or more!) And as my brother was chuckling at my efforts to fit everything into our luggage, he came up with a brilliant plan to trade his big suitcase for my little one. I knew that my Tetris skills were sufficient for the task at hand... but, his way was easier. So I quit my game, and went back to lvl1. Once everything was packed, we got some rest so that we could leave for LAX at 4am. I weathered the return flight much better than the flight there, and we had an uneventful trip home. DD did some writing in her journal, played some DS, read a book, and watched TV a la Virgin America.
Now her birthday is coming up again. I'm afraid that I have set the bar too high! The kid has gone backpacking in the white mountains, surfing, kayaking, rock climbing, and swam with dolphins. She has ballet danced, jazz danced, salsa danced, and danced a maypole! She has been to more states than she has had years of life! And she has had a surprise Disneyland vacation. Now what to do for birthday number 8...
But trapeze school won 
Oh well, you only live once so I might as well go for it!!
