Time to Find Out How Old We're Getting - Nov 2018 - TR complete Jan 8th!

[Jaina]

Well, I just got back from Disneyland, where my daughter and I had an amazing time at Mickey's Halloween Party! (Trip Report) I can't believe I'm actually planning my next trips, but something amazing happened recently, and I won a set of Disney gift cards from a local grocery store sweepstakes. So, so, so awesome! Is there any better prize than money that has to be spent at Disney?

Soooo that prize will pave the way for a little tiny family trip I was already hoping to pull off in May (2 months before my youngest turns 3) and ALSO I decided that my sister and I should do a quick trip with just the two of us. She is my best friend, but we live 3.5 hours apart, and have 9-kids-under-12 between the two of us, so quality time doesn't happen too often.

After MUCH deliberation, I have picked Saturday, December 1st as the day, and we are planning with that in mind! (Even though we know Saturdays can be really crazy, especially in December, and also know the Candlelight Processional is happening that day...) But guys, we are over 30. (Me, significantly so, hahaha!) And the parks are open from 8 to midnight. And those Saturday single-day tickets are kinda expensive. And this is a possibly-one-time trip for the two of us. We will be spending a large part of the day at CA, since my sister hasn't been there since 2005. (And it's almost a new park since then...) But I'm pretty sure we're going to add park hoppers, and spend some time in DL too, if we can avoid the crazy crowds on Main St. What I'm saying, is I don't see us wanting to go home before the park closes, but we're old enough that I don't know if we can hang! I guess we'll see!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

What a special trip! You are going to have so much fun and make such great memories together. If you are interested in CP at all and don't want to wait for a viewing spot -- one way to at least hear the show is to book a reservation at CC during one of the shows (and request a patio table near MS) so that you can hear the carols whiile you eat. Hope 12/1 is a candy cane day so that each of you can take home something really special from the parks!

 

[whitneyebz]

Oh how fun! I'd love to do that with my sister...she is 8 years younger than me and I think she could hang, lol (she is also single and no kids!) I, however, am 33 with 4 kids so...in fact, on our upcoming trip, park is open until midnight the first night and I know some people in our party (one of whom is 10 years older than me!) will want to stay until it closes. But they won't likely get up and go at 8am...and we will. I can pretty much assure you I won't make it, but maybe I would if I went without kids! Maybe.

 

[Jaina]

What a special trip! You are going to have so much fun and make such great memories together. If you are interested in CP at all and don't want to wait for a viewing spot -- one way to at least hear the show is to book a reservation at CC during one of the shows (and request a patio table near MS) so that you can hear the carols whiile you eat. Hope 12/1 is a candy cane day so that each of you can take home something really special from the parks!

Thanks! We are so excited! And it's coming up sooner than I expected. Always a plus!!

Oh how fun! I'd love to do that with my sister...she is 8 years younger than me and I think she could hang, lol (she is also single and no kids!) I, however, am 33 with 4 kids so...in fact, on our upcoming trip, park is open until midnight the first night and I know some people in our party (one of whom is 10 years older than me!) will want to stay until it closes. But they won't likely get up and go at 8am...and we will. I can pretty much assure you I won't make it, but maybe I would if I went without kids! Maybe.

I am really interested to see how it goes. We aren't coffee drinkers, but between my hips being kinda old (and hurting by the end of the Halloween party) and our energy maybe running low with all those crowds and the long day, there might be some Excedrin involved in the second half of the day, haha...

 

[Jaina]

You guys, it is Saturday the 20th, which means our "day" is available on the Disneyland calendar, and we are 6 WEEKS OUT! I'm so excited! My sister is up for whatever, matching/Christmas-wise. because she's cool that way, even though we're adults, haha. Ironically, we never did anything like that growing up. We were just excited if we had a Disney-themed shirt to wear at all to the park!

I was planning to make some shirts, but I found these at Wal-mart, and they were $5, and they're super soft and comfy. I'm thinking we'll layer these over white long-sleeved shirts, and see if I can find some green jackets or scarves to go go along, since we'll be there late at night, and if there's any breeze (like there was last year that weekend) it will be cold! At least for a Phoenix/Mesa girl like me. My sister lives 3 hours north, and she's more used to it. I'm not sure what we want to do ear-wise. I think these zebra ones are super cute, or I have some graduation ones I just bought (for $3 a piece at the Disney outlet!) that I'm in the process of making over.
Either one would be cute, but if we go with the black ears, I'll want to do some kind of bow, or what I really wanted was to find some cute small Santa hats that I could attach. Thoughts? I also thought about bringing regular santa hats that we could use later in the day if it was cold.

I'm still not sure if we're just going to do California Adventure or do a park hopper. It probably depends some on how we're feeling in the few days before the trip, (ie if either of us has a cold or anything, and not up to later nights or bouncing back and forth a few times) which means we won't buy our tickets until then. Ugh. It's so fun to buy them ahead of time though! Either way, DL has early entry Saturday, so we'll start our day in California Adventure. We'll park in Mickey and friends hopefully around 6:45 and maybe walk around Downtown Disney for a few minutes before getting in line nice and early. I'm not sure, but I think I'll try following the Disneyland Daily "big kids" ride day and using maxpass to grab a FP for Incredicoaster, then going over to the right to ride Soarin' first standby, picking RSR when my next FP is ready, then running around to ride Incredicoaster and TSMM a couple times while the lines aren't too bad. Then going over to check out Cars Land and maybe do Luigi's and possibly Mater's while we wait for our RSR fp. I'm not sure if we'll hop over to Disneyland at that point to try to get a fp for the later Fantasmic showing or not at that point. Or we might grab another FP for something in DL and ride Guardians standby, depending on the wait. I want to do Guardians at least twice, so we might FP it again later. We'll want to ride GRR once or twice, but I don't anticipate a lot of lines with that one unless it's a warmer day. I also definitely want to do Monsters Inc and The Little Mermaid, but we'll watch for shortish lines for those. Like I said before, she hasn't been to CA since 2005, and it's practically a new park, so we could spend several hours just checking stuff out and walking around when the lines get crazy later on while we stack some FP's. If we hop over to Disneyland, BTMR at night would be a priority for me. She'll want to do Space and Splash, and the Matterhorn, but doesn't love Indy. No big deal, since I can do that one in May with my family. I would really like to see Fantasmic, but I don't know if we'll get a FP in time or not. I'll have to study the standby area and strategies in case. With only one day there, we're probably going to keep our itinerary pretty flexible and just enjoy being there together and at Christmas time!

 

[DLfan4]

I was planning to make some shirts, but I found these at Wal-mart, and they were $5, and they're super soft and comfy. I'm thinking we'll layer these over white long-sleeved shirts, and see if I can find some green jackets or scarves to go go along

Those shirts are so cute. and $5 is a great price!

 

[Jaina]

Those shirts are so cute. and $5 is a great price!

Thanks! I'm getting excited about putting them together. I would like to find some cute inexpensive scarves in red/green or white, (or black if we don't) because I know a scarf makes all the difference if it's late and you're feeling cold. (From my former life living in Utah and Iowa. Not from living here. My 4-year-old doesn't even know what a scarf IS). Also, we made a dining reservation for Cafe Orleans for a later lunch (2 PM CA time) that I'm excited about. I haven't done a sit-down meal at Disney in... I don't know how long. So I need to make sure to cancel that if we decide not to do a park hopper. I think we're going to do it though, unless one of us isn't feeling well. I think we'll be sad if we don't, even with the crowds and Candlelight going on!

 

[whitneyebz]

I think I would want to parkhop, even with just one day! Most of my favorite rides are at DCA (Guardians, RSR, Incredicoaster, Soarin) but I am not sure I could miss out on Disneyland either! And I still haven't seen Fantasmic. In fact, I just found out that at WDW, they have BLEACHERS for fantasmic and it's not even hard to get a spot. Pretty sure we will end up not seeing it until we go there. We tried last time we went to Disneyland but we didn't have a fastpass and the crowds were suffocating walking over to that area.

I love that your sister is willing to wear the matching stuff- I think mine would too! I JUST missed her by a day on our last trip The first time I went to DCA was like 4 years ago, but the first time I went to Disneyland was in 2004 or 2005, and it was just one day. I am actually really glad we didn't end up going until after Carsland opened, because from what I've heard, DCA was not so great back then.

 

[Jaina]

I think I would want to parkhop, even with just one day! Most of my favorite rides are at DCA (Guardians, RSR, Incredicoaster, Soarin) but I am not sure I could miss out on Disneyland either! And I still haven't seen Fantasmic. In fact, I just found out that at WDW, they have BLEACHERS for fantasmic and it's not even hard to get a spot. Pretty sure we will end up not seeing it until we go there. We tried last time we went to Disneyland but we didn't have a fastpass and the crowds were suffocating walking over to that area.

I love that your sister is willing to wear the matching stuff- I think mine would too! I JUST missed her by a day on our last trip The first time I went to DCA was like 4 years ago, but the first time I went to Disneyland was in 2004 or 2005, and it was just one day. I am actually really glad we didn't end up going until after Carsland opened, because from what I've heard, DCA was not so great back then.

Yeah, but I hear their Fantasmic! isn't as good as ours (to most people), so it's a toss up. The seats sound nice though! I haven't seen it (other than on Youtube, or waaay off to the side) since I was a kid. Our family's priority was always rides over meet and greets, parades, or shows. And I am one of the weird ones that has liked California Adventure since it opened. We watched it being built over several trips, then finally got to go check it out in June of 2001. I've always been a fan, and it's gotten more and more interesting as it has progressed! I'm excited to "show" it to my sister with how much it has changed since 2005!
(that first visit... me and my sister with our mom)

 

[Jaina]

So, I'm close on the ears, but I need opinions! I couldn't find any good mini Santa hats anywhere locally, or online for less than like $5 a piece (with shipping) so I decided to make my own out of 98 cent Walmart mini stockings. I think they turned out pretty good! It was messy, though! I multi-tasked by "playing" Battleship with my 4-year-old during it. No one else would play with him. (I found out why - he doesn't really fully get it just yet, and it was an exercise in futility...) So, should I put the hats on these black ears, or on the zebra stripe ones? I think the zebra ones are cuter with our shirts, but will the bows be in the way? And should it put it right in the middle or kind of off to the side, or for the zebra ones, in front of or behind the bow? Thoughts?

 

[smartlabelprint]

So, I'm close on the ears, but I need opinions! I couldn't find any good mini Santa hats anywhere locally, or online for less than like $5 a piece (with shipping) so I decided to make my own out of 98 cent Walmart mini stockings. I think they turned out pretty good! It was messy, though! I multi-tasked by "playing" Battleship with my 4-year-old during it. No one else would play with him. (I found out why - he doesn't really fully get it just yet, and it was an exercise in futility...) So, should I put the hats on these black ears, or on the zebra stripe ones? I think the zebra ones are cuter with our shirts, but will the bows be in the way? And should it put it right in the middle or kind of off to the side, or for the zebra ones, in front of or behind the bow? Thoughts?

Black middle

 

[lindyv321]

Adorable! I like the black ears best too! As for attaching them, maybe put a piece of cardboard inside the hat with an extra bit at the bottom that can be folded and hot glued to the ears? Or can you sew them on?

 

[Jaina]

Black middle

Adorable! I like the black ears best too! As for attaching them, maybe put a piece of cardboard inside the hat with an extra bit at the bottom that can be folded and hot glued to the ears? Or can you sew them on?

I want to reuse either set of ears for non-Christmas possibilities, so I will probably lightly stitch the hats on (I guess I should ask my sister if she has a preference, too). Or maybe use hot glue to attach black ribbon as a way I can attach things on hair clips like the interchangeable Minnie ears they already sell.

 

[StarlitNight05]

I agree with others that I like the black ones with the placement in the middle. That was so ingenious of you to craft the hats out of little stockings! That must have taken quite a bit of patience.

Your trip sounds so fun! I wish my brother was into Disneyland...it just didn't seem to stick with him. My parents are still huge fans though, and we are toying with the idea of a family trip together next year.

 

[DLfan4]

Great idea with the hat. I also like the black ears with the hat in the middle. But the Zebra ones are cute too. go with the ones you like best

 

[Spencer Wright]

Following!!

 

[Jaina]

Thanks for all the input on the ears! I haven't assembled them just yet.

Plot Twist: Something just came up for my sister that Sunday (the 2nd) that she really wants to be home for. So we rearranged everything and changed our plans and will now be visiting Nov 26th, the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. I'm feeling a little stressed about the change, but I'm sure it will be fine, and maybe even better. I'm still feeling unsettled though; I don't like plans changing! I switched our Cafe Orleans lunch reservation to an early dinner reservation (4:30) that Monday. I have to re-think everything.

Cons:
I was looking forward to trying to see Fantasmic, (but also a little stressed by it). It's not scheduled for that Monday, obviously.
I'm kind of thinking we need to start the day in Disneyland (definitely doing park hoppers now). I was hoping to start in California Adventure. I'm thinking we'll do DL first though and hit some short lines, then set up some MaxPasses over at CA and hop over there by 9:30 or so.
I was really looking forward to doing the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes for the first time. Now it won't be open, most likely. :-(
Hours are only 9 am to 11 pm instead of 8 am to 12 pm.
Since it's a CA early entry day, they won't open the parking until 7 AM. How early will they let us "line up" before it's actually open? Which parking structure will get us in there faster?

Pros: Maybe it will be less crowded in the walkways on that Monday vs the Saturday (with Candlelight Processional happening) we were planning to go. I'm not really expecting the lines to be much shorter, but hopefully the walkways won't be so crazy.
We save $40 vs peak pricing, and save $50 on a hotel. This was one of our original possible dates, and I had hung onto our reservation for the Anaheim Lodge for that date because it was only $100 for two nights! (It's just a basic budget hotel, but gets great reviews and the drive is fine for us).
Hours are only until 11 pm. That's already midnight for us, so it's just as well that we won't feel pressured to stay later after a very big day.
Fireworks are still scheduled that night, unless the winds cancel them like happened last year when we were there (also on a Monday, the 2nd of December I think).

In good news, I just ordered some super cute matching holiday PJ pants for all 5 of my kids from Target. At only $5 a piece, I grabbed them. We're thinking about surprising the kids by going up and staying in a hotel by the Grand Canyon Christmas Eve, then driving over to my sister's and staying a night with them too. I've never not been "home" for Christmas, so it's an interesting idea...

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Mondays have turned into busy days at DLR (What’s the scoop on Mondays?), but since you know the parks well and are a good planner, this shouldn't be a problem. Definitely start at DL at rope drop. Do whatever you can get done there during the morning hours before the crowds start building, all the while using MP to your advantage. Then hop to DCA when DL starts getting crowded. Ask over on the Disneyland (California) forum about any specific scheduling questions -- there are DISers there who are so good about that.

 

[Jaina]

So, I took the plunge and bought our tickets! Always an exciting step, and so fun to have those and the dining reservation show up in my app immediately. And the gift card DID have money on it! I knew it did, but it still made me feel a little giddy to see it there!

 

[Jaina]

Well, I attached the Santa hats to clips, and added ribbon for attaching them to the black ears. And I was underwhelmed with the result.

I went to JoAnn (a craft/fabric store) tonight looking for ribbon to maybe add a big Minnie bow or something to make it look better. I forgot to take the ears/hat with me of course, so that was kind of hard to imagine stuff. But then I saw all this white "fur" fabric that was basically the Santa hat stuff. And I bought a foot of it, and cut it up, and made my Santa hats happier. I'd like to add more to the fluffy ball end, but I don't think it would turn out well, so I think I'm going to leave it before I mess it up. They're still, um, taller than I hoped/expected, but I think they will work.

(one changed, one original)

The blue you can see annoys me, but it won't show when we're wearing them.

and it's late...