'Tis the Season in Disneyland: A California Christmas *COMPLETED* (Feb. 2/Pg. 14)

I never said California was North Dakota. It's like when it's 35 degrees in Florida. That's not what you would expect coming here on vacation for the first time. You see it as a tropical place, so to wake up to frost would be shocking. I would expect to be walking around in snow in North Dakota. Just like the image we are always given of Cali and LA is a warm climate in short mini dresses and tank tops. To see everyone in winter coats, hats, and gloves is not the image of the LA area that is projected to the world. It was major news in CA when we were there because they actually had snow, which was rare for that to happen. I am from NC and now I live in FL, so for me it is cold. It's a huge deal here when we got frost the other week and it was big news because of our tropical plants and produce. NC may get snow for one or two days a year and FL does not get snow. Come on, I'm a Florida girl!
I know, I realized that it's all relative - actually where we live is tropical compared to ND :thumbsup2 It just made me smile, so I had to tease you - couldn't keep my "mouth" shut. Hope you're not too offended. :hug: It is funny how we see all of the sterotypes of the mini dresses and tank tops.
 
Hi Lindsey, thank you for the update on the Disney Soda Fountain, I think since in March we fly into LAX, I think maybe we will stop there first and then head up to Anaheim, I also want to find Amy Grant's star on the Walk Of Fame, I know right where the Kodak is so it should be pretty easy to find. I can't wait to hear your review of it though. I think we will just eat a sundae there, yum yum!!!!:goodvibes
 
Your tattoo is so cute! I love it! I think it would be pretty neat to get a Crush or Squirt tattoo. Now, you’ve got me thinking, haha! It’s DH’s birthday tomorrow, so I’m surprising him this weekend with dinner at the Spirit of Aloha Show. He will really enjoy it! I’ll have to see if he wants to spend some of the day at the MK. Where will you be staying when you go to Hawaii? DH has already been sending me links to resorts, haha! I think he’s ready to go!

thanks! the guy who did it was great. i specifically went to him because he likes doing cartoony stuff. i got that version of pearl from zazzle (the t-shirt place online), i'd seen it before and knew it was what i wanted! crush and squirt would be really cute for sure!

i'm not sure where we're staying in hawaii yet. my parents are coming with us and they're the ones who are supposed to figure out where we're going. haha. they've been there before, so it is easier to have them figure out what places would be best to visit. i have no clue??

happy birthday to your dh! i'm sure you guys will have a great time this weekend at the dinner! my bf is dying to go to boma again (we'll be there saturday night), it's all he can talk about! :lmao: unfortunately, i haven't quite made him a convert yet, so this will be our last trip for a while...
 
December 10
A Day of California Adventure





We woke up bright and early, so we could be at California Adventure as soon as it opened! We were happy to also see that it had gotten much warmer outside. It really was a beautiful day and we were glad to be spending it at Disney's California inspired theme park.
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We made our way to California Adventure and they were letting everyone into the park early and the Santa's Beach Blast activities were already in full swing!
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We just had to go meet jolly ol' St. Nicholas again!
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I thought it was so great that the characters were already out for meet and greets to get everyone excited for the day! Then, we saw Mickey in his adorable Cali themed Christmas clothing and he looked adorable, as always!
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They had the main areas of the park roped off, so we went over to Hollywood Studios because we wanted to ride the Tower of Terror first. There were a few Tower of Terror CM's hanging around and one approached me. He handed me a Tinker Bell Friendship Pin set. I have seen guests receive these at WDW and I was thrilled to actually get one! It is a very cute pin and it says "Where Dreams Come True." Then, the CM looked at me & DH and asked if we'd like to open the Tower of Terror for the day and be the first to ride!? :scared1: I was so excited and it was a very nice Year of a Million Dreams moment for us!
The CM gave each of us a TOT sticker that you only receive if you are the people that are the first to ride for the day. Then, he handed us the Guest Book from the Tower of Terror Hotel. The guests that are chosen to open the ride for each day sign it. It was a nice leather-bound book and it was such a neat moment. We signed our names and I wrote, "I will survive!"
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Then, we were handed the official red rope, so we could be the first to take the walk to the Tower of Terror! We began our walk and then they let the rest of the guests follow behind us soon after. It was so much fun!
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We were then told to go check-in at the hotel and that our room was ready for us. :rotfl: There was one CM waiting for us and I quickly noticed that the wait time for the ride was 13 minutes. They must have it set like that every morning before the ride opens. We made our way into the Hollywood Tower Hotel and the CM lead us into our private room.

It was so crazy for us to be there all by ourselves and then the elevator door opened. We made out way into our private elevator of doom and took our spots right up front. It was so much fun and exciting to be in the elevator alone.

Here's our photo aka our Red Neck photo that DH took with his phone!
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It was a great way to begin our day at California Adventure! We decided to go to the "A Bug's Life" play area next because we hadn't been on any of those rides yet and we wanted to beat the crowds.

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This area of the park was pretty empty, so we were able to ride all of the rides quickly. It is such a cute area and it is themed so well. You really feel like a small bug with the amount of greenery they have all around you and everything is larger than life!

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More Soon! popcorn::
 

Oh my gosh, Lindsey, you and DH looked like you had so much fun!!!:goodvibes How truly awesome that you got to open TOT, very cool, you got dreamed, way cool!!!:goodvibes And characters too, I'm lovin it.

As always your pictures are amazing, what camera do you have again? I know you've told me at least a 100 times and I keep losing the PM's, I promise this time I will write it down, your camera just does an amazing job.

Just got done watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, it was great!! I really loved Jack and Zero, very cute and just all around great movie with a great message!!! Now I am even more excited to see The Haunted Mansion at DL in Dec.:goodvibes

As always Lindsey thank you for sharing, your wonderful!!! Tell DH hope he has an amazing birthday.:)
 
We got those pins too! As we walked into AK a CM came over and handed the pins too us. I've only recently got into the pins and they are soooo cute. I know have those, a Segway pin and 2 Mickey/Minnie wedding pins.

You're day sounded great, anymore special moments?
 
Oh my gosh how exciting that you guys got to be the first to ride! I swear you have the BEST luck!!

Here's our photo aka our Red Neck photo that DH took with his phone!
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Oh and where have I seen that pose from you...
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Oh yea when I was holding on for dear life! :lmao: :lmao: By the way your DH is making a great face in the picture. LOL Oh and Happy Birthday to him! :bday:

Looking forward to more of your trippie as usual.
 
WOW, how are you always so lucky?!?!? That is so cool you were first on Tower of Terror. And your pictures are too cute. :)
 
:yay: you got a dream........that is really cool. You really are sprinkled with pixie dust Lindsey.
 
Hi Lindsey,

Well, we're back! Actually we were back Tuesday at 2 AM, but it takes a couple of days to get back into the swing of things. I still haven't touched the laundry.

We had a great time. Sorry we missed you.

Ironically enough I think we may do a Cali road trip this summer...and of course, we'll need to stop in DL. So I'm paying extra close attention to all the details you mention. Any words of wisdom for dining or hitting the parks?

I love all your updates! Your trippies are always SO good!
 
It seems like DL is more decorated then WDW. It just might be me. I am hoping to make it to DL during Christmas time one year.
 
Great TR! Thanks for taking the time to put it together. We were at DLR at the same time you were - but not so affected by the cold as we're from Toronto and it had been very cold here. We even wore shorts a couple of days! (Did you spot those crazy Canucks?!?)

We didn't take a lot of pictures for some reason, and I am so enjoying yours (which are way better than anything I take anyway). I especially loved your Haunted House series. Our twin boys had sung a medley from Nightmare with the school choir just days before we left for DLR, so they were thrilled to see it. We saw the "usual" version at WDW last year - they boys liked this one better!

I also enjoyed the parade and Fantasmic video's. I'm the only girl in the family - with my sons and my husband, they'd rather ride than watch a parade - and this trip everyone was too tired to stay up for Fantasmic (our boys are 9 and we'd all beem sick before the trip). If there is ever a next time...I'm just gonna go alone if I have too!!!

Lastly, thank you so much for the Asimo video's. I did see Asimo with 1 of our sons, with whom I'd seen Asimo when he was on a tour a couple of years ago - Asimo's made progress! It's amazing what he can do. The son who saw it with me is physically disabled and had a really touching response to one of the statements in the "host's" commentary. When she described how difficult it is to teach a robot how to walk, she referred to walking as being "something we all take for granted." Said my dear son - "I don't take it for granted!" Wise words from a little man who cannot stand independently and uses a walker to get around.

Thanks again for helping me relive some good memories!
 
Under the Sea Adventure





Next, we journeyed into imagination with the Animation area of California Adventure, where they have Turtle Talk and they are also featuring Snow White. There is a very neat animation area, where you can enter the Beast's room from "Beauty & the Beast."

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They had a lot of interactive areas and games to play. It was pretty neat and I decided to see which Disney character I was most like.

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I saw there was a small stage show about the Animation of Disney, so we decided it was worth checking out. It was pretty cute and you had the change to meet Sorcerer Mickey, Woody, & Cinderella after the show.

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Then, we made our way over to Redwood Creek Challenge, which we missed out on last time. It was a large wilderness playground with the magic of "Brother Bear" and it was a lot of fun! There are slides, rope swings, and wall climbs. It really feels like you are on a wilderness trail in the mountains. It's amazing to feel like you have left Disneyland for a moment and are really right there with nature. There were even beautiful pine trees everywhere and streams of water.

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It was close to our dinnertime and we made our way over to Paradise Pier to have our meal at Ariel Grotto for "Under the Sea" character dining. We had one of the last seating of the day and we were going to end our day with a relaxing meal under the sea.

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We checked-in outside at the podium and were given a buzzer. We walked into the restaurant and the actually dining room is located downstairs, so we found an empty bench upstairs to wait for our turn. When our buzzer went off, we made our way down the winding stairs to be greeted by Ariel, who was our hostess for this evening's dinner. We had our picture taken with Ariel, which we opted not to buy and were taken to our table for two under the sea.

We had our choice of soup, entree, and dessert for our dinner for one set price. Our waiter brought us some bread and we were brought our soup pretty quickly. Soon after they began making the royal announcements that the Princesses were arriving. It was pretty neat because there was an official announcer, who would ring the bell, "Here ye, Here ye!" Then, he would announce each Princess when they entered the dining room. Everyone greeted each Princess with a round of applause.

Belle was the first Princess to enter the dining room and make her way over to our table. She was very happy that we both wore yellow to dinner.

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Cinderella was next to stop by for a visit and she was very cute. I told her my Prince was very thrilled to see her and had to have a picture with her. Anything to embarrass my DH!

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I must say that I was very pleased with my meal. I had vegetable penne pasta and the sauce was just fantastic! DH had his typical hamburger and fries.

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Snow White and Princess Aurora were the last two Princesses to arrive at our table before we were brought out our desserts.

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It was dessert time and we made our choices, apple crisp and chocolate cake. They were both yummy, yummy!

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We had a few issues with our waiter not showing up to our table after he brought us our soup and we had three issues with our bill, but other than that our meal was great. We exited the restaurant and California Adventure was closed. It was so sad that another day at Disneyland had come to an end. We made the walk back to the Disneyland Hotel and decided we'd do some more exploring around the grounds.

We made our way out front to see the giant Mickey because I realized I had forgotten to get my picture taken with him.

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We enjoyed our walk around the Disneyland Hotel and then went to our room to crawl into our comfy bed. We had another early morning to look forward to at Disneyland!







More Soon! popcorn::
 
Hi Lindsey, thank you for the update on the Disney Soda Fountain, I think since in March we fly into LAX, I think maybe we will stop there first and then head up to Anaheim, I also want to find Amy Grant's star on the Walk Of Fame, I know right where the Kodak is so it should be pretty easy to find. I can't wait to hear your review of it though. I think we will just eat a sundae there, yum yum!!!!:goodvibes

I have a great picture of our yummy sundaes. They have Disney themed ones too! :goodvibes

thanks! the guy who did it was great. i specifically went to him because he likes doing cartoony stuff. i got that version of pearl from zazzle (the t-shirt place online), i'd seen it before and knew it was what i wanted! crush and squirt would be really cute for sure!

i'm not sure where we're staying in hawaii yet. my parents are coming with us and they're the ones who are supposed to figure out where we're going. haha. they've been there before, so it is easier to have them figure out what places would be best to visit. i have no clue??

happy birthday to your dh! i'm sure you guys will have a great time this weekend at the dinner! my bf is dying to go to boma again (we'll be there saturday night), it's all he can talk about! :lmao: unfortunately, i haven't quite made him a convert yet, so this will be our last trip for a while...


I will have to pass the Happy Birthday along to DH! :goodvibes
He just got home tonight and I surprised him with balloons everywhere and a chocolate cake. Then, I made an invitation inviting him to the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show and he's excited!

I just love Boma! It is at the top of my list! It's my second favorite Disney restaurant behind 'Ohana. :thumbsup2

When will you be in Hawaii? We are looking at *maybe" going in early summer.

Oh my gosh, Lindsey, you and DH looked like you had so much fun!!!:goodvibes How truly awesome that you got to open TOT, very cool, you got dreamed, way cool!!!:goodvibes And characters too, I'm lovin it.

As always your pictures are amazing, what camera do you have again? I know you've told me at least a 100 times and I keep losing the PM's, I promise this time I will write it down, your camera just does an amazing job.

Just got done watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, it was great!! I really loved Jack and Zero, very cute and just all around great movie with a great message!!! Now I am even more excited to see The Haunted Mansion at DL in Dec.:goodvibes

As always Lindsey thank you for sharing, your wonderful!!! Tell DH hope he has an amazing birthday.:)

I just checked my camera again for you and it is a V603! :) I was right!

I am so glad you liked the movie! Now, you must watch it every Halloween! I know I always do.

I'll pass along the birthday wishes to DH! We are going to really celebrate tomorrow night at the Spirit of Aloha dinner show! I'm excited! :yay:


We got those pins too! As we walked into AK a CM came over and handed the pins too us. I've only recently got into the pins and they are soooo cute. I know have those, a Segway pin and 2 Mickey/Minnie wedding pins.

You're day sounded great, anymore special moments?

I don't even want to start pin collecting because I know it's an addiction I couldn't quit. :rotfl: I also have the Mickey & Minnie wedding pin and just a few more, but I have been given all of those as gifts. I must stay in control, haha! Oh, there are more special moments to come!
 
Oh my gosh how exciting that you guys got to be the first to ride! I swear you have the BEST luck!!



Oh and where have I seen that pose from you...
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Oh yea when I was holding on for dear life! :lmao: :lmao: By the way your DH is making a great face in the picture. LOL Oh and Happy Birthday to him! :bday:

Looking forward to more of your trippie as usual.


It was a blast and quite a surprise to both of us! :scared1:

You are too funny! I love that Red Neck photo too! :laughing:

I'll pass the birthday wishes to DH! He always acts like a crazy kid at Disney too!


WOW, how are you always so lucky?!?!? That is so cool you were first on Tower of Terror. And your pictures are too cute. :)

I honestly don't know, but I do know I am very grateful. :goodvibes It was a memorable moment that I won't forget. Thanks so much! :)

:yay: you got a dream........that is really cool. You really are sprinkled with pixie dust Lindsey.

It all started after I got hooked on The DIS! It must be because I am always talking with such Magical people. It rubs off on you after awhile. :goodvibes

Hi Lindsey,

Well, we're back! Actually we were back Tuesday at 2 AM, but it takes a couple of days to get back into the swing of things. I still haven't touched the laundry.

We had a great time. Sorry we missed you.

Ironically enough I think we may do a Cali road trip this summer...and of course, we'll need to stop in DL. So I'm paying extra close attention to all the details you mention. Any words of wisdom for dining or hitting the parks?

I love all your updates! Your trippies are always SO good!

You're back!

Uggghhh...don't you just hate getting back home and having to unpack!? :laundy: It's the worst!

I hope you had a Magical time and I'm sorry I missed you too! Next time! ;)

That would be so fun to do a Cali road trip! You must stop at DL, of course! You can't go to Cali and not go to DL, it just wouldn't be right. :goodvibes

Any questions you have, I will gladly answer and help you! I've noticed the parks are pretty empty as soon as they open and get crowded in the afternoon. It seems to always be a mad rush when the parks open at WDW, but it's not like that in DL.

I've eaten at many of the dining locations, so if you have any questions or want me opinions, I'm here. :)

Awwww...thanks! I love being able to share my vacations with everyone!



It seems like DL is more decorated then WDW. It just might be me. I am hoping to make it to DL during Christmas time one year.

Yes, that is very true and something I noticed too. I guess it's because DL is smaller and there is a lot more detail they can put into a smaller area, but I love it!


Great TR! Thanks for taking the time to put it together. We were at DLR at the same time you were - but not so affected by the cold as we're from Toronto and it had been very cold here. We even wore shorts a couple of days! (Did you spot those crazy Canucks?!?)

We didn't take a lot of pictures for some reason, and I am so enjoying yours (which are way better than anything I take anyway). I especially loved your Haunted House series. Our twin boys had sung a medley from Nightmare with the school choir just days before we left for DLR, so they were thrilled to see it. We saw the "usual" version at WDW last year - they boys liked this one better!

I also enjoyed the parade and Fantasmic video's. I'm the only girl in the family - with my sons and my husband, they'd rather ride than watch a parade - and this trip everyone was too tired to stay up for Fantasmic (our boys are 9 and we'd all beem sick before the trip). If there is ever a next time...I'm just gonna go alone if I have too!!!

Lastly, thank you so much for the Asimo video's. I did see Asimo with 1 of our sons, with whom I'd seen Asimo when he was on a tour a couple of years ago - Asimo's made progress! It's amazing what he can do. The son who saw it with me is physically disabled and had a really touching response to one of the statements in the "host's" commentary. When she described how difficult it is to teach a robot how to walk, she referred to walking as being "something we all take for granted." Said my dear son - "I don't take it for granted!" Wise words from a little man who cannot stand independently and uses a walker to get around.

Thanks again for helping me relive some good memories!


I did see one family in shorts one morning at Disneyland and we thought they were crazy! :rotfl: Even a few CM's stopped them and I overheard them say, "Where are you guys from!?" They sure did stand out next to everyone else bundled up from head to toe. :laughing:

I am so glad you are able to enjoy your vacation through my Trippie too! That is so sweet of you to say. I actually got sick in Cali too on about our third day because of the cold, I guess. Going from the warm weather to the cold weather gave me a typical head and congestion cold. It happened to me again here a couple weeks ago because we had cold weather in the 30's and then it shot back up to 80 degrees. My body couldn't take that major of a change, obviously.

That is such a touching and wonderful story about your son. That's one of those little Magical moments that Disney is all about. DH & I were actually waiting to watch the Halloween parade at WDW and there was a man next to us with his disabled teenage son. We chatted with him and he was telling us how his son does not speak, but when they come to WDW, they can't keep him quiet. He is the one who plans the entire vacation for them and is even able to read the map of the parks. It was such a touching story and I then told him I was actually a CM at WDW. I just had to do something special for his son, so I did my best to create some extra Magic for them!
 
Lindsey, as always a great update to your trippie and your pictures are so great. Ariel's looks like it was a lot of fun and the food looks yummy. Can't wait to hear about your early day at DL then!!! It just seems so neat at both these parks and I will be so excited to get to explore them a little more in March and then for sure in Dec.:goodvibes As always it is so sweet of you to share with us so that we know what we are doing once we get there. Your so great.:goodvibes

I will for sure be stopping by the Disney Soda Fountain in March and can't wait to see your photos from it!!! I bet they are just yummy and so cool that they have Disney themed ones. I found out that Amy's star is right in that area too so I won't have a far walk to find that!!! Cali is so great.

I will for sure have to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas every Halloween, or at least sometime between Halloween and Christmas, it was just too cute. I wish I would have seen it sooner. Now I am even more excited to see the HM next Dec. Yippee!!!:goodvibes

I hope you and DH have a blast celebrating his birthday tonight and I can't wait to hear more of your trippie. They are the best!!!:goodvibes
 
I also enjoyed the parade and Fantasmic video's. I'm the only girl in the family - with my sons and my husband, they'd rather ride than watch a parade - and this trip everyone was too tired to stay up for Fantasmic (our boys are 9 and we'd all beem sick before the trip). If there is ever a next time...I'm just gonna go alone if I have too!!!



Well, finally on about my 10th trip or so to DL, I just went and watched Fantasmic, by myself. It was an incredible experience, which I highly recommend. Tracey
 
Lindsey,
Oh my gosh girl, you have THE luck!! thats so awsome with TOT! how much fun that must have been!!! well you guys looked like you just had a blast!! anyway its a great trippie so far, havent seen your fantasmic videos, yet, but i will check them out later. i'm sorry to hear about Ariels dinner. but i am glad you guys at least got to enjoy your meal. the food looks yummy, as always!!!
oh by the way i hope dh had a great bday!! happy birthday!!:cake: :bday:
~sue
 




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