TR - Get your Disneyfied Christmas B-Day Fix! - Hub, Grub, & Up, Up and Away! - fixed photo links & Final Thoughts

[Jaina]

Nice photoshopping skills! I love that ride! And I feel like I need to spend more time checking out the Jolly Holiday! I'm sad that (we're at the point where) your trip is over, but glad it was such a good experience overall!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Nice photoshopping skills! I love that ride! And I feel like I need to spend more time checking out the Jolly Holiday! I'm sad that (we're at the point where) your trip is over, but glad it was such a good experience overall!

Thank you on the PS skills! We came away with this being our favorite ride by far, we rode it SO MANY TIMES on this trip! Oh yes, you need to get some Jolly Holiday goodies! I'm a little sad too - but yes, a great experience for sure. Thank you for hanging in there for the whole thing!!!

 

[mnmrmustard]

Chapter 37 – Hub, Grub, and Up, Up, and Away!

Friday dawned and despite the pace of the last five days I was up with the sun. I had gotten to sleep before 11pm so was up at 6:30am thanks to ye old internal alarm. I had set out my travel clothes the night before so I dressed (having showered the night before) and headed up to the Desert Palms and enjoyed my last breakfast buffet. And FINALLY remembered to actually take a picture of it! This morning was waffles & syrup, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs with salsa, and fried potatoes along with coffee and OJ.

The rest of the family had slept in so I took my time eating and going thru pictures from the night before. I had broken my own rule on not posting pictures to social media, but we had our neighbor and a friend of Jinx’s watching over the house and taking care of our animals so I was okay with taking the chance. If anyone wants to follow me on IG you can find me at @mnmrmustard.

I went upstairs and kept quiet until just before 9am when the rest of the family started getting up and moving around. We started packing in earnest sometime before 10am – Jinx had his priorities in order with his carry on

We were packed and out the door before 10:30am, dropping our bags off at the hotel’s secure storage area. We then took one more walk down Harbor and past the entrance to the Happiest Place on Earth

PumpkinGirl was bright and cherry despite the Adult Beverage Walkabout the night before

I had us all go to the hub and captured one of those iconic shots that every family should take at least once

We then headed into DTD for lunch, the place we chose was a must for our family. It is a bit kitschy and I know there are a lot of people who don't like it. But our family has ended our trip at one each and every Disney trip since 2002 at both WDW and DLR! In case you haven’t guessed, we went to the Rainforest Café.

Here's a shot of Jinx from our 2008 trip at the one attached to AK

In short, no Disney trip is complete without one. So without further adieu, here are some obligatory pics of the interior

Loved the little presents they had hanging from the tree

The bar wasn’t open quite yet

The place wasn’t busy but it still took 20 minutes to get seated upstairs. Couldn’t figure out what took so long but luckily we had plenty of time. They put us next to the gorillas

Click here for the Gorillas festive Antics

We got our order in and took out last Disney family pictures of the trip

I think we all got a variation on a burger or chicken and came away satisfied. After that we headed out with Jinx stopping quickly to say goodbye to a friendly gorilla

We did some window shopping and bought a couple of small items at World of Disney before making our way back to the hotel. Our drivers were there just before 1pm, again we got a Suburban and at towncar.

If you remember from the beginning of the TR, Roxy had been able to cash in some credit card rewards to get private transportation for a small handling fee plus tip. When we came from LAX Jinx and I had gotten the Suburban so this time Roxy and PumpkinGirl got it.

Away we went!

We played hopscotch all the way to LAX so I was able to get a shot of their ride as we traveled down the highway

Ticketing, baggage, and security wasn’t too bad and we were at our terminal in time to get some coffees to bolster us for the trip home.

As had happened on our trip down, we were forced to hop north past southern Oregon and then fly back down south due to United discontinuing their direct flight to LA after I had already booked our tickets. The upside is that we were re-ticketed on Virgin America so the family got to experience the ultra-modern entertainment options and the cool pink and purple lighting scheme AND we got to sit 2 people to a row of 3 so extra room!

By 4pm we were winging our way out over the pacific and making the turn north

At a quarter till 6pm the last of the light was fading from the sky and we were beginning our decent into Portland

The light had faded completely as we got closer to PDX

We were on the ground just after 6pm and had dinner in the terminal at your standard trendy burger/sandwich/beer place that you would expect to see in the PNW. Our flight took off somewhere after 7:30pm if I remember correctly and was uneventful. And soon enough we had touched down in Medford and made our way inside to a cheerily decorated baggage claim.

We had our bags and loaded up in ye ole minivan for the 30 minute trek home, making it to our doorstep around 9:45pm. We unloaded and came in to frantic doggies VERY happy to see us. And thankfully it was Friday night so we had the whole weekend to recover!

I don’t have pics of everything we picked up but I did take a pic of one of our Matterhorn Macarons before devouring it

I also found our Jungle Cruise maps – still have to get that one framed

And of course my big prize, the classic Disneyland Railroad original route map and train print along with the ticket from the Lilly Belle

And of course all of the Midway stuffies!

Well there ya have it! I’ll be back with final thoughts real soon, I hope you all have enjoyed the ride!

Click here for Final Thoughts

 

[Jaina]

Thank you on the PS skills! We came away with this being our favorite ride by far, we rode it SO MANY TIMES on this trip! Oh yes, you need to get some Jolly Holiday goodies! I'm a little sad too - but yes, a great experience for sure. Thank you for hanging in there for the whole thing!!!

I honestly think I could ride that one a LOT without getting tired of it or it being too much. My daughter and I are planning to try it again in September at a Halloween party. She (10) didn't like it the last time she tried it (when she was almost 9) as the ToT. I'm hoping that it's less spooky now, she'll find the love!! We will also definitely try the Jolly Holiday for some treats!

I'm glad you had a good trip home! I've actually never eaten at a Rainforest Cafe, though there's one near us... That flight with the purple lights looked pretty awesome! (Especially with extra room!) Unpacking and putting away the "stuff" is always my least favorite part, but "unpacking" the pictures and videos is my favorite!

 

[Steppesister]

I don't have time to comment on everything, as I'm once again so, so far behind, but I did spend the last hour binge reading all that you've posted since I was last able to be on your thread. With night shifts and now our whole family getting our house ready for my daughter's graduation party on the 16th of June it's all tilt. Massive yard work, a complete guest room makeover, and a lot more.

But, I love how your family is so fun together- lots of hugs and conversation and adventuring together. I was curious about how PG's bar crawl would go, and am pleased she had so much fun. I love it! I love that she did that in the safety and oversight of her parents and at Disney. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this TR and am looking forward to the wrap up when you post it. Might take me a bit to get here again to read it, but I AM reading. Promise!

 

[deannaf87]

Thanks so much for the Memorial Day weekend entertainment. Loved this TR. Your family is just adorable. We're thinking about 1st week in December for a 5 day trip this year. Did you like that time period?

 

[mnmrmustard]

Hey Everyone! Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth the past couple of weeks. I flew back east for a conference and to visit family

I honestly think I could ride that one a LOT without getting tired of it or it being too much. My daughter and I are planning to try it again in September at a Halloween party. She (10) didn't like it the last time she tried it (when she was almost 9) as the ToT. I'm hoping that it's less spooky now, she'll find the love!! We will also definitely try the Jolly Holiday for some treats!

I'm glad you had a good trip home! I've actually never eaten at a Rainforest Cafe, though there's one near us... That flight with the purple lights looked pretty awesome! (Especially with extra room!) Unpacking and putting away the "stuff" is always my least favorite part, but "unpacking" the pictures and videos is my favorite!

I hope your daughter likes it more and you get to ride it a bunch! Jolly Holiday is a win any time of year, but especially so during the holidays

Thank you on the trip home, it was pretty cool getting the extra space on such a cool plane. We have even expanded our Rainforest experience beyond Disney. Last fall we took a trip to San Francisco and ate at the Rainforest down at the pier area. Their burgers are generally a good go-to if you go.

I'm in total agreement on your unpacking thoughts

I don't have time to comment on everything, as I'm once again so, so far behind, but I did spend the last hour binge reading all that you've posted since I was last able to be on your thread. With night shifts and now our whole family getting our house ready for my daughter's graduation party on the 16th of June it's all tilt. Massive yard work, a complete guest room makeover, and a lot more.

But, I love how your family is so fun together- lots of hugs and conversation and adventuring together. I was curious about how PG's bar crawl would go, and am pleased she had so much fun. I love it! I love that she did that in the safety and oversight of her parents and at Disney. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this TR and am looking forward to the wrap up when you post it. Might take me a bit to get here again to read it, but I AM reading. Promise!

I feel ya, I've been flying around the country and did the opening speech at an inaugural IT Security conference in Jacksonville and then drove up thru Georgia to visit family and some old Army buddies. Now playing catch-up at work after being away for two weeks. Early congrats to your daughter on her upcoming grad! Yup, the yard work never stops - had to get out there myself and mow/pull weeds yesterday

Our family tries to keep a balance of doing stuff together and doing our own thing. We very much enjoy our vacations together and make the most of that time. The pub crawl was a big win for everyone, I was very relieved that it turned out so well. I know you're still coming around when you can - I'm doing the same on your TR

Thanks so much for the Memorial Day weekend entertainment. Loved this TR. Your family is just adorable. We're thinking about 1st week in December for a 5 day trip this year. Did you like that time period?

Thank you so very much, happy to give you some smiles and entertainment on the long weekend. And thank you for the compliment on our family

As far as that time period, it is THE BEST!!!! The holiday season is in full swing and the crowds have not ramped up yet. We did Sunday the 26th thru Thursday November 30th in the parks and it was amazing. We also did the same thing for our last Disney World/Universal Orlando trip back in 2012, flying in on November 29th and staying until December 9th.

And coupling it with MaxPass at Disneyland was soooo worth it, I highly recommend it. Just make sure and bring an external battery to keep those phone batteries from dying on you

 

[Steppesister]

Hey Everyone! Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth the past couple of weeks. I flew back east for a conference and to visit family

It's all good. I have too!!! LOL!

Welcome back!

 

[shannie102]

Just started planning a drip to DL and saw this report. Awesome job, looks like you all had a great time! Dont forget your final thoughts- excited to read them!!

 

[RedHotMama]

I just read your trip report after having to take a break from the boards. Of course, I loved it! You take wonderful photos!! I love how well your family gets along. I'm glad you had an enjoyable and satisfying trip!

 

[Tink1987]

Finally read your wonderful TR, thanks for sharing! You have a beautiful family, it looked like such a great trip.

Loved the pub crawl (sorry Roxy, I’m British, so it’s a pub crawl here )

 

[mnmrmustard]

Final Thoughts!

I was re-reading this TR and fixing some dead links to pictures and realized I never posted my final thoughts for this trip. So I guess I'll throw them in if anyone wants to set the wayback machine to 2017 and this wonderful birthday holiday adventure. I did one on my website, its not much but at least wraps up the story:

Well there ya have it. I hope you all have enjoyed the ride! As far as final thoughts they are pretty straight forward. We have taken the following theme park-related trips:

2002 – Universal Orlando

2005 – Disneyland

2008 – Walt Disney World/Sea World/Discovery Cove

2009 – Disneyland

2011 – Walt Disney World/Universal Orlando (just Roxy and I for my birthday)

2012 – Walt Disney World/Universal Orlando

2017 – Disneyland (this trip)

2020 – Walt Disney World/Universal Orlando (Jinx’s 21st B-Day trip during the pandemic)

All of them had high points and some low points and were all amazing for their own reasons. But the family consensus is that this was just a perfect trip. So many rides, so many great interactions, such a great pace with nobody feeling burnt out or coming down sick. It was just plain magical.

It’s the type of things you wish you could bottle up and hold on to. And I hope the story I have laid out here helps do just that.