Ultimate Disneyland Birthday Trip!-The Trip Report w/Pictures

[AURORA73]

The Cast:

Me: Celebrating 35th birthday in December. I have always wanted to celebrate a birthday in Disneyland. We will be there two weeks before my actual birthday which is the 22nd. I didn't really want to be there the week of Christmas.

My Sister: Loves Disney almost as much as I do. Very excited to go to Disneyland once again.

Dates: December 5th-December 9th

This will be our second trip just the two of us. We went in May 2007. We drove from Utah on that trip. It was not a fun drive. This time we are flying. My sister told me she would only go if we flew. I agreed.

I have been planning this trip for almost a year and a half now. In 2007 I was able to visit two Disney parks in the same year, Walt Disney World with the rest of the family and Disneyland just my sister and I. After we got home from the Disneyland trip, which turned out to be a fiasco, I started planning my birthday trip which was going to be my Ultimate Disneyland Trip. I wanted to do everything I have always dreamed of on this trip. I made plans and figured out what I wanted to do and then things started to fall apart. I changed jobs in June and no longer had the paid vacation time off that I had planned on. We started having financial struggles in our family so my parents and siblings and niece and nephew could no longer go on the trip with me. I started planning the trip as a solo trip but really didn't want to celebrate on my own. I decided that since last year's sisters trip was such a mess I needed to make it up to my sister so I invited her to come along. She is currently unemployed however so I am paying her way for now. Luckily, I found out that I would have a couple days paid vacation by the time we leave in December. We will have to go over a weekend which I didn't really want to do because of crowds. We were originally going to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. We are now staying at the same Good Neighbor hotel we stayed at last year, Anaheim Camelot Inn and Suites. It was a great room and it is a lot cheaper, plus we get the 4th night free. I am still working on the flights.

The Plans: Even though I have had to make several changes I still want to make this the Ultimate Disneyland Trip. We have been to Disneyland several times but there are some things we have never done before. This will be the trip to do some of those things. For example, I have never had a Dole Whip or funnel cake. I am going to try both on this trip. There are some restaurants that we have never been to and have always wanted to try. I want to go on the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. Many more things which I will write about in further posts. I welcome any ideas and recomendations of course. Here are some photos of my sister and I on our trip last year.

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Can you believe it now that you are putting it into writing? I am so excited for you!


Denise

 

[AURORA73]

Can you believe it now that you are putting it into writing? I am so excited for you!


Denise

Putting it in writing makes it a little more believable. Tonight, I will work on our itinerary and restaurants we plan to visit.

 

[AURORA73]

Fun Things to Do at Disneyland

I found a list a few years ago of fun things to do at Disneyland. As I have been to Disneyland several times in my life I was interested to see how many things I had already done on this list. It lists 89 things all around the Disney Resort. I had only done 34 of them. So the goal on this trip is to mark some more off. Here are just a few of those things that I plan to do:

Enjoy a Dole Whip by the Tiki Room
Drink a Mint Julep at New Orleans Square
Take a ride down Main Street on any of the vehicles.
Visit Walt and Mickey's statue at the hub. Look for Walt's Mickey ring.
Check out the memorabilia in the main building of the Disneyland Hotel.
Enjoy some Disneyland Resort popcorn.

 

[wendylady36]

Enjoy some Disneyland Resort popcorn.

Mmmmm...yummy yummy Disneyland popcorn. Careful with that stuff, it's addicting!

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your plans! Other people's trips are always so fascinating to me. It's always so fun to go on a trip with family. And Disneyland on your birthday makes it even better!

 

[tinkermell]

Fun Things to Do at Disneyland

I found a list a few years ago of fun things to do at Disneyland. As I have been to Disneyland several times in my life I was interested to see how many things I had already done on this list. It lists 89 things all around the Disney Resort. I had only done 34 of them. So the goal on this trip is to mark some more off. Here are just a few of those things that I plan to do:

Enjoy a Dole Whip by the Tiki Room
Drink a Mint Julep at New Orleans Square
Take a ride down Main Street on any of the vehicles.
Visit Walt and Mickey's statue at the hub. Look for Walt's Mickey ring.
Check out the memorabilia in the main building of the Disneyland Hotel.
Enjoy some Disneyland Resort popcorn.

Hi!
I'm on board!

Would you believe that I have been going to DL for 47+ years, and last year was the first time I ever remember taking a vehicle down Main Street. It was one of those things, I decided I needed to do too. And I only found out about Dole Whips, about a year and a half ago. They are now our favorite treat at DL.

If you like corn dogs, put that on your list too. They have the absolute best ones at DL and DCA!
Ok.............looking forward to more!

 

[mommaU4]

Hi there!! Disneyland is a great place to spend your birthday at. And December is a really nice time to be there. How sweet of you to pay for your sis to come with you. You guys look so happy in those pics. I hope you two have a great time.
I'm going to be taking the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour in October and I can't wait. It seems like a great tour.

Looking forward to reading more.

Oh, and if they still have them, you must try a Tinkerbell Twist.

 

[AURORA73]

Mmmmm...yummy yummy Disneyland popcorn. Careful with that stuff, it's addicting!

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your plans! Other people's trips are always so fascinating to me. It's always so fun to go on a trip with family. And Disneyland on your birthday makes it even better!

Thanks for reading! I too think other people's trip are fascinating. Plus you can pick up tips for your own trip.

Hi!
I'm on board!

Would you believe that I have been going to DL for 47+ years, and last year was the first time I ever remember taking a vehicle down Main Street. It was one of those things, I decided I needed to do too. And I only found out about Dole Whips, about a year and a half ago. They are now our favorite treat at DL.

If you like corn dogs, put that on your list too. They have the absolute best ones at DL and DCA!
Ok.............looking forward to more!

I have heard about the corn dogs. I am adding them to my list. Thanks.

Hi there!! Disneyland is a great place to spend your birthday at. And December is a really nice time to be there. How sweet of you to pay for your sis to come with you. You guys look so happy in those pics. I hope you two have a great time.
I'm going to be taking the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour in October and I can't wait. It seems like a great tour.

Looking forward to reading more.

Oh, and if they still have them, you must try a Tinkerbell Twist.

This is the first I have heard of a Tinkerbell Twist. Thanks for telling me about them. I will have to add that to my list if they still have them. You will have to tell me about the tour since you will get to go on it before my trip. Fun!

 

[mommaU4]

This is the first I have heard of a Tinkerbell Twist. Thanks for telling me about them. I will have to add that to my list if they still have them. You will have to tell me about the tour since you will get to go on it before my trip. Fun!

It's good. Sort of like a slushie but with sour apple and sour watermelon flavors. Yum. I bought mine from DCA at the cart in Bug's Land and the cart near the Orange Stinger.

I'll post about the tour in my TR.

 

[bigdisgrandma]

It's good. Sort of like a slushie but with sour apple and sour watermelon flavors. Yum. I bought mine from DCA at the cart in Bug's Land and the cart near the Orange Stinger.

I'll post about the tour in my TR.

Oh my goodness, Lisa, you have got to try one of those for me! I really think I need one now....I really must go to bed!
Denise

 

[AURORA73]

Here is another list! I am still trying to figure out the itinerary. I am a crazy planner and because I had originally planned this trip for a different time I am making adjustments to my original plans. We have made a list of some of the restaurants that are favorites as well as the new ones we want to try.

Favorites
Blue Bayou
Golden Horseshoe-We love the show and having lunch makes it even better!
Storyteller's Cafe


New ones to try
Carnation Cafe-Breakfast
Bengal Barbecue
Taste Pilot's Grill
Cafe Orleans
Goofy's Kitchen

Then of course we have a list of snacks as well. Not all in one day of course.

Favorites
Churros
Gibson Girl Ice Cream
Fudge



New to Try
Dole Whip
Mint Julep
Funnel Cake
Corn Dog
Tinkerbell Twist-Looks yummy!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

The Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour is very interesting. I actually already knew most of what they talked aboout in the tour since I'm such a Disney nerd, but it was still fascinating. I recommend doing it. Discounts are available with an AP. I think there may also be discounts with a Disney Visa and AAA membership.

 

[travelmel]

Here is another list! I am still trying to figure out the itinerary. I am a crazy planner and because I had originally planned this trip for a different time I am making adjustments to my original plans. We have made a list of some of the restaurants that are favorites as well as the new ones we want to try.

Favorites
Blue Bayou
Golden Horseshoe-We love the show and having lunch makes it even better!
Storyteller's Cafe


New ones to try
Carnation Cafe-Breakfast
Bengal Barbecue
Taste Pilot's Grill
Cafe Orleans
Goofy's Kitchen

Then of course we have a list of snacks as well. Not all in one day of course.

Favorites
Churros
Gibson Girl Ice Cream
Fudge



New to Try
Dole Whip
Mint Julep
Funnel Cake
Corn Dog
Tinkerbell Twist-Looks yummy!

Hi!

I'm new to your TR and I'm glad to find it! Since your asking, I'll give up my two cents on the food things:

1) Blue Bayou- Did you know you can get a mint julep there? They even let us order it as the free beverage with our kids meal!

2) Bengal BBQ - I've enjoyed it a few times but it wasn't as good last time. Similar but not as tender/tasty. I recommend it as a snack as it's spendy if you start stacking up skewers for a meal. Also, the tiger tails LOOK good but they're really dry, burnt bread. Blech. The pretzel was pretty dry and basic as well... also, the cheese sauce is slightly spicey... it's not just plain cheese. Just in case you were not into spicey I prefer the sweet sauce on the beef skewer and the veggie one is pretty good ESPECIALLY if you have park gut (aka fast food and no veggies making you feel sick ) I've had the others.. they were so-so.

3) Taste Pilots Grill - It was a good value! The burgers come WITH the round FF's so that was nice. However, I had the A-1 burger and the sauce was cold which chilled the burger out and made me wonder if it was cooked. My kids and DD's chicken sand were good though. They have a small "fixin's" bar. We got our food then parked on the street to wait for the Main Street Elec Parade and that worked out nice.

4) Gibson Girl Ice Cream - is that the one on Main Street? If so it's another good value. My DD got a double scoop there and it was under $5 and HUGE! Also, if it is the one on Main St I highly recommend checking out the really pretty Elephant statue at the back table inside the Ice Cream shop.. it's SO pretty and a great place to relax for a minute.

5) Dole Whip - we discovered these on our visit last summer. What a great treat!! How did I miss these over the 37 yrs I'd been going to DL???? Unreal!! The classic "Dole whip" is great but I will be trying the Dole Float next time just for funsies. I just checked out allears and noticed that the float is $5 where as the whip is $3. Hmmm.. not sure if there was sufficient amounts of ice cream to justify the 2 dollar difference BUT it is vacation...

6) Carnation Cafe looks SO yummy for breakfast!! Also, however, Tomorrowland Terrace (CS) smelled REALLY good in the morning. When I walked by people's food I looked at it and it looked nice, too! Lots of yummy croissant sandwhiches and fresh fruit. I never hear anything about this place for breakfast on any TR's but I definitely would try it next time.

7) Have you heard of Pomme Frittes?? They're served at Cafe Orleans.. they look marvelous! Also, after checking at Allears.net I see that you can get Mint Julep's there AND at The French Quarter. Hmm.. who knew? Probably everybody but me.

I know this was really long! I'm really dis-sing tongiht. LOL

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Lisa,
I want to go too! I am having Disney withdrawl these days and am thinking a quick weekend trip to Disney could be in order! It was great to see you the other day. I miss you lots.

from me and Mandy!
Denise

 

[AURORA73]

Hi!

I'm new to your TR and I'm glad to find it! Since your asking, I'll give up my two cents on the food things:

1) Blue Bayou- Did you know you can get a mint julep there? They even let us order it as the free beverage with our kids meal!

2) Bengal BBQ - I've enjoyed it a few times but it wasn't as good last time. Similar but not as tender/tasty. I recommend it as a snack as it's spendy if you start stacking up skewers for a meal. Also, the tiger tails LOOK good but they're really dry, burnt bread. Blech. The pretzel was pretty dry and basic as well... also, the cheese sauce is slightly spicey... it's not just plain cheese. Just in case you were not into spicey I prefer the sweet sauce on the beef skewer and the veggie one is pretty good ESPECIALLY if you have park gut (aka fast food and no veggies making you feel sick ) I've had the others.. they were so-so.

3) Taste Pilots Grill - It was a good value! The burgers come WITH the round FF's so that was nice. However, I had the A-1 burger and the sauce was cold which chilled the burger out and made me wonder if it was cooked. My kids and DD's chicken sand were good though. They have a small "fixin's" bar. We got our food then parked on the street to wait for the Main Street Elec Parade and that worked out nice.

4) Gibson Girl Ice Cream - is that the one on Main Street? If so it's another good value. My DD got a double scoop there and it was under $5 and HUGE! Also, if it is the one on Main St I highly recommend checking out the really pretty Elephant statue at the back table inside the Ice Cream shop.. it's SO pretty and a great place to relax for a minute.

5) Dole Whip - we discovered these on our visit last summer. What a great treat!! How did I miss these over the 37 yrs I'd been going to DL???? Unreal!! The classic "Dole whip" is great but I will be trying the Dole Float next time just for funsies. I just checked out allears and noticed that the float is $5 where as the whip is $3. Hmmm.. not sure if there was sufficient amounts of ice cream to justify the 2 dollar difference BUT it is vacation...

6) Carnation Cafe looks SO yummy for breakfast!! Also, however, Tomorrowland Terrace (CS) smelled REALLY good in the morning. When I walked by people's food I looked at it and it looked nice, too! Lots of yummy croissant sandwhiches and fresh fruit. I never hear anything about this place for breakfast on any TR's but I definitely would try it next time.

7) Have you heard of Pomme Frittes?? They're served at Cafe Orleans.. they look marvelous! Also, after checking at Allears.net I see that you can get Mint Julep's there AND at The French Quarter. Hmm.. who knew? Probably everybody but me.

I know this was really long! I'm really dis-sing tongiht. LOL

Thank you so much for all your advice. The Elephant statue at Gibson Girl is our favorite place to sit in the parlor. It is a must for every trip and we usually go to Gibson Girl several times on our trips, at least when my brothers are with us. It is their favorite place. I am not much of an ice cream eater myself but I love rainbow sherbet and waffle cones. Unfortunately the elephant area was closed off the last time we were there. Very sad!

I have had breakfast at Tomorrowland Terrace and it is very yummy. We have added it to our list of breakfast places if we decide not to eat at the hotel.

I forgot about the Pomme Frittes. May have to add that to the list of things to try.

Lisa,
I want to go too! I am having Disney withdrawl these days and am thinking a quick weekend trip to Disney could be in order! It was great to see you the other day. I miss you lots.

from me and Mandy!
Denise

We should really go together to Disney sometime. It would be so much fun! I miss you lots too. It was lot of fun to see you the other day. We need to do that more often.

 

[AURORA73]

The Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour is very interesting. I actually already knew most of what they talked aboout in the tour since I'm such a Disney nerd, but it was still fascinating. I recommend doing it. Discounts are available with an AP. I think there may also be discounts with a Disney Visa and AAA membership.

I will probably know alot about what they talk about as well since I too am a Disney nerd. There is a discount with Disney Visa and I will be taking advantage of that.

I just read about your incredible experience at the Walt Disney studios. I am so jealous. You have the most beautiful paintings of my favorite Princess but as you can see I think her dress is pink.

 

[AURORA73]

To get myself ready for the trip I am watching all the Disney Animated movies in the order they were released. Tonight is Alice in Wonderland. I am only watching Tuesday-Friday so I should be watching the last one the night before we leave. It's been fun so far.

I had to put the planning on hold for a couple days because my parents might possibly be coming with us now. That changes the plans a little. I am excited that they might be coming. My dad needs a vacation.This year has been very stressful for him. A trip to Disney would really help! So until I know for sure I don't want to make any reservations.

I am working on my countdown and will post a picture when it is done.

 

[travelmel]

The more the merrier (if it's a good crowd!)

 

[mr.bungle]

great pic! we have one like that too!

 

[AURORA73]

I spent the entire day working on things for my trip. Here is the list of things to do.
1. Countdown
2. Binder Cover
3. Itinerary
4. Print up menus of the places where we want to eat
5. Souvenirs I hope to pick up
6. Packing List
7. Read more Pre-trip reports on the DIS
8. Make my Pre-Trip more exciting
9. Convince my parents to make a decision on whether they are coming.
10. Book the flights

This is what I actually got done off that list.
Countdown

Binder Cover

Itinerary (First Draft)
Friday Dec 5th
Arrive in Orange County 9:30 (as long as that is the flight I end up booking)
Today is our Disneyland Favorites Day
We are planning on riding all our favorite rides in Disneyland. We are going to go see the show at Golden Horseshoe and have dinner at Blue Bayou.
Fantasmic and Fireworks

Saturday Dec 6th
Carnation Cafe for Breakfast
Ride a few favorites at Disneyland and then head over to California Adventure
Taste Pilot's Grill and Farmer's Market are ideas for lunch and dinner today.
Pixar Parade
Fireworks

Sunday Dec 7th
Breakfast at Hotel
Head to Disneyland
Lunch/Snacks Bengal Barbecue, Dole whip or Mint Julep
Dinner- Goofy's Kitchen
Christmas Fantasy Parade
Fireworks

Monday Dec 8th (My Birthday Celebration Day!)
Breakfast at Hotel
Park Hopping Day
Lunch I am still trying to decide what I want for my Birthday Lunch!
Dinner- Storyteller's Cafe
Early Fireworks

Tuesday Dec 9th
Breakfast at the Hotel
Disneyland
Lunch-Revisit a favorite
Head to airport around 3:30. I don't want to go home!


The countdown didn't quite turn out like I had planned but it will work. It starts with 45 days until our trip so I won't start it until October 21st. I can't believe it's that close already. My parents keep going back and forth on whether they are coming with us or not. I decided to go ahead with the plans and if they decide to come we will just fit them in. I warned my sister that I was going to be Disney Commando in full gear on this trip and she said “That’s fine go right ahead. As long as I get to see Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at Golden Horseshoe I am happy to do whatever you want to do. This is your birthday trip.” Now that is what I am talking about. I am also excited because she likes to get up early which means we will always be at the parks before rope drop. She also doesn’t make fun of my extreme planning. I love my sister! She really is the best person to be taking on this trip. I don’t mind having my parents come along even though they make fun of my over planning. My mom thinks it’s crazy planning the restaurants and making priority seating. However, that is always the biggest argument we have at the parks. “Where are we going to have lunch today? Blue Bayou, what do you mean we have to wait an hour and a half. No way! Forget it we are not going there.” And that is why we have never been to the Blue Bayou as a family. My sister and I had priority seating last time and waited ten minutes. The next argument “So where are we going to eat.” We then spend hours searching the menus of every restaurants wasting precious time. I will say that it is a bit difficult to please 8 people, which was the number on our last full family trip. But after a day of unhappiness I finally convinced everyone that we needed to make a plan for the next day and decide before hand where we wanted to eat for lunch and dinner and decide the plan for how we were going to tour the parks. It turned out to be the best day of the trip. They may make fun of me but they end up appreciating my over planning when the day turns out so well. I am not super extreme on planning every restaurant as you can see from my itinerary. I did have each meal planned but because I want to spend money on souvenirs rather than food I changed some of the restaurant plans. Besides I have a list of snacks I want to try and those need to fit in somewhere. We usually snack our way to dinner so that tends to be the important meal to plan.

I also read a lot of Pre-Trips on the DIS. It just made me want to make my Pre-Trip more exciting, hence number 8 on my list. I just need to work on getting my creative juices going and get the little writer inside my head to come out of retirement. More to come and I promise it will be worth it.