Not to hijack your report to talk about drama...
but...
School House Rock Jr. was the third show our community theatre group did-the last show my two boys did together.
Ben was Napoleon and in the chorus.
Nate was the football player who went the wrong way and when I asked him if he would be one of the planets in "Interplanet Janet" he asked "Uranus?" "Yes." (fist pump)
Love teenage boys!
I thought that show was perfect as a middle school production. I'm not sure if Katie had a name in the show, but she sang the noun song. And she got to say "Yeah, I'm for the other team" when the football player went the wrong way!
I think it's awesome your boys were involved in the show. It's a great way to be involved and make lots of friends.
That is a really great flashback/recreation picture. I love story behind it. And I love the kid behind in the second picture photobombing your picture with his own "It's cool" gesture.
That is a really neat picture of CA from the elevator window. I love the dusky color and misty vibe.
And I agree with the others- the picture of Katie in AO is just perfect!
Nice, busy start to the day at DL.
You started with a few rides I won't be doing in July-
Astro orbitors and tea cups- unlike you, I can't do the spinny thing. Love your pictures from here. The ride has such a pretty setting!
Nemo is down for refurb. Matterhorn was originally going to be down during our trip, too, but it looks like the work has been postponed until the end of August. I am really looking forward to the Matterhorn, but you people are all starting to scare me!
What great pictures with Peter Pan and Hook! Love the Matterhorn backdrop and lack of other people in the shot.
Pirates Looks Awesome! Fantastic pictures!
So glad you caught up. Wasn't it nice of me to wait for you?
Thanks for all the nice comments. I LOVED that view of CA from the hall window on our floor at the PP. It would be cool to have a theme park view room, but I really don't want to pay for one.
Especially since we don't spend much time in the room.
I thought it was quite awesome of Pan and Hook to pose out in front of the Matterhorn like that for me!
I was grumbling to Katie how slowly the line was moving, then perked right up when Hook joined him as we waited. It was a great photo op.
I really am fortunate to be able to do fast spinny rides as an adult. I love those rides at both DLR and WDW.
Don't let all of us scare you away from the Matterhorn. There's a reason that ride always has a long line! Just do your research on which side is less rough and where to sit in the car. We couldn't choose because we went single rider. But it's classic DL. You have to do it at least once, then can decide for yourself.
Hey Janet! I didn't realize you started your DLR trip report yet and just found it!
Paradise Pier looks like a cheerful resort. I didn't get the time to stop by there to check it out last year.
I love your flashback photos! Everyone has grown so much now!
I'm heading back to LA & DLR for another ABD - Backstage Magic tour next month. I will only be spending an extra day at DLR, and then will be traveling up to San Francisco to visit the Disney Family Museum, etc. I'm getting excited but have a lot of work to get done before then!
I think by the time you decide to head back to WDW the FP+ issues will be worked out. I didn't have any problems in April, and they had started to increase the number that could be booked, etc. Mine train was running but only with actors and employees on it at that time.
Looking forward to hearing and seeing more about your trip!
I'm sorry I completely spaced on posting something in our scrapbook group. So glad you found us!
You've probably seen some of those flashback photos in scrapbook layouts through the years. It really is fun to pull those out now for another look.
Paradise Pier didn't "wow" me, but you're right, it's a cheerful place. We'll probably stay there again in December. It's the least expensive way to be onsite, and I really just want those early entry hours. Heck, we're up anyway. It would drive me nuts to have to wait each morning.
Your next trip sounds just as amazing as your last. I hope you'll let me know if you do a write-up again. I really enjoyed the last one. We still have not made the trek to northern California. We really need to do that sometime. I want to take the PCH drive and visit SF and Yosemite.
When do you leave?
I do think things are slowly improving on the FP+ front. I just was never willing to put a trip on the line as they test and tweak. I still will miss the old FP as it gave us the greatest flexibility each day in the parks, but at least they keep inching forward with some improvements. Maybe it will be ready for us in 2015.
I've always wanted to visit the family museum in SF. Hope you report on it !
Me too!
I'm excited about visiting the family museum since it will be my first time. On top of that, there are special exhibits on Mary Blair's and Marc Davis' work for a limited time. Planning to spend a full day there so I'm not rushed.
If I didn't have the museum plans, I would have spent my last 4 days at Yosemite, but that will be another time.
That really does sound amazing. I can't wait to live it vicariously through you!
No we haven't before! I am so excited but so nervous!! It is just so weird to not have to plan like I do for WDW. I hope we enjoy it and don't miss WDW!
The difference between WDW and DLR just keeps getting greater. DLR has never been a place that required tons of advance planning. Now with FP+ at WDW, I appreciate the spontaneity at DLR even more. And it fits our family right now. I really could not commit on dates far enough in advance to get all the ADRs I would want at WDW. I really can't commit on dates until Katie gets settled into school.
I'm going to admit that I cried when I visited the family museum.
And when I was there, they didn't allow any photography inside the museum.
They've subsequently relaxed the rule. I need a re-do.
A full day will be about right, if you don't end up being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff there. Take your time and enjoy it. I'm really envious.
Oh my. If they now allow photography, I bet you really would love a re-do! I hope you can find a way.
Hey there! I'm venturing back over to the Dis & found this! I'm glad I'm not too far behind since it took you so long to get started- this works well for me!
OK, now that you made it, I guess I can get going again! 
Yeah, that's my excuse.
Yay staying onsite!
I really toiled over that decision. But in the end it really was the right choice for us.
You just had to bring up that WDW Cold Snap of 2010! Everytime I think I've forgotten about it
I remember!
I see it differently. Since we survived that, I don't worry as much about the weather before we leave.
Katie is growing up! Man
she needs to slow down. She is just a reminder that my girls won't stay small long either.
Yeah. That. 
The good news is that as they get older, you get to experience things with them in a different way. So while you give up some things, you get new great surprises along the way.
Oh and my girls think that Starbucks has the best juice.
My husband and I had our first date at Starbucks, so it's kind of a big deal for us!
That's too funny. Katie will enjoy that. At least you can revisit your first date easily whenever you want! 
I was surprised at the number of Starbucks we saw in the middle of nowhere on our road trip to Utah.
The room at PP looks really cute!
It was cute. And colorful. And did I mention it comes with a beach ball? Good thing those things are too big to fit in a suitcase. Or they'd keep disappearing!
I love the Tree in the lobby! I have nothing to compare it, but I love the theming of it!
I'm a sucker for blue and green Christmas lights so I loved it too. Fingers crossed though that they remove some of the clutter so I can see even more of the lights next time.
I'm loving the flashback pics! I can see my TR's looking like that in the future!
See..... that's one of the consolation prizes as they get older. You get to look back and go "Awwwww......."
The castle looks so pretty all decorated for the holidays!
It might be small...... but it's gorgeous.
It's so weird to me to see all that Orleans stuff in the park at DL. Funny how things seem out of place when you are different places!
I bet I'll get all confused when I get back to WDW again. It's a strange feeling to go from WDW to DL then back again. Everything is so familiar, but in the wrong places!
I love the meet and greet area for Elsa & Anna in DL!!! You have a BEAUTIFUL Elsa! I am so glad that we got to meet E & A in Epcot. The Princess Hall is just not "enough" of the movie for me. I really think they should have bumped Merida if they were going to move the girls to MK. I'm really quite shocked that they didn't. But they have FP already set up and easily done at the PH, and I'm not sure that would have worked for the Merida spot
Anyway, since I didn't do a TR for our March trip and I know you aren't on FB here is one of our E&A pics.
I was starting to think I was the only who felt that way about the A/E spot at MK. I'm not even really crazy about that setting for the other princesses to meet in. A window? It just doesn't do much for me. Putting A/E there after they had such a gorgeous place to meet in Norway does seem like a step down. Of course, I get that it was a logistics thing, and they needed to respond to the problem of huge crowds. But I hope the rumors are true and they are making a new space at Epcot.
Oh and you see the capes I made for the girls (Since finding an Elsa dress was NEXT to impossible)? When Anna and Elsa saw them, they asked the girls where they got their "Ice Capes" and the girls said from me. Anna said "Your mother has Ice Powers too?" and my girls LIT UP! It was adorable! I just got a little taste of what you must feel like with your homemade dresses!
That photo is adorable! And I love the capes. I bet the girls were quite excited.
Since my scrapbook group moved to FB I have been dabbling in it a bit, so send me a friend request when you can.
Posting from Grand Californian with finicky internet so will be brief.
Bottom line, my son wasn't directly affected by shootings. As a Navy vet attending college he's older than most students.
Yes, sons are spreading their wings and I'm happy for them. Older son graduated from NY school with film degree and after seven years in NYC is trying Los Angeles. So far he's always managed to get work in his field.
I'm so glad your sons are doing well. How exciting that he has been able to find work in such a competitive field. You must have done a great job raising them to have them confident enough to spread their wings and do what they love.
I thought of you and your daughter on Sunday! After arriving mid-afternoon I headed to
Disneyland for lunch at Carnation Cafe. I left without sunscreen and was too lazy to go back to the room for it. I went through bag check, got in a VERY long line for admission and then remembered ticket and room card are two separate cards, unlike Disney World
. My "ticket" was sent to me a couple weeks ago and was safe in my suitcase. Happy ending, when I went back for my ticket I got sunscreen and then didn't want to trek all the way back to DL for lunch so went to
Earl of Sandwich. . How's that for a happy ending?
LOL, that's a great silver lining! 
I could use one of those sandwiches right now. Or maybe I should just go eat breakfast!
It is rather unusual to have ticket and room key separate after doing WDW for so long, isn't it?
I still feel so discombobulated here -- especially at Disneyland where things are similar but different. My maps are worn out here, whereas I never use them at WDW.
Yep. Discombobulated is the word for it. But it's also fun to discover surprises along the way, don't you think?
Saw Aladdin today - wow! Tonight is World of Color.
So glad you enjoyed Aladdin. I hope you also enjoyed WOC. I'd love to see the non-holiday version one day.
Thanks, again for all the info you've shared. Very helpful.
I hope you had a great trip. I'd love to hear more about it when you have a chance!
Need to add that to the list for next time. It just gets harder and harder though as we develop so many favorites we don't want to miss.
We had the 5 day PH so were able to ride Splash several times via FP so no biggie. We thought it was faster and more fun at DL. We also absolutely loved POTC!! Much longer, more scenes and drops, just overall better in our opinion. Small World better too, we like seeing the characters throughout. YMMV. Fun to see the rides not at WDW. Even Matterhorn. I was not looking forward to it, but we did get to ride the right side and it was much smoother than last time. I remembered in 2011 we must have ridden the left cuz I remember a very bumpy ride!!
We went standby in the evening right after the fireworks and line was a lot shorter.
And now that Katie is no longer convinced the bigger dip in POTC is on a level with Splash Mountain, she enjoys their version of that ride more too. I can't comment on Splash since we didn't get to do it. Like our trip to WDW in 2010, it was just too cold.
TONS more to come. I promise! 
