We Moved to Disneyland!! Now What ? Stories from New DLR Locals - Updated 1/15

[franandaj]

Sorry you didn't have a great time in Newport.

The Getty looks great. I've lived here since it was built and still haven't made my way up there!

Rolly Crump is a hoot! I got to hear him talk at a presentation he was giving on his book before it was released. He shared all kinds of funny stories. I'm glad you got to hear your first Disney Legend.

Are you two going to the D23 Expo?

 

[kristen1587]

I am having such a great time reading this report!!! We just returned from a 2 week trip to disneyland/southern California. Our first time as we are wdw vets from georgia. And we spent some time sitting in front of the grand Californian fireplace. I thought to myself "this is where Tay and Tracy hang out" lol. So great to have visited the places I'm seeing in all your pics. Can't wait to post my own trip report!

 

[heaven2dc]

I love wandering around 3rd Street Promenade and Santa Monica Pier on the weekends! Loved your beach pics and the Getty Center! I've lived here a year and still haven't visited the Getty Center.

Loved that you got to see a Disney legend even if you couldn't get a book signed Would love the read the book on Kindle (will see about downloading it soon after I get paid). I'm looking for an apartment after living with my DS and his GF for a year now - a co-worker wants to find a place together which will save us both $$ - we are looking from Manhattan Beach area and Playa Del Rey or near Culver City where I live. You have inspired me in so many ways to venture out and see more of the area than I have - love your updates!

 

[Mrs. Gumdrop]

HI! I am stopping in to let you know that although I have not been commenting, I have been reading. I am enjoying reading about your settling-in process and the exploration of your new neighborhood.

I too have moved recently and my DH and I have found a new animal park in our new neighborhood like yours. I also have a love of donkeys and I wanted to share a video I captured. Here I present an adorable white donkey baby!

Here is the link

Also, I have ready Rolly Crump's book. It was interesting and informative, and it was nice to get another point of view on early Disneyland history. I am really looking forward to Marty Sklar's that is coming out in August!

 

[tayalltheway]

That's a great February post. How cool to see Rolly Crump and hear him speak.

Looks like you're having fun visiting the tourist sites of LA. And I would have totally knocked Ron Howard down off his bike!

It was definitely cool to hear Rolly. He seems like a really interesting guy!

We have been enjoying seeing some of L.A. every now and then. Still so much more to explore! Tracy and I literally laughed out loud at your suggestion to knock down Ron Howard. Why didn't we think of that??

Sorry you didn't have a great time in Newport.

The Getty looks great. I've lived here since it was built and still haven't made my way up there!

Rolly Crump is a hoot! I got to hear him talk at a presentation he was giving on his book before it was released. He shared all kinds of funny stories. I'm glad you got to hear your first Disney Legend.

Are you two going to the D23 Expo?

While not great, our time in Newport was still decent. We're excited to go back on a less crowded day sometime.

The Getty is definitely worth a visit if for the views alone. It was beautiful!

That's cool that you got to see Rolly Crump too. We really enjoyed what we got to hear of his stories. We're pretty sure we will be going to the Expo. Haven't decided if we'll do all three days or just one. Are you going to be there?

I am having such a great time reading this report!!! We just returned from a 2 week trip to disneyland/southern California. Our first time as we are wdw vets from georgia. And we spent some time sitting in front of the grand Californian fireplace. I thought to myself "this is where Tay and Tracy hang out" lol. So great to have visited the places I'm seeing in all your pics. Can't wait to post my own trip report!

I'm so glad that you're enjoying reading along! That's great that you made it out here and got to see all the sights we've talked about. I'm sure they were all a little better in person. Isn't the Grand fireplace just the best? You'll have to let me know when you start your trip report!

I love wandering around 3rd Street Promenade and Santa Monica Pier on the weekends! Loved your beach pics and the Getty Center! I've lived here a year and still haven't visited the Getty Center.

Loved that you got to see a Disney legend even if you couldn't get a book signed Would love the read the book on Kindle (will see about downloading it soon after I get paid). I'm looking for an apartment after living with my DS and his GF for a year now - a co-worker wants to find a place together which will save us both $$ - we are looking from Manhattan Beach area and Playa Del Rey or near Culver City where I live. You have inspired me in so many ways to venture out and see more of the area than I have - love your updates!

Both the Promenade and the Pier are so cool. I'd visit them anytime! You should definitely make it out to the Getty Center sometime. It was very impressive!

Hope you enjoy reading Rolly's book on Kindle. I've only just gotten started reading it finally. That's great to hear that you're going to be finding a place soon! Good luck with the apartment search!! I'm so glad to hear that our adventures have inspired you to explore around your area!

HI! I am stopping in to let you know that although I have not been commenting, I have been reading. I am enjoying reading about your settling-in process and the exploration of your new neighborhood.

I too have moved recently and my DH and I have found a new animal park in our new neighborhood like yours. I also have a love of donkeys and I wanted to share a video I captured. Here I present an adorable white donkey baby!

Here is the link

Also, I have ready Rolly Crump's book. It was interesting and informative, and it was nice to get another point of view on early Disneyland history. I am really looking forward to Marty Sklar's that is coming out in August!

I'm glad that you're still enjoying reading along!

Your video is AMAZING. Both Tracy and I decided we want a baby donkey after seeing that I'm glad you've discovered a great little zoo to visit in your new neighborhood.

I need to get reading Rolly's book. I haven't had much time for reading since buying it, but enjoyed what I've read so far. I love hearing more about the parks from the Legends and the Imagineers. I'm very excited for Marty Sklar's book as well!

 

[Luisa]

While I like to look at the candy apples I've never had the desire to buy one, but those cherry and chocolate covered ones look amazing! Now those I would buy, even just to eat the coating on them!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm with Luisa about the cherry and chocolate coating.

But I would buy a candy apple anyday, anyway.


Love the picture of you and Tracy with the hotel in the back. I was most intrigued to see the large and powerful dragon. What other Chinese New Year celebration "items" were there?

 

[AussieMumma]

I've really enjoyed reading so far, you have a real knack for writing
Can I ask how you write stuff down about your day to remember it for future posts/blogging, do you keep a journal, write it in a word doc, something else??
I am really bad at writing blogs and trip reports because I only write a few shorts notes and rely on a terrible memory for the rest!

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Good update. Like the look of the sandwiches, just a pity that Tracy didn't enjoy hers .

Sorry I haven't posted the bread pudding recipe, however its somewhat similar to yours. To lower the fat content, you can replace cream with 2% milk and you could try adding 1/2 cup dried fruit such as raisins and reducing sugar by 1/2 cup. I also love it with a tablespoon of liqueur such as Cointreau added to the milk & egg mixture. I use good quality bread, and have tried white, whole-meal and brioche ... all work well, just slightly different textures.

I was intrigued by your reference to the show Greek, as it is not one I have come across. I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan, so I tracked down a copy of the first season of Greek and have just spent the weekend glued to the screen . I am trying to decide if it is now worth the exorbitant cost on iTunes to download the second season!

Looking forward to your next installment.

 

[tayalltheway]

While I like to look at the candy apples I've never had the desire to buy one, but those cherry and chocolate covered ones look amazing! Now those I would buy, even just to eat the coating on them!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

They were definitely among the tastiest-looking ones we have encountered. To be honest, though, I think we would settle for trying any of the apples. They all look really good!

I'm with Luisa about the cherry and chocolate coating.

But I would buy a candy apple anyday, anyway.


Love the picture of you and Tracy with the hotel in the back. I was most intrigued to see the large and powerful dragon. What other Chinese New Year celebration "items" were there?

Definitely agree. One of these days, we WILL buy an apple, and it had better not disappoint after they've been taunting us for so long...

I'm not quite sure what else they were doing for Chinese New Year. I think there was a whole schedule of events, and they made it more of an "Asian heritage" thing rather than just China. I'm sure there weren't too many other activities that day though, because they wouldn't have given the large and powerful dragon all the space he needed!!

I've really enjoyed reading so far, you have a real knack for writing
Can I ask how you write stuff down about your day to remember it for future posts/blogging, do you keep a journal, write it in a word doc, something else??
I am really bad at writing blogs and trip reports because I only write a few shorts notes and rely on a terrible memory for the rest!

I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying reading, and thank you for the compliments

To be honest, everything I've written in this report so far is just from memory. When I look at the pictures, everything sort of comes flooding back to me and I write about it from there. I'm sure there are intricacies I forget, but the gist of it is all there. Once we started going to the parks, however, I'll admit that I needed to start writing things down. The days started blurring together and I knew I needed to do a better job of recording things if I had a prayer of writing about them. For that, I started a Word doc and just jot down notes each time we come back from the parks. We'll see how well that helps me soon when I get to writing about our park experiences! It's all just funny because I truly struggle to remember what we had for lunch today, but the pictures really help my memories from months ago come back strong.

Good update. Like the look of the sandwiches, just a pity that Tracy didn't enjoy hers .

Sorry I haven't posted the bread pudding recipe, however its somewhat similar to yours. To lower the fat content, you can replace cream with 2% milk and you could try adding 1/2 cup dried fruit such as raisins and reducing sugar by 1/2 cup. I also love it with a tablespoon of liqueur such as Cointreau added to the milk & egg mixture. I use good quality bread, and have tried white, whole-meal and brioche ... all work well, just slightly different textures.

I was intrigued by your reference to the show Greek, as it is not one I have come across. I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan, so I tracked down a copy of the first season of Greek and have just spent the weekend glued to the screen . I am trying to decide if it is now worth the exorbitant cost on iTunes to download the second season!

Looking forward to your next installment.

I know Tracy was definitely bummed that her sandwich wasn't too good At least her next Earl experience made up for it.

Thanks for letting me know about the bread pudding. We'll have to try it out sometime soon! I'm sure Tracy won't object to another tasty dessert!

I'm SO GLAD to hear that you're liking Greek so far! We had it similarly recommended out of the blue and got hooked immediately. That's so annoying that you can't get it on Netflix there like we can... I will definitely say, though, that the first several seasons are very worth watching. Similar to Gilmore Girls, it began to falter a little eventually, but really not until the last season. Hope that you get to keep binge-watching soon!

Hope you keep enjoying reading along!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Another nice update for life in the O.C.

I've been looking up the Irvine Spectrum Mall and the shops there. Might have to make a visit there....that carousel and ferris wheel looks gorgeous.

Nice cake and food porn. I'm going to have to ignore Bruxie in Old Towne Orange! That is just wicked!!! But I'll definitely be indulging in the beignets when I'm there in September.

 

[sarahk0204]

There were also lots of fountains around the Spectrum. I’m a sucker for kinetic water, so I was impressed.

I just love the phrase "kinetic water"

 

[franandaj]

I'm really enjoying all your stories and love the fact that without passes you got to explore a whole lot of So Cal and learn where you are living, but I'm getting really ancy to find out when you actually GET your passes and then how you go crazy.

Oh and I'm not sure how long it really takes, but eventually you become, not jaded, but realize that actual life takes over and as much as you would like to spend all your free time out at the park, you have real life responsibilities that need to be taken care of and end up balancing time. In our case, it's like "hardly getting out there at all unless friends come into town or something special is happening". Hopefully you two don't get that way.

We're pretty sure we will be going to the Expo. Haven't decided if we'll do all three days or just one. Are you going to be there?

We have Sorcerer tickets, so we'll be staying at the Anaheim Hilton starting Wednesday night. We have been to all the Expos and so far they were both amazing. We made the mistake of driving home each night the first year, by the end of each day we were so tired that we couldn't stay for the nighttime activities and had to head home just to have the energy to come back the next day. We live a little farther than you, but also with Fran's RA, she gets very tired and needs to rest. There isn't really any time to rest at the Expo, but staying close by helps.

It's totally worth it as far as I'm concerned, you just really need to have a plan of attack and strategize your time. With the "Stage Passes" they are talking about it sounds like you will be able to pick one session outside the Arena per day and perhaps get in line for the Arena. There is plenty of other stuff to do like shop and view the various exhibits. It's total Disney overload and so much fun. There is a link in my signature to my TR from the 2011 Expo if you're curious about what there is to do.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I've enjoyed all your updates! I mostly check for them now on my phone and I don't comment a lot cause I hate typing on my phone.

I have a pretty good feeling you guys are getting close to getting into the parks...not really sure what gives me this feeling Certainly not inside info...

 

[tayalltheway]

Another nice update for life in the O.C.

I've been looking up the Irvine Spectrum Mall and the shops there. Might have to make a visit there....that carousel and ferris wheel looks gorgeous.

Nice cake and food porn. I'm going to have to ignore Bruxie in Old Towne Orange! That is just wicked!!! But I'll definitely be indulging in the beignets when I'm there in September.

You should definitely try to pay a visit to the Irvine Spectrum if you have some extra time. We thought it was a really neat place!

I'm glad that you've been enjoying the food pictures. I'm sure that your beignets will be as good as you're imagining when you get to have some in a couple months. They're just such a delicious invention!

I just love the phrase "kinetic water"

I'm glad!!

I'm really enjoying all your stories and love the fact that without passes you got to explore a whole lot of So Cal and learn where you are living, but I'm getting really ancy to find out when you actually GET your passes and then how you go crazy.

Oh and I'm not sure how long it really takes, but eventually you become, not jaded, but realize that actual life takes over and as much as you would like to spend all your free time out at the park, you have real life responsibilities that need to be taken care of and end up balancing time. In our case, it's like "hardly getting out there at all unless friends come into town or something special is happening". Hopefully you two don't get that way.



We have Sorcerer tickets, so we'll be staying at the Anaheim Hilton starting Wednesday night. We have been to all the Expos and so far they were both amazing. We made the mistake of driving home each night the first year, by the end of each day we were so tired that we couldn't stay for the nighttime activities and had to head home just to have the energy to come back the next day. We live a little farther than you, but also with Fran's RA, she gets very tired and needs to rest. There isn't really any time to rest at the Expo, but staying close by helps.

It's totally worth it as far as I'm concerned, you just really need to have a plan of attack and strategize your time. With the "Stage Passes" they are talking about it sounds like you will be able to pick one session outside the Arena per day and perhaps get in line for the Arena. There is plenty of other stuff to do like shop and view the various exhibits. It's total Disney overload and so much fun. There is a link in my signature to my TR from the 2011 Expo if you're curious about what there is to do.

You don't have to wait much (really any) longer to find out about when we got our passes. Just check out the next update! We've been glad to get to explore SoCal and find out what it's all about, but there's been no substitute for Disney. I understand what you mean about it being easy to get a little jaded when it's always there and you can go any time, but I'm glad to say that we certainly aren't there. We still love going as often as possible, and I think one of the things that makes it nice is just how close we are. We can make an evening trip which is really just about hanging out and walking around. We've gone several times and not ridden a single attraction. I just think that we approach Disneyland from a much different perspective now. Very little of it is "new" anymore, but we are able to dig deeper, appreciate some of the history, and learn a little bit each time we go.

That's fantastic that you got the Sorcerer tickets for the Expo! I'm sure it will be nice not having to stand in some of those lines! I think we're mostly just excited to go and really experience what it's all about. With my medical stuff, doing too many long lines won't really be an option for us, so we'll just do what we can and enjoy the Disney immersion. I'll have to check out your TR to get a better idea what we have in store!

I've enjoyed all your updates! I mostly check for them now on my phone and I don't comment a lot cause I hate typing on my phone.

I have a pretty good feeling you guys are getting close to getting into the parks...not really sure what gives me this feeling Certainly not inside info...

I'm glad that you're still enjoying reading along, and I totally understand about not wanting to comment from the phone. I detest trying to type anything longer than a brief text message on my phone's keyboard.

You are certainly right that the day was drawing near when we made it into the parks. Can't IMAGINE how you knew...

 

[Luisa]

Oh yay! This is the bit I've been waiting for, so happy you got your APs! Can't wait to read more of your adventures, especially now that they'll involve being in the parks!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[franandaj]

OK, rhis deserves even a response from the phone! Yay for passes!

I'm sure it will take you a long rime before you get complacent and even then the special new stuff just lures you back in. We will sometimes just gobto have a Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans, window shop, or real shop and go home. We've been so busy this year we haven't properly used our passes, but I truly hope that changes and we run into you at the park sometime!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Oh WOW!!! You got your APs in February! We have more than half a year to catch up on. Excellent.

Congratulations on achieving the dream. I take my Mickey Ear Hat off to you two. Not many people would act on moving all that way just to be close to Disney. Well done.

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

Yay ... finally! I share your excitement and can't wait to join you both on the rollercoaster ride that is sure to come!

Just so excited!

 

[tinkerbells mum]

I have loved reading about all of your adventures so far and I'm glad you got to explore so much of the surroundings of your new home but I'm so happy for you both that you have got your AP and I can't wait to hear all about being able to visit the Magic whenever you want xx