A Compulsive Planner Plans a Trip Without a Plan!

[teacherlisa1978]

I leave for Disneyland in 2 days-in fact, 48 hours from right now I expect to be somewhere on Main Street. And. I. Have. No. Plan.

Yes, that's right, me, the woman who plans trips down to bathroom breaks, snack stops, carries menu print outs around the parks with me, and makes a 'souveneir to buy list' months ahead of time has no plan for her spring break trip to Disneyland.

What has gotten into me? Teachers. That's what's gotten into me.

I'm going to attend the Catholic Educator's Association conference in Anaheim this week, and I'm going with 6 other teachers from my school. Two of them really really like Disney, 1 admits to really, really disliking Disney, and the others are somewhere in between. And they are traveling with the compulsive overplanning trip preparer that I am. I have decided that after traveling to DL/WDW 4 times in the past 2 years that I can just go with the flow (I hope!) on this trip...
I've seen every attraction that I love and can't live without numerous times in the past few months so if I miss something, well, that's okay-I am after all going back in December.

Here are my 'no plan' plans:
Monday April 13th: Fly from SeaTac at 6:30 am, arrive in Anaheim, shuttle to hotel, get ourselves to DL as quickly as possible! We'll tour according to the group's wants and needs (with a few 'suggestions' from me that I hope are taken nicely!) and have a 2:00 PS at Blue Bayou...Monte Cristo, here I come! (As long as they let me get the 3 cheese one!) And I can't wait to get an iced latte at the Blue Ribbon Bakery. What is it about DL that makes everything taste better? We'll tour all day and 3 of our colleagues arrive around 8 pm...they plan to check in at the hotel and then come to Downtown Disney...I'll meet them there for drinks if I haven't fallen asleep by then!

Tuesday April 14th: Register for our conference, attend the keynote, take a cab to In N Out for lunch, attend workshops in the afternoon and hit DL in the evening. Do some shopping at Downtown Disney. Some of the other teachers are going on a trip to the San Juan Capistrano mission that night so I may be on my own-which I don't mind one bit!

Wednesday April 15th: Conference in the morning/early afternoon, then 3 or 4 other teachers and I will go to California Adventure-one of these gals has never been to California Adventure before and I think she'll love Soarin' and get mad about being wet on GRR, but all in good fun I hope. The park closes at 9 and we won't have a park hopper option but we may be pretty tired out by this time anyway.

Thursday April 16th:conference in the morning, didn't buy DL admission but it's an option if I haven't gotten my fill yet. May also spend the afternoon laying by the pool at the Hyatt. Sounds pretty nice to me! We have a flight home around 6 pm.

Friday April 17th: Technically my last day of Spring break but it will be nice to sleep in before the real world sets in-a doctor's appt and then my best friend is coming over and we're hitting the garden center nearby to stock up for our gardens...I'm hoping to get major inspiration for gardening from Disney-I LOVE their pots and arrangements.

The question is:
Will I be able to stand going without a step by step plan? We shall see...it's like the ultimate test for an anal retentive overly compulsive Dis planner.

 

[charmama4]

Stop. take a breath. listen. look. feel. enjoy.

Ya right!!!! I soo know what you are talking about. I am a planner also and my kids and DH hate it. If I hear "relax" one more time I think I'm going to hurl!!!

I just know you are going to have a good time because you acknowledge the problem and isn't that the first step?

 

[teacherlisa1978]

If I hear "relax" one more time I think I'm going to hurl!!!

So true! The non-planners just don't get it do they? Hawaii? That's relaxing. Disney? Not meant to be relaxing! Fun, but not relaxing, if you are going to do it right!

Seriously though, I'm back and it was wonderful!

I'll write a full trip report this weekend, but for now, let's just say this:
New pink Mickey ears +Mickey bars and a Monte Cristo Sandwich+shopping til I dropped=fun, fun, fun even without a plan!

 

[charmama4]

Hawaii would be a huge planning event for me too. There's just way to many things to do there and see. Just...can't....miss...a...thing!!!

I'm glad you had a good time and look forward to reading your TR.

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Monday, April 13th, 2009

After a quick trip to the airport and a 6:30 am flight we made it! We used Karmel Shuttle from Orange County this time and were very pleased. We had a special rate because we were attending the NCEA convention and we loved the fact that all we had to do was call a number from baggage claim, walk outside, and the van was there within 1 minute. Another party was with us (who had been on our same flight) and we were off as soon as the luggage was loaded. No waiting when we wanted to just get there! Yay! We stopped at HoJo's first to drop off the other people and made our way to the Hyatt.

After checking in and several wardrobe discussions (sweatshirt, no sweatshirt, bring the sunblock, don't...do these shoes look okay, etc...traveling with multiple women is always fun!) we went down to wait for the shuttle and it was there within 5 minutes. It was crowded-very surprising for 11am on a Monday and we worried about the park crowds.

When we arrived one of the teachers had to go to the ticket booths to buy her admission, so another teacher and I went in and browsed the shops a bit while we waited. When all 4 of us were set and ready to go it was off to Space Mountain for a FP! Then we rode Star Tours with only a 15 minute wait, which was made extra fun by the water bottle rolling around on the floor the whole time-made me feel like I was in Honey I Shrunk the Audience with things grabbing my ankles! We did some browsing and shopping in the gift shop after this.

After that, we headed to the Matterhorn where we waited about 20 minutes. I just love this ride, and I love that it's one of the Disneyland classics. Makes me feel like I'm in a Disneyland commercial from my childhood. From there it was off to It's A Small World and I was pleasantly surprised by how seamlessly the characters were woven into the attraction. I had been worried but I thought it was charming and understated.

It was getting pretty warm and we were all a little tired from our early flight that morning, but with a quick popcorn break we powered on. We were able to get FP for Splash Mountain at this point, so we did that, and then 3 of us rode the Haunted Mansion while another gal went to make reservations for herself at Cafe Orleans. They crammed all 3 of us into one doom buggy so it was a cozy ride-no worries about a ghost following us home on this one-there wasn't room for one!

At this point it was around 1:30 and we had 2:10 reservations for the Blue Bayou. We browsed the shops a bit and then 3 of us had lunch, joined by our other intrepid teacher later after her lunch at Cafe Orleans-she didn't like the selections on the BB menu. Two of us split the Monte Cristo which was delicious as always, as were the gumbo and yummy potatoes. One of the greatest lunches ever! The other gal ordered the crab cakes which she liked. (Being from Seattle nothing compares to Anthony's Homeport crabcakes, but I digress...) We had a few diet cokes, enjoyed the abience, and were refreshed and ready to get right back at it after a lovely lunch.

Someone decided that now was the time to use our SM fastpasses. It was NOT me who decided that, but traveling with strong personalities I decided my job for the day was to go with the flow, not direct traffic. I had not been on Space since 2002 when a friend of mine and I both felt terribly sick and ruined for the morning after riding it. I was nervous but determined. It was fun, but I will advise any future Space travelers that the time to ride it is NOT after a monte cristo! I kept trying to remind myself that it goes no faster than 25 mph but it sure doesn't feel that way! We also rode Buzz Lightyear at this point and had a good time on that one.

After this we rode Pirates which is always a favorite, and then used our FP for Splash Mountain. I sat in the very front since no one else would and I don't mind, and oh my-I've never been so wet on that ride in my life! Totally drenched to the skin and I stayed that way for the rest of the day, but no matter, I took one for the team and it was really fun! Luckily we had dry sweatshirts awaiting us in lockers on Main Street. I'd be very glad about that later! We browsed the Pooh Corner shop a bit and drooled over the goodies, and I decided to come back later and get my DH a Mickey caramel apple. So cute!

We tried to ride Big Thunder after this and were about to go up the stairs to the loading area when the ride broke down and we were all told to turn around and come back later. We only waited about 10 minutes so it wasn't a huge problem, but defiintely disappointing. We hopped over the CA after this.

The very first thing we did was get FP for Soarin', and I tried to convince them to go on Toy Story but they weren't interested. Even though they had loved Buzz Lightyear and I kept telling them this was even better. Two of the gals (not me!) wanted to ride Tower of Terror so we headed in that direction, and I stopped off to show them the Toy Story Zoetrope-being with an art teacher I thought it would be a sure fire hit. It didn't get the rave reviews I was hoping for but I still think it's amazing and want to know how someone's mind works that way to come up with something so incredibly cool!

One gal and I took a much needed break and rested our feet while the daredevils rode Tower. We had dinner at Pacific Wharf-I had the shrimp louie salad in a bread bowl which was awesome. I wish I would have bought a loaf of Mickey bread though...next time for sure! Then we used our FP for Soarin' which is always incredible. The past two times I've been, I've finally remembered to pay attention and smell the oranges and other scents and I love it even more now.

From here we hopped back over to DL and got FP for Indiana. We rode Jungle Cruise which I've never done at night and I have to say I liked it a lot this way! We tried for Big Thunder again-this time it worked and night time is my favorite time to ride it anyway so I was happy. I love the park lights as you fly around the mountain! We shopped some more at Pooh Corner and then got a call from the other 3 teachers who were going to be with us this week-their flight landed and they were unpacking at the hotel, ready to get on a shuttle and join us. We made plans to meet them in Downtown Disney for a drink after riding Indiana with our FP.

We were right at the bottom of the stairs ready to tell the CM how many in our party for loading when the ride broke. They couldn't estimate a time to wait, weren't evacuating us, just making us wait. Our cell phones didn't work that deep in the temple so were stuck, worried that our colleagues were thinking we were ditching them. When the ride started again 20 minutes later they let the 4 or 5 transport vehicles that had people who had been stuck in the ride go back through again-which was nice, but didn't go over too well with tired and somewhat cranky teachers who had been up since 3:30 am.

The other gals had scoped out all the DD restaurants and bars, and most of the bars were closing at 10 or 11 and it was already 10:30, but the Uva bar was open until midnight. So we all took a load off our tired feet, had a few drinks and made plans for the week. Kudos to the bar staff who took great care of us, and even gave us handwritten directions to In N Out Burger to give to a cab driver later in the week.

Around midnight we made the long trek back to the shuttle area (why oh why is the Hyatt/Crowne Plaza bus stop so far away when you pay oh so much for the hotels!). We waited about 10 minutes and then made our tired way back to our rooms. My roommate, another teacher from our school, had her teenaged daughter with her, and they had spent the day together but not at DL. They were asleep when I got back so I very quietly creeped around the room (except for when I dropped my suitcase-oops) and feel exhausted into bed.

A very long day, a very fun day, with crowds that were very manageable, and, even without a plan, we accomplished a ton. But! A tiny niggling voice in the back of my head couldn't help but wonder what we might have accomplished WITH a plan.

Good grief. Is there a trip over-planner's anonymous support group?
Next up: Tuesday-will I attend my conference? Or beat feet to the mouse? Stay tuned!

 

[bumbershoot]

Good day's report! Can hardly wait for more.

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Pictures coming soon as soon as I remember how to post them! Why is that so hard for me to commit to memory?

On Tuesday I had to, I mean got to, I mean, went to some classes for the National Catholic Educator's Convention. It was, after all, why I was flown to DL for free and lodged there for free. But, the minute my afternoon class was over I flew back to the hotel and was on the shuttle to the park within minutes. I arrived at the DL gates about 15 minutes before 4:00, I had a special ticket through the convention that allowed admission after 4, but to 1 park only. Several other colleagues were going to San Juan Capistrano that night, a couple others wanted to hit DCA, and 1 was coming to DL later that night with her daughter, so I was solo for the evening. And I didn't mind a bit!

I kind of ate my way through Disneyland on this night. I started by going to the Blue Ribbon Bakery right away for an iced vanilla latte-yum! I also bought my DH a chocolate croissant because he says theirs are the best anywhere. I had a ziploc for it and he ate it as soon as I got home Thursday night-he said it was still delicious.

I then headed to Adventureland for a bacon/asparagus and a chicken skewer to go with my latte. That's an interesting dinner combo! But hey, I was on vacation and everything was delicious. Hmm...going to have to try the bacon/asparagus combo on the grill this summer...

Then I did some shopping-new pink Minnie ears for me, and a copy of a great book "Disneyland Then, Now, and Forever" which I'm loving. I bought my best friend a copy of "Cinderella" illustrated by Mary Blair and retold by Cynthia Rylant one of our favorite children's authors. It's going to be her b-day gift in November-sure hope she doesn't join the DIsboards before then! Note to self-next time, purchase heavy hardback books at the end of the night or use a locker! Ding dong...

I looked everywhere all over the park (Emporium, ToonTown, WOrld of Disney...) for something Chip and Dale related for my mom but had no luck. Maybe next time...I did get her some "Chip and Dale Snack Company" Mickey shaped pretzels-as close I could come to her favorite characters. I had to thank her for looking after my pup while I was gone-DH is an accountant and wouldn't be home much during that last week of tax season.

After shopping for a while I had my traditional corndog and sat and wrote some postcards-my niece is going to DL for the first time this December (she'll be 6) and so I had another gal from my school write a postcard to her from Mickey and Minnie saying that they can't wait to meet her in December. Only trouble is now that I'm back I can't exactly call her and ask if she got that postcard...note to self to call my brother!

I rode the RR roundtrip which felt good after being on my feet and literally crisscrossing the park multiple times. Then I waited for Peter Pan because I love it, thought about the Matterhorn but my feet were getting REALLy tired so I decided to only hit my favorites. Same thing with Alice, Pinocchio, SNow White-I love them but after so many Disney trips this year didn't feel like I HAD to do them-I never thought I'd hear myself say that! I have truly been blessed with Disney magic this year though!

I had gotten a Big Thunder FP at some point earlier that night so I rode that once it got dark. (My favorite!) Then I called my colleague who was in the park with her daughter...they were doing Space Mountain which didn't interest me that night, so we agreed to just do our own things. Let's see...oh yes, I rode Pirates and browsed in New Orleans Square and had a Mickey bar (HAVE to have a Mickey bar!). Then I decided to do something we didn't get to do in December-I rode the monorail to Downtown Disney and bought DH that Mickey caramel apple at Marceline's. Then, more shopping in World of Disney-new antenna ball, Alice pin for my lanyard, "Wonderland" tea and Mickey shaped tea "strainer" (is that what they're called?) for another good friend.

At this point I decided that after a 21 hour day the previous day, and getting up at 6:30 this morning and sitting in classes all day I needed to rest. Since my roommate and her daughter were going to stay in the park until closing I realized I could have a little coveted quiet and alone time in the hotel room-my only chance all week. So, as much as I love DL, I decided to do the smart thing and relax a bit so I could keep up the pace for the next two days.

I slowly meandered back to the shuttle stop, enjoying the ambiance music along the way.

Another Delightful Disney Night! Again, I was very pleasantly surprised by the lines-I'm such a diehard rope drop person that this was all new to me and it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it was great!

Up next-California Adventure on Wednesday Night.

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Good day's report! Can hardly wait for more.

Hi bumbershoot-you know, it's the picture of the iced coffee you had up for a while that made me want the iced coffee! It was as good as I wanted it to be!

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Wednesday, April 15h

Day 3 of our adventuresome teacher's trip to Anaheim dawned with another early morning and a great keynote session-Immacule Iligabiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide...if you ever get the chance to hear her speak I highly recommend it.

After serveral more great classes two of the other gals and I walked from the Convention Center to Disneyland. The shuttle back to the Hyatt wasn't running until 4, and our classes ended at 2:30. We could have walked back there but didn't really need to visit our hotel rooms, and I suppose we could have taken ART to DL but it wasn't a bad walk-15 or 20 minutes tops. The weather was pleasant, just a bit windy.

We had slated this evening for California Adventure, since it was their only night in the parks and one gal had never been there before. We had convention tickets again which are not park hoppers so this was a tough decision, but a good one. We were very tired by this point in the week and I find CA a much more relaxing park to be in-I feel less frenetic there.

We entered and checked on Soarin-90 minute wait with no more fast passes for the day. Darn it! We decided to come back later, hoping that if we were in line at closing they would let us on.

We headed up the hill and saw GRR on our left-I hadn't figured we'd do it since it wasn't THAT warm and since the one gal had never been on the ride I didn't want her to feel we were forcing her to get soaked and be cold all night. But, our other intrepid traveler wanted to do it and I'm always game-it's one of my favorites. We waited 15 or 20 minutes (behind a woman in line whose keys had fallen out of her pocket that morning and gotten whisked away by a Disneyland toilet, gone forever-can you imagine?!!!!It was a very entertaining wait to be sure!) and then boarded our raft. We had found a discarded poncho in the queue so one teacher had that to keep her dry. Wish I had! As soon as we were buckled in I turned to my friend on my right and blurted out "We're going to freeze, we're going to freeze, we're going to freeze!" They both looked at me as if I had lost my mind (I try to keep a calm, cool demeanor at school but was clearly blowing my cover with my inner panicked girl coming out...) and told me it was a little late to tell them that now. Oops....

I of course received the brunt of the walls of water rushing over me-I DID freeze but loved every minute of it. I had removed my socks and put my sweatshirt under my shirt so I at least had some relatively dry attire to put on afterwards-smart move!

We headed straight to Toy Story and with only a 40 minute wait decided it was worth it. One of my friends mentioned how much she loved Buzz Lightyear a few years back with her kids so I knew this would be a big hit. We were not disappointed-they considered riding it again, even with the 40 minute wait. But, since the park closed at 9 and we couldn't use our tickets until 4 we didn't have time to lose.

After Toy Story we were hungry and considered Pacific Wharf but the line was long (isn't it always?) and they didn't want to wait. I'd wanted to pick up a loaf of Mickey bread but oh well-next time for sure. We ate at the Mexican place across from Pacific Wharf. I had the chicken burrito and was pleased. We sat, drank diet coke, relaxed and soaked in the atmosphere for a while before doing the tortilla and bakery tours which I always enjoy. Free samples? Sign me up!

After this we headed back down to Soarin. The wait was only 40 minutes now and we were happy to wait for it. I was glad that I remembered to point out the scents to the other gals-didn't want them to miss it like I always had! They absolutely loved it-another huge hit.

After this I showed them "the thing the other teachers hated" (aka the Toy STory Zoetrope which I love, love, love )and got a much better reaction from this pair than the ones I'd been with on Monday.

We rode Monster's Inc. (love the ginger smell!) and had 15 minutes before park closing to do Muppets-another classic favorite of mine. We were able to stand inside the gates while one gal shopped, and watch the fireworks over at DL-I love how they have bright almost neon colors to the fireworks now to match the "Celebrate" theme. Very cool.

We headed to World of Disney to get souveneirs for one person's kids-flip flops all around. I found a Mickey Hand and mouseear 'jibbitz' for my crocs-I couldn't leave without those treasures!

Then we headed to the House of Blues for a drink-it was extremely LOUD in there and they had some very entertaining karaoke going on as well. I text messaged a friend back home who said she's never been more impressed by me than when she got a message from me at 11:30 on a Wed. night that said I was in a bar. Aw shucks. Not my usual modus operandi, but hey, I was on vacation!

When we got back around midnight my roommate was again asleep but this time I didn't knock my suitcase over. In my pina colada haze I did go to the lobby and try to call my husband at 12:30 am, only realizing too late that he'd BETTER be asleep, his alarm goes off at 5am! It was the last day of tax season though, and I wanted to congratulate my favorite accountant on making it through another grueling season. (Turns out he'd left his phone on silent accidentally while at work until 9pm so I didn't wake him up at all.)

Another great Disney Day! Coming up next-So long, farewell... (sniff, sniff) And Burger Mania!

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Thursday April 16th, 2009

The Last Day. (imagine a funeral dirge in your head...the last day is always so sad!)

Even though I knew I had a trip planned for December I still felt very sad at leaving the park Wednesday night-I knew I wouldn't be back on Thursday and December felt like a very very long time away. (And it should feel that way-I'm a teacher, I don't want to scoot past my summer too quickly!)

We got up, packed up, arranged for a late checkout, and headed over to the convention center for a couple more classes (and plenty of free chocolate from the exhibitors...those guys were giving it away left and right so they wouldn't have to carry it home on the plane!)

No shuttle back to the hotel until 4:00 again this day, so another, different teacher and I (I got to know so many different co-workers better on this trip-it was a great thing!) took the trek back to the hotel. As we walked, we talked about the trip to In N Out Burger that we had hoped to fit in on this trip but never had. We kind of looked at each other and said simultaneously, why not? So we packed up, checked our bags with bell services, and took a cab to In N Out. At $21 with tip it wasn't cheap (yes, that's one way!) but it was SOOOOOOOOOOOO good! Why oh why can't they bring one up to Seattle?

We sat in the sun, spent time in cheeseburger bliss, and chatted for about an hour. We called the cab company and they had a cab to us in 10 minutes. Another 20 bucks later (at least there were 2 of us so we could split it!) and we met the other gals at the hotel. It was 2:00 and our shuttle wasn't coming until 3:30 and we didn't really want to sit in the lobby for 1 1/2 hours, so we moved en masse (some of us more massive than others after corn dogs, mickey bars, and In N Out, oh my...) to the pool where we laid in the sun and relaxed for the first time all week. It was great.

All too soon it was time to go and our shuttle van arrived. We had used the hotel's suggestion of a car service since there were 6 of us this time and it was great, and only $10 a person with tip. We got to the airport in 20 minutes which meant we had a full 2 hours to sit at the airport before our plane left but oh well, more time to visit-there's just never enough time in a teacher's day to talk to other teachers so we all really enjoyed it.

After an uneventful flight they all headed to the curb to get picked up. I headed to baggage claim at SeaTac and wouldn't you know it's the ONE time my suitcase came off the carousel immediately-even before I could get my cell phone turned on. I live maybe 10 minutes from the airport (I can hear the 3rd runway noise as I type this-what a joy!) but I was the last one picked up by the time I finally got my gosh darn cell phone to work. (Sidenote-I'm getting my long awaited iPhone on Friday! Can't wait!)

Got home, we dug into the Mickey Caramel apple (delish!) and I loved on my sweet doggy a bit. It was good to be home, and good to know I still had a full weekend (and a Friday) of Spring Break ahead of me!

 

[teacherlisa1978]

And now, a recap:

Favorite meal: Blue Bayou-great ambiance, great potatoes, totally unique experience

Favorite ride: Tie-Peter Pan for the sheer magical feeling of flying, pixie dust, and starts, and Splash Mountain for the music, the energy, the fun. Love them!

Favorite purchase: new pink Mickey ears and the "Disneyland Then Now and Forever" book (I've read it twice since I got home!)

Favorite snack: Dole Whip Float

One thing I didn't get to do that I'll do on the next trip for sure: Get the silhouette made of my basset hound at the shop on Main Street. I forgot to print the picture and the gal there couldn't do it from my camera screen.

Time til next trip: Too long! (8 Months!) But I feel so blessed that my year of a million Disney dreams continues!

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Hey! Now I'm a Mouseketeer! I feel like one!

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi bumbershoot-you know, it's the picture of the iced coffee you had up for a while that made me want the iced coffee! It was as good as I wanted it to be!

Ooh, good choice. So do you now want to grow wisteria in your yard? Current pic is from the GCH/DCA entrance area.


You were able to smell the ginger on Monsters, yay! I love that smell.

 

[caligirl stuck in va]

Great trip report - sounds like you had so much fun. Good to know that even though it wasn't "overplanned" (is that even possible??) you really enjoyed your time there.

December is coming up fast! Blink twice and it'll be right around the corner...I can't believe it is May 7th already!