A July Trip Report 7/15-7/18

[BensWife]

This is my first trip report, and I am excited to start it. So, I guess we start with introductions...

Me: I am a elementary school music teacher.

DH: He is a senior network engineer for a train testing facility.

We had originally planned a Disneyland Vacation to celebrate our 10th Anniversary in September 2014. However, as the planning went on, I was feeling terribly guilty going without our boys (William - 7 and Mikey - 4). We went to WDW in June of 2013 and they both have been asking to go back almost daily. Here is a picture of our trip to WDW during Star Wars Weekends.

So, I talked DH into letting the boys come with us in September. I was super excited to have them come with us, but there was a part of me that really wanted to go just the 2 of us, too. I mean, we were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. I wanted to spend some time with just the 2 of us. No kids. So, DH and I discussed adding a second trip without the kids. We decided to book an adults only trip for July. We booked at the Candy Cane Inn. We stayed there back in 2012. It wasn't my first choice (I always want to stay on property), but since this was an extra trip, the cost savings was important, so I was ok with it. The CCI is a nice little motel, but just not the same. We booked our flights on Southwest, and then decided to get Annual Passes. Since we would be going back in Sept, it was about the same price, and then we could get the 10% discount on lots of things in the park. We started getting the gift cards at Target with the 5% off using the Red Card, and we were on our way planning. We were planning on this July trip to be very loose. We wanted to go with an idea of what we wanted to do, but were not going commando - which we usually do. We wanted to have a relaxing vacation, just the 2 of us, and that is exactly what we did.

 

[BensWife]

Ok, here we go. This was the day we were leaving on our trip. Our flight was out of Denver at 11:45am, so we left home at 7:00am. We dropped off our 2 boys with Grandma and Grandpa, and then left for the 2 1/2 hour car ride to get to DIA. The ride was great - no traffic on I-25 - which got us to the airport a little earlier than we thought we would get there. Got on the plane, and we were off.

The flight was fine, and about 20 minutes before we landed, DH prompted me to look at his laptop. He then started a little video he made. I will have to upload it to youtube and add a link later. In the video, he told me that instead of going to the CCI, he had changed our hotel reservations to the DLH. WooHoo!! I SOOOO wanted to stay there, but knew it was going to be a lot more. But, the wonderful DH that I have surprised me - that little sneak!!! I couldn't believe he surprised me like that. I never had had anyone surprise me with something so great!! We landed, got our bags, the Super Shuttle was there waiting for us, and we were off to the DLH!!! We got there at about 2:30, and check in went smoothly. The lady checking us in was very nice. It took forever with all our Target gift cards (so if you do that, be prepared for it to take a long time), but we got some pixie dust as we were upgraded from a deluxe pool view DH had booked to a premium pool view! The room was ready then, so we went right up and dropped off our bags.

A king - in the Adventure Tower - right by the elevator - room 2564.

The View

We went right over to DL and wanted to ride Pirates first, but saw Jungle Cruise and went on that first.

We rode some other rides and took a selfie on the train.

We hit the parade while trying to get across main street and saw Mickey Mouse playing the drums. I had to take a picture because I am a music teacher!

We went around looking for something to eat. That is not easy for me as I have a lot of food allergies and am also a picky eater. We finally decided on Carnation Cafe. The chef came out and discussed my allergies and was very nice. DH and I split the cheeseburger I ordered and he added a bowl of potato soup for himself. It was a yummy meal, and we got to watch the marching band go by for the flag ceremony. After dinner, we rode a few more rides but were pretty tired from a long day of travel. We headed back to the hotel at about 8:00pm. The monorail wasn't working, so we walked back.

We got back to the room where we found another surprise! DH had a gift basket delivered for me!! So, not only did he surprise me with the DLH stay, but also the basket! He is the BEST!!!!

It was a great day!! We planned on hitting rope drop the next day. Now that we were staying on property, we would get the Early Entry. The EE was for DCA the next day, so we went to bed kinda early. The bed was comfortable and we both slept pretty well, other than the fireworks that woke us both up, but we both managed to get right back to sleep.

 

[BensWife]

Day 2 found us both getting up early. We got dressed and ready to go, and headed to DCA for EE. We got there about 6:30, and there was 1 family ahead of us at the gate. Unfortunately, the family didn't know the EE was only for hotel guests, so they were turned away. That meant that we were first in line!! (However, we did see that family in the park later during EE, so we weren't sure how they managed to get in without a room key??)

We followed the crowd to RSR. I am a slow walker and we were NOT going to run to be first. When we got there I would say there were about 40 people ahead of us, but I bet the wait was only about 5 minutes. That is the BEST ride ever!!

We headed to Toy Story Mania, and got right on. In fact, we rode it twice in a row since the line was so short!

DH wanted to ride California Screamin', but it wasn't running, so we headed to get FP for RSR. The line was CRAZY for fastpass at 8:10, so we decided to go to Flo's for breakfast. DH got the tamale breakfast, and I got the American Breakfast. Both were good. UUnfortunately, there was some sort of seasoning on the potatoes with my breakfast. I took one bite, and it tasted good, but I thought I better not chance that it may have something I couldn't have so DH ate them. But, the biscuit was sooo good it made up for me not being able to eat the potatoes.

We then went to see how the line was for Fastpass to RSR, and there was no line at all now. So we pulled FP with a return of 2-3, and the headed to DL. We got in and headed to the train to see if we could ride on the Lilly Belle, but there were no more reservations available. There was only going to be 1 run that day, and they only take 14. The train conductor told us to come back the next day right at 9am to see if we could get the next day, but we were taking the DCA Discover California tour the next day, so I guess we will have to try to get on the Lilly Belle during a next trip. We took the train to head to Pirates.

Another selfie on the train.

We rode lots of rides: pirates, splash a couple times, went to Tom Sawyer Island, rode the Mark Twain, and lots of others. Had a great time! Here are a few pics.

We ate lunch at Cafe Orleans, but didn't find it to be very good. We wanted to try the Pomme Frites (sp?), and they were yucky - cold, not crisp, and just not good. The waiter took them back and we told him, we didn't want any more. We split a Monte Cristo and DH had the gumbo. It was good, but we decided next time back we would eat at the Blue Bayou. We rode a few more rides and went shopping, and the at about 3:00pm, we headed back to the DLH for a swim. Again, the monorail was down. Grrr! So we took the long trek back to the hotel. We relaxed in our room for a little while, called the kids, and then headed toward to pool. The kids' small slide was down for the day, so that meant the other pool was super crowded. So crowded we couldn't find any lounge chairs. We we just put our stuff on the cement and went in. The swim was refreshing. We went back to the room, got dressed, and when to Tangaroa Terrace for dinnner. We thought it was Trader Joe's - Oops, but it was still good. I got the kid's hamburger and it was just right since I wasn't too hungry. After dinner we headed to DCA since we had fastpasses to World of Color.

We tried to use our fastpasses to RSR since we had missed our fastpass window, but they wouldn't let us through. Didn't hurt to try, right? We did single rider instead and had a blast. I really could ride that over and over if it wasn't for the long lines. We rode some other rides, DH rode Screamin', and the we went to wait for WOC. I wish they wouldn't make everyone stand 15 minutes before the show and then have to stand during the whole show - my legs and feet were aching! That being said, the show was great as usual. I was surprised they haven't added a Frozen section yet, but I assume they will at some point.

After WOC we took the long walk back to the DLH. I was starting to see that I like the GCH better than the DLH. I like them both, but when you are 40 years old, fat, and out of shape - the walk back from DCA to DLH seems like 1,000 miles. We got back to the hotel and realized we had walked over 30,000 steps that day (according to our fitbits). No wonder I was tired! We went right to bed and both slept really well. The next day (which would be our last day - boo) we were going to be going to DCA for the first ever tour of California Story.

 

[BensWife]

Day 3 started with a slow start. Our tour at DCA was at 9:00am and we were supposed to check in at 8:30am, so we didn't rush to get to there too early. DH went to Tangaroa Terrace to bring up some breakfast. It was just ok. I had the mini Mickey waffles and DH had some sort of breakfast wrap. I was really dragging this morning. Our 30,000 steps from the day before did a number on my out of shape legs and got me 2 blisters. I got some band aides and Advil, and we were off for our tour. Once we got to DCA, we realized that the tour didn't start until 10:00am and we didn't have to check in until 9:30am. Oops! So, for that hour we just kinda leisurely walked around and enjoyed the sites. We didn't ride any rides since we had just eaten our breakfast. We sat by the benches by the RSR fastpass machines and got FP once the time was 1:00 - 2:00 since our tour was scheduled to be done at 1:00PM. By then, it was about 9:30, so we went to check in for the tour.

Check in was by guest services.

We were taken to a private VIP lounge and got name tags, were offered drinks (water/coffee), they took our order for lunch, and waited as the rest of the tour group got there. It was the first tour, so there were a lot of cast members around. We all got our little audio devices and started the tour. I thought the tour was fun. I am not a Walt Disney expert by any means, so a lot of the info was new to me - but some was stuff I already knew. We got to visit the 1901 club, but couldn't take any pictures. I would have liked to stay there a little longer to look at all the cool photographs on the wall, but we moved on and went to ride Soarin' Over California. I get terrible motion sickness with those type of rides (can't ride Star Tours either), so I sat on a bench and waited while the others rode that ride. When they were done, the tour continued and we had a little potty break. During the potty break, I ran to get GRR fastpasses. The return time was 11:50 - 12:50 and I didn't think we would have time to get back by then, but got them any way. We continued the tour and got to ride RSR! COOL! We also got to go to the Animation Academy and draw Mickey! We ended with lunch that was just ok. We got a neat pin for being on the tour and over all I thought it was fun. I think it was a little over priced for what it was, but I would recommend it. Here are some more pics from the tour...

Our tour guide, Devin. She was good, and the tour seemed a little like it was a memorized script. I think once she gets more tours under her belt, she will get to be where it is more like her talking.

Got to sit in the first row for an Animation Academy lesson to draw Mickey Mouse.

They spelled my name wrong on my lunch. Oh well, it was correct for my name tag. You can kinda see it on DH and me.

The pin they gave us.

After lunch, we headed to GRR even though our fast passes were past the time. We went up and they almost didn't let us through, but we told them the tour went over (which it did, we got there at about 1:30 and our fastpasses were until 12:50), but they did let us through! Yea! It was fun, but I got SOAKED!!!! We made it to RSR just in time for our other fastpasses!

Then we headed back to the hotel to go swim and a break (and so I could change out of my soaked clothes!!). I was feeling a little under the weather, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to a park or not. I have some anxiety issues and was just feeling off. Not sure why, but who knows why my anxiety gets to me. I decided I wasn't going to poop out on my last night there with DH, so we went to Earl of Sandwich and then headed to DL!! And the good news was the monorail was actually working!!! Woohoo!! It was the first time for our trip that it was actually working, and the only time we got to use it. I was disappointed that it was not working most of our time there. We learned the hard way that you can't count on it as transportation like in WDW. We got to DL and I was still not feeling great. The crowds were CRAZY!! Here are a couple pics of the crowds...

I don't do well with HUGE crowds like that so I was really feeling nervous. We went to ride Buzz and I started to feel less anxious - thank goodness. Those of you with anxiety know that sometimes it just passes, and thankfully it did. We rode a couple other rides and I was feeling back to my normal self! Then we went to get DH a dole whip!!

Look at DH's shirt! It got it for him for Father's Day. He loves the Dole Whip!

We walked around and found an empty bench by the train station on Main Street and sat and watched people until the fireworks. I also got me a rice krispy treat! Yum.

After the fireworks, we said Goodbye to Mickey since it was our last night there. We had a great time, but were both ready to get back to the hotel. For being a leisurely trip, we were on the go quite a bit. We both slept really good. The beds at the DLH were great!

 

[BensWife]

This was our last day at Disney, which really doesn't count since we were packing and heading to the airport. The Super Shuttle was picking us up at 8:25am, so I talked DH into getting room service while we packed up. It was very good, and a great way to end a great vacation. I mean, who doesn't love a Mickey waffle?

Got a last couple of shots of the view, and we were off to the airport.

Upon checking our bill, we noticed we got billed twice at Flo's. The cashier swiped my room key and it seemed to not go through. So, he had asked for it again, swiped it again, and it worked the second time. Well, I guess it worked the first time and we got 2 charges. They gave us a credit for the extra charge and it was no big deal. We waited outside a little bit for the Super Shuttle. We were sad our trip was over.

We got to see the beautiful coast on our way home. Would have liked to add a beach day, but just didn't have the time. We are thinking about adding a beach day when we come back in September with the kids. We will see.

Then a couple hours later we touched down in Denver.

Let me finish this trip report with some last minute thoughts...

DLH Hotel: Amazing! Loved the headboards and the themeing. The beds were comfy and the room service great! What I didn't like is how far the walk is and that it is separated into 3 buildings. At one point, I needed to get some band aides and I had to go to another tower to get them. Even though I liked it a lot, I now know I prefer GCH over the DLH, but I can see why so many people love it

Monorail: This was the only real disappointment we had. I love to ride the monorail anyway, and with it so close to our hotel, I was looking forward to using it a lot. It was not running every time but once when we wanted to use it. So, it wasn't like a huge deal, but it was a bummer.

DCA California Tour: Really liked it. It was fun, got to ride 2 rides and get front row for AA, and lunch. I would recommend it!

DL in July: Don't think we will visit in July again. We were very lucky that the weather was FANTASTIC while we were there, but the crowds were just nuts. What is kind of weird is that the ride waits weren't all that long, and with some fastpasses and checking wait times on touring plans, we didn't have to wait that long, but it was still very busy. I have never seen the line for pirates wrap up all the way around to over the bridge and be 40 min! I am sure excited for our Sept trip when it won't be so crowded.

Going as adults only: Totally cool!!! I did miss the kids a lot and kept thinking of great places to take them when we come back, but it was so nice to not have to deal with potty breaks, keeping them busy during long lines, or anything like that. We had a great time just us, and getting to reconnect. I would recommend going adults only to anyone! Had a fab time!!

Well, thank you for reading my trip report. If you have any questions or anything for me, please let me know. I would be happy to answer any questions you have. Thanks for reading! I'll do another trip report after our Sept trip. Thanks!

 

[RHMH]

Subbing - Love it...... Wish we ran into each other.... Love you introduction.

 

[BensWife]

Here is the video DH made to play for me on the plane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7mkLJ85jc0&feature=youtu.be

 

[RHMH]

WOW!!! Really neat TPR and video... DLR was pretty neat right?

 

[LongTimeFan]

Thank you, that was fun reading your TR! Nice pics, too!

Your DCA California Story tour sounded interesting. How much was the tour? Where did you have lunch?

 

[lucysmom]

What a wonderful way to celebrate. Thank you for sharing.