*o* August Check-In Thread *o*

[BriannaRuth]

Congratulations on the end of your chemo!

Your kids are the perfect age for the DLH pool, so having a cabana there will be great! We've done it a number of times. Were you able to book one of the cabanas by the monorail pool?

 

[kyrkea333]

Hi! I am now part of the August crew! I was supposed to go in July but I have cancer and was unexpectedly hospitalized and we were supposed to celebrate my last chemo and instead I’ll be getting chemo the day after we return, myblast one! Super excited. Surprise trip for my DD 5 and 8 a reward for them being so amazing while mommy is sick. Their Gidmother is coming to help me. All of our dining resos were ruined because of the last minute change.
We are staying at the Grand. Lost our cabana for the pool day as well because they are now full. We switched Cabana to DlH! I hope to make memories that will last my kids lifetime.

We live about an hour away should we tell them at the house or just drive up to the park?

SO glad you’re still able to go to the parks. What a great place to celebrate your almost finishing chemo! I got an AP this year with the blessing of my husband (even though we’re in Canada ) to celebrate my remission. August will be the last trip with my AP, taking my DD21 and DS16, but it’s been an amazing year! Have a wonderful, memory making time with your kidlets! Blessings to you!

 

[tlcdoula]

Hi! I am now part of the August crew! I was supposed to go in July but I have cancer and was unexpectedly hospitalized and we were supposed to celebrate my last chemo and instead I’ll be getting chemo the day after we return, myblast one! Super excited. Surprise trip for my DD 5 and 8 a reward for them being so amazing while mommy is sick. Their Gidmother is coming to help me. All of our dining resos were ruined because of the last minute change.
We are staying at the Grand. Lost our cabana for the pool day as well because they are now full. We switched Cabana to DlH! I hope to make memories that will last my kids lifetime.

We live about an hour away should we tell them at the house or just drive up to the park?

Keep checking for meal reservations because people will cancel last minute. I vote for the car so they can start their adventure on the way.

Congrats to you and your family. Have a great trip!!!and please post the revel to the Kids.

 

[maleficent55]

I’ll be there July 31-August 2nd! I am so excited. Thanks for the encouragement. This is really big for us.

Sure is!! Sounds like it, hooray for the end of your treatment!! That’s fabulous, what a fantastic trip you’ll have now!!!

I vote for letting them be surprised as you drive up! Only because that’s what we are doing, I’ve surprised my daughter ahead of time with Disneyland and it was fun and exciting but I am SO excited this time just to have video rolling as we approach and capturing her face as she suddenly hopefully sees the Matterhorn come into view! I can already hear her scream! Maybe it’ll be space mountain she sees first (depends) but Space is her favorite ride so that would be great too! My husband and I have had this planned for months...I’ve wanted to tell her so many times! I’ve been having packages arrive lately with matching family shirts...Mickey ears...and she is always asking “mommy, what came in the box?” And I say “ohhhhhhh nothing!”
The suspense!!! Ha ha

Can you imagine what a thrill it would be to be sitting in a car and suddenly see Disneyland in front of you?!? I’m so happy she gets to experience this....so that’s what I vote for for you guys!!!

We are on the 8 day countdown!!!

 

[PoohBearFriends]

The August Group is getting so close to beginning their trips to the Parks!

Does anyone have their eye on a particular Souvenir that they want to buy?

I often buy hand towels to decorate my kitchen, useful and visible.
I just saw the new Poohbear from the moving opening this week. That may be on my must have list.

 

[B3rlingirl]

The August Group is getting so close to beginning their trips to the Parks!

Does anyone have their eye on a particular Souvenir that they want to buy?

I often buy hand towels to decorate my kitchen, useful and visible.
I just saw the new Poohbear from the moving opening this week. That may be on my must have list.

I think this is the moment I should “unwatch” the thread or I’ll need a second plane to bring all my souvenirs back home...

Right now I plan to buy a nice popcorn bucket (I hope I can find a nice one), maybe a coffee mug or to go cup, one Christmas tree figure, some Disney clothing and a new pair of Mickey ears... and maybe a nice Disney/ Mickey necklace if I can find one...

and this is just what I can think of right now...

 

[PoohBearFriends]

Oh I think new Mickey ears might be needed. I only have my set when I was 3 years old, Halloween decorated and the ones I one from Year of a Million Dreams.

See you are adding to my suitcase also!

 

[maleficent55]

The August Group is getting so close to beginning their trips to the Parks!

Does anyone have their eye on a particular Souvenir that they want to buy?

I often buy hand towels to decorate my kitchen, useful and visible.
I just saw the new Poohbear from the moving opening this week. That may be on my must have list.

This will be the first trip in awhile where we are avoiding a plane, so the sky is the limit with how much I can pack back home! Uh-oh! lol

I want an elastagirl and baby jack jack drinking straw from DCA, where the jack jack nom nom cookies are sold. I usually buy a park exclusive pandora charm for my bracelet and sometimes I buy a Olszewski light box if I can. I want a Pirates of The Caribbean one or a Madhatters Tae cup ride one ( I have the Mad Hatters tea party already).

 

[BriannaRuth]

I always buy a pin and since they opened the Pandora store, a Disney Pandora bead. I used to buy Christmas ornaments but I have too many so stopped. I also buy the little traditional Disney charms for a charm bracelet.

 

[amlc]

Just wanted to report that it seems like Disney released some more rooms for the summer promotion. Earlier, our mid August dates were not showing up as having anything available (we were already booked at GCH, regular rate) but suddenly they had our Woods/Courtyard view available with the promotion. I called and the cast member was able to transfer our reservation to the promo and we saved $400 on our 4 night stay! That will buy a lot of churros and pins haha! Hopefully someone else can benefit too!

 

[maleficent55]

We are officially staying at the Candy Cane Inn. We had been going back and forth between there and our usual Best Western Park Place Inn.

Excited to try something new.
7 day countdown, entering the parks next Monday the 6th!

 

[martinm]

I’ll be there July 31-August 2nd! I am so excited. Thanks for the encouragement. This is really big for us.

Have a great trip, maybe we will see you there!

My DW and I are on a penny hunt. She has all the penny squishers mapped out and an empty book to put them in.
I like to take pictures. It is funny as all get out what you can catch if your a people watcher.

 

[B3rlingirl]

Have a great trip, maybe we will see you there!

My DW and I are on a penny hunt. She has all the penny squishers mapped out and an empty book to put them in.
I like to take pictures. It is funny as all get out what you can catch if your a people watcher.

Sounds like you have good plan for the hunt!
I wanna do a few pennys as well.. though I don’t yet know where the squisher are exactly but I just wanna do a few anyways... they are great little souvenirs...!

But I am a little uncertain about the logistics...
How much does a squished penny cost?
And does anyone know if you can change a few dollar bills into quarters (+ a few pennys) in the nearby shops?
Because right now I don’t have any coins at all...

 

[PoohBearFriends]

Sounds like you have good plan for the hunt!
I wanna do a few pennys as well.. though I don’t yet know where the squisher are exactly but I just wanna do a few anyways... they are great little souvenirs...!


But I am a little uncertain about the logistics...
How much does a squished penny cost?
And does anyone know if you can change a few dollar bills into quarters (+ a few pennys) in the nearby shops?
Because right now I don’t have any coins at all...

This might be a little old but it will give you an idea where the change machines are and where the penny presses are.


http://www.zzzcoins.com/DLchangemachines.htm

https://www.parkpennies.com/penny-machine-locations.pdf

 

[Jimsig]

I have an annual pass so I got a few dollars off but it was $92.65 each for us.

I booked Walk In Walt's Footsteps today for Aug 30. It is $109pp if you don't have a discount. When I told her we have gone to WDW quite a bit in the past 5 years and this was our first trip to DL she started telling me what was different like FP's etc. It was like talking to a friend who has been there and wants to give you all the great tips.

 

[Kirbie]

We are celebrating my 30th birthday 6 months late by going to Disneyland in 2 weeks!

My last visit was about the same time 2 years ago - I snuck in a last minute trip to celebrate the Diamond Anniversary. My guy's last visit to DLR was about 30 years ago. I am beyond excited and as the tripnears, hes getting excited too. I'm looking forward to my breakfast reservations at Minnie & Friends, and enjoying Pixar Fest! I'm bummed Matterhorn will be closed but am super looking forward to Haunted Mansion as it was closed during my last visit.

Other than Minnie & Friends we don't have too many structed plans for our 3 days in the park. We're arriving to Anaheim early on Monday but will hang out in DTD, get some In n Out, and I'm hoping for dinner at Trader Sam's. He likes breweries so we might end up at one of them instead.

Hope to see you there! I'll be sporting one of my hand made Disney dresses

 

[angiepharm]

I will be there on August 17. Solo trip b/c im the only Disney fanatic I know in real life lol.
Im coming for a friends bday in LA, everyone is arriving Friday 8/17 evening and we are leaving Sunday August 19. So I am arriving August 16th evening, and will spend Friday 8/17 day and afternoon in the parks. Hoping to meet characters not available in WDW, as I have an AP for WDW, as I live near Orlando, FL. Im super excited to experience "the other Disney"

For now, I've reserved at the springhill suites Marriott maingate. its technically cheaper, b/c I can use the federal discount. if a reasonably priced room opens at a Disney owned hotel, I may reserve that, so I can get the extra magic morning for DCA. By reasonably priced, I don't want to spend more than $250, the prices now are 390+.
I've struggled with staying at the bestwestern, Tropicana,CCI, or even the Fairfield, but when I read reviews, I always go to the 1 star reviews, and look for trends. Im super picky about my hotels, b/c of horrible experiences, including roaches, dirty hotels, ect. so I try to stay with the main brands of Hilton, Marriott, or IHG brands. springhill has a shuttle, and said they can keep my luggage while im in the park, as I plan to leave at 7pm, to meet up with my friends at LAX when their flight lands at 850pm. I would love to be in walking distance, but I will not be comfortable or get a good nights sleep if the room is iffy. Anyways, I plan to get there at rope drop, so since the parks open at 9pm, I am going to try to be at the gates at 8-815am, per Marriott, the shuttle starts 90 minutes prior to park opening. so i'll probably wake up around 7am, get the free buffett breakfast, and then head over to Disney. I've never made rope drop at wdw before, although I've been close, and july 4th, which is one of the busiest days, I saw the benefit. we got there 30 minutes after park opening, and were able to do pretty much everything we wanted and character greetings, and left by 1230pm(what usually would've been a full day), when everyone was coming in, and the rain clouds started rolling in. Im super excited!!!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I will be there on August 17. Solo trip b/c im the only Disney fanatic I know in real life lol.

Well, we may not be "real life," but there certainly are plenty of Disney fanatics around here! Welcome to the club!

... Im super excited to experience "the other Disney"

You mean "the original Disney"?

For now, I've reserved at the springhill suites Marriott maingate. its technically cheaper, b/c I can use the federal discount. if a reasonably priced room opens at a Disney owned hotel, I may reserve that, so I can get the extra magic morning for DCA. By reasonably priced, I don't want to spend more than $250, the prices now are 390+.
I've struggled with staying at the bestwestern, Tropicana,CCI, or even the Fairfield...

All these hotels are favorites on this forum. The CCI is one of my two regular hotels at DLR. You can't really go wrong with any of these choices. And being walking distance, especially with the short time that you have, can make a difference.

...Anyways, I plan to get there at rope drop, so since the parks open at 9pm, I am going to try to be at the gates at 8-815am...

Give yourself as much time as you can. Personally, I would aim to be at the gates earlier. A 9am opening is late for DL, so there will be more crowds at the gates. The more time you give yourself, the bigger advantage you'll have, especially if you get hung up at bag check. I assume your hotel shuttle will drop you off at the Harbor shuttle stop? If so, the Harbor side bag check can really back up at certain times of day, so allow more time to get through. If you get to the gates and you feel you are way too early, then head for DTD to shop or get yourself a treat. Then go back to the gates.

 

[pixiepowers]

After a summer spent in hospitals and rehabilitation centers and moving my mom into assisted living, I need to refill my bucket at my happy place. We are going all out at the Grand Californian (thank you Costco) from August 15 to 19!

 

[angiepharm]

Well, we may not be "real life," but there certainly are plenty of Disney fanatics around here! Welcome to the club!


You mean "the original Disney"?


All these hotels are favorites on this forum. The CCI is one of my two regular hotels at DLR. You can't really go wrong with any of these choices. And being walking distance, especially with the short time that you have, can make a difference.


Give yourself as much time as you can. Personally, I would aim to be at the gates earlier. A 9am opening is late for DL, so there will be more crowds at the gates. The more time you give yourself, the bigger advantage you'll have, especially if you get hung up at bag check. I assume your hotel shuttle will drop you off at the Harbor shuttle stop? If so, the Harbor side bag check can really back up at certain times of day, so allow more time to get through. If you get to the gates and you feel you are way too early, then head for DTD to shop or get yourself a treat. Then go back to the gates.

okay. thanks for the tip! im an early riser, so I was a bit upset at 9am, like why so late! lol. I know WDW, I think they recommend atleast an hour prior to opening, so i'll try to be at the gates at 8am, since the shuttle only starts 90 minutes prior, meaning, the earliest I can get on is 730am. But this is a great tip. and being on the east coast, DL, seems like the land of far far away, so yes the original Disney lol.