Our Very Own California Adventure!! July 30th-August 11th, 2008

[SoonerGirl]

My son would sooooooo love that!! He is an Indy freak!

I really wish they would put an Indy ride at WDW, we loved the one @ DL and the themeing around it and in the que were fantastic!

oh my ogsh i just read your trip report and it was awsome. I love the pictures, thank you for sharing them. We are trying to plan a trip to disneyland and hopefully driving( 31hours) we live in alberta, canada. We wouldnt be going down that way but might come home that way. My son wants to see the sequas so bad( spelling) and the midway looks fantastic. I will have to check those places out. Not sure if the sequas are close to anywhere where we are driving but we would like to see sanfransico a bit so maybe a detour lol.

Thanks so much!

Wow, 31 hours worth of driving??!! We are probably going to drive our next trip to WDW, which is about 20 hours for us - I'm sooooo NOT looking forward to that, I couldn't imagine adding another 11 on top of it! That being said, since you will be driving so much anyway, it would definitely be worth it to do a few detors and see more of California. The Sequoias were AWESOME! I can't remember now how long it took us to drive from Sequoia National Park to DL, but I want to say it was around 4-5 hours. It's NE of Anaheim. The Midway was very cool too, and that could be done as a day trip from Anaheim if you wanted to, it's only about an hour and half drive to San Diego as long as you avoid rush hour traffic.

Have fun planning your trip!!

 

[albertamommyof4]

I really wish they would put an Indy ride at WDW, we loved the one @ DL and the themeing around it and in the que were fantastic!



Thanks so much!

Wow, 31 hours worth of driving??!! We are probably going to drive our next trip to WDW, which is about 20 hours for us - I'm sooooo NOT looking forward to that, I couldn't imagine adding another 11 on top of it! That being said, since you will be driving so much anyway, it would definitely be worth it to do a few detors and see more of California. The Sequoias were AWESOME! I can't remember now how long it took us to drive from Sequoia National Park to DL, but I want to say it was around 4-5 hours. It's NE of Anaheim. The Midway was very cool too, and that could be done as a day trip from Anaheim if you wanted to, it's only about an hour and half drive to San Diego as long as you avoid rush hour traffic.

Have fun planning your trip!!

ya it is a long drive lol . We will be going to San Diego also to do Sea World and the zoo and maybe some museums at Balboa Park.
I will definatly look into the Sequoias 4 to 5 hours is not to bad, how was the place you stayed at there and do they have a website? thanks

 

[SoonerGirl]

I will definatly look into the Sequoias 4 to 5 hours is not to bad, how was the place you stayed at there and do they have a website? thanks

We stayed at the Wuksachi Lodge. It's no 5 star hotel, but it was clean and comfortable, we had no complaints. Also, it's inside the park which is a big plus! Here's a link where you can check it out.

http://www.visitsequoia.com/lodging.aspx

 

[albertamommyof4]

We stayed at the Wuksachi Lodge. It's no 5 star hotel, but it was clean and comfortable, we had no complaints. Also, it's inside the park which is a big plus! Here's a link where you can check it out.

http://www.visitsequoia.com/lodging.aspx

Thanks it looks very nice. A bit pricy lol but nice

 

[pmama]

Just read through your trippie. Great job! Man you really did get all over the states last summer. That's the perfect way to do it, combine nature and Disney. The best of both.

I had more questions but at the time I can only think of one. I noticed you said you were able to grab fastpasses for Soarin while waiting for the rest of CA to open. Is that always the case and how early does Soarin open?

 

[SoonerGirl]

Just read through your trippie. Great job! Man you really did get all over the states last summer. That's the perfect way to do it, combine nature and Disney. The best of both.

I had more questions but at the time I can only think of one. I noticed you said you were able to grab fastpasses for Soarin while waiting for the rest of CA to open. Is that always the case and how early does Soarin open?

Thanks! We had a wonderful trip. I'm itching to go back to DL, but I just can't figure out a way to get there. DH left this morning for a last minute meeting with his boss in So Cal - I was so wishing that he had had enough advance notice that I could have gone with him and we could have spent the weekend at DL!

Soarin' does open early, 30 minutes before the rest of the park. As far as I know, it always does. And, don't forget that the FP machines for GRR are not connected to the rest of the park, so you can get a FP for that even if you are holding one for something else. Let me know if you have any more questions, I'll be glad to answer them the best that I can. Have a great trip!!

 

[pmama]

Thanks! We had a wonderful trip. I'm itching to go back to DL, but I just can't figure out a way to get there. DH left this morning for a last minute meeting with his boss in So Cal - I was so wishing that he had had enough advance notice that I could have gone with him and we could have spent the weekend at DL!

Soarin' does open early, 30 minutes before the rest of the park. As far as I know, it always does. And, don't forget that the FP machines for GRR are not connected to the rest of the park, so you can get a FP for that even if you are holding one for something else. Let me know if you have any more questions, I'll be glad to answer them the best that I can. Have a great trip!!

Thanks, so how does that work. They let you through the turnstiles early and you can either wait at the rope or go ride or FP Soarin?

 

[SoonerGirl]

Thanks, so how does that work. They let you through the turnstiles early and you can either wait at the rope or go ride or FP Soarin?

Yep, they let you through the gates and into the park. The area right when you walk in is not roped off, you can browse around, take pictures, whatever. After you pass by some shops, there is a path that goes to the right, you follow that path and it takes you to Soarin', that area is open. If you continue to follow that path around it leads you to GRR, that is where the rope is, and I assume there are also ropes that block you from going into other areas of the park as well, we were only at opening of CA that one day. Hope that makes sense!

 

[rthutchens]

I just finished reading your TR. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am looking forward to exploring CA one day. I think you pretty much did everything that I wanted to do. Sorry you missed out on Yosemite. My parents have been many times and loved it. By the way, what kind of camera did you use? I though your pictures looked great.

 

[SoonerGirl]

I just finished reading your TR. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am looking forward to exploring CA one day. I think you pretty much did everything that I wanted to do. Sorry you missed out on Yosemite. My parents have been many times and loved it. By the way, what kind of camera did you use? I though your pictures looked great.

Thank-you! We were bummed about missing Yosemite, but we'll be back someday and it will definitely be on the itinerary then.

My camera is an older Kodak Easy Share DX 7590, it really takes great pictures for a simple use camera. DH just bought me a new one for Christmas though, a Canon xsi. It's a digital SLR and I can't wait to take it on our next trip and see what I can do with it!

 

[scottny]

Hi,
Found your tr this morning and read it through. Fantastic report.

Loved all the pics.

I have never been north of Los Angeles so thank you for sharing the pics of Northern California.

Disneyland looked like a lot of fun.

San Diego is one of my favorite cities, absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks again for sharing your trip.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Thanks for reading Scott!

This was my first time north of LA as well, and I was just blown away by how beautiful everything was.

Disneyland was so much fun. I'm looking forward to getting back out there some day!

 

[M & K + 6]

love your report!!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

love your report!!!!

Thank You!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Just saw on Brook's report you celebrated a birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Hope it was a great one!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Thanks Kristen!

Yeah, it wasn't a birthday I wanted to have, but I guess it's better than the alternative! To keep me from getting depressed about it 3 of my girlfriends went to Cozumel with me to celebrate. We had a great time! We left early Wednesday morning and got back yesterday. It was a short, but very fun and relaxing trip.

 

[princess&her4princes]

Thanks Kristen!

Yeah, it wasn't a birthday I wanted to have, but I guess it's better than the alternative! To keep me from getting depressed about it 3 of my girlfriends went to Cozumel with me to celebrate. We had a great time! We left early Wednesday morning and got back yesterday. It was a short, but very fun and relaxing trip.

I hear you....I'm quickly approaching it myself.....counting down the years..lol!! Hey, it's what you make of it, right? Or at least that's what I keep telling myself!

Sounds like a GREAT trip to Cozumel! Just you and the girls? FUN!!!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Sounds like a GREAT trip to Cozumel! Just you and the girls? FUN!!!!!

Yep, no boys allowed! We all have sons too, no girls in the group. We had three glorious days of laying on the beach or by the pool, with no one asking us for anything.

 

[yupikgal]

Hi just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your TR, I chose it to read because of the dates of your trip, since we are going around the same time, also doing DL and SAN! I can't wait!! We are going 8/8-8/16, not as long as yours, but because of school obligations for the kids (they start the 17th here) we need to be back...our daughter will be a senior in high school and our son will just be starting his freshman year, so it's kinda important! Of course, I think that vacations are important too! ; ) We couldn't leave any sooner than the 8th because our daughter will be attending a 6 week health oriented summer through a local university, and her last day is the 7th!! We leave on a "red-eye" flight after midnight on the 8th, poor girl! Anyway, I've been a bit concerned about the weather, we don't normally go to Disney in the summer, we've been in November, and to WDW in October, which can also be very hot and humid, I guess. Any tips for beating the heat??

We are booked at the Fairfield Inn in Anaheim, which by the looks of it is right across the street, which will be nice not to have to shuttle it, since we aren't planning on renting a car. It has decent reviews on tripadvisor, so I'll take the chance. We've stayed at the Candy Cane Inn and loved it, but wanted to try something within closer walking distance. I thought about staying at the Homewood Suites in Garden Grove because of the included breakfast and larger space, but I'm not sure we want to take the shuttle everyday! I've also considered Ho Jo's, especially with their water park...We will take the train from Anaheim to San Diego, and then stay at the Best Western Island Palms on Shelter Island. I wanted a relaxing place with a resort feel too, although yours looks great too!! We will only be there for 2 full days-heading down from Anaheim the 13th and leaving the 16th at 830a.

Nice pictures, great quality! I really like them a lot, very vivid/clear/colorful!

Thanks again for posting! Kelly

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hi Kelly, thanks for reading!

I understand completely about school getting in the way of vacation time. We realized after this first year with my oldest in Jr. High that our days of taking them out of school for family trips was over, they would just miss too much and it's not nearly as easy to catch up as it was in elementary school.

On the summer heat, in the afternoons it did get pretty hot, but to me it wasn't any hotter than WDW in October. There is just not as much humidity in CA, so the heat isn't nearly as stifling. We did take an afternoon break to recharge each day though and that helped alot.

If my fuzzy memory serves me correctly, I remember seeing the Fairfield Inn, and yes you will definitely be within walking distance

Sounds like you have a great trip planned, hope you have a wonderful time!