Alice28
DIS Veteran<br><font color=blue>I'm Doombah Fricki
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
Who's going:
Me: 32
DH:35
DS1: 6
DS2: 3
This trip was originally planned as me taking both boys solo, as my husband was going to be gone for his annual 2 week training with the Army Nat'l Guard in August, and to another school in Sept for 3 weeks. I wanted to take the kids to do something fun this summer, and since family lives in California, we figured we would make a side trip to Disneyland for a couple days.
Original plan was to go August 10, 11, 12 and stay at Howard Johnson Anaheim with a rate I read about on mousesavers.com. It was a park view room with lots of amenities for $89 a night.
Then DH got orders that he is going to Ft. Bliss, TX, and onto Iraq for at least a year. If we moved our trip up a few days, he could go with us. So, we switched our Disneyland days to arriving on August 8th and leaving on the 11th. He really wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel as one last Hurrah, so I booked 3 nights through the hotel at $208 a night with a 10% military discount. I was REALLY hoping a code would come out, or I could possibly luck out on Expedia. Exactly 14 days before our departure date, I locked in a rate of $140 a night on Expedia! It was strange as the DL hotel had that as a rate, but Paradise Pier was $185 a night. I cancelled the original reservation and paid for the Expedia one.
We are able to get 2 day hoppers at the military base for $78 for adults and $55 for the kids.
Our game plan is to arrive at the DL Hotel around 3:30 or 4 on Sunday (driving from San Jose, CA where our parents live). Check in, unpack, swim and eat a very casual dinner at perhaps the Crocs and Bits counter service. We do not plan on spending very much on food since we are splurging on the hotel. Maybe shop around Downtown Disney and watch the fireworks from either our room (if we are so lucky) or the esplanade.
Monday- Disneyland at 8:00 AM sharp. Do the "West" side of the park: Critter Country, Frontierland, New Orleans Square and Adventureland. Have lunch at either Hungry Bear or French Market. Have an afternoon rest and swim at hotel and head over to DCA around 5 or so. We would like to go on Soaring Over California, Grizzly Rapids, Flik's Fun Fair, and the carousel. I am in my first trimester of pregnancy, so I have to skip Tower of Terror this time, darnit. We just went to WDW last year, so we have recently seen the Muppets, Millionaire, Playhouse Disney and so on. DH may go on Screaming by himself as my older son isn't tall enough yet. We plan on meeting another DISer, KatelynnsAuntie, for the Electric Light Parade and hopefully a ride or two. We will probably grab a bite at some point at Taste Pilot's Grill. After the Light Parade, we will watch the fireworks (unless the troops are very tired) and go back to hotel.
Tuesday: Very important this day to hit DL at 8:00 sharp. My goal is to do all of Fantasyland and Toontown by lunch time and I have learned after countless trips to DL that the only way to effectively do Fantasyland is to do Dumbo, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's, the Matterhorn, Alice & the teacups 1st thing. Then go back through and go on the Carousel, Storybookland, Pinocchio, Snow White and It's a Small World.
At Toontown we will definitely go on Roger Rabbit and tour Mickey and Minnie's home and Bounce around with Goofy. We will eat lunch probably at the Tomorrowland Terrace so we can catch a showing of Buzz Lightyear and then also go on the Autopia. Then DH and I will split the boys up so DS6 can go on Star Tours and DS3 and I can play in Triton's Garden and meet Ariel (DS3 thinks she's pretty and I like her too). We will then break, go back to hotel for swim and rest and head back into park around 5:30 or so. At some point we have to catch a ride on the train so we can see the dinosaurs- a family favorite.
We will eat at wherever sounds good, maybe the Zocalo place or maybe the Plaza Inn. If it's not too late when we first get back, maybe we will take the boys over to Tom Sawyer's Island or take a cruise on the riverboat. We will most likely go on our favorites again, like Pirates and Splash Mountain, and do some shopping. We aim to see the 9:00 Fantasmic; hopefully the crowds won't be too horrible on a Tuesday night as I don't think my kids can stay up til 10:30 for the 2nd showing. And I know they won't stand for sitting on the pavement from 7:00 to 9:00 either. I'm hoping there will still be a good (decent) spot to sit at 8:00 or so, and then one of us can go get treats to help the time go by a little faster.
Wednesday- have a nice breakfast, maybe room service Mickey Pancakes and check out, head back to San Jose for more time with family.
My main hope is that we have some good family time & make some lasting memories for all of us before DH leaves for Iraq. I have read the crowds have been unusually low for summer time at Disneyland and I am hoping this is true for us as well. I know how to navigate DL like that back of my hand and how to get a lot of rides in, but it is still hard when it's wall to wall people.
Me: 32
DH:35
DS1: 6
DS2: 3
This trip was originally planned as me taking both boys solo, as my husband was going to be gone for his annual 2 week training with the Army Nat'l Guard in August, and to another school in Sept for 3 weeks. I wanted to take the kids to do something fun this summer, and since family lives in California, we figured we would make a side trip to Disneyland for a couple days.
Original plan was to go August 10, 11, 12 and stay at Howard Johnson Anaheim with a rate I read about on mousesavers.com. It was a park view room with lots of amenities for $89 a night.
Then DH got orders that he is going to Ft. Bliss, TX, and onto Iraq for at least a year. If we moved our trip up a few days, he could go with us. So, we switched our Disneyland days to arriving on August 8th and leaving on the 11th. He really wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel as one last Hurrah, so I booked 3 nights through the hotel at $208 a night with a 10% military discount. I was REALLY hoping a code would come out, or I could possibly luck out on Expedia. Exactly 14 days before our departure date, I locked in a rate of $140 a night on Expedia! It was strange as the DL hotel had that as a rate, but Paradise Pier was $185 a night. I cancelled the original reservation and paid for the Expedia one.
We are able to get 2 day hoppers at the military base for $78 for adults and $55 for the kids.
Our game plan is to arrive at the DL Hotel around 3:30 or 4 on Sunday (driving from San Jose, CA where our parents live). Check in, unpack, swim and eat a very casual dinner at perhaps the Crocs and Bits counter service. We do not plan on spending very much on food since we are splurging on the hotel. Maybe shop around Downtown Disney and watch the fireworks from either our room (if we are so lucky) or the esplanade.
Monday- Disneyland at 8:00 AM sharp. Do the "West" side of the park: Critter Country, Frontierland, New Orleans Square and Adventureland. Have lunch at either Hungry Bear or French Market. Have an afternoon rest and swim at hotel and head over to DCA around 5 or so. We would like to go on Soaring Over California, Grizzly Rapids, Flik's Fun Fair, and the carousel. I am in my first trimester of pregnancy, so I have to skip Tower of Terror this time, darnit. We just went to WDW last year, so we have recently seen the Muppets, Millionaire, Playhouse Disney and so on. DH may go on Screaming by himself as my older son isn't tall enough yet. We plan on meeting another DISer, KatelynnsAuntie, for the Electric Light Parade and hopefully a ride or two. We will probably grab a bite at some point at Taste Pilot's Grill. After the Light Parade, we will watch the fireworks (unless the troops are very tired) and go back to hotel.
Tuesday: Very important this day to hit DL at 8:00 sharp. My goal is to do all of Fantasyland and Toontown by lunch time and I have learned after countless trips to DL that the only way to effectively do Fantasyland is to do Dumbo, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's, the Matterhorn, Alice & the teacups 1st thing. Then go back through and go on the Carousel, Storybookland, Pinocchio, Snow White and It's a Small World.
At Toontown we will definitely go on Roger Rabbit and tour Mickey and Minnie's home and Bounce around with Goofy. We will eat lunch probably at the Tomorrowland Terrace so we can catch a showing of Buzz Lightyear and then also go on the Autopia. Then DH and I will split the boys up so DS6 can go on Star Tours and DS3 and I can play in Triton's Garden and meet Ariel (DS3 thinks she's pretty and I like her too). We will then break, go back to hotel for swim and rest and head back into park around 5:30 or so. At some point we have to catch a ride on the train so we can see the dinosaurs- a family favorite. We will eat at wherever sounds good, maybe the Zocalo place or maybe the Plaza Inn. If it's not too late when we first get back, maybe we will take the boys over to Tom Sawyer's Island or take a cruise on the riverboat. We will most likely go on our favorites again, like Pirates and Splash Mountain, and do some shopping. We aim to see the 9:00 Fantasmic; hopefully the crowds won't be too horrible on a Tuesday night as I don't think my kids can stay up til 10:30 for the 2nd showing. And I know they won't stand for sitting on the pavement from 7:00 to 9:00 either. I'm hoping there will still be a good (decent) spot to sit at 8:00 or so, and then one of us can go get treats to help the time go by a little faster.
Wednesday- have a nice breakfast, maybe room service Mickey Pancakes and check out, head back to San Jose for more time with family.
My main hope is that we have some good family time & make some lasting memories for all of us before DH leaves for Iraq. I have read the crowds have been unusually low for summer time at Disneyland and I am hoping this is true for us as well. I know how to navigate DL like that back of my hand and how to get a lot of rides in, but it is still hard when it's wall to wall people.
