TimandLesley Take On Disneyland - We're BACK BABY! Update 10/9

That tour sounds like GOLD! Should be a lot of fun and you might as well see a few extra things while you are there and soak up the Hollywood culture. Know you will have a blast.
 
The tour sounds amazing. It may be one more thing I need to add to my wish list, if I ever make it back to Southern California. My one visit to Disneyland/Knotts berry Farm/Sea World was in 1979 when my roommate from college husband was stationed in San Diego and he was out to sea so I went and spent three weeks with her.
 
Lesley, that tour sounds amazing! I cannot wait to read all about what and who you end up seeing!!
 
13 DAYS!!!! I'm excited for you! The tour sounds really fun! We have spent alot of time down in that area, as we are from one state away, Oregon, and have family down in the Orange area - 10 min. away from DLR. A few years ago, we went to Beverly Hills for lunch, and parked in the neighborhood right in front of one of the cute homes there. It looked just like the house in the "Troop Beverly Hills" movie. We had lunch on a terrace across from the Beverly Wilshire - pretty sure I saw a famous athlete hanging out on the balcony in the Penthouse suite. It was a great place to visit - except that lunch for the 4 of us was $200 without tip. :eek: We have also been to the theatre to see Wicked right down on Hollywood Blvd, and shopped a the mall directly across from the Kodak Theatre - watched a Red Carpet Premier goings on of "Under the Tuscan Sun" Fun to just see who might be there or know that stars are all around. :D Hope you have a fantastic time!
 


I too haven't been on the DIS in years!! I remember reading your past reports. We are planning our first Disneyland Trip this year as well. Going Dec 30-1/7/17. Not an ideal time to go but we are going with DH family. His 15 yr old nephew was selected out of 300 kids to march in the Rose Bowl parade with the Rose Bowl Honors Band and going to be able to watch the Rose Bowl Parade in person and get to see the floats. We will also get a tour but that hasn't been announced yet. That trip is 12/30-01/4/17 and it includes 2 day Disneyland park hoppers. I am making my husband stay later after that group trip so we can get more Disneyland time in :-) Can't wait to read the details. Disneyland is foreign to me :-)
 
Congrats to your nephew! We might actually be at the Rose Bowl. After crazy Christmas at DLR, we are staying with family for a few days, and DS is going to try to get tickets and meet us down there. Not sure what it takes to attend the parade. Disneyland is way laid back. Most of it will feel very familiar, but just enough differences to make it unique. WAY less planning needed.
 
Congrats to your nephew! We might actually be at the Rose Bowl. After crazy Christmas at DLR, we are staying with family for a few days, and DS is going to try to get tickets and meet us down there. Not sure what it takes to attend the parade. Disneyland is way laid back. Most of it will feel very familiar, but just enough differences to make it unique. WAY less planning needed.
Thanks!! I would never have thought in a million years that you need tickets for a Rose Bowl parade. It is something I have never thought of doing before but now that we get to do it I'm very excited.
 


Omg. That tour sounds amazing! Trent would love being able to get that close to the Hollywood sign. I am afraid to even look up what that your costs. Can't wait for a review
 
That tour sounds like GOLD! Should be a lot of fun and you might as well see a few extra things while you are there and soak up the Hollywood culture. Know you will have a blast.

Thanks!
We are super excited about it!

The tour sounds amazing. It may be one more thing I need to add to my wish list, if I ever make it back to Southern California. My one visit to Disneyland/Knotts berry Farm/Sea World was in 1979 when my roommate from college husband was stationed in San Diego and he was out to sea so I went and spent three weeks with her.
I'm excited for that day!!
Lesley, that tour sounds amazing! I cannot wait to read all about what and who you end up seeing!!
Thanks I will definitely share details!

13 DAYS!!!! I'm excited for you! The tour sounds really fun! We have spent alot of time down in that area, as we are from one state away, Oregon, and have family down in the Orange area - 10 min. away from DLR. A few years ago, we went to Beverly Hills for lunch, and parked in the neighborhood right in front of one of the cute homes there. It looked just like the house in the "Troop Beverly Hills" movie. We had lunch on a terrace across from the Beverly Wilshire - pretty sure I saw a famous athlete hanging out on the balcony in the Penthouse suite. It was a great place to visit - except that lunch for the 4 of us was $200 without tip. :eek: We have also been to the theatre to see Wicked right down on Hollywood Blvd, and shopped a the mall directly across from the Kodak Theatre - watched a Red Carpet Premier goings on of "Under the Tuscan Sun" Fun to just see who might be there or know that stars are all around. :D Hope you have a fantastic time!
We are so excited about it! Yeah, glad lunch is INCLUDED with the price of the tour. Lauren REALLY wants to see a celebrity when we are in Cali : )

I too haven't been on the DIS in years!! I remember reading your past reports. We are planning our first Disneyland Trip this year as well. Going Dec 30-1/7/17. Not an ideal time to go but we are going with DH family. His 15 yr old nephew was selected out of 300 kids to march in the Rose Bowl parade with the Rose Bowl Honors Band and going to be able to watch the Rose Bowl Parade in person and get to see the floats. We will also get a tour but that hasn't been announced yet. That trip is 12/30-01/4/17 and it includes 2 day Disneyland park hoppers. I am making my husband stay later after that group trip so we can get more Disneyland time in :-) Can't wait to read the details. Disneyland is foreign to me :-)
So glad you found us again. Our local school did the same thing this year and I helped people plan their trips everyone had a wonderful time! Glad my TR will be able to help you with your plans : )
Omg. That tour sounds amazing! Trent would love being able to get that close to the Hollywood sign. I am afraid to even look up what that your costs. Can't wait for a review
It's actually not THAT bad. It was around $500 for the four of us : )

Can't wait for more! :-)
Thanks for joining/posting!

That tour sounds great! Can't wait to hear about it!
I will share ALL the details : )
 
Well, we leave in 3 DAYS!!!!!!!!! It sure has snuck up on us! We have been busy around here. I turned 40 yesterday. Tim threw me a HUGE surprise party with around 50 of our closest friends/family. It was amazing.
family pic from party.jpg pic with the kids.jpg

Can someone please tell me where the time has gone and how my kids got SO big!!!??? Doesn't Tim look amazing, my handsome husband.

Well, to make this Pre TR quick since we leave SUNDAY, here are the details.

I left you on our Hollywood Tour Day on the 23rd. On the 24th we plan on using our park hoppers and touring both parks and we have a Goofy's Kitchen dinner reservation.
On the 25th (our last night) I am actually on hold as I type this to try and book Napa Rose for our last dinner, wish me luck (hold times are long, dang!) That last day we will spend exploring both parks for one last time.
We fly home on the 26th.
I am concerned. Of course I've been telling Tim and the kids how the weather in Disneyland is amazing and so much better than World for the summer. OF COURSE the first two days we are there Anaheim is under excessive heat warnings with highs of 98 and 107 (YES 107!!!!!) on our first park day, YIKES!!!! At least the locals should stay at home so maybe park line will be shorter (trying to stay positive)
So, if you want to follow along, I will be periscoping live on Twitter/Periscope my handle is pixielesley, check me out and follow me, taking requests on here for what you'd like to see video of.
AWAY WE GO!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
How can that young lady be our little Lauren who got lost at MK? Or that young man be Luke who helped raise the flag at WL? Beautiful family pic!

Have a great trip!
 
I took a picure with my boys on Mother's Day and thought the exact same thing.....when did they get so big?!? At 17 & 14 they tower over me! Wish I could slow down time!

Have a great trip! Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!
 
Joining in. I have seen the FB posts so keeping up that way but as far as the TR, I had no idea. Funny thing is, I was looking back through my watched threads today and saw your 2011 TR there. I am fairly certain I read that one but saw you had a 2012 one so I started reading it which, of course, led me to here. I was wondering if you were still here on the Dis!

We just returned from WDW two weeks ago. Hadn't been since 2012 but going back next June, too. AKV was on my short list for that trip (saw it in your 2012 report) but ultimately decided on VWL (or Boulder Ridge I think it's called now) due to proximity and the boat ride to MK.

Anyway, today is your last day so I hope you guys had a wonderful time! Looking forward to the report!
 
Your family is so beautiful! (I love Lauren's ballet fourth position.. such a diva!) It has been a blast watching our kids grow-up (mostly virtually, but still fun!) together.

Can't wait to start hearing all about your trip!
 
How can that young lady be our little Lauren who got lost at MK? Or that young man be Luke who helped raise the flag at WL? Beautiful family pic!

Have a great trip!
Thanks so much! I know, growing up WAY too fast!!!
Joining in. I have seen the FB posts so keeping up that way but as far as the TR, I had no idea. Funny thing is, I was looking back through my watched threads today and saw your 2011 TR there. I am fairly certain I read that one but saw you had a 2012 one so I started reading it which, of course, led me to here. I was wondering if you were still here on the Dis!

We just returned from WDW two weeks ago. Hadn't been since 2012 but going back next June, too. AKV was on my short list for that trip (saw it in your 2012 report) but ultimately decided on VWL (or Boulder Ridge I think it's called now) due to proximity and the boat ride to MK.

Anyway, today is your last day so I hope you guys had a wonderful time! Looking forward to the report!
So glad you found us again. Glad you had a good time in Disney, being that close to MK is great. Yes, we had a GREAT time, starting the report tonight! : )

Your family is so beautiful! (I love Lauren's ballet fourth position.. such a diva!) It has been a blast watching our kids grow-up (mostly virtually, but still fun!) together.

Can't wait to start hearing all about your trip!
Thanks Sooze, you are too sweet. So funny, I didn't even notice her standing like that in the pic until you said it, it's so typical Lauren : )
 
SO WHO'S READY FOR A TIMANDLESLEY Trip Report?? I hope so because HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We had the most amazing time in Disneyland and I can't wait to share it with you. Our trip was from 6/19-6/26 so we spent an entire week on Disneyland property. This report will take you along on our adventures as well as a fantastic tour we did OFF property one day to LA, Hollywood, Warner Brothers Studios, etc. So buckle up, it's going to be a fun ride!
We found a great deal on non stop air out of Indianapolis so we flew out of there on 6/19 (Father's Day). We woke up early that morning before heading to the airport and gave Tim his Father's Day gifts.
Lauren is so funny, she said her happy place in life is at an airport because she knows she's going somewhere. Her SECOND happy place in life is Starbucks. Well here is my happy girl in her two happy places:
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Before we knew it we were on board and headed to LAX:
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I love the pretty view of the mountains as you fly into LAX. Just a reminder, I have been to Disneyland one time with my travel agency but Tim and the kids had not so this was their first time in LA, everyone was pretty excited.

Snapped a pic of Luke and I in LA at baggage claim:
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We kept looking for celebs (none to be found : (
Instead of doing Super Shuttle I had called happy limo prior to our trip and booked a car to take us to the Disneyland hotel, to me this was WELL worth it! It was around $100 each way for the four of us to have our own private car. Lauren was THRILLED, she said she felt like a VIP : )
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Our driver was great, huge sports fan so Tim and Luke had a blast talking to him about the Lakers and the NBA finals that was playing that night.

We checked in and headed to our room. We were assigned Frontier Tower. I just love the Disneyland hotel, aren't the rooms lovely:
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When you press the button on the lamp the headboard lights up and in twinkly music box type music it plays "A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes". I just LOVE that. It became a "thing" throughout our trip that I would press that and give everyone kisses good night : )

After a long day of travel we were all tired, we laid down on the beds for a second and realized we needed to be at dinner in 30 minutes. The boys turned on the NBA finals game Cavs vs. Warriors. So, even though we were all very much looking forward to a nice Father's Day dinner at Steakhouse 55 Tim and Luke didn't want to leave the room because they didn't want to miss the game.

We checked into dinner for our 7pm reservation:
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As you can see in the left hand bottom of this pic, there was a bar there, it quickly became filled with NBA fans and Tim and Luke joined them watching the game. We were seated and enjoyed an amazing meal!
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As the appetizers were coming the boys heard screaming coming from the bar area so we lost them for around 10 minutes as they left our company to watch the end of the game. Since I'm from Ohio I was happy to see the Cavs pull out a win : )
The food and service here was amazing but unfortunately the time between the appetizer being FINISHED and our entrees coming out was 45 minutes. After a long day of travel that was pretty rough. The manager came over and said the kitchen was running slow that night and she would give us a free desert which we appreciated. Check this baby out:
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So we basically rolled ourselves out of Steakhouse 55. All in all a great Fathers day meal, but wish the food would've come faster, it was about a 2.5 hour experience from start to finish which was a little rough after a day of traveling.
After dinner we didn't have tickets but were all itching to explore so we walked through Downtown Disney to the entrances of California Adventure and Disneyland park. I LOVE how quick that walk is, how Downtown Disney is just bustling with music and night life and how the entrances to the two parks are so close together. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's about a football fields distance or less between the two parks, LOVE IT!
We headed back to the hotel and fell FAST asleep excited to be hitting the parks tomorrow.
COMING UP: Our First Day at Disneyland, Re discovering paper fast passes, Blue Bayou Dinner Package, Paint the Night Parade.............
STAY TUNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Great start !!

Love That Laurens number one happy place is in airport. Such a good reason !

Shame your dinner took so long but that cake looks amazing

:flower1:
 

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