mariezp
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2007
Coming up with a plan…
Almost immediately after our trip in September 2007 I began making plans for our 8th annual family trip in 2008. On Apr 1, as a surprise for our son, I came up with the idea to ask one of his friends if she, Alex, her sister, Savannah, and their father, Don, would like to join us on our trip. She responded with a yes so the planning really kicked in!
Decisions! Decisions! I had first selected Nov 10-21 but DH suggested we stay right up til Thanksgiving, which would have been until the 26th which was fine with me as I never turn down an opportunity to add a few days to our trip. However, Alex said they could take the week of Nov 9-16. So, even though I had wanted to avoid the possible crowds of the Veteran’s Day weekend, I backed up the dates we had chosen to go and planned for our family to stay an extra week. I really wanted to be in the park for the Christmas season on the 21st so we could see the new castle lights and meet Santa at the Reindeer Roundup but didn’t want to be rushed so we went ahead and opted to stay a few extra days to the 23rd and ended up with a little over 2 weeks to spend leisurely at the park.
As soon as we narrowed down the exact dates I called and made reservations for our room at the Anaheim Desert Inn. I have found that booking as early as I know the dates can often save quite a bit, so on April 16 I booked for our November trip. I got a very good rate. We have stayed with them during all of our past trips and they have become, somewhat, a part of our tradition. Nothing fancy. However, they provide all we need, are reasonable, very close to the park and clean. They also offer a large family suite, which is basically 2 rooms for about the same rate as one standard room at one of the Disney properties so that cinches the deal for us.
In April, I also booked a limousine from U-R-THERE-Limousine Service to pick us up from the airport. I thought the kids would get a kick out of it, and frankly, I would too! I told DH but wanted to let it be a surprise for everyone else.
My next step was to start watching American Airline fares. I didn’t last long! I ended up booking those in April too simply because the price they were offering was already as low as what we paid the previous year.
Then from there, I spent a lot of time perusing all things Disney which also included lots of time spent on message boards taking notes and making plans for our to-do-list. Thanks to all who have added to my useful information!
Alright, I know, I know! Get to it already! Well, here it is:
In response to Travelmel's wise request, I am adding names and photos of the cast who will be mentioned in my report. Here you go:
Me
DH
DS-17
DD-8
Alex-16
Savannah-14
Don
Trip Report November 9-23, 2008
After much anticipation, our day to head to Disneyland finally arrived!
I really liked the new plan of choosing an afternoon flight so we could get to California on Sunday evening and not mess up an entire day traveling. When we arrived we would have the option to decide whether to go to the park late or just wait until morning. Our flight was originally scheduled to leave at 3:15 pm but was delayed until 3:40 pm. We don’t fly very often so we like to be at the airport PLENTY early. Also, we find it kinda helps build even more of the excitement to at least be making progress towards our destination! We left our house at about 12:15 pm. and headed to DFW where we were supposed to meet our traveling companions at 1:30.
We made a call to see if they were on the way to the airport. Well, they obviously do travel often enough to not get worried about arriving late because Alex, our son’s friend, was not even at home but they were expecting her at any minute. We decided we probably should have followed her example and went to church but alas, we appeared to be backsliding. We were hoping God knew us well enough to know that if we didn’t get an early start we would probably end up being late. That’s usually the way it goes.
We arrived at the Park Air Express to park the car for 2 weeks and called to check to see if she had made it home yet. She had and was currently in the process of packing. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! We made it to the airport, checked in and sat around acting goofy while we waited for them to arrive.
Several other conversations transpired before they were finally actually in route to the airport. They seemed to remain much calmer than we were. They did finally arrive about 2:30.
We had just enough time to spare to grab a bite to eat. We ate one of the best turkey sandwiched I think I have ever had at some little BBQ joint inside the airport. We finished our meal and did not even get seated in the waiting area before they started boarding passengers for our plane. Our flight left on time and thankfully was uneventful. We even arrived on time!
When we got to the airport, Don headed to the men’s room but somehow we lost track of Savannah. After a few tense moments for some of us, she shows up unaware that we did not know where she had been. (It brought back memories of when we had lost Alex at the movie theater some months back. These two girls are very independent and apparently do not rely on explaining their whereabouts.)
Anyway, since all was well we made our way to the baggage claim area where we were met by a driver holding up a sign with our name on it. How cool is that? He looked just like the driver in Driving Ms Daisy. Don was pretty sharp to catch on that we would be riding in a limo but the kids remained clueless until we were actually standing in front of the limo. (It ain't easy to get a good picture of a 10 passenger limousine and a bunch of people in a dark garage.)
With her typical reaction, Savannah let out an ear piercing squeal of excitement.
The limo was very cool! We enjoyed the lights, music and clowning around in the ceiling mirrors.
DS loves making crazy faces but he looks a bit more normal, and handsome in this picture.
We had some good laughs about the country hicks riding in the limo.
We even broke into a round of the Hee Haw song, “Where oh where are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone?”, complete with “phttttt you were gone”. We had only been with our traveling companions a few hours and I was already reduced to tears from laughing so hard! I can only imagine what the driver must have thought. However, I imagine while we were pretty strange I bet he gets some real doosies! At least we were sober.
So anyway, the limo was a big hit! And, U R There Limousine Service was excellent! Everything about them was very impressive. We arrived at Anaheim Desert Inn and got our luggage all unloaded.
When I checked in, I found that our grocery delivery had already arrived about an hour early and had been stored in a backroom for us. This was just fine with me because it meant we would not have to waste any time sitting around waiting for them to show up. So, after we got our luggage and groceries to the room we set out to the park to pick up our tickets.
I had opted to get our tickets from GetawayToday.com because they offered 8 day park hoppers with 2 free magic morning days. After the 8 days, my plan was to upgrade us to our annual passes. As it turned out we did not use the MM entries because we were no good at getting all 7 of us up that early. DH was not very happy that we only had a paper pass instead of a nice AP with his picture on it. He rather enjoys being an AP snob. Needless to say, next time I will just go ahead and get the APs.
While DD and I were rearing to get into the park, the majority vote was that everyone was tired and just wanted to rest and head to the park in the morning. Whaaa! I travel with a bunch of party poopers! Since we also wanted to enter the park all together, we conceded and decided we might not suffer too much by waiting til morning to get to the park. Hunger had hit so we headed into Downtown Disney which ended up being a total waste of time and energy because it was pretty crowded and the waits were too long so we ended up just going back to Denney’s next door to our hotel. They had some really great nachos but I would have preferred my cheesecake to have not been frozen. After that, and much to my disappointment, we called it a night.
Before I go any farther, I thought I should update my report and add links from our previous trips here so you won't have to find them later on in the report.
Here's 2006
http://micechat.com/forums/disneyland-resort/48321-long-better-late-than-never-trip-report-dec-3-14-lots-photos-part-1-a.html
and 2007
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1588869%22]http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1588869
Almost immediately after our trip in September 2007 I began making plans for our 8th annual family trip in 2008. On Apr 1, as a surprise for our son, I came up with the idea to ask one of his friends if she, Alex, her sister, Savannah, and their father, Don, would like to join us on our trip. She responded with a yes so the planning really kicked in!
Decisions! Decisions! I had first selected Nov 10-21 but DH suggested we stay right up til Thanksgiving, which would have been until the 26th which was fine with me as I never turn down an opportunity to add a few days to our trip. However, Alex said they could take the week of Nov 9-16. So, even though I had wanted to avoid the possible crowds of the Veteran’s Day weekend, I backed up the dates we had chosen to go and planned for our family to stay an extra week. I really wanted to be in the park for the Christmas season on the 21st so we could see the new castle lights and meet Santa at the Reindeer Roundup but didn’t want to be rushed so we went ahead and opted to stay a few extra days to the 23rd and ended up with a little over 2 weeks to spend leisurely at the park.
As soon as we narrowed down the exact dates I called and made reservations for our room at the Anaheim Desert Inn. I have found that booking as early as I know the dates can often save quite a bit, so on April 16 I booked for our November trip. I got a very good rate. We have stayed with them during all of our past trips and they have become, somewhat, a part of our tradition. Nothing fancy. However, they provide all we need, are reasonable, very close to the park and clean. They also offer a large family suite, which is basically 2 rooms for about the same rate as one standard room at one of the Disney properties so that cinches the deal for us.
In April, I also booked a limousine from U-R-THERE-Limousine Service to pick us up from the airport. I thought the kids would get a kick out of it, and frankly, I would too! I told DH but wanted to let it be a surprise for everyone else.
My next step was to start watching American Airline fares. I didn’t last long! I ended up booking those in April too simply because the price they were offering was already as low as what we paid the previous year.
Then from there, I spent a lot of time perusing all things Disney which also included lots of time spent on message boards taking notes and making plans for our to-do-list. Thanks to all who have added to my useful information!
Alright, I know, I know! Get to it already! Well, here it is:
In response to Travelmel's wise request, I am adding names and photos of the cast who will be mentioned in my report. Here you go:
Me
DH
DS-17
DD-8
Alex-16
Savannah-14
Don
Trip Report November 9-23, 2008
After much anticipation, our day to head to Disneyland finally arrived!
I really liked the new plan of choosing an afternoon flight so we could get to California on Sunday evening and not mess up an entire day traveling. When we arrived we would have the option to decide whether to go to the park late or just wait until morning. Our flight was originally scheduled to leave at 3:15 pm but was delayed until 3:40 pm. We don’t fly very often so we like to be at the airport PLENTY early. Also, we find it kinda helps build even more of the excitement to at least be making progress towards our destination! We left our house at about 12:15 pm. and headed to DFW where we were supposed to meet our traveling companions at 1:30. We made a call to see if they were on the way to the airport. Well, they obviously do travel often enough to not get worried about arriving late because Alex, our son’s friend, was not even at home but they were expecting her at any minute. We decided we probably should have followed her example and went to church but alas, we appeared to be backsliding. We were hoping God knew us well enough to know that if we didn’t get an early start we would probably end up being late. That’s usually the way it goes.
We arrived at the Park Air Express to park the car for 2 weeks and called to check to see if she had made it home yet. She had and was currently in the process of packing. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! We made it to the airport, checked in and sat around acting goofy while we waited for them to arrive.
Several other conversations transpired before they were finally actually in route to the airport. They seemed to remain much calmer than we were. They did finally arrive about 2:30.
We had just enough time to spare to grab a bite to eat. We ate one of the best turkey sandwiched I think I have ever had at some little BBQ joint inside the airport. We finished our meal and did not even get seated in the waiting area before they started boarding passengers for our plane. Our flight left on time and thankfully was uneventful. We even arrived on time!
When we got to the airport, Don headed to the men’s room but somehow we lost track of Savannah. After a few tense moments for some of us, she shows up unaware that we did not know where she had been. (It brought back memories of when we had lost Alex at the movie theater some months back. These two girls are very independent and apparently do not rely on explaining their whereabouts.)
Anyway, since all was well we made our way to the baggage claim area where we were met by a driver holding up a sign with our name on it. How cool is that? He looked just like the driver in Driving Ms Daisy. Don was pretty sharp to catch on that we would be riding in a limo but the kids remained clueless until we were actually standing in front of the limo. (It ain't easy to get a good picture of a 10 passenger limousine and a bunch of people in a dark garage.)
With her typical reaction, Savannah let out an ear piercing squeal of excitement.
The limo was very cool! We enjoyed the lights, music and clowning around in the ceiling mirrors.
DS loves making crazy faces but he looks a bit more normal, and handsome in this picture.
We had some good laughs about the country hicks riding in the limo.
We even broke into a round of the Hee Haw song, “Where oh where are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone?”, complete with “phttttt you were gone”. We had only been with our traveling companions a few hours and I was already reduced to tears from laughing so hard! I can only imagine what the driver must have thought. However, I imagine while we were pretty strange I bet he gets some real doosies! At least we were sober.
So anyway, the limo was a big hit! And, U R There Limousine Service was excellent! Everything about them was very impressive. We arrived at Anaheim Desert Inn and got our luggage all unloaded.
When I checked in, I found that our grocery delivery had already arrived about an hour early and had been stored in a backroom for us. This was just fine with me because it meant we would not have to waste any time sitting around waiting for them to show up. So, after we got our luggage and groceries to the room we set out to the park to pick up our tickets.
I had opted to get our tickets from GetawayToday.com because they offered 8 day park hoppers with 2 free magic morning days. After the 8 days, my plan was to upgrade us to our annual passes. As it turned out we did not use the MM entries because we were no good at getting all 7 of us up that early. DH was not very happy that we only had a paper pass instead of a nice AP with his picture on it. He rather enjoys being an AP snob. Needless to say, next time I will just go ahead and get the APs.
While DD and I were rearing to get into the park, the majority vote was that everyone was tired and just wanted to rest and head to the park in the morning. Whaaa! I travel with a bunch of party poopers! Since we also wanted to enter the park all together, we conceded and decided we might not suffer too much by waiting til morning to get to the park. Hunger had hit so we headed into Downtown Disney which ended up being a total waste of time and energy because it was pretty crowded and the waits were too long so we ended up just going back to Denney’s next door to our hotel. They had some really great nachos but I would have preferred my cheesecake to have not been frozen. After that, and much to my disappointment, we called it a night.
Before I go any farther, I thought I should update my report and add links from our previous trips here so you won't have to find them later on in the report.
Here's 2006
http://micechat.com/forums/disneyland-resort/48321-long-better-late-than-never-trip-report-dec-3-14-lots-photos-part-1-a.html
and 2007
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1588869%22]http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1588869
No need to rush into it and jump all around in the story now!
We always get to the airport early too. So afraid we might miss the plane. 
That limo sure looks nice. 
I cannot believe that everyone is ready to call it a day and that I went all the way back to the room only to get back and do well, let me see
. buy some popcorn, a set of Mickey ears and do a lot of walking. 
Not one single ride! I am thinking to myself what is wrong with these people? (grumble, grumble) I comply again, so we hop on the train back to Main Street Station and head back to our room by 7:00. UGH! When we got there, Alex was already asleep. I ordered pizza and planned to sit down to watch a pay per view movie but the darn movie wouldnt work so we had to just watch something on the regular stations. I found out that I was a lot more worn out than I thought and soon fell asleep too.
can't wait to read more
When we arrived, Alice, Peter and Mad Hatter were dragging up chairs from the tables for the game. The children began helping as they arrived. Then they announced that they were going to play Musical chairs so all the kids lined up around the chairs. Then, the piano player whose name I forgot 
, began playing little snips of songs. When a child had "lost", they escorted them up to the platform in front of the piano where they got to tell a joke or riddle. 
and the kids, as well. Anyway, when it got down to the last chair and two children, instead of leaving the chair in one place they told the children to keep their eye on THE CHAIR and then rounded up a bunch more chairs and started sliding them all around mixing them up. When the kids had sufficiently lost track of THE CHAIR 
they declared it a tie and the game ended. So much better Disney style with no losers and a single winner. 
