Ok well here goes with my very first trip report. Hopefully I will be able to do more in the future.
First here is some info about myself and my family.
First there is myself (Seth) a 37 yo father and husband. I am a HS PE teacher/ football coach and have been for 9 years now. I wouldnt say I am a Disney fanatic as I dont collect disney stuff or go crazy over disney things but I do enjoy disney and love going to DL. My favorite ride is POC (I first rode it when I was 12 and it is still my favorite). Im not a big thrill ride person but strangely enough I did enjoy tower of terror where as the others in my family hated that ride but enjoy the roller coasters.
Then there is my DW (Wendie) of 4 1/2 years. She was not a big disney fan until our DD was born but now says she is a fan. She loves the roller coasters and hates that I will not go on screamin CA with her (I dont even like walking past it). She works as a manager of a staffing agency.
Next is my 2 YO DD (Katie) who loves disney esspecially Minnie, Pooh and Donald (atleast before the trip she loved Donald). She is a ball of energy and the true General of the house. She runs everything including telling my wife and I where to sit.
And lastly there is my Father in law [FIL] (Roger, aka Grampa) who came along to see his only Grandaughter in her first visit to DL. He is a retired lake county sheriff who now lives most of the time on his sail boat in the bay. He loves to pay for any and all meals whenever we go anywhere together. (I used to argue but have given up. Now I just sneak in and grab the bill from time to time when I think he is doing too much).
Ok now the story to how we ended up planning and going on this trip. First this was the 2nd time I had been to DL with my DW but the first time was before we were married. My DW (then GF) and I first went to DL back in 2005. I won two 3-day park hopper passes on a radio show as I was driving into work one morning. We went in July (easy for me since I have the summers off) but we didnt know we would be there on the exact day of the 50th anniversary of DL opening. It was our 2nd day and I cannot believe how packed. Ok well we never really thought about going again until last year while at my brother in laws when they told us how they go every year in Jan when it is less crowded. They said we should go with them next time. We thought that was a good idea as I get some extra cash from coaching in Dec. As it turns out my brother in law exagerated about them going every year (they have only been a couple of times in Jan). They apparently forgot about our conversation as they never planned to go this Jan they said as we made our plans.
I started the actual research as far as hotels and park tickets go in Nov just to get an idea of what it would cost me. I couldnt actually pay for anything until mid Dec. I found out quickly that the DL hotels were way out of my price range so I turned to the good neighbor hotels. I settled on the only one in our price range that had openings for MLK weekend. They had a special of pay for 3 nights and get the 4th free. After looking at different sites I found this to be the best deal overall so when the money came in I booked it. The hotel was the Motel 6 Anaheim Main gate. I knew it would be a walk to the park but the price was the only thing I was really worried about. The reviews were mixed, though most of the bad ones were a few years old. About this time is when I discovered this site and started posting questions that I had (a big thanks goes out to those that helped me and gave me good ideas and advice). From posting on here I found out about Minnies breakfast at the plaza inn so I booked that about week before our trip. I also knew we had to have dinner at BB. The last time I was at DL I looked at the menu prices and said NO WAY, but being that its in POC I decided this time I was going to do it. As it happened my DW was talking to her father on the phone as I was going to make the reservation and he told her that HE was paying for our BB dinner. My wife warned him about the prices but he told her he had already eaten there before and knew all about it. Well with BB and Minnies breakfast booked the only thing left was to count the days till we left. Both my DW and myself would show our DD the DL website with all the pictures of the rides and such. She loved everything. She would tell everyone she saw that she was going to dizylan (thats the closest I can get to spelling what she would say). We told her after Christmas that we had 2 weeks until disneyland and so for the next two weeks she repeated that to everyone she saw "2 week dizyland". The rides/ attractions she seemed most excited about were Donalds boat, the "hee haw" other wise known as the carousel in Fantasy land, and of course I pushed POC on her so she would tell me she wants to see pirates.
Ok so a week before our trip I found a substitute for my work. Booked him in the cpu and everything. I had all my bases covered and was ready to go. All I had to do now was pack and leave when the time came. I had everything we needed listed out and knew exactly what, when and where I would buy the thnigs we didnt already have. Then the day before we leave (my last day of work before the trip) my sub texts me saying he has to cancel. Oh great, now mI dont have a sub. I sent my wife a text telling her we cant go now because my sub canceled (a joke of course) and she replied saying she and Katie would miss me at DL (she knew I was joking....I think). Well the way my district handles subs they will assign random people in the sub pool to jobs if no one specific is requested. This is like playing russian roulette as there are some terrible subs who cant follow directions to save their lives and then there are some great subs who do everything you ask and then some. So now I was going to be leaving my classes (and unruly students) with an unknown person. Not the best of feelings for a teacher. A quick jump ahead but the sub ended up being terrible and couldnt even follow instructions by another teacher trying to help him, and I left step by step instructions for him to follow as well). Ok now back to the trip. I wasnt going to let this ruin my excitement. We were leaving in the morning. We live near Sacramento so it was going to be a long drive. We got everything packed and into the car the night before so we wouldnt have to worry about forgetting something in the morning when we were still waking up.
Day one- The drive.
My FIL had already driven down there on his own 2 days before and was sleeping in his pick up truck. Apparently he had some things he wanted to do regarding his boat down there. We got up at 5:30 am which is our normal time for a work day. After getting ready and grabbing the last few things that we needed to bring and couldnt pack until it was time to go we were off. First stop was breakfast and then we would hit the road. Of course I had forgotten one thing that luckily I remembered when we were about a mile away so we turned back to get the Video Camera. Dont know how I didnt remember to pack THAT the night before but it happened. Luckily we remembered before we got to far away. We got on the freeway about 7:45am. The drive down was mostly uneventful. Our DD got a little restless but not too bad. Stopped three times on the way, once for gas and once for lunch and once for a potty/ diaper break. Then finally we got close. About 2:35 PM we got to our exit and WOW our hotel is litterally straight off the exit from the freeway. We pull in and go to check in. The staff was VERY nice and they looked to find us a room where we would be able to see the fire works from. Since we werent going to the parks this day I thought this would be awsome. After getting checked in without a hitch (and my FIL got there as we were checking in) we grabbed our stuff from the car and went up to the room.
edit:Whew finally got the pics to load
Thats my DW and DD in the bathroom there.
Ok so the room was nice overall but there were a couple of issues that ended up being minor. First thing we noticed when we walked in was the smell of cigarettes in the room. Not super strong like someone had just been smoking in there but very noticable. My wife thought that since it wasnt overpowering she could fix it by buying a plug in air freshner. The 2nd thing was the smoke alarm was beeping periodically. I knew from experience at home that it needed a new battery so I stopped by the front desk on one of my trips to the car while unpacking and told them about it. They were very nice and had someone there in less than 10 minutes changing the smoke alarm itself. And the last thing I didnt like were the bathroom doors. They didnt close very well and with my FIL there I wasnt going to be leaving the door open when I used the bathroom. Not to mention they were very easy for my DD to open and "surprise" grampa while in the bathroom. I did manage to fit a coat hanger over the knobs that kept the door from being opened all the way but would have preferred a regular door to the bathroom. On the positive side the room was clean (we LOVED the hard wood floors as hotel carpeting is always so disgusting even in nice upscale places). The beds were very comfortable and having two queens was perfect. DW and I in one bed and Grampa and DD in the other. The only issue with that is that 3 out of four are very loud snorers. DD snores too but its lite. But it worked out great and the snoring never was an issue as we were all passed out each night. We made a run down harbor to target to get the air freshner my wife wanted and some new batteries for grampas camera because it wasnt working. We went through the drive through at Del Taco for dinner as none of us were real hungry and we had reservations for Minnies breakfast in the morning and BB for dinner so we didnt want to spend much for food the first night there. We took the food back the the room and ate and then we all crashed about 8:30. So much for seeing the fireworks from our room, but atleast they were nice enough to give us the opportunity. Oh I almost forgot. There are no alarm clocks in the rooms so luckily I have an Iphone and have the alarm clock app so I plugged it in, turned on the alarm clock app and set the alarm for us to get up and get to the park as it opened.
Ok Now I am starting to understand why those who do trip reports take so long. When I read them I think why are spread out over several days/ weeks/ months of the OP telling what happened. Now I see why. I cant believe all that I typed and I havent even made into the parks yet. I will get day two (first day in the park) in tomorrow for sure.
First here is some info about myself and my family.
First there is myself (Seth) a 37 yo father and husband. I am a HS PE teacher/ football coach and have been for 9 years now. I wouldnt say I am a Disney fanatic as I dont collect disney stuff or go crazy over disney things but I do enjoy disney and love going to DL. My favorite ride is POC (I first rode it when I was 12 and it is still my favorite). Im not a big thrill ride person but strangely enough I did enjoy tower of terror where as the others in my family hated that ride but enjoy the roller coasters.
Then there is my DW (Wendie) of 4 1/2 years. She was not a big disney fan until our DD was born but now says she is a fan. She loves the roller coasters and hates that I will not go on screamin CA with her (I dont even like walking past it). She works as a manager of a staffing agency.
Next is my 2 YO DD (Katie) who loves disney esspecially Minnie, Pooh and Donald (atleast before the trip she loved Donald). She is a ball of energy and the true General of the house. She runs everything including telling my wife and I where to sit.
And lastly there is my Father in law [FIL] (Roger, aka Grampa) who came along to see his only Grandaughter in her first visit to DL. He is a retired lake county sheriff who now lives most of the time on his sail boat in the bay. He loves to pay for any and all meals whenever we go anywhere together. (I used to argue but have given up. Now I just sneak in and grab the bill from time to time when I think he is doing too much).
Ok now the story to how we ended up planning and going on this trip. First this was the 2nd time I had been to DL with my DW but the first time was before we were married. My DW (then GF) and I first went to DL back in 2005. I won two 3-day park hopper passes on a radio show as I was driving into work one morning. We went in July (easy for me since I have the summers off) but we didnt know we would be there on the exact day of the 50th anniversary of DL opening. It was our 2nd day and I cannot believe how packed. Ok well we never really thought about going again until last year while at my brother in laws when they told us how they go every year in Jan when it is less crowded. They said we should go with them next time. We thought that was a good idea as I get some extra cash from coaching in Dec. As it turns out my brother in law exagerated about them going every year (they have only been a couple of times in Jan). They apparently forgot about our conversation as they never planned to go this Jan they said as we made our plans.
I started the actual research as far as hotels and park tickets go in Nov just to get an idea of what it would cost me. I couldnt actually pay for anything until mid Dec. I found out quickly that the DL hotels were way out of my price range so I turned to the good neighbor hotels. I settled on the only one in our price range that had openings for MLK weekend. They had a special of pay for 3 nights and get the 4th free. After looking at different sites I found this to be the best deal overall so when the money came in I booked it. The hotel was the Motel 6 Anaheim Main gate. I knew it would be a walk to the park but the price was the only thing I was really worried about. The reviews were mixed, though most of the bad ones were a few years old. About this time is when I discovered this site and started posting questions that I had (a big thanks goes out to those that helped me and gave me good ideas and advice). From posting on here I found out about Minnies breakfast at the plaza inn so I booked that about week before our trip. I also knew we had to have dinner at BB. The last time I was at DL I looked at the menu prices and said NO WAY, but being that its in POC I decided this time I was going to do it. As it happened my DW was talking to her father on the phone as I was going to make the reservation and he told her that HE was paying for our BB dinner. My wife warned him about the prices but he told her he had already eaten there before and knew all about it. Well with BB and Minnies breakfast booked the only thing left was to count the days till we left. Both my DW and myself would show our DD the DL website with all the pictures of the rides and such. She loved everything. She would tell everyone she saw that she was going to dizylan (thats the closest I can get to spelling what she would say). We told her after Christmas that we had 2 weeks until disneyland and so for the next two weeks she repeated that to everyone she saw "2 week dizyland". The rides/ attractions she seemed most excited about were Donalds boat, the "hee haw" other wise known as the carousel in Fantasy land, and of course I pushed POC on her so she would tell me she wants to see pirates.
Ok so a week before our trip I found a substitute for my work. Booked him in the cpu and everything. I had all my bases covered and was ready to go. All I had to do now was pack and leave when the time came. I had everything we needed listed out and knew exactly what, when and where I would buy the thnigs we didnt already have. Then the day before we leave (my last day of work before the trip) my sub texts me saying he has to cancel. Oh great, now mI dont have a sub. I sent my wife a text telling her we cant go now because my sub canceled (a joke of course) and she replied saying she and Katie would miss me at DL (she knew I was joking....I think). Well the way my district handles subs they will assign random people in the sub pool to jobs if no one specific is requested. This is like playing russian roulette as there are some terrible subs who cant follow directions to save their lives and then there are some great subs who do everything you ask and then some. So now I was going to be leaving my classes (and unruly students) with an unknown person. Not the best of feelings for a teacher. A quick jump ahead but the sub ended up being terrible and couldnt even follow instructions by another teacher trying to help him, and I left step by step instructions for him to follow as well). Ok now back to the trip. I wasnt going to let this ruin my excitement. We were leaving in the morning. We live near Sacramento so it was going to be a long drive. We got everything packed and into the car the night before so we wouldnt have to worry about forgetting something in the morning when we were still waking up.
Day one- The drive.
My FIL had already driven down there on his own 2 days before and was sleeping in his pick up truck. Apparently he had some things he wanted to do regarding his boat down there. We got up at 5:30 am which is our normal time for a work day. After getting ready and grabbing the last few things that we needed to bring and couldnt pack until it was time to go we were off. First stop was breakfast and then we would hit the road. Of course I had forgotten one thing that luckily I remembered when we were about a mile away so we turned back to get the Video Camera. Dont know how I didnt remember to pack THAT the night before but it happened. Luckily we remembered before we got to far away. We got on the freeway about 7:45am. The drive down was mostly uneventful. Our DD got a little restless but not too bad. Stopped three times on the way, once for gas and once for lunch and once for a potty/ diaper break. Then finally we got close. About 2:35 PM we got to our exit and WOW our hotel is litterally straight off the exit from the freeway. We pull in and go to check in. The staff was VERY nice and they looked to find us a room where we would be able to see the fire works from. Since we werent going to the parks this day I thought this would be awsome. After getting checked in without a hitch (and my FIL got there as we were checking in) we grabbed our stuff from the car and went up to the room.
edit:Whew finally got the pics to load
Thats my DW and DD in the bathroom there.
Ok so the room was nice overall but there were a couple of issues that ended up being minor. First thing we noticed when we walked in was the smell of cigarettes in the room. Not super strong like someone had just been smoking in there but very noticable. My wife thought that since it wasnt overpowering she could fix it by buying a plug in air freshner. The 2nd thing was the smoke alarm was beeping periodically. I knew from experience at home that it needed a new battery so I stopped by the front desk on one of my trips to the car while unpacking and told them about it. They were very nice and had someone there in less than 10 minutes changing the smoke alarm itself. And the last thing I didnt like were the bathroom doors. They didnt close very well and with my FIL there I wasnt going to be leaving the door open when I used the bathroom. Not to mention they were very easy for my DD to open and "surprise" grampa while in the bathroom. I did manage to fit a coat hanger over the knobs that kept the door from being opened all the way but would have preferred a regular door to the bathroom. On the positive side the room was clean (we LOVED the hard wood floors as hotel carpeting is always so disgusting even in nice upscale places). The beds were very comfortable and having two queens was perfect. DW and I in one bed and Grampa and DD in the other. The only issue with that is that 3 out of four are very loud snorers. DD snores too but its lite. But it worked out great and the snoring never was an issue as we were all passed out each night. We made a run down harbor to target to get the air freshner my wife wanted and some new batteries for grampas camera because it wasnt working. We went through the drive through at Del Taco for dinner as none of us were real hungry and we had reservations for Minnies breakfast in the morning and BB for dinner so we didnt want to spend much for food the first night there. We took the food back the the room and ate and then we all crashed about 8:30. So much for seeing the fireworks from our room, but atleast they were nice enough to give us the opportunity. Oh I almost forgot. There are no alarm clocks in the rooms so luckily I have an Iphone and have the alarm clock app so I plugged it in, turned on the alarm clock app and set the alarm for us to get up and get to the park as it opened.
Ok Now I am starting to understand why those who do trip reports take so long. When I read them I think why are spread out over several days/ weeks/ months of the OP telling what happened. Now I see why. I cant believe all that I typed and I havent even made into the parks yet. I will get day two (first day in the park) in tomorrow for sure.
I also loved the little door picture. You're right, it's near Mr. Toad and the Hatter Shop
