What?? No More Disney?? We'll see about THAT! ~~ Trip Report Starts on Pg 2 (Post 24)

[Escape2Disney]

Since things have changed a bit since I first created this PTR, I think it's time to pull it altogether into a cohesive plan! (The stuff in blue are changes to the original plan)

Travel Dates: September 8 – September 21, 2013
Travel Method: Car
Accommodations: Friend's House in Fair Oaks, Comfort Inn in Monterey, Doubletree in Marina del Rey, and Paradise Pier Hotel
Ages Represented: Me (42), DD (19)
Disney Resort Experience: Die-hard Disneyland Veterans!


Here are some of the details:​

• September 8: Drive to Fair Oaks (with frequent stops). Hang out with my sister-from-another-mother (AKA one of my closest friends). DD and I will take her and her husband out for dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant.
  
• September 9: Take a morning tour CSUS, then have lunch with my awesome friend MR! We'll leave the Sacramento area by 2 or 3 and head to Stockton to see my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. We'll be taking them out to their favorite restaurant for dinner. After dinner, drive to Monterey.
  
• September 10: After our free breakfast at the hotel, we'll hang out on the beach for a while. At 1pm, we'll meet my friend SD at the Monterey Cookhouse for lunch. At 3 we'll go to the Tuesday Farmer's Market (oh how I miss that Farmer's Market). For dinner, we'll meet another friend KD and her son at Black Bear Diner, before meeting JG for coffee at 8pm. (Whew! I'm just tired writing it down!)
  
• September 11: We'll meet MM at our FAVORITE spot in Seaside for brunch. After stuffing ourselves, we'll visit some of our old neighborhoods before leaving the peninsula by 3pm. We'll take the coastal route south to Marina del Rey.
  
• September 12: We'll start the day at the beach. At 1pm, we'll tour Cal Arts, then make our way to Hollywood. We plan to have dinner at the Disney Soda Fountain. If we have time, we'll spend some time at the beach before heading to bed.
  
• September 13: We'll spend all day at The Getty Villa, then drive to DL in the evening. IF we have any energy, we'll check out the villans that are supposed to be out that night.
  
• September 14: Disneyland!!!! Carthay Theater Lunch, followed by WOC
  
• September 15: Goofy's Breakfast, followed by park time. We'll have dinner with our friends MM and TM at House of Blues.
  
• September 16: DL/DCA. We'll be having brunch at Carnation Cafe and dinner at Café Orleans.
  
• September 17: DL/DCA. Dinner will be at Napa Rose!
  
• September 18: DL/DCA Lunch will be at Club 33!
  
• September 19: DL/DCA in the morning, and lunch at WCT. We'll head north by 2pm.
  
• September 20: We'll be having lunch with a Mouseplanet friend in Sacramento, and dinner with 2 more friends!
  
• September 21: Morning with friends and back home in the afternoon.
  
  
  

I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to keep up the pace! Thankfully there are a few hours each day where I can hibernate if I need to rest. My wonderful friends are also willing to be flexible if needed. We may be able to add one more visit. My cousin just started her residency at UCD Med Center. If she's able to pull away from the hospital for a little bit, we'll spend time with her and her new husband.


The only thing left to confirm is Club 33. Hopefully that'll be taken care of this week!


My next task is to make the list of things we want to accomplish in DL/DCA. This is a relatively new addition to our planning binder. Each night, before we go to sleep, we review the list and mark which things have already been done. It gives us an opportunity to decide what we want to do the next day.


46 days until we leave!


51 days until DLR!!

 

[Escape2Disney]

Time sure does fly! We are leaving in 28 days (33 until we get to DISNEYLAND)! We've finalized restaurants for our non-Disney days and made all of the TS reservations at Disney. Even the Club 33 reservation has been confirmed!!



If you haven't seen my post on the other board, I called PPH to see what we could do to add special touches for DD. The fantastic CM said they'd leave her a Merida photo (signed)! She said she could do other things, but wouldn't tell me yet. She told me she has plenty of time to make a magic filled experience for DD.

A lovely DISer designed cards for DD that I can give her each day. I also decided to buy little gifts through Mouseshoppe to give her on our DLR days. Between the PPH extras, cards, and little gifts, I think she'll have a very special vacation!

That's it for now. I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!!

 

[Escape2Disney]

12 days until we leave!
17 until DISNEYLAND!!!

We're really cutting it close this time! We plan to start our adventure on the 8th. I was just told I won't be released from home health until the 6th IF everything goes well. I don't think they realize that I'm going to leave with or without their approval. Apparently I'll still have an open wound, but the nurses have been showing me how to deal with it. I don't think it'll be an issue since I'm feeling a little better every day! This is me, trying not to STRESS!

Speaking of stress, DD has been so stressed the last few months, it'll be nice to see her unwind a bit. I saw some of the worry fall away from her face when I told her we were heading to her favorite place in under the 2 weeks. It's nice to see that smile again!


Today I received the last of the little gifts in the mail (YAY for online shopping!). Now I have a card and gift to give her every day of the trip (except the last day, since it'll just be the drive home. That day it'll just be a card). Here's what she's going to get:

• Tinkerbell Magnets (set of 4)
• Mickey Magnet
• Mickey Pen
• Pooh/Piglet Visor Organizer
• Incredibles Keychain
• Toy Story Keychain
• Mickey Pewter Keyring
• Disney Window Decal (adult female)
• Book: Disney Years, Seen Through Photography (B/W photos of early Disneyland)
• Book: Hidden Mickeys
• Book: Lots To Do in Line: Disneyland
• Book: The Disneyland Book: 101 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Add WOW To Your Vacation
• Book: Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered
• Moleskin Limited Edition Mickey Mouse Pocket Ruled Notebook

The cards turned out really cute! Since I'm still having a hard time holding a pen (arthritis in my thumb), I printed the messages for the cards on clear labels, and put them inside each card. Each one is a little encouragement and/or praise to start the day off right! The gifts aren't anything huge, but I think that'll be okay. She's by no means a materialistic person - she's more touched by cards anyway!

Any suggestions on the order of the gifts? I'm stumped on this one! Should I start small, and work up to the books and visor organizer, or mix it up a bit? If I start with the pen and notebook, she'll be able to document the trip on her own, but if I start with books, it's something for her to read when we're in the hotel rooms at night. What to do, what to do??

That's all for now...

 

[Escape2Disney]

We just got home last night. It was a fantastic trip for so many reasons! I'm glad I get to write a trip report so I can relive some of the great details.



Planned:

• Leave the house by 9am
• Arrive in Fair Oaks by around 3pm
• Take friends to dinner
• Remember to call friend (MG) to make plans for Monday

What Happened:
It's funny how it's so hard to get up early on a normal day, but so very easy when it's the start of a trip! We popped out of bed with ease, and were each showered and fed before 8am. DD found the first of her cards and a pewter Mickey key chain. (For those of you that don't know, an awesome DISer made enough cards for me to give her for each day of the trip. I added a special note in each one. I also gave her a small gift each day)

With the car completely packed two days before, we hit the road by 9:30am, unbelievably excited! We were actually going! I hooked up the iPod to the BOOM speaker, so we could listen to the first of many audio books I downloaded for the trip. I couldn't believe the amount of stuff we packed! Sure, it was all necessary, but I found myself wondering how we manage to reduce it all to two carry-on bags and a suitcase when flying. I looked around our minivan and saw this:

Sheesh! We have a lot of stuff! Ironically enough, we needed it all.

DD was so great! This was the first road trip where she was the driver. She settled into the monotony with ease, carefully watching her speed to avoid the unbelievable number of police cars on the road. I kid you not, we saw no less than a dozen patrol officers – most of them in the process of writing tickets. We made it to Yreka (approx. 65 miles) before needing to make the first stop.

We had breakfast before we left, but it had zero protein, and was eaten way too early. We decided to stop at a local diner to split huevos rancheros. After this second breakfast, DD was energized, and I was exhausted. She climbed into the driver seat, while I stretched out in the back. It only took a few seconds for me to fall asleep.

I woke to find us parked at a park. It took me a second to remember that we planned to stop in Shasta to collect water for the headwaters of the Sacramento river. If you haven't done this before, I highly recommend taking the time for the short detour. It's by far the freshest, tastiest water I've had in a long time! We filled 6 large containers (enough for the rest of our trip), then continued traveling south.

Normally, I'm what you'd call a commando traveler. I take great joy in shaving time off the travel time. This trip was different – we took our time, stopping whenever the mood hit (or the muscles screamed for a little exercise). We were so happy to start our trip, that we worried about nothing. It certainly is a gift to simply enjoy the moment!

We arrived in Fair Oaks a few minutes before 5, and chatted with our friends for a bit before heading to an Indian restaurant in Roseville. For those of you in the area, it's in the same parking lot as Trader Joe's. I can't remember the name of the place though. We were all very hungry, and ended up with 5 dishes and two large appetizers. We didn't come close to finishing everything! Our friends were grateful for the stacks of leftovers.

I mentioned before how their house feels like a second home for DD and I. It was so nice to sit up talking about everything from spirituality to DD's college aspirations. Eventually we each went to our perspective beds, looking forward to the next morning when we'd pick the conversation up where we left off.

As I laid there waiting for sleep, I got a little sad that we didn't plan more time here. Thankfully we did get to see them for a few days at the end of the trip (but more about that later).

I'm pretty sure I dreamed of Disney when I finally dozed off!



Highlights:

• We were FINALLY on our way!
• We took our time, enjoying the scenery.
• DD loved her card and key chain.
• We got to spend time with friends.

Challenges:

• We both were in a bit of pain from the long car ride.
• We were sad the time went so fast!

 

[ttig34]

Nice start. Like your doggie.

 

[Escape2Disney]

Nice start. Like your doggie.

Thanks!

 

[Escape2Disney]

Planned:

• Hang out at the house in the morning
• Go to lunch with a friend (MR)
• Go to Stockton to visit with my brother and his family
• Drive to Monterey

What Happened:
We had the opportunity to sleep in as long as we needed, and DD did. She was so happy to just wake normally instead of to an obnoxious alarm clock. I on the other hand, was wide awake before dawn. I didn't feel sleepy at all, so I sat up and watched the sunrise over the mountains. It was a beautiful view! It was nice to just enjoy the beauty uninterrupted.

The natural light flooded the living room where I sat. I'm assuming it also peeked through the windows in the room where DD slept, and she woke soon after. The friends woke up one by one and joined us in the living room where we chatted for a couple of hours before we decided it was time to get ready and face the day. It was then that I realized I hadn't set out her card and gift! I decided to sneak it into the room and place it on her clothes. This time, it was a little Mickey moleskin notebook, with a card featuring Dumbo. It started to dawn on her that this might be a daily surprise on the trip. Our conversation went something like this:

• DD: Thanks mom! I love this Mickey notebook!
• ME: No problem, honey! I'm glad you like it!
• DD: Okay, I do have a question though.
• ME: What's that?
• DD: I get how you got the card and key chain out without me seeing on the first day [at home]. What I can't figure out is how you got the gift(s) HERE. I packed the car, and have rearranged it more than once. Where the heck did you put these things??
• ME: I'm not telling
• DD just giggled and said thanks again.

After getting ready, DD spent some time reading, while I, of course, fell asleep. Thankfully I woke up naturally with enough time to get ready for our lunch with MR. We put our things back in the van, and headed to a late lunch at Chili's.

MR and I worked together years ago, and have been friends since she took a phone message for me on my first day of work.. DD and I thoroughly enjoyed our much-too-short visit. We said goodbye with promises to try to squeeze in another short visit on our way home. Then we were once again on the road. Our next stop was my brother's house.

We left Fair Oaks a little earlier than planned, but it worked out wonderfully. We missed the worst of rush hour traffic (which made DD VERY grateful since she was still the official driver!). We arrived at around 4, which gave us some time to visit before heading to the restaurant. We heard all about my niece's softball team, my nephew's football team, and all sorts of other activities they enjoyed. Wanting to be a cool aunt, I slipped them each a $20 bill with instructions to get something fun for themselves.

At a little before 6, we headed to Rubio's for dinner. DD and I were still pretty full from lunch, so it took us a while to finish our meals. We later discussed splitting most meals since so many of our visits revolve around food.

The visit was lighthearted and fun! We talked about searching our ancestry for a while. After comparing what each of us knew, it seems we have royalty, bandits, and mass murderers in our family lines. We discussed continuing the search to see what else might appear!

We don't get to see them nearly enough, so it was a special treat to get all of these very busy people at the same table. Short visits seemed to be a theme on this trip, so we had to say goodbye a little before 7 so my brother could drop his family off at home before going to a meeting for work.

By 7:30, we were back on the freeway, heading toward Monterey. We took a different route than usual. In the past, we'd take 5 to Pacheco Pass then through Hollister. This time, we cut over to San Jose, then connected to the 101, 156, then 1. It was a pleasant ride, and we'll likely go this way again if we ever drive down there again.

By 10:15, we were checked into the Comfort Inn on Munras Avenue in Monterey. The place was a bit dated, but very clean and well maintained. Here are a few photos of the room before we brought in everything from the car.

For people who travel with dogs, it's a nice place to stay. They require a $25 pet fee, but that was waived for me since my pup is a service dog. There's a dog relief area on property, which saved us from needing to cross a busy street to get to the park. The staff was very friendly and helpful. At under $100 per night, it's a great value for such an expensive area.

Highlights:

• We loved everyone we got to see!
• Everything seemed to happen as scheduled.
• DD and I were getting more relaxed every day!
• We were relieved to find our 'cheap' motel turned out to be clean, comfortable, and very pet friendly.

Challenges:
I pushed it a little too much that day, and paid for it that evening. It was a reminder that I needed to take it easier from then on. Hopefully I'd learned my lesson so the pattern doesn't continue during the rest of the trip!

 

[Escape2Disney]

Planned:

• Wake up super early and go to the wharf and beach
• Have lunch with an old friend (SD)
• Go to Farmer's Market
• Have dinner at Black Bear Diner with KB and her son DB.
• Meet JG for coffee
• Get a good night's sleep

What Happened:
Well, getting up early proved to be difficult since I was up all night tending to my very painful body. I spent the night before getting up at least once an hour to try to stretch out the muscle spasms. I finally dozed off at 5am. I slept solidly until 7:30 before just getting up to start the day. DD and I got ready fairly quickly. I still wasn't moving much, so DD graciously agreed to grab some food from the free breakfast provided by the hotel. They offered hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, sausage, toast, yogurt, waffles, muffins, and cereal. To drink, they had tea, coffee, apple juice, orange juice, and water. Not bad for a less than $100/night!

As DD showered, I managed to sneak her card and gift onto the bathroom counter. The card included a decoder for the Indiana Jones experience. The gift was a book about the magic in Disneyland.

We took our time getting ready, and left the room at around 9am. We decided to head to the wharf since it was so close. DD and I took a lot of pictures and shopped in the nearly empty stores.

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7655&d=1380226058

We bought a few things. DD got some fishing net to use as a holder for some of her Disney sketches. She also picked up a post card to send to a friend, and a couple of other trinkets. I got a couple of small gifts for my mom and sister. We continued to browse through the shops until it was time to get back in the car and head to lunch with my friend SD.

We previously decided to meet at one of her favorite restaurants Monterey Cookhouse. We all enjoyed our meal and the conversation. I've known SD for over 30 years, but haven't seen her in person for a couple of years. It was nice to catch up. As usual, we wished there was more time to visit, but we were grateful to spend the time we had.

After saying a see you later to SD, we headed back to the hotel for a rest. My service dog and I were snoring within minutes. DD said she was entertained by the impromptu nasal symphony. Once we woke up, it was time to head to you guessed it another meal with another friend (seeing a pattern yet?) We headed to Black Bear Diner to meet KB and her son DB. DB is severely autistic. I was worried that it would stress DD (she's only mildly autistic). I'd met him before, and know that he's got a huge heart! I was just worried that his outbursts would stress DD since loud, unpredictable behavior makes her a bit agitated. I remember thinking it was ironic that our kids had something in common that could make it harder for them to get along.

Thankfully my worries were unnecessary. He's still the sweetest boy! Even though he has limited vocabulary, and has a lot of stemming behavior, we quickly realized he was loving DD! He would smile in her direction, try to share his video with her, gave her kisses on the cheek, and generally tried to impress her for the entire visit! His mom was just awestruck - she'd never seen him act that way. DD was a good sport. She kept smiling and engaged in conversations with KB and I.

After dinner, we decided to head to Farmer's Market. Every Tuesday afternoon/evening, a fantastic multi-block market filled with fruits, veggies, and locally produced crafts and other items. We were half way through the market when we realized Tracie and I were running late! We were due to meet another friend for coffee. We said a hasty goodbye to KB and DB, hoping they would one day soon come visit us up north.

We quickly made our way to our favorite coffee shop in the area, only to find it'd closed an hour earlier. Thankfully my friend JG was flexible. We met at a nearby Starbucks. We chatted as if no time had passed. It wasn't long until we closed the place down! Once again, saying goodbye was tough, but we made plans for her to come see us in Oregon.

Here's where I'd like to take this a little off topic. Having a chronic, life altering disease really can be a blessing. Very quickly, you find out who your friends are. I've found myself purging friends who just couldn't get that I can't drop everything and do things sometimes that my body decides when I have enough energy to do anything. Isn't because I'm lazy. I'd LOVE to go on camping trips, concerts, and long hikes. Unfortunately some things are now impossible, and there are times when I'm hit with infections and other medical emergencies with no warning. To be my friend is to know that I'll do my best to be there for you, but sometimes need to put my health first.

My true friends were the ones that understood I needed space when I first got home from the hospital. They were the ones who got that I might need to get off the phone quickly, or that I may not answer at all. They never made me feel guilty for doing what I had to do. EVERYONE we saw on this trip are part of a group of TRUE friends. Reminiscing and catching up with these friends was truly a highlight of the trip!

Now back to the report...

We didn't get back to the room until 11:45pm. DD and my service dog were both sound asleep by 12:15am. I, on the other hand, needed some time to wind down. Thankfully we didn't have anything to do until 10:30 the next morning, so the late night wasn't a big deal.

Highlights:

• Reconnecting with awesome friends!
• Visiting my favorite farmer's market

Challenges:
The pain was really hard to control that day. I managed to smile and pretend all was good, but doing that makes me very tired.
I worried these pain filled days would be the norm. Were they? You'll just have to read along and see!

We started regretting our decision to only stay 2 nights.

 

[tlovesdis]

joining in! can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[Escape2Disney]

joining in! can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Glad you're joining in!! I should post a bit more sometime tonight.

 

[Escape2Disney]

Planned:

• Enjoy the free hotel breakfast early in the morning
• Meet MM at The Breakfast Club for a late brunch
• See a few more places we used to visit when living there over a decade ago
• Head out toward Marina del Rey by mid afternoon
• Have dinner on the road
• Check into the Doubletree in Marina del Rey

What Happened:
We once again enjoyed the hotel breakfast. When at home, I have a healthy cereal with soy or rice milk, a cup of decaf, and a homemade smoothie with Greek yogurt, veggies, protein powder, and soy milk. These things weren't available during the free breakfast, so I just HAD to try their awesome blueberry waffles. Sure I felt guilty for indulging, but that was quickly replaced by a carb and sugar high. I only ate one since it was really early (7:30am), and we were planning to meet MM at the Breakfast Club for brunch at 10:30.

Between our 'first' breakfast, showering, and packing the car, we left the hotel late. Thankfully MM also left her home late, so we made it to the restaurant at about the same time. If you're ever in the Monterey Peninsula, I'd suggest trying this restaurant. It's a local favorite! Just know that on the weekends, people willingly stand in line outside for an hour to wait for a seat. The restaurant provides free coffee while you wait. I love the place, but wouldn't wait in a line like that unless it's for a Disney ride! Instead, we eat at off hours and on weekdays. Their food is very fresh and quick, the service is great, and we don't have that heavy feeling you can get if you eat greasy breakfast foods. Nothing here is greasy at all! MM and I chose the chicken enchilada omelet, and DD got a tuna melt. We all loved our choices.

After promises to visit soon, we said goodbye to another friend.

Before we headed out of the parking lot, I asked DD what one thing did she want to do before we left the peninsula. I was surprised at her answer she wanted to tour CSUMB. If you've been following along, you'll know that DD has been talking me out of the college tours lately. Now she's taking the initiative. That's a great sign!

We got there and apparently all tours are at 11am. No worries though! Being an alumni, I gave her a quick tour, and we talked to a few student employees at the alumni center. The school isn't on her short list, but I'm glad she's finally starting to get that she has endless possibilities!

CSUMB DORMS

We hoped to stop at one of the beaches in the area, but realized we needed to start our journey south as soon as possible. We decided to take the coastal route (which I have never done before). We had no idea how long it'd take, so we left at 3 hoping we'd get to the hotel at 9pm. Well, with all of the beautiful views, we stopped at least a dozen times to take pictures. It was around 7pm when we finally stopped for dinner at the Ragged Point Inn.

It was a pleasant surprise! A bit pricy, but unique flavor combinations. We finished at sunset, and captured a few pictures near the shore.

We were both tired when we got in the car to finish that day's journey. Unfortunately, we had quite a bit of driving in front of us. I couldn't drive because I'd taken my medications for the night, so poor DD was fighting to keep her eyes open! My new job was to stay awake (much harder than it seems), and help her stay aware. She did great!

We pulled into the hotel at around 1am. Tired, sore, and ready to collapse, we checked in and were sound asleep by 2am.

Highlights:

• Visiting MM
• Touring my old college with DD
• Stopping to take pictures all day
• Great dinner (huge surprise)

Challenges:

• We used Google maps to determine our coastal route. They were WAY off on how long it would take! Even without the stops, it would have been at least an hour and a half difference.
• We were both so exhausted!

 

[Escape2Disney]

Planned:

• Take our time getting up in the morning
• Enjoy breakfast (brought from home)
• Have lunch near Valencia
• Tour Cal Arts
• Visit Hollywood
• Have dinner at the Disney Soda Fountain

What Happened:
Waking up this day was more than just a challenge – it was nearly impossible! The alarm went off and we both scrambled to knock it to the floor. I fought to keep my eyes open, but eventually relented and fell back into a fitful sleep. Every time I fell asleep, DD would wake me. When I managed to keep my eyes open for a short time, I'd wake her up. As you can probably guess, this wasn't very successful.

DD and I get along famously UNLESS we're both tired and feeling rushed. We bickered right up until we arrived at Cal Arts. The problem was compounded by us both being hungry. My sister calls this phenomenon “hangry” (hungry and angry). Two hangry people in LA traffic made for a difficult morning!

We were rushing, trying to get to Cal Arts by 1pm so we could go on the campus tour. After checking the online map, it would take us an hour to get there. We left the room at 11:45 and hadn't grabbed anything for lunch. This, unfortunately, was an omen for the rest of the day.

We got to the College with a few minutes to spare. We were greeted by a snarky receptionist who rolled her eyes, exasperated, and informed us that tours ALWAYS start at NOON. When we'd looked up tour information a few months ago, the site listed the tour at 1pm (I was either wrong here, or it'd been recently changed). Regardless, we missed the tour. DD and I wandered a bit, impressed with the hundreds of references to Walt Disney and his family. Eventually we decided to meet with an Admissions Counselor.

DD had great questions for him, and the counselor provided her some useful guidance. By the time the interview was over, DD had decided the school just wasn't for her. She made the decision based on what the school had to offer, and if it would provide the guidance she'd need for her future degree. She did take all of the literature so she could review it later, but kept saying it wasn't what she thought it would be. I'm glad she's thinking so critically about her choices, and wasn't swayed by prestige. Wherever she ends up, she will have gotten there through a very thoughtful process. I'm not going to lie - part of me was relieved we didn't have the $50k/year pricetag hanging over our heads!

Once the school visit was over, we stopped for lunch at a Panda Express nearby. The food was fair, and we sat and relaxed long enough to feel a bit better about the day. Then we headed out for the second part of our day – Hollywood. Let me start by saying I should have listened to all of you fine folks before planning this part of the trip. We'd never been, so decided to go just once to give it a chance. Looking back, we should have stuck with museums!

We arrived and parked in the garage across from the El Capitan. Our first mission was to find a bathroom. For anyone else who will be visiting – the bathrooms are on the 3rd floor. This little nugget of information would have saved us a lot of aggravation! Next we headed up a couple of floors to take a picture of the Hollywood sign and the elephants.

We then headed downstairs to venture across the street. Lots of interesting characters! One man was dressed as Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp's version), and a woman was dressed as a playboy bunny. There were also quite a few power rangers, and various other 'characters'. We took a few pictures of the stars on the walk of fame, but didn't feel like taking too many because it was crowded and people were being pretty pushy. I did get the money shot of my service dog next to Snow White's star though!

Jungle Book was playing for one night only, so I bought tickets for the 7pm show. We went to Disney Soda Fountain for some ice cream and shopping.

I got some great little books and a Mickey plush for my grandson, and a Jack pin for a gift exchange. (No AP discount at this location) We wandered a bit more, but I found myself thinking I'd rather just go back to the hotel! I didn't want to rush DD, so I slapped a smile on my face. Ironically, DD came out of a shop and looked at me with a sad face.

ME: What's wrong?
DD: Is it horrible that I'd rather just go hang out in the room?
ME: Thank GOODNESS!! I was thinking the same thing!

We tried to return the movie tickets, but they were non refundable. Instead we gave them to a nice couple we met. They said if their group didn't want to go, they would find a nice family that could use them. It was nice to pay it forward!

Feeling a little let down by the day, we rushed back to the car. Thankfully we don't stay in funky moods for long. We had a blast with my defective GPS app on my phone! This crazy program had us going through neighborhood after neighborhood in an effort to get back to Marina del Rey. Eventually I just looked at the map and ignored the instructions from the machine. It took over an hour to get back, but we were laughing most of the time. That is the thing I treasure most about my relationship with my daughter - we truly can laugh at anything! It says a lot that driving in crazy traffic with a possessed map was more fun than Hollywood!

Back at the hotel, we went to the restaurant in the lobby and picked up dinner to eat in our room. DD and I talked about the day and decided it was an unexpected success. She was able to see her dream school for what it was – a great program, but not necessarily the right program for her. She decided to consider the school for her Master's program, but had no interest in completing her Bachelor's there. We had a great talk about what she was looking for in a program. When we got home, we started researching schools once again to find something that met her requirements.

Highlights:

• Despite all of the craziness, we still ended the day with laughter and smiles!
• We did get to go to Disney Soda Fountain which was cute!
• DD wasn't interested in the prestige of going to the most expensive school in her field. She was more interested in finding a school that met ALL of her needs. She was willing to say NO to a school that has been her dream for years. To me, that shows character.

Challenges:

• Waking up late and driving somewhere unfamiliar is NOT fun. (Making the best of it eventually can be fun though)
• Hollywood was far less entertaining than we thought it would be (I know – I was told this before we went! I should learn to listen)
• The exhaustion was catching up to me. I didn't tell DD, but I was starting to worry what would happen if I didn't slow down. I made a mental note to do whatever I had to in order to stay healthy for the duration!

 

[Escape2Disney]

Planned:

• Have breakfast in the room
• Get to the Getty Villa by 10am
• Leave Marina del Rey by 2pm to head for Disneyland!
• Pick up groceries at Trader Joe's
• Share an awesome pizza at CPK
• Depending on crowds, we MAY go into the parks after dinner. If not, hang out in DTD for a bit.

What Happened:
Well, this day didn't go exactly as planned! It honestly felt a bit like a Laurel and Hardy sketch. We woke up on time, but it took longer to pack the car than we anticipated. We didn't leave until 9:30. Since the GPS said it'd take 20 minutes to get to the Getty Villa, we were relieved! We'd get there on time for sure! With the traffic on PCH, it actually took 45 minutes, but thankfully they didn't seem to mind that we were late for our reservation.

The museum was beautiful! DD loves antiquities, so this place was right up her alley. We enjoyed the entire first floor before we started getting hungry. We decided to split a caprese sandwich at the little cafe on the second floor. The food was great, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I ate a quarter of a sandwich when I had to stop. We were there for a little over three hours before I started getting really sick.

I tried to ignore the problem, but DD knows me too well. I made a valiant attempt to manage the upset stomach and chills without disrupting the day. Unfortunately, it just got worse. I reluctantly agreed that we should probably leave and head for Anaheim. I felt so bad! DD had really been looking forward to this museum. True to form, she wasn't at all upset. We made plans to stay near the Getty on the next trip and give ourselves a couple of days to go through it all at a slower pace.

The frustrating part of all of this is I knew exactly what was wrong with me. I also knew the only solution was a round of antibiotics. As soon as we started driving away from Malibu, I called my doctor and asked that they call a script into Walgreens. By calling it in to that pharmacy, I could have it transferred to an Anaheim location. The doctor agreed. Unfortunately the script wouldn't be available until the next day.

Anyway, we left Malibu, and I asked DD where the camera was (so I could take pictures of the ocean). She said it was in a black bag. We had 4 black bags, so I asked her to pull over so we could look. We searched for a half hour – looking in every bag and under every seat. No camera. The last time I remembered seeing it was at the hotel on the bed. We took a detour to head back to the hotel in Marina del Rey. They looked in lost and found and in the room we checked out of earlier. No luck. They offered to send someone else to look, and we took them up on the offer. I was starting to get really sad – not so much about the camera, but all of the lost pictures!

I headed to the bathroom, and when I came back, DD was grinning ear to ear. She found the camera...in her purse. Normally it would have annoyed me to no end that we'd wasted nearly 2 hours looking for something we had all along. This time I thanked the hotel staff and gave DD a hug – grateful everything turned out okay.

Now if you're calculating time in your head, you know that it's now almost 4:00. We hit the freeway during rush hour! I was feeling pretty crummy and dealing with a fair amount of pain. I decided to ask DD to pull the car over so I could climb in the back of the van and go to sleep. She was a little nervous about driving without guidance, but I reminded her that she's a good driver. I told her not to worry about how crowded things were. I told her to “ignore how busy things were. Focus on the cars around you (up to 3 car lengths ahead, behind, and on each side).”

Now, here I can let you in on one of my obnoxious parenting techniques. DD has lots of anxiety with her autism. Anytime she needs to try something new (or a bit scary), she gets stuck in the “I can't” mentality. If she can't pull herself past that thought, I usually guide her into a situation where she has no choice but to try. For example, when she was afraid to get on the highway, I told her that I took a pain pill right before she needed to get to karate (something she loves dearly). I didn't actually take the pill, but she didn't know that. When it was time to leave, I said “Oh no! I'm sorry, honey, I had to take a pain pill. I can't drive! If you want to go, you'll need to drive!” The desire to get to karate was stronger than her fear of driving. Worked like a charm ;-)

Me getting in the back to sleep off this sickly feeling was a great idea for two reasons. 1) I really did need to lay down and 2) She really wanted to get to Anaheim. If she didn't drive, she'd have to wait for me to wake up. Needless to say she did it, and did it well! She wasn't happy about it at first, but was very proud of herself for driving in such a 'scary' place.

We arrived at Paradise Pier at around 6pm. Robert, the bell hop who helped us in December, was the one to greet us. He actually remembered us! I was impressed that he not only knew who we were, but recognized that I'd cut my hair (much shorter than during our last trip). He also inquired about my mom (who was on our last trip, but not with us this time). With the hundreds of people he sees a day, that's impressive.

Now as some of you know, I'd talked to a CM a couple of months ago to arrange some surprises for DD. I was sad to discover she didn't actually follow through on any of the things she promised. By the time we got there, she was already gone for the weekend, so I just chalked it up to less than stellar service from the one CM. We were given room 500. It had a view of the pool (if you looked down) and a view of Screamin and the Ferris wheel (if you looked up). The room was at the end of the hall, so we only had neighbors to one side. The room had a roll in shower, which proved to be essential during this trip. Being an accessible room, there was no sofa. Since it was just the two of us, that was just fine.

We had just enough time to put a few things away before heading out to Gardenwalk. DD and I were meeting friends at CPK for dinner. I was still feeling very sick to my stomach, but decided to go to dinner anyway. We hadn't seen them since December, so we ended up sitting there for over 2 1/2 hours! We could see the line of cars heading toward the parks, and were glad we decided to stay out of the parks for the night. We'd lost track of the time. Unfortunately my service dog let us know what time it was – firework time!

My service dog is absolutely amazing. He can tell me when I'm getting sick, pick things up, carry things, and help pull my wheelchair when needed. For that reason, we don't really worry about his one little issue....he's terrified of fireworks! Since we only see fireworks at the parks, we don't worry too much about that. Our plan was to have him in the room (and in his crate) before the show started. We couldn't even hear them when he started pulling in an effort to run off!

Thankfully one of our friends was a very tall, muscular man. He scooped the dog up in his arms and carried him to the car. As soon as we got to the car, I set an alarm on my phone for 45 minutes before the fireworks shows both Saturday and Sunday. That way we'd have plenty of time to get back to the room with time to spare.

We said goodbye to our friends with plans to connect with them again before we headed home. We got back to the room at around 10:30. We finished unpacking. By midnight, we were all snoring.

Highlights:

• Going to the Getty Villa
• Seeing our Friends
• The doc was willing to call in a script so I didn't have to camp out at Urgent Care

Challenges: Driving/riding in LA

• Feeling sick all day
• Stressing the poor dog! We honestly didn't know how late it was. As a result, we made more solid plans to have him somewhere else when the booms started going off!

Here was the question of the day: How long could I keep going while waiting for the antibiotics to kick in??

 

[Escape2Disney]

Planned:

• Breakfast in the room
• Tour Disneyland until lunch
• Counter service lunch
• Take a mid-day break in the room
• Dinner at Carthay Theater (WOC)
• Go to WOC

What Happened:
Walgreens didn't have my medication ready until 9:30am this morning, so we decided to postpone our entry into the park. DD, feeling much more confident about driving around Anaheim, said she would go pick up the meds and a couple of things from the store while I got up and got ready in the room.

I got ready and promptly fell back to sleep. When I woke an hour later, DD was still gone. I called her and found out that Walgreens was taking longer than anticipated. She made it back to the room by 11, and we immediately headed to the parks. We decided to head to DCA. We started in DCA in December as well. It was odd to head to the new park when we hadn't stepped into DL yet. I was beginning to wonder if this would be our new tradition.

Our first stop was to pick up our PP+. The crowds were manageable, so we decided to hit a few rides before heading to lunch. I know people don't tend to like Monster's Inc., but it's one of our favorites! On this trip, it was our first ride (10 minute wait). No matter which park we're in, we tend to start with dark rides. To me, they are just classic Disney. I know, Monster's Inc. is Pixar, not Disney. We love both companies, so no problem for us. Our next stop was LFT with a 10 minute wait, then TSMM with a posted wait of 25 minutes, but in reality it was around a 40 minute wait. We wanted to be sure to get on this one early and often since it was due to close on Monday.

At this point it was almost 12:30. We decided to eat lunch at Paradise Grill. We really enjoyed the dishes here in December, but this time found they used way too much seasoning. Hopefully that was just a fluke.

Side Note: My service dog was doing fantastic on the rides! He made a little noise when the Screamin cars passed overhead, but eventually ignored them like he should. He sounded like he had a bit of a cold though, so I kept a close eye on him.

After lunch we grabbed Soarin fast passes. While we waited for our time slot, DD rode GRR while I shopped in the little store next to the ride. I found a cute pair of Croc flip-flops. I used to have a pair of green and orange ones, but have since worn them out. This time we found pink and gray ones. I instantly kicked off the uncomfortable shoes I was wearing and replaced them with my new purchase.

Once I had my fill of the store, the pup and I waited outside and relaxed until DD came off the ride. The girl was SOAKED and smiling from ear to ear! Yes, these are the moments that really make the trip wonderful! We wandered through a couple of stores before heading back to Soarin. We were a few minutes early, but they let us in anyway. We took turns riding and as usual, the ride was loved! I couldn't help but smile during the ride as I remembered how much my mom loved it when we brought her on the trip with us in December. Every time we'd pass the ride, she'd say I could do that one again!

Between the rides and zig-zagging the park, we realized it was nearly 3:00. I was exhausted and felt a little punchy. I could feel my body just melting, and I knew a break was in order. I told DD that I was going to head back to the room. She decided to come too and do some laundry while I slept. (It's so nice that she is willing to do these things without being asked!) We made it back to the room by 3:30, and by 4 I was sound asleep. DD got some of the laundry done, but planned to do more once we got back to the room for the night.

I woke up with a start at 5:15, remembering we had a reservation at CCT. DD showed up a few minutes later, and we scrambled to get ready. My pup was still snoring, obviously worn out from the heat and busy morning. I decided to let him rest in the crate while we headed back to DCA. Our timing was a little off. We were merely a few feet from the restaurant entrance, but couldn't get there because the parade was in full force, making it's way down the street. I started to stress a bit (people were bumping into me left and right, AND I don't like being late). Just when I started planning alternative paths, the parade was over and we were able to get there with about a minute to spare.

We'd never eaten there before, but have read a ton of reviews. Honestly it was much better than the reviews reflected. We had fantastic service, and the food was tasty! I had the tomato soup, salmon and lemon cake. DD had the salad, risotto, and lemon cake. We liked it a lot, and made a mental note to eat here again in the future.

We were given tickets to the early WOC show. It was 7:30pm when we left the restaurant, and it was suggested we show up for WOC by 8:45. That wasn't really enough time to head to DL, so we decided to stay in DCA until the show. We rode Luigi's and Little Mermaid again to kill time. We also wandered a bit just taking in the sites. The time went quickly, and we made it to our spots with time to spare.

In December, we did the WOC dining package through WCT. The viewing area was fantastic close enough to see all of the details on the water, yet we didn't get too wet when the jets sprayed water toward the audience. I was really surprised that the location for CCT weren't nearly as good. Sure, they were right in the middle, but with nothing but tall people in front of us on the lower platforms, we found seeing the effects on the water was impossible. Instead we focused on the awe that is WOC. It's turning into a must-do for me.

After the show, it was clear that my body had ENOUGH! DD and I headed back to the room where I promptly fell asleep. DD was kind enough to finish the laundry before heading for bed herself.

Highlights:

• While visiting with people is great, it was nice to have a day that was just the two of us.
• We got a surprising number of rides done. I thought it would have been much less given the late start and mid-day break.
• Carthay Theater was just so beautiful inside! Pictures don't do it justice.
• I found a very comfortable pair of shoes!
• Thankfully, being sick didn't slow me down too much.

Challenges:

• I'm was still getting very tired quickly, but was hopeful that the antibiotics would do the trick.

 

[Sisa]

Love your TR so far and really like the highlights and challenges after each day. Sounds like you and your daughter are making some great memories. Can't wait to read more.

 

[ttig34]

No fun being sick at Disneyland, but sounds like you are hanging in there so far.
Dog sounds likes trooper, too. What is his name?

 

[Escape2Disney]

Love your TR so far and really like the highlights and challenges after each day. Sounds like you and your daughter are making some great memories. Can't wait to read more.

Thanks! Memories are what it's all about for us. I'm glad you're reading along!

No fun being sick at Disneyland, but sounds like you are hanging in there so far.
Dog sounds likes trooper, too. What is his name?

You're right - it's not fun being sick at Disneyland, but I'm unfortunately getting to be a pro at it. Thankfully we were able to deal with it quickly this time.

My dog is awesome! His name is George. You'll see further in this report though, that he may have to retire early.

 

[Escape2Disney]

Planned:

• Have breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen
• Tour the parks
• Take a mid-day break
• Dinner at HofB with Tim and Maureen
• Either spend some more time in the parks, or head back to the room

What Happened:
First, a bit of history. We'd visited Goofy's Kitchen twice before. The first was Thanksgiving Dinner, and the other was the very next year for lunch. Our first visit was fantastic! Lots of character interactions, great service, and good food. We liked it so much that it was the first reservation we made for the next year. Unfortunately, that follow-up visit was awful. We were at the table for 90 minutes, and only saw one character (other than the pose with Goofy when we entered). Service was slow (no plates were cleared, etc.). The food was good, but not worth nearly $40.

This year, we decided to give the restaurant another chance. ANY place can have an off day, and I thought it was unfair to judge a place by that. We made reservations for 8:55am with high hopes.

Unfortunately, things weren't as they should have been. There were 6 characters making their way through the building, but for some reason only 2 made it to our table. Our whole section had two families other than us, and we all seemed to be overlooked by the character handlers. We waited for an hour, and our section remained quiet for a while. We finally talked to the staff at the front of the restaurant, and were told that it was basically the luck of the draw. We decided to leave.

DD and I discussed it, and decided we'll likely stick with Minnie and Friends and Storytellers. If we want a change, Mickey's breakfast is also an option. We like the food and the interaction at Mickey's, but DD really doesn't like the buzz from the florescent lights. (None of us have ever heard it but her). She seems to do well in the back of the restaurant apparently the sound is around the food.

After breakfast, we went back to the room for a bit. Both DD and I woke up tired and needed a little bit of a rest. We relaxed for about an hour, then headed into DISNEYLAND for the first time on this trip! We met up with a DIS DIVA, Michelle, and her family. We wanted to start at Pirates, but found it was down. No worries we headed to Fantasyland. Peter Pan had a huge line for the HA access, and my chair wouldn't make it through the regular line,so we went on Storybook, then Alice. The kids all went on Matterhorn while Michelle and I were on Alice. Next, DD, Michelle and I went on IASW while Michelle's daughter and her friend went to Toon Town. We planned to go to Mickey and the Magical Map together, but the girls wanted Michelle to meet them in Toon Town. We said our goodbyes with a tentative plan to call her later in the week.

DD and I saw the show and loved it! It's nice to see the theater being used for shows again. I hope to see the trend continue. Wouldn't it be nice to have a lot more shows in the parks?

My service dog had been getting hot off and on, but was able to be cooled down with a little water. We bought a fan/sprayer to help him as well. After the show he started to look uncomfortable, so I decided to take him back to the room. As we made our way to the Monorail to take him back to the room. We stopped in a shady spot so I could pull his water bowl out of my bag, and some lady started yelling at me because he was panting. <Sigh> I understand she was just trying to do the right thing, but didn't really need to be treated that way! I'd NEVER hurt my pup intentionally, and couldn't exactly teleport him back to the room, or snap to make the bowl appear. We got there as quickly as we could. I hate that someone thought I'd be that mean, but had to let it go. As soon as we got back to the hotel, he seemed much more comfortable. He wasn't warm to the touch, but I wet him down in the room just in case, and he quickly fell asleep.

Instead of heading back to the park, I chose to stay and take a nap. DD went back to DCA to ride Screamin. We agreed to be in DTD at 4:30, where our friends would be meeting us for an early dinner at House of Blues. My service dog stayed in the room since the temperature outside was still warm, and I didn't want him to overdo it.

We had a wonderful dinner with our friends and had great conversation. It was a quick visit which made me a bit sad, but am happy I'll see them in February when I go on the DIVA trip.

After dinner, DD and I did some shopping in World of Disney, then headed for Disneyland. We finally got our ride on Pirates (YAY!) As we neared the end of the ride, we came to a dead spot with 8 other boats. We sat there for a while, and silently thought we'd need to evacuate. Thankfully the boats started moving again after about 10 minutes, so no back stage pictures! We then went by HMH, but decided not to ride since the line was extending way past the gate and down to French Market. Instead, we took a tour of Winnie the Pooh's dream. Our last ride of the night was Jungle Cruise. We had a good skipper, and enjoyed our night cruise.

Originally we planned to ride Buzz that night, but changed our minds at the last minute. Instead we had ice cream on Main Street before heading back to the room. On the way back, we talked about how great it was to be back at the parks, and how we liked our slow and steady progress! We also realized we never made it back to TSMM before it went down for refurb. No problem though, we'd be back!

We entered the room, and I could hear my SD snoring loudly. He doesn't usually snore like that, so I woke him up and checked him out a bit. It turns out he had a head cold! No wonder the heat got to him quicker than normal! Poor guy! He's had colds before, so I had meds with me just in case (Remember how crowded my car was? Always be prepared!).

Highlights:

• I got to meet another Disney fan!
• We took things slow, but were able to get a lot done
• The antibiotics finally kicked in, and I started to feel a lot better

Challenges:

• My SD started to get warm, so he needed to go back to the room. Thankfully bounced back very quickly
• A very loud guest misjudged me, which made me sad for a bit
• When we got back to the room that night, I noticed my SD was congested. My guess is that's why the heat got to him quicker than normal.

 

[ttig34]

They need to be more diligent about making sure the characters give equal access to all at the meals. For the money one pays, it shouldn't be hit or miss.

Glad to hear you were feeling better, but sorry to hear George was feeling under the weather.

 

[Escape2Disney]

They need to be more diligent about making sure the characters give equal access to all at the meals. For the money one pays, it shouldn't be hit or miss.

Glad to hear you were feeling better, but sorry to hear George was feeling under the weather.

I completely agree. We've never had an issue at any of the other character meals. We just have rotten luck at Goofy's.

I was so happy that I started feeling better so quickly. I just wish George had been doing better.