Wish Trip World Passport Trip to California and DL

[Bill_Lin]

Greetings to all Disney lovers!

In September of 2007 we accompanied my (then) 5-old Princess on her Make a Wish Trip to Disney World. It was my first trip to Florida. You can read all about it my Trip Report (link in my signature).

One of the special surprises from our stay at Give Kids the World Village near WDW was a "World Passport" to a wide variety of theme parks around the world. We have free passes to these, if we can get there, as long as it is within 12 months of our Wish Trip.

We live in Washington State, so we were thrilled to learn that many places on the west coast are included. For this reason we are planning a trip to California in September 2008. I should add that I lived in CA for 5 years back in the 80s and have been to DL many times myself. It will be my family's first time though.

We plan to pay our own way into DL and California Adventure, as Disney has more than done their part already with admissions to all the WDW parks last fall. We will take advantage of passes to Adventure Kingdom (formerly Marine World Africa USA) and Great America in the Bay Area. Then we will head to Southern California for Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland, Magic Mountain and the San Diego Zoo. Our plan is to travel by Amtrak as part of the adventure.

Stay tuned for more details.

Bill

 

[Bill_Lin]

We will also have the opportunity to visit Silverwood/ Boulder Beach Theme Park in northern Idaho, which we love, and Enchanted Forest/ Wild Waves in between Seattle and Tacoma. Both have amusement rides and a water park. It will be wonderful.

 

[mistymouse5001]

Can't wait to read all of your great reports! Maybe you can work on some new poems for us while your at it!

 

[bumbershoot]

Ooh I love Amtrak! Expect delays, if you didn't know that already, it's absolutely known for being late.

You're getting a roomette, yes? It includes meals so it can definitely be worth the extra cost. You also get access to the "first class" lounge, which was lovely to sit in.

Be sure you make sure of Wild Waves' dates...I've only been there for company events, but always got the impression it was only open Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends!

 

[Bill_Lin]

Thank you for the heads up on Wild Wave dates. I did not even think about that. We plan to do the Puget Sound part of vacation in August, though so there should be no problem.

I see you are from Tacoma. I grew up in Burien and have a cousin at Brown's Point.

Bill

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't know much about Burien, but we live with a view across Commencement Bay of Brown's Point.

I just went to their website and it looks like August is free and clear for your trip. They keep changing owners so maybe it was a previous owner that had the really limited dates, or maybe I was just wrong.

 

[5dwarves]

Hey Bill:

Glad to see you are doing a TR for Disneyland. I lived in CA for 13 years; Orange County for four years. We used to have breakfast meetings at work at Mrs. Knott's Restaurant, right outside of Knotts Berry Farm. They have great country breakfasts. I loved the O'Brien potatoes. We were at Disneyland last, after a wedding in CA in 2004. Disneyworld has more to offer size wise, but Disneyland just seems to be laid out better and a little less stressful. Could be because I was so familiar with it though. One of my favorite "snacks" there is sold at a cart by the Swiss Family Robinson Tree and Jungle Cruise. They sell skewered beef and chicken that has been marinated. Yum. They also have/had ? these awesome grilled bacon wrapped asparagus with teriyaki sauce on them. They were delicious! Enjoy your trip! Looking forward to some Disneyland poems in your TR.

~Elisa

 

[Bill_Lin]

It's nice to hear from you Elisa. I remember the meat skewers. I also enjoyed the chowder in an edible bowl across from Tom Sawyer Island, as well as the catfish. I have no idea if that is still available. Sit down dinners at DL never appealed to me much (I only had 2) because I would rather grab and run for more rides.

My first trip to DL was with my family when I was a pre-schooler. I really do not remember anything but Dumbo. Once I moved to Central California I was able to return to the Happiest Place on Earth. I lived for one year in Conord aka Condoville. From there I moved to Ione for a four-year stint. Whenever I crossed the border from Oregon to California I enjoyed the look on the faces of the officers when they asked me where I lived. "Ione, California" I would say, which they interpreted as "I own California." This led to a lot of interesting exchanges to be sure.

I took youth groups to Disneyland on several occasions. Teenagers definitely know how to enjoy Disneyland at full speed. This was back in the early 80s. Many years later, when I moved to Pendleton, Oregon and then Spokane, Washington, I was able to takes groups down as well. On one occasion, I took my oldest son only with me on the way back from a youth convention in San Diego. We had a blast!

Shortly after that time, I took all of my older kids on a big trip to Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo. Those kids are all grown now. After a divorce and re-marriage, I had a "late in life" daughter who was born with cancer. Thank God she is in remission and has been cancer free for over 5 years. She took my wife, my step-son and me on a Wish Trip to Disney World. The trip report link is in my signature.

Now, partly as a result of that trip, I have the chance to take the same group to California and Disneyland.

Bill

 

[Bill_Lin]

Has anyone been on a Make a Wish Trip to DL? Someone has asked me about this, but I have not been able to find ANY information on the DISboards by doing a search or looking through the boards.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

I loved your Wish Trip Report.

Since I can't post a reply on there, I'll post here instead:

Your DD is ah-dorable! She's like me when I was that age. I was the same way with the characters

As for Chuck-E-Cheese...my dad's the GM at our local one! LOL

And, Bill, don't worry about being short. Due to my illness, I started puberty a few years earlier than "normal" children (I had my period at age 7!). Therefore, I had growth spurts until 6th grade, and then I reached my final height for life. Seriously. I'm done growing (at least, taller) I'm (going to be) a sophomore in high school, and I'm about 4'11"!

My friends do enjoy teasing me about that

 

[Bill_Lin]

That is sweet,

Thank you. We have short genes to begin with (not short jeans). I am 5'5", my sis is 4"10" although she claims 4'11". I am hoping Lysi does not fall too far below that.

When people ask me how tall I am, I just say, "I'm not, but thanks for asking."

Bill

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Haha!

My mom just says, "Well, someone's gotta be short..."

They (friends) tell me...

"Look on the bright side: you're a legal midget!"

Yeahhh. But I love them

 

[Bill_Lin]

I don't think I am short on the inside, only on the outside. My feet still reach the ground, and the brake pedal. I have plenty of leg room on airplanes, and head room in basements.

I'm not sure if she meant this as a short joke or not, but my wife, who has a GREAT sense of humor and has brought LOTS of fun and laughter into my life, said this.......

On our Wish Trip to WDW, we were at Sea World. I had some problems with unauthorized withdrawals from my checking account, so I put our trip money on some pre-paid debit cards (lots of money). I tried to use one to pay for our lunch at the SeaFire Grille or whatever its called, but the card, which I had bought 3 DAYS BEFORE!! was coded as expired. I called the company and chose "English" as my language option, but the guy I spoke to could not understand what I was talking about. FINALLY, he agreed to transfer me to a supervisor, and hung up (can you tell that I am all over this now... and it does not bother me any more... yeah right). Anyway, my family was patiently waiting for me in the restaurant watching my hamburger get cold. I walked in, looked at my wife and said, "I am NOT happy." She said, "Then which one are you?" I about joked on my Sprite. I knew the answer to that question. I am still waiting for her to get me a Grumpy tee shirt.

Not much planning has gone on with the trip. There is too much else going on. We still need to take a trip to Idaho, about an hour 15 away, to visit Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Water Park for free.

I have been doing a lot of posting and offering advice (of questionable quality perhaps... who knows) on the WDW Wish Trip boards.

Keep in touch,

Bill

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Have a great trip. My family did Amtrak to WDW from California in 1994. It makes for a long trip, but can be quite fun. As bumbershoot said, plan for delays because you're going to see them.

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Bill, you need the shirt my husband bought in DTD last January. It said "I'M GRUMPY because you're DOPEY!"

I grew up in California and love DL. My father was in the Navy and when he came home from Viet Nam, Walt Disney gave all servicemen's families a free day at Disneyland. That is one of my greatest childhood memories even though I had been many times before and have gone many times since.

Have a wonderful time.
Denise

 

[Bill_Lin]

Oh My Goodness Denise! I definitely need that shirt.

Bill

 

[LeeLee2U]

Hey Bill!! I'm glad I found your TR! Thanks for the kind messages and all the prayers! Please give your Fam our Hugs!!
I was looking through pics yesterday of the kiddos having their water fight at AK! i should be posting that in about 2 to 3 more updates. And you know how fast I am getting this TR done so that should be like any day...........................................................

in the next 2 years!!!!

 

[LeeLee2U]

Hey Bill!! I'm glad I found your TR! Thanks for the kind messages and all the prayers! Please give your Fam our Hugs!!
I was looking through pics yesterday of the kiddos having their water fight at AK! i should be posting that in about 2 to 3 more updates. And you know how fast I am getting this TR done so that should be like any day...........................................................

in the next 2 years!!!!

Well hopefully not that long!!!

Can't wait to read ya'lls adventures and catch up on how ya'll are doing!! There will always be that special connection from being able to share parts of our kids Wish Trips together. Along with Elisas crew!!! Hi Elisa!!!!
Good to see you on here!!

Well I have to pack the kiddos bags so I will be back later!!!

 

[LeeLee2U]

Well how I double posted part way through I'll never know!!! Oh Well!!

 

[Bill_Lin]

LeeLee,

I can't think of anyone I would rather have post on this thread. Thank you so much. I think of you and Shannon so often. Perhaps we will meet up again so day. In the meantime, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Bless You Dear Friend,

Bill