Trip Report *COMPLETED* Where's My Map and Other Disneyland Adventures

Hey everyone!!!

We have been back from Disneyland for a few weeks now so I suppose its time to finally start my trip report! (I finally started it @Longers)
If anyone is interested in reading my PTR its right here : http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/we-are-going-to-disney-land.900630/

So just a quick overview:
Who: My mom (Mary) and me (Megan)
This is a picture of us from WDW when we were there with my sisters in February for The Princess Half Marathon
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When: August 5th - 8th (then San Jose until the 11th)

Why: My best friend from residency was getting married in San Jose (is now happily married) and I was able to get a few extra days off from work so why not stop at DL on the way! I was planning on going alone but my mom wasn't too keen on me traveling across the country alone so she agreed to come with me and I am so happy she did!!

Preface: Let me first say that we LOVED Disneyland!!!! I had SO many people tell me that I was going to hate it and that I would be disappointed because its so much smaller than WDW. We were not the least bit disappointed and fell in love with DL and I honestly hope to go back within the next five years (would be sooner if it wasn't all the way in Cali haha)!! Also as an FYI I took a TON of videos of this trip and not as many pictures because I wanted my family to see everything so I will try and edit those too and share them :)

Ok anyway enough rambling:

August 4th: I had a long 16 plus hour work day so needless to say I was so excited about going on a mini trip. My parents were going to pick me up at my apartment so we could leave from my parents house in the morning. On my way home from clinic I got a text from my one of my best friends that her car was broken into! She and I live in the same apartment complex and her car is parked in the locked garage along with mine so I was shocked to hear this. I felt so bad so I made sure I spent some time making sure she was OK before I got my things to leave. When my parents showed up they too made sure she was OK, but we seriously felt so bad for her because they took a ton of stuff from her car. I was honestly a little worried about leaving my car sitting there the whole time I was gone but she told me she would look out for it and to go on vacation already!

August 5th: I actually slept decently well considering I was going to DL! I don't think it had actually hit me yet since it was in the middle of the work week haha
We got up at 5:30 am and headed off to the airport!
We look....great? JK
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After a quick 15 minute drive to the airport we checked in and got in line for security! We actually got to spend some time with my friend Sara and her husband in line because they were leaving for Cali for the wedding too! Anyway we did get yelled at because we had TSA pre-check and didn't realize it haha At least in the end we didn't have to take our shoes off :)
We had our typical bagel breakfast in the airport
I still look splendid
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Finally it was time to board the plane!!!
We ended up sitting behind my friend's Adnaan's parents who were on their way to San Jose for his wedding!
Plane selfie
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Pretty soon (jk it was like 4 hours later) we were seeing some stuff that certainly was indicative of us being on the west coast !
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Ok so a few things about the flight: my mom and I decided to sit in the middle/window seat so we could look out the window! However, the guy who sat next to me literally did not move...at all...like he stared at his computer the whole time. I had to go to the bathroom so bad but I felt bad moving him haha finally when my friends mom got up to go I said to my mom "thats it we are going too." I kindly asked the man next to me if we could sneak past him and he said "well fine, but I would hardly call it sneaking." OK sir sorry...nevertheless we finally felt better after going to the bathroom haha. We did pass some of the time watching Bug's Life in preparation for Bug's Land :)
Our layover was quick but it was in Vegas so of course we had to play the slots haha
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Vegas took all of our money (or just the $5 we played)

You could see the strip from the airport! This is probably as close as I will ever get to Vegas haha
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We got some "salsa" for a snack - I put it in quotes because that is certainly not what salsa looks like in Buffalo haha. We still ate it despite our hatred of tomatoes
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The woman who sat next to my mom was really into chatting ... she was going to a wedding at DL but was totally hating on Disney. I think once I pulled out my Unofficial Guide to Disneyland she realized she was complaining to the wrong people. The flight was so short it was funny how fast they gave out the drinks and snacks. I really wanted a bloody Mary but a 45 minute flight wasn't the right time haha
Headed to Cali!
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We landed in Santa Ana in no time and the airport (John Wayne) was beautiful!
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I can't believe how quickly our luggage came! Maybe the Buffalo airport is just incredibly slow...haha
I was missing DME a little - sad I had to carry my own luggage haha
So I had planned on trying to find a cab with a fixed rate to DL but I was too excited so I literally ran outside and got the first cab I could find haha
We didn't take the bus thing because we would have had to wait for an hour for it and I couldn't contain my excitement.
Our cab driver was so nice and we hit a bit of traffic but he assured us Disneyland was only like 20 minutes away without traffic so he didn't think it would take us much longer than that. It took us only 25ish minutes with traffic and soon we were seeing Disney Way (or something haha). All in all it cost us $53 with tip which was cheaper than the flat rate cabs. We got to the hotel at like 12:30 wayyyy earlier than I expected!!

Alright I have to work at like 4 am so off to bed. Next up DL!!!!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Disneyland recap:
As I said in the beginning we really enjoyed Disneyland. I went in with semi-low expectations only because so many people told me I would be disappointed but I was anything but disappointed. Did we compare it to Disney World a lot? Yes. I think its hard to not compare it to WDW though, especially when thats where we have been so many times! We caught ourself saying"our park" has this or that a lot. Is it different? Yes. Different is good though. I was so happy to be in the park Walt was at himself and I think true Disney fans appreciate that aspect of DL. It was the original...how can you not love it!! Each park has its own perks for sure and I will say I think WDW in general is a little bit cleaner with more "magical" CMs but I think that comes from being in the bubble whereas Disneyland is in the middle of a city. WDW will always be my home base but I loved DL and can not wait to go back again someday!

Favorites:
Me -
Ride - Indiana Jones in DL (although tough competition was POTC) and Radiator Springs Racers at CA
Restaurant- Ariels Grotto
Show/Parade - split down the middle between World of Color and Paint the Night!

Mom-
Ride: DL - she said she cant pick one and Radiator Springs Racers in CA
Restaurant - Ariels Grotto
Show/Parade - World of Color

Thanks for following along :)
 

catmom46

Well-Known Member
Great TR, another triumph! Yes, I agree it's inevitable to compare DLR and WDW, but like you said, different is good. :)

The pic of the enchiladas looks like a face and it's saying "don't eat me!" :hilarious:

Looks like you stayed at an Embassy Suites in San Jose?

Wedding looked really nice - beautiful attire all around.

So sad at Red Lobster! But yes, super yummy biscuits.:hungry:
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Great TR, another triumph! Yes, I agree it's inevitable to compare DLR and WDW, but like you said, different is good. :)

The pic of the enchiladas looks like a face and it's saying "don't eat me!" :hilarious:

Looks like you stayed at an Embassy Suites in San Jose?

Wedding looked really nice - beautiful attire all around.

So sad at Red Lobster! But yes, super yummy biscuits.:hungry:

Thanks so much for following along and commenting!!!
hahaha my mom and I laughed so hard when we went back and looked at that enchilada picture...it really does look like that!
Yep....Embassy Suites its was pretty nice...but not as nice as the DL hotel ;)
Those biscuits really are yummy :)
 

LisaBelle

Well-Known Member
Bravo! Another excellent trip report. Definitely want to visit DL and California Adventure someday. My daughter and I dream of winning the Mega Millions Lottery and doing a circuit of Disney Parks and Aulani, ha ha!
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Bravo! Another excellent trip report. Definitely want to visit DL and California Adventure someday. My daughter and I dream of winning the Mega Millions Lottery and doing a circuit of Disney Parks and Aulani, ha ha!
Thanks for reading!!! I would highly recommend visiting DL someday! Its really amazing! I would totally do a Disney circuit if I won the lottery too! *after paying off my student loans perhaps haha

Loved your report!

Thank you so much for reading!
 

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Great trip report! Enjoyed seeing DL!

Now comes the REALLY stupid question.. What is the Disneyland Adventure? Is this like another park? I know NOTHING about Disneyland and I'm trying to understand what it is! LOL
 

Doc Disney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Great trip report! Enjoyed seeing DL!

Now comes the REALLY stupid question.. What is the Disneyland Adventure? Is this like another park? I know NOTHING about Disneyland and I'm trying to understand what it is! LOL

Thanks for reading :)
California Adventure is the second park at Disneyland (across the "street") and its where Cars Land, Hollywood Land, Bugs Land and Paradise Pier are (amongst other things). Its newer so it used to be just DL and then they added this park on ! Still Disney owned though which seems to confuse people because of the name
 

ScarletBegonias

Well-Known Member
Thanks for reading :)
California Adventure is the second park at Disneyland (across the "street") and its where Cars Land, Hollywood Land, Bugs Land and Paradise Pier are (amongst other things). Its newer so it used to be just DL and then they added this park on ! Still Disney owned though which seems to confuse people because of the name
yes, I realized last night that I called it the wrong name..LOL!

Okay, thanks for explaining it to me! I was confused.
 

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