My Very First Trip to the Disneyland Resort!
Pre-Trip Report Coming Tomorrow!
Pre-Trip Report Coming Tomorrow!
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Pre-Trip The Newbie Central, Amazingly Awesome Disneyland Pre-Trip Report!
- Thread starter RMichael21
- Start date
Hey guys, this is my very first Pre-Trip report so I hope it goes well! Also, I know this is about Disneyland but I think this section of the forums is more appropriate. Anyway, let's get right to it!
I would like to preface this by saying that the details may be a bit vague in order to ensure the requested privacy of my family members, who paid for and surprised me with this trip.
Who: Myself (Disney fanatic, WDW veteran, loves any kind of Ride except tea cups or spinning rides
).
-Favorite Rides at WDW: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain.
-Most Excited For: Everything and being able to step foot in "Walt's Park."
My Sister (Laid back, just goes to Disneyland for fun and hasn't come to the obsession side yet)!
-Favorite Rides at WDW: Rockin' Roller Coaster, Space Mountain and Soarin'
-Most Excited For: Trying out the new attraction we've never gone on before.
My Dad (Excited to go but not that crazy about Disney).
-Favorite Rides at WDW: Soarin', Test Track, Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain
-Most Excited For: Being able to go and spending time with our family!
My Mom (Some-What of a Disney over but also excited to go, also loves Roller Coaster).
-Favorite Rides at WDW: Space Mountain, Rockin' Roller Coaster and Big Thunder Mountain.
-Most Excited For: The Same as my dad and to try out the rides we have never gone on before.
What: The very first trip to the Disneyland Resort for Myself and my sister! Also, this is the first time my parents have gone since they were about 5 years old, so they don't remember much.
When: We will be going from July 6th, 2014 through July 13th, 2014. This is sunday through Sunday (in case anyone was wondering). Itinerary coming soon!
Where: We will be staying at the Marriott Suites Anaheim. We aren't staying on property because it's pretty expensive, our trip was only planned about a month ago so it's very last minute and Marriott Suites Anaheim is close and we can use points.
Why: We will be celebrating my birthday! (I'm not saying how old though
). Also, my father has a business meeting in Los Angeles that doesn't have a specific date yet. It may be the 8th, 9th or 10th but we still aren't sure, I'll update you guys when I get the info. On that day, the rest of us probably do something more relaxing.
How: Our flights are specific to where I live (my family wants privacy remember) so I'll just say this. Our flight leaves from the an airport somewhat close to our house. Because there are no direct flights from here to John Wayne Airport (in Orange Country which is where we fly into), we have a connecting flight in Denver, Colorado. Times: We leave our local airport sometime in the morning and we arrive at SNA (John Wayne Airport) at 12:40ish pm PST.
How they surprised me: So, my family has known for a while how much I've wanted to go to the Disneyland Resort, but they've always disregarded it as the smaller, more quaint (true in some respects) little sister of Walt Disney World. I've been convincing them that it's not all true, and I think I finally convinced them that a couple months ago. So, in secret they planned the trip pretty last minute, only about a month ago. On my birthday, which wasn't to long ago, I was given an orange and white striped box. When I opened it, inside was a bunch of tissue paper. However, on top was a miniature Lightning Mcqueen. Then, when I took more of the tissue paper out, I saw a little Disneyland logo. I was SOOOOOO happy
that I almost started to cry. Notice that I said almost. 
Anyway, apparently, my family hadn't planned much so I went into planning mode and planned some more things for the trip. So there you go, how they surprised me.
I hope that's good enough for you guys and I'll be sharing some more information about the trip in the coming days!
My Very First trip to The Disneyland Resort!
I would like to preface this by saying that the details may be a bit vague in order to ensure the requested privacy of my family members, who paid for and surprised me with this trip.
Who: Myself (Disney fanatic, WDW veteran, loves any kind of Ride except tea cups or spinning rides
).-Favorite Rides at WDW: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain.
-Most Excited For: Everything and being able to step foot in "Walt's Park."
My Sister (Laid back, just goes to Disneyland for fun and hasn't come to the obsession side yet)!
-Favorite Rides at WDW: Rockin' Roller Coaster, Space Mountain and Soarin'
-Most Excited For: Trying out the new attraction we've never gone on before.
My Dad (Excited to go but not that crazy about Disney).
-Favorite Rides at WDW: Soarin', Test Track, Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain
-Most Excited For: Being able to go and spending time with our family!
My Mom (Some-What of a Disney over but also excited to go, also loves Roller Coaster).
-Favorite Rides at WDW: Space Mountain, Rockin' Roller Coaster and Big Thunder Mountain.
-Most Excited For: The Same as my dad and to try out the rides we have never gone on before.
What: The very first trip to the Disneyland Resort for Myself and my sister! Also, this is the first time my parents have gone since they were about 5 years old, so they don't remember much.
When: We will be going from July 6th, 2014 through July 13th, 2014. This is sunday through Sunday (in case anyone was wondering). Itinerary coming soon!
Where: We will be staying at the Marriott Suites Anaheim. We aren't staying on property because it's pretty expensive, our trip was only planned about a month ago so it's very last minute and Marriott Suites Anaheim is close and we can use points.
Why: We will be celebrating my birthday! (I'm not saying how old though
). Also, my father has a business meeting in Los Angeles that doesn't have a specific date yet. It may be the 8th, 9th or 10th but we still aren't sure, I'll update you guys when I get the info. On that day, the rest of us probably do something more relaxing.How: Our flights are specific to where I live (my family wants privacy remember) so I'll just say this. Our flight leaves from the an airport somewhat close to our house. Because there are no direct flights from here to John Wayne Airport (in Orange Country which is where we fly into), we have a connecting flight in Denver, Colorado. Times: We leave our local airport sometime in the morning and we arrive at SNA (John Wayne Airport) at 12:40ish pm PST.
How they surprised me: So, my family has known for a while how much I've wanted to go to the Disneyland Resort, but they've always disregarded it as the smaller, more quaint (true in some respects) little sister of Walt Disney World. I've been convincing them that it's not all true, and I think I finally convinced them that a couple months ago. So, in secret they planned the trip pretty last minute, only about a month ago. On my birthday, which wasn't to long ago, I was given an orange and white striped box. When I opened it, inside was a bunch of tissue paper. However, on top was a miniature Lightning Mcqueen. Then, when I took more of the tissue paper out, I saw a little Disneyland logo. I was SOOOOOO happy
that I almost started to cry. Notice that I said almost. Anyway, apparently, my family hadn't planned much so I went into planning mode and planned some more things for the trip. So there you go, how they surprised me.I hope that's good enough for you guys and I'll be sharing some more information about the trip in the coming days!
My Very First trip to The Disneyland Resort!
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So excited!
12 Days Until...
12 Days Until...
Update:
I just realized I got very lucky. With the weird refurbishment of Grizzly River Run, I expected for quite a few rides to be closed. Then, I saw that only Captain EO (which I really don't care for) and the Submarine Voyage will be closed.
Also, apparently, the show in side the Golden Horseshoe will end during our trip, but we'll still have a chance to see it!!!! More updates coming soon.
I just realized I got very lucky. With the weird refurbishment of Grizzly River Run, I expected for quite a few rides to be closed. Then, I saw that only Captain EO (which I really don't care for) and the Submarine Voyage will be closed.
Also, apparently, the show in side the Golden Horseshoe will end during our trip, but we'll still have a chance to see it!!!! More updates coming soon.
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Update: We have made a reservation at Carnation Cafe at 11:30 for lunch on July 7th.
Yes, I can still be surprised very easily!
As far as our ADRs go, we really don't have that many, Carnation Cafe at 11:30 on the 7th, Wine Country Trattoria with the WOC dining package on the 9th and maybe the 10th. Also, we have an ADR at Steakhouse 55 but the date escapes me for some reason.I'll be sharing the itinerary in a few days. Also, is this a good idea? My family Refused to go to the second show of Fantasmic and I really want to see the fireworks from the hub. My thoughts are that after the 1st showing of Fantasmic on the 7th, we go to Indiana Jones because I want to see the standby queue and the line will probably be really short. Then on our second day at DL, we ride a ride right before Fantasmic then stake out spots for Magical. Would that work?
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
It's not likely, unless crowds are VERY low, which is also not likely. Indy's line doesn't normally calm down during Fantasmic, especially the first show. Recently I was there and the line was 70 minutes during a performance of Fantasmic, so don't count on that.
To get a great spot for Magical in the hub, you will need to get there no later than 9pm, and even then you may be in a pickle as to where to go. Since you have the luxury of four days in the park, I would plan to see Fantasmic, Magical and WOC on separate nights to make it easy on yourself.
Tell your family the first show of Fantasmic is great if they don't mind camping out 2-3 hours in advance for a spot. Maybe they'll volunteer to hold down a spot for that long while you go ride some rides?
Seriously though - the first Fantasmic is always a mess. Is your family averse to staying up late? Because Disneyland is best after 10pm - that space between the last Fantasmic and closing is a great time to squeeze in a bunch of rides with little wait.
It's just they don't want to stay up super late and get up super early in the morning. However, I think there may be a way around this.It's not likely, unless crowds are VERY low, which is also not likely. Indy's line doesn't normally calm down during Fantasmic, especially the first show. Recently I was there and the line was 70 minutes during a performance of Fantasmic, so don't count on that.
To get a great spot for Magical in the hub, you will need to get there no later than 9pm, and even then you may be in a pickle as to where to go. Since you have the luxury of four days in the park, I would plan to see Fantasmic, Magical and WOC on separate nights to make it easy on yourself.
Tell your family the first show of Fantasmic is great if they don't mind camping out 2-3 hours in advance for a spot. Maybe they'll volunteer to hold down a spot for that long while you go ride some rides?
Itinerary:
Sunday, July 6th, 2014: Our flight leaves from the airport somewhat close to our house. Because there are no direct flights from here to John Wayne Airport (in Orange Country which is where we fly into), we have a connecting flight in Denver, Colorado. Times: We leave our local airport sometime in the morning and we arrive at SNA (John Wayne Airport) at 12:40ish pm PST. Relax, hang out and maybe go to the pool. Also, we hope to stop by the esplanade/Disneyland Hotel to get a birthday button/first visit button. We are going to try to get a reservation at the Anaheim White House for dinner.
Monday, July 7th, 2014: This is our first Disneyland Park day. We plan to be there at park opening and hit some of the headliners like Space Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure (most likely first) and the Matterhorn. We have a reservation at Carnation Cafe at 11:30 to have lunch. We also are going to eat at Luigi's D'Italia in Anaheim. We don't plan on seeing Magical, only Fantasmic! and hopefully during the second showing.
Tuesday, July 8th, 2014: This will most likely be the day my father has his meeting, so Myself, my sister and my mom will probably go to Soak City water park to relax and go on some slides. We didn't want to do anything without him so we decided on this. We plan on having dinner at Clancy's Bar and Grill and having lunch at Soak City.
Wednesday, July 9th, 2014: This will most likely be our first DCA day. We plan to be at opening and get a FP for RSR, then get in the standby line (would that work)? We have lunch reservations at Wine Country Trattoria with the World of Color dining package and a dinner ADR at Steakhouse 55. We plan on seeing World of Color in the Reserved viewing section.
Thursday, July 10th, 2014: This will most likely be our second DCA day. We plan to be at opening and get a FP for RSR, then get in the standby line (would that work)? We are going to have lunch at Flo's V8 Café and have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (maybe). We'll try to see World of Color again, but it's not a must-do because we will have already seen it the day before.
Friday, July 11th, 2014: This will be our second Disneyland park day. We plan on using our Magic Morning and hitting all of the FL dark rides and some of the Tomorrowland rides too. We may have lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace and we are planning on having dinner somewhere in Anaheim.
Saturday, July 12th, 2014: This day will be reserved for touring Los Angeles and it's surrounding area. We are planning on just winging it and having a nice, relaxing day. We are going to try to eat lunch at In-N-Out Burger and have dinner somewhere in Anaheim.
Sunday, July 13th, 2014: This is going to be a relaxed morning and we will fly out of Los Angeles to go back home!
I hope everyone has enjoyed my Pre-Trip Report so far! If anyone has comments or things I could have done better with the itinerary, please let me know.
Sunday, July 6th, 2014: Our flight leaves from the airport somewhat close to our house. Because there are no direct flights from here to John Wayne Airport (in Orange Country which is where we fly into), we have a connecting flight in Denver, Colorado. Times: We leave our local airport sometime in the morning and we arrive at SNA (John Wayne Airport) at 12:40ish pm PST. Relax, hang out and maybe go to the pool. Also, we hope to stop by the esplanade/Disneyland Hotel to get a birthday button/first visit button. We are going to try to get a reservation at the Anaheim White House for dinner.
Monday, July 7th, 2014: This is our first Disneyland Park day. We plan to be there at park opening and hit some of the headliners like Space Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure (most likely first) and the Matterhorn. We have a reservation at Carnation Cafe at 11:30 to have lunch. We also are going to eat at Luigi's D'Italia in Anaheim. We don't plan on seeing Magical, only Fantasmic! and hopefully during the second showing.
Tuesday, July 8th, 2014: This will most likely be the day my father has his meeting, so Myself, my sister and my mom will probably go to Soak City water park to relax and go on some slides. We didn't want to do anything without him so we decided on this. We plan on having dinner at Clancy's Bar and Grill and having lunch at Soak City.
Wednesday, July 9th, 2014: This will most likely be our first DCA day. We plan to be at opening and get a FP for RSR, then get in the standby line (would that work)? We have lunch reservations at Wine Country Trattoria with the World of Color dining package and a dinner ADR at Steakhouse 55. We plan on seeing World of Color in the Reserved viewing section.
Thursday, July 10th, 2014: This will most likely be our second DCA day. We plan to be at opening and get a FP for RSR, then get in the standby line (would that work)? We are going to have lunch at Flo's V8 Café and have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (maybe). We'll try to see World of Color again, but it's not a must-do because we will have already seen it the day before.
Friday, July 11th, 2014: This will be our second Disneyland park day. We plan on using our Magic Morning and hitting all of the FL dark rides and some of the Tomorrowland rides too. We may have lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace and we are planning on having dinner somewhere in Anaheim.
Saturday, July 12th, 2014: This day will be reserved for touring Los Angeles and it's surrounding area. We are planning on just winging it and having a nice, relaxing day. We are going to try to eat lunch at In-N-Out Burger and have dinner somewhere in Anaheim.
Sunday, July 13th, 2014: This is going to be a relaxed morning and we will fly out of Los Angeles to go back home!
I hope everyone has enjoyed my Pre-Trip Report so far! If anyone has comments or things I could have done better with the itinerary, please let me know.
My family thinks I'm crazy, thinking about it 24/7. But I still insist that my obsession is normal.Great plansEnjoy the pre feelings
FlaggNL
Well-Known Member
My family thinks I'm crazy, thinking about it 24/7. But I still insist that my obsession is normal.
It is absolutely normal
Ppl around us here in the Netherlands thinks we are as crazy as you describe LOL! But we have to wait a while for the WDW trip in October.... probably we will visit DLP in the meantime. we need to see and ride the new Ratatouille ride
Have fun with that! I've always wanted to visit DLP!It is absolutely normal
FlaggNL
Well-Known Member
It is a great theme park! Not as big as in USA but slightly growing through the years! So when you are in Europe someday, you have to visit DLP
In mean time you can see me TR's.... if you have the same as me with TR's you might have a little feeling to be actually there when seeing all the pictures LOL
Only 12 days until...
So excited!
Edit: I messed up on this! This is meant to be 12 days.
So excited!
Edit: I messed up on this! This is meant to be 12 days.
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Has anyone been to DLR recently that would have some good info to share?
Only 11 more days until...
Disneyland!
Disneyland!
coachwnh
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Me me me. But you already know that!