Pre-Trip We are going to Disney....land?!

Hey everyone!
I can not believe that I am fortunate enough to be sitting here writing another PTR! I just finished my last TR and its finally time to start this PTR for our adventure to Disneyland!!!

Who?
Just my mom and I will be going on this trip This picture was taken on our last trip when we went to Disney for the Princess Half Marathon! My mom and I have never traveled to Disney by ourselves but our last trip it was just the two of us for the last three days
My mom graciously volunteered to travel with me so I wouldn't have to go go California alone (of course it didn't hurt that I was planning on going to Disneyland haha)

When?
August 5th - 8th we will be at Disneyland then traveling to San Jose at night on the 8th until the 10th

Where?
I went back and forth a ton on where we should stay. I had read a lot of things about it being easy enough to stay at an offsite hotel and how sometimes they are an even closer walk than the onsite hotels. However, part of me wanted to be immersed in the Disney Magic the whole time we were there so I ended up picking the Disneyland Hotel. The pool looks awesome and we are very excited to stay there!

Why?
My best friend from residency is getting married in San Jose! I happen to be on a rotation where I can move some stuff around to go so I decided for sure I was going to the wedding. Since I am so Disney obsessed I kept thinking about the fact that I must go to Disneyland since I am going to fly all the way to California anyway! I have never been to the west coast so everyone keeps telling me I should take time to see the sites but I knew the time was right to go to Disneyland since its the 60th Anniversary...and who knows when I will be back on the West Coast again.

I have no idea what I am doing on this trip though haha I have obviously never been to Disneyland and my mom was last there 38 years ago so this is going to be a challenge for sure. I am currently reading the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland to get some tips. I am less than 60 days out and have only made one dining reservation...I hope that doesn't matter haha.

Anyway enough of my rambling: Next up: plans!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Yay! A Disneyland trip! I am sooooo jealous! I hear you about wanting to stay onsite. I also plan to stay at the Disneyland Hotel when we finally get to go! I'm sure you and your mom will have a blast, regardless of how much or how little planning gets done!

 

[LilWalt]

Awesome! Have fun planning! I hope to one day go there just to say I did.

 

[LisaBelle]

Woo hoo! Can't wait to read all your plans. Glad you decided to stay on site. I can't believe you are going so soon! Not as much time for planning, but I'm sure you ladies will have a great time no matter what!

 

[FlaggNL]

hej you are going again Great! Enjoy the pre feelings and all the planning although it is a short trip Already looking forward for the TR!!

 

[Doc Disney]

Yay! A Disneyland trip! I am sooooo jealous! I hear you about wanting to stay onsite. I also plan to stay at the Disneyland Hotel when we finally get to go! I'm sure you and your mom will have a blast, regardless of how much or how little planning gets done!

Thank you! I seriously went back and forth so many times about staying onsite but am very pleased I chose the Disneyland Hotel

Awesome! Have fun planning! I hope to one day go there just to say I did.

Thank you! Thats exactly why I want to go there...just to say I did it! I am sure I will love it but I know WDW will always be number one!

Woo hoo! Can't wait to read all your plans. Glad you decided to stay on site. I can't believe you are going so soon! Not as much time for planning, but I'm sure you ladies will have a great time no matter what!

Thank you! I know...usually I plan like a year out this is so close to when we are going and I barely have any plans. AHHHH

hej you are going again Great! Enjoy the pre feelings and all the planning although it is a short trip Already looking forward for the TR!!

Thank you! A short trip is better than no trip

 

[FlaggNL]

Thank you! A short trip is better than no trip

Absolutely! Although for us Europeans a short trip would be quite expensive... so our short trips will be to DLP

 

[Doc Disney]

OK so here are my super general plans for Disneyland!
Wednesday August 5th: We fly into Santa Ana around 12:00pm and are planning on taking a cab to Disneyland. I chose Santa Ana because Southwest flies into there and I am always up for two bags fly free haha
When we get to the hotel I am planning on storing our luggage if we can't check in and popping over to Disneyland! I also want to hop over to California Adventure to see where the Fast Pass Machine is for Radiator Springs. I am curious about maybe seeing if we can get a Fast Pass for World of Color that night. I heavily considered doing a Dining Package for it but my mom and I really didn't like the restaurants offered so we aren't going to and just hope for regular Fast Passes. Not sure where/what we will eat. I was looking into the hotel restaurant Steakhouse 55 but we aren't super into fancy dinners and will probably eat a quick service somewhere!

The 6th: Disneyland for the day with reservations at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ for dinner. Joe and Ashley from See Ya Reel Soon ate there and it looked pretty cool

The 7th: California Adventures...trying to decide where to eat but thinking Tortilla Joes..made a reservation in case

The 8th: both parks...thinking about maybe doing a breakfast at Disneyland in the morning...The Plaza Inn has a character breakfast but the only thing is we have such limited time in Disneyland I'm afraid of wasting too much time..I will have to talk it over with my mom. We leave for San Jose at 7:10pm so we actually have a good amount time that day which is nice

In any case..it will be weird having to deal with paper Fast Passes again. I think I may stick to the touring plans from the Unofficial Guide. I never did it for Disney World because we have our own system and a lot more time but due to the limited time we have in Disneyland I think Touring Plans may actually be helpful!

Thanks for reading along everyone!

 

[Doc Disney]

Absolutely! Although for us Europeans a short trip would be quite expensive... so our short trips will be to DLP

Very true...although this trip is rather expensive too haha I feel like its almost the same price as WDW would be for a week but thats just because of flying across the country costs a lot more money than flying down the east coast

 

[Longers]

Lucky you another trip so soon. Enjoy the planning. Will look out for the TR

 

[FlaggNL]

Very true...although this trip is rather expensive too haha I feel like its almost the same price as WDW would be for a week but thats just because of flying across the country costs a lot more money than flying down the east coast

That's the same for us. Flying within Europe can be quite cheap. Going to USA is a different thing. Normally there are cheap tickets aviable, but it seems like a lot of Europeans want to go USA so the cheapest tickets are gone soon. That's what we found out for the next October trip. But then again, we also booked the quite expensive ones And even upgraded to POFQ A week in WDW is as much as a 17 day trip to Spain for example And now we are looking for a 14 day trip during summer 2016

 

[Doc Disney]

Lucky you another trip so soon. Enjoy the planning. Will look out for the TR

Thank you! I do feel very lucky and fortunate to be going on another trip

That's the same for us. Flying within Europe can be quite cheap. Going to USA is a different thing. Normally there are cheap tickets aviable, but it seems like a lot of Europeans want to go USA so the cheapest tickets are gone soon. That's what we found out for the next October trip. But then again, we also booked the quite expensive ones And even upgraded to POFQ A week in WDW is as much as a 17 day trip to Spain for example And now we are looking for a 14 day trip during summer 2016

Yea that totally makes sense! I really want to go to DLP someday...when I can afford to go to Europe/and have the time haha. Thats so awesome that you are looking into a 2016 too!

 

[FlaggNL]

Yea that totally makes sense! I really want to go to DLP someday...when I can afford to go to Europe/and have the time haha. Thats so awesome that you are looking into a 2016 too!

DLP is great, but not as great as WDW! It is much smaller and there has to be done a lot of refurbishment... and that is what they will do the next couple of years. 10 major projects!!

Yeah we are looking into 2016 also There is an offer by Disney UK that we cannot resist! 200$ gift card, free Memory Maker, free dining plan and 14 days admission for the price of 7

 

[amjt660]

OK so here are my super general plans for Disneyland!
I also want to hop over to California Adventure to see where the Fast Pass Machine is for Radiator Springs. I am curious about maybe seeing if we can get a Fast Pass for World of Color that night. I heavily considered doing a Dining Package for it but my mom and I really didn't like the restaurants offered so we aren't going to and just hope for regular Fast Passes.

Hello
DLR is very different from WDW for night time shows like WOC and Fantasmic.
The fastpass system for WOC gets you into a coloured area but it is still very much first come first serve.
You will be pressed into a standing room only area and really get to know the people around you.
The dinner package is expensive but I personally have used it a few time because the dinner package area for WOC is almost never a busy place - much more room to sit and wait before standing up for the show.

For RSR fastpass you simply walk in through the main gate, walk past the Carthy Circle Theatre and on the right is a fast pass distribution area. It is no where near the actual ride. If you pass Bugs land entrance you went too far.

I love DLR, been there 8 times and I live in Canada near Buffalo NY.
Hope you have a great time.

Max

 

[Doc Disney]

DLP is great, but not as great as WDW! It is much smaller and there has to be done a lot of refurbishment... and that is what they will do the next couple of years. 10 major projects!!

Yeah we are looking into 2016 also There is an offer by Disney UK that we cannot resist! 200$ gift card, free Memory Maker, free dining plan and 14 days admission for the price of 7

Oh wow thats an awesome deal!!!! How could anyone resist?

 

[Doc Disney]

Thanks for the tips Max @amjt660 I really appreciate it! I was definitely worried about finding the Fast Pass for Radiator Springs! I knew it wasn't near the ride but wasn't sure exactly where. Maybe we will look into a dining package for World of Color again. Its really not the price that stopped me though, its the menu. My mom and I (more my mom than me) are very picky eaters and we weren't super thrilled with the menus of the three places...
Where in Canada are you from?

 

[Doc Disney]

This is very TR appropriate haha

 

[FlaggNL]

Oh wow thats an awesome deal!!!! How could anyone resist?

That's what we are thinking

 

[Gojira ゴジラ]

That is just awesome Trust me you will have a wonderful time at Disneyland as long as you adjust your expectation. As you said it's the 60th anniversary, there are a lot of magnificent night time shows going on to celebrate the birthday.

And if I may give you a suggestion, since you will be in the Bay Area, I highly suggest a visit to the Disney museum in San Francisco. It's really worth the visit

It's too bad that you don't like the food that Carthay Circle offers, it may not be for everyone, but find one that you like that offers the World of Color dining package, because the area they reserve for you is a great spot to watch.

Disneyland hotel is one of the best Disney hotels too, if not the best!

You will love your visit We will be there too around those times to continue our LA ramen's exploration

 

[catmom46]

Not sure where/what we will eat. I was looking into the hotel restaurant Steakhouse 55 but we aren't super into fancy dinners and will probably eat a quick service somewhere!

I've eaten at Uva Bar in DTD and really enjoyed it. Not super fancy, but good eats.