Trip Report 2018-2019 A Year in the Land (Disneyland)...a multi-trip report

Hello and welcome to my trip report for my year as an annual passholder to Disneyland. Me (Amy) and my husband (Brad) have been passholders of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World but this year we decided to be exclusive to just the Land. It was a little painful to give up going to WDW this year, we consider it our home park but we also enjoy Disneyland too. I think I have a little more fondness to it than Brad, but anyway.... So why are we passholders for DL exclusively this year instead of WDW or both parks. Well financially it didn't necessarily make sense. Brad is a big Star Wars fan and I'm a big Disney nerd so with Galaxy's Edge opening in the Land earlier than WDW that was a draw. And the D23 Expo is in Anaheim again this year so it checked boxes for both of us.

So I'm going to begin this report a little in the past, 2018, that's right so long ago! :) We traveled to Disneyland over Thanksgiving 2018 and bought our annual passes so that is where we will start the trip report.

Upcoming trips:
A. late March 2019
B. possibly (most likely) a solo trip for me over Easter 2019 (Why solo?...well Brad is a pastor and the congregation kind of expects him to be there over Easter. I'm a teacher and have a nice little break over Easter and the hubs is too busy over Holy week and Easter so he won't really notice I'm gone.)
C. Late June 2019 to celebrate our anniversary and birthdays all in June and in the same week. This trip will include Los Angeles, Sequoia National Park, Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park & Palm Springs as well as Disneyland (and perhaps if rumors are true our first entrance into Galaxy's Edge)
D. our last trip late August for Disneyland and D23 Expo

By the way...if any of you are in Disneyland when our paths cross it would be cool to have any meet ups or say hi. I've met a few awesome WDWMagic members in Walt Disney World and it has been so cool. Don't be afraid to say hi if you see us walking around too!:):cool:

So let's start the first leg of the trip report: November 20-25 2018

Tuesday November 20
Brad and I both had a full day at work. My day should have been full of students but since it is Deer Hunting week (or at least the big gun hunting week) in Wisconsin and Thanksgiving week, our district gives the kids the week off and teachers report for two days of inservice. So it wasn't a hectic day for me. However there was a little kerfuffle in the plan for today. It involved our beloved and spoiled minature schnauzer Kapono.
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My boss said that we could leave at 3pm instead of 3:30pm so hubby picked me up on the way to drop off Kapono at the kennel. Kapono has only spent 2 days ever in this kennel (good experience) usually she stays with my sister but she was unable to care for her this time. So it was the first time Kapono was going to be spending an extended time in a kennel. So we arrived at the kennel and no one is there, even though it is check-in time and the main building for the kennel is unlocked. So we go inside and wait thinking that maybe the owner is just busy at the house and will be out soon. After 5 minutes no one came even though dogs were barking in her house and in the kennel. So hubs gives her a call. And in the mean time I'm concerned that she left the kennel unlocked! Anyway, the lady was surprised we were calling and had lost track of time and was an hour away from the kennel. But more importantly she was surprised that we were there because she hadn't written down our reservation!!!! Hubs had the email confirmation though. Luckily she had one run left. She said it was luckily for us, but really it was lucky for her!!!! I don't know what we would have done if that run wouldn't have been available though. Although hubs said one of our church members would have pitched in for us. So I took Kapono out into the fenced in yard area and when I let her in she happily ran into the open caged run. I was glad she seemed happy to be there but a little concerned now at the professionalism of the kennel owner. Fast forward to the end of our trip when we picked her up...Kapono had been a good girl there and was safe (and clean). So it all worked out and this over-protective dog mom was happy, and the kennel owner apologized a few times.


So anyway, after we dropped Kapono off we drove up to Minneapolis to the airport for our flight. We ended up being pretty early for our flight but we'd rather wait safely at the airport than be stressed out in traffic. Check in and security took less than 15 minutes so we had a decent meal and drinks at the Minnesota Wild (our favorite hockey team) teamed restaurant). We hadn't planned on eating here but I guess it was fate since we were wearing our Disney Minnesota Wild themed shirts.

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The seats we were in used to be 1st class but now the company is going more the Spirit route and these seats were $45 more to the base ticket price. So for that we thought it was a deal to have slightly bigger seats and more foot space for the flight.
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Adios Minnesota!
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We flew into LAX and took an Uber to Anaheim. The traffic was a little heavy in the arrival/departure area so it took our Uber driver a little while about 10-15 minutes to get to us, but it didn't seem too bad. We made it to Anaheim in about 40 minutes (our driver was a speed demon) but that was okay with us. We checked into our hotel the Best Western Park Place Inn, literally across the street from the entrance as seen below. We went to the ticket booth and purchased/cashed in 4 day park hoppers for our annual passes with Max pass and gleefully entered Disneyland with about 40 minutes until park close!

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Laurenciaa

Well-Known Member
Sunday March 24

More adventures at Disneyland.

Some Pirates of the Caribbean and then we went to Bengal BBQ. I noticed in the seating area by Bengal BBQ this picture of the S.E.A.
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And some skewers from Bengal BBQ, this is the pork belly one.
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Brad picked the chicken one too.
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And a tiger tail.
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Then we rode the trolley and enjoyed some music on Main Street.
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The Dan's loved Brad's shirt.
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Agreeing on the T-shirt 👌🏻!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday March 24, 2019

And some more scenes of Mickey's Mix Magic. While it isn't the best of Disney fireworks it is a fun show. I like Disney dance re-mixes so I liked the music a lot. The scaffolding on the castle actually made it easier to see the projections on the castle on Main Street. Normally we usually prefer to watch the fireworks from Rivers of America or it's a small world but we liked it best here (although we didn't see this show from small world). It was more immersive on Main Street and we liked the use of lasers, which wasn't used at the Rivers of America spot. Also what enhanced this show was the family next to us, one of the family members was a teenage boy with special needs and he was really pumped for the show. I don't think he stopped dancing at all during the show. Anyway he really got a positive vibe going in the area and that made it fun for all of us.

Some of the pictures are a little blurry (sorry) but it still gives an okay look at the show.
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After the show we hung out on Main Street for a bit before heading back to the hotel for the night. We had to finish packing as tomorrow was departure day.

Here is a link to the soundtrack for the music of the show if anyone is interested. It is a nice clean copy. Also Disney Parks blog did a live stream of it the day before we flew out so that is a fun watch too.

 

susan lees

Well-Known Member
Sunday March 24, 2019

After a refreshing nap we headed back to Disneyland for more fun. We had a fast pass for Big Thunder the priority was to make it to the last showing of the day of Mickey and the Magical Map. Such a fun show!
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Then we had some time before seeing Mickey and the Magical Map so we decided to check out the new fancy wall at Disneyland in Toontown. It is cute.
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I told him to act crazy and this is what he came up with.
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Nearby was a wishing well, and Minnie's voice came out of it. And yes I'm wearing socks with my sandals. I was tired of wearing tennis shoes but I knew my toes would get cold once the sun went down, hence the socks. I was comfortable and I didn't care.
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I too have had to wear socks with sandals when I was caught out by a cold spell. I unfortunately had to buy some so I admire your forward thinking 😀
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
They were in stock the week after she was there... doesn't it figure... I haven't heard recently if they were out again or not.

My sister texted me a picture of her and my niece with their Orange Bird sipper and one of them will be mine! 😍 She said the slushy was horrible and had a vomit aftertaste. At least the sipper is cute.

That must have looked cool with the projections on the buildings!

It was super cool, it was so immersive. Like being at a Disney rave.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Socks + Sandals = whatever works for you. WDW/DL is definitely a place where no one should judge the footwear of others - you do what you need to do to be comfortable. Although, I might be guilty of looking sideways at people who come in 1.99 flip flops (but I'm looking with pity - honest!).

Cheap flip flops?! No thanks, I too wonder how people survive with all the walking in those unsupported shoes. I used to wear my Nike flip flops to the parks but no longer. I need comfort now.
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Cheap flip flops?! No thanks, I too wonder how people survive with all the walking in those unsupported shoes. I used to wear my Nike flip flops to the parks but no longer. I need comfort now.
Ha ha. My $2 flip flops are my favorite. I would wear them 12 months a year if I could. As for shoes with “support”. I have flat feet, that so called support feels like I am walking on tennis balls. Not comfy! Dont pity me. Unless my toenail polish is chipped😎
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Monday March 25

Today was departure day but we had some time to play at Disneyland.

This morning we decided to rope drop Big Thunder before heading to Fantasyland. We also saw Prince Ali/Aladdin wandering around and ended up getting a picture with him. It was an interesting conversation but sometimes meeting face characters and talking to them is awkward but he was a cool character to talk to. We wandered into Toontown and met Mickey. The line was longer than we expected and we thought for sure there would be a photopass photographer but there was not. We did see a photopass photographer at the exit to Mickey's house, which was weird as he was all by himself but perhaps they were waiting to move Mickey down there. The last picture shows some set up for a media event, of course we weren't invited to it but the sign was cool.

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Rista1313

Well-Known Member
Ha ha. My $2 flip flops are my favorite. I would wear them 12 months a year if I could. As for shoes with “support”. I have flat feet, that so called support feels like I am walking on tennis balls. Not comfy! Dont pity me. Unless my toenail polish is chipped😎

I USED to do that too... I have flat feet... but then Plantar Fasciitis was trying to plant hold in my foot... so now I wear Skechers go walks ALL the time... even in the house ... I was lucky it did heal, but it doesn't always... please take care of your feet!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Monday March 25

Some of the pictures don't really go in order but that's okay.

I guess Brad said I needed to pose with the Matterhorn in the background.
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The Coke Corner Piano player
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Brad's last meal for the trip was a hot dog.
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We tried to pull out the sword from the stone, apparently we aren't worthy.
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Disneyland Ducklings!
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At one point we got more butterscotch beignets! Oh yeah baby! Notice we shared the 6 pack this time.
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My last meal from the trip was a grilled chicken Caesar salad from the Jolly Holiday. It was good but the chicken chunks were really big (which is good too) and I forgot a knife so that made it difficult to eat. Yes, I could have gotten a knife but I was too lazy.
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Look how the planters are wearing birthday hats.
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And we finally made it to the 3rd deck of the Mark Twain!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Monday March 25

Hey New Orleans Square!
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I did my best to get shots of Star Wars land.
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We took a ride on the trolley up and down Main Street with Lucky.
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And in the Candy Palace they were making chocolate Easter eggs.
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And as always on the way out I say thank you to Walt and give a wave to the firehouse. I actually have started adding a thank you to Roy too, because without him we wouldn't have the Disney we know and love either.
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Soon it was time to leave and we probably left too early for the airport, especially since we were just going to SNA not LAX but things happen. And we had a nightmare time getting to LAX last trip so Brad was a little nervous. But no need as we made it to the SNA with plenty of time.

Our flight boarded and I thought we would soon be on our way. But nope we waited as the thing that pushes us way from the gate broke. So we waited for something new to come, about 30 minutes. Oh did I mention we had a connection in Salt Lake City to catch with a 40 minute window and they stop boarding 10 minutes before departure time! So now I was convinced we were going to miss our connection for sure, so I was not a happy camper on this flight. Well our flight made up some time, and we landed with about 15 minutes to get to our gate. Oh we landed at terminal F and had to get to D, and we also had to wait for people to get off the people (we were in row 18). You'd be surprised at how slow people can get off a plane when you have a connection to make. So we once we finally got off we ran. And people....I don't run. But this was now the second time this year I have run through an airport to make a connection. Moving sidewalks were our friend. We finally made it to the gate and we were one of the last to board and the seats I had picked out for us upon booking and that were on our boarding pass from SNA were now not our seats. We had been given a window and a middle seat. So now we were sweaty from running and now cramped into a window and middle seat. We were not happy, but at least we were on our way home. I did take it up with Delta later, I got some credit back from Delta. And we made it home.

I recently booked our flights for our California trip in June and I mentioned taking the connection through Salt Lake (jokingly) and Brad was very vehement that it would NOT be an option!

So as I finish this leg of the trip report I have 3 sleeps until I leave for Disneyland on my solo trip!!!! My suitcase will be all packed up tomorrow, I just have to figure out which ears to take. So another part of the the Year in the Land will be coming soon. I hope you have all enjoyed it so far and a big thank you to all that are reading.

Oh and if you have any requests for pictures just let me know.

See ya real soon!
 

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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
First of all, take all the ears!!!
Second, thanks for the TR. You make me homesick!
Lastly, picture request: could you snap some photos of the submarines. I love them!

But if I take all the ears, then I can't justify buying a new pair. ;)
I'm glad you have enjoyed the report even if it has made you a little homesick.
And I will take a picture of the subs for you!
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
And we finally made it to the 3rd deck of the Mark Twain!

Really like that photo you took of the paddlewheels at the rear of the steamboat. Not something you'd see every day.

Oh did I mention we had a connection in Salt Lake City to catch with a 40 minute window and they stop boarding 10 minutes before departure time! So now I was convinced we were going to miss our connection for sure, so I was not a happy camper on this flight. Well our flight made up some time, and we landed with about 15 minutes to get to our gate. Oh we landed at terminal F and had to get to D, and we also had to wait for people to get off the people (we were in row 18). You'd be surprised at how slow people can get off a plane when you have a connection to make. So we once we finally got off we ran.

Ha! Been there. I recall one time I had a late, connecting flight up to LaGuardia. Like yourself, I was probably back around row 18, and freaking out because it took people so long to depart. I literally had about 5 minutes to my connecting plane to Boston, and OF COURSE, the connecting flight gate was way the heck at the opposite end of the terminal. :rolleyes:

So I'm running like crazy to get there, and twice in the overhead paging system I'm hearing my name, "Passenger (x)" please go immediately to Gate (x), your aircraft is ready for departure." 😨 I mean, they could see in the computer that my flight arrived late -- did they think I had gotten off and headed toward a bar for a leisurely cocktail, before heading to the gate??!!! :banghead:
 

amjt660

Premium Member
Great report of the adventures of “Bramy” at DLR!!!

Now we wait (im) patiently for the Amy solo report

Thanks for sharing

My photo request would be in and around the Grand Cali - I miss it and will not be back for at least another year

Max
 

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