I’ve never been to Disneyland. Mind you, I’m not an amateur Disney Park fan, I mean, I’ve been to Disney World about 15 times and obsess over other Disney fan sites, blogs, YouTube videos, forums, etc. But, I am writing this trip report because I FINALLY traveled to the west coast parks with Josh this May! I know you are all DYING to read about our trip, so here it is!
Angie
Josh
With some trips, getting there can be half the fun, and I wouldn’t say HALF the fun we had was getting there, but it was definitely fun because I shared the traveling experience with someone I love more than anything in the whole world!
May 3rd, 2014
I got off of work at 6pm. Josh and I walked home from work, fed Flip (the best dog on Earth!), ate dinner, took Flip out, showered, finished packing, and laid in bed. It was 8pm at this point and we were attempting to get some sleep. We thought it was smart, but we were waaaaaaay too excited. It was just like being a little kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve! We kept screaming and “Eeeeee”ing and jolting, and just freaking out in general. I kept saying “Ok, this time we really have to try and sleep,” but it was no use. At some point we finally fell asleep.
May 4th, 2014
We had the alarm set for 4am, but I woke up at 2:30am and saw the time and just could not get back to sleep. Josh woke up shortly after and that was it, we were up for good. I’m pretty sure I’d only gotten 4 hours of sleep IF that. Josh brought the luggage to the car while I got ready for the day. I double checked that I had all the important documents we needed for our trip:
They have a dog named Nelly, and she and Flip get along, so Flip would be staying there with them while we were on vacation. (Also, they are probably 2 of the only people I would trust Flip with like that.) We had coffee while there, then packed up Josh’s Mom’s car around 5:45am, and I triple checked we had all the confirmation papers, and his parents drove us to the Denver airport, which is about an hour away, to get there early for our 8:30am (mountain time) flight.
All we packed for our trip were 2 carry on suitcases and a small bag each. (We purposely left room in our bags for souvenirs!) After security, we only waited about an hour before we started boarding the plane, so we got a couple bagels and I went to use the bathroom. Little did I know, that Josh pulled something secret out from his luggage and put it into his pocket while I was in the bathroom – an engagement ring!
Our flight was scheduled to take 2h 30min, and we slept through most of it – THAT’S how tired we were! We took United Airlines, which, was a step below Jet Blue, but not nearly as bad as American Airlines. I will always fly Jet Blue if it is an option. United gave free soft drinks, but you had to pay to watch anything on the tv or for anything else you wanted. It was fine though, no complaints.
We arrived at LAX earlier than expected: 9:30am (pacific). We’d previously booked a shuttle with Super Shuttle and it was really easy to find. From the United Airlines gates, we just went down to baggage claim, turned left, and walked to the doors to the arrivals pick up area. The shuttle station was clearly marked with a sign and someone was standing there with a Super Shuttle “uniform” on. He said the shuttle would arrive in 25 min, but it only took 10min. The guy who picked us up seemed fine at first, but he drove to pick up another group of 3 at another airline, but there were only 2 seats left so he kicked out one of the people in the shuttle who was traveling solo!!!! He said “another shuttle will pick you up here in a few minutes.” THEN, he argued with the woman who got on because her scheduled pick up time was for the day after and she said the guy she booked with said it wouldn’t matter, but he still argued for 10 min before giving in and finally just driving them to Disneyland. He kept looking at his tablet and driving crazy. I was scared, but we got there safely. The nice thing was that Super Shuttle will drop you off right at your hotel as long as you request it. So, he dropped us off at the Rodeway Inn Maingate.
We had read some reviews about the hotel and were expecting the worst, but honestly, I’ve stayed in waaaaay worse hotels. The staff was friendly and helpful, but not in an overly outward way. The guy at the desk even printed a map for us and showed us how to walk to the parks and back. From that point, you have to take the road we were on (Ball rd.) to Disneyland Dr. and walk all the way down to Downtown Disney or to Magic Way and turn Right to catch the tram which takes you directly to the gates of the parks! Most mornings we walked to Downtown Disney (DTD) because we arrived early and the parks weren’t open yet but some of the DTD shops were.
We walked to DTD and headed straight for Disneyland Park. It was about 11am and we walked over to the Firehouse, said “Hello” to Walt (to the light in the window above the Firehouse), walked to the center of the beginning of Main st., gazed at the castle and hugged each other, then started jumping around and going “EEEeeeeee!!!!! We’re HERE!!!!!!!!!!!” (by the way, the ring was still in his pocket!)
In the next post, we enjoy my FIRST TIME EVER at Disneyland Park – the most magical day EVER!
- When: May 4th-9th with a 5 day park ticket (not a hopper)
- Where: Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA (stayed at the Rodeway Inn Maingate)
- How: Flight from Colorado (DEN-LAX)
Angie
Josh
With some trips, getting there can be half the fun, and I wouldn’t say HALF the fun we had was getting there, but it was definitely fun because I shared the traveling experience with someone I love more than anything in the whole world!
May 3rd, 2014
I got off of work at 6pm. Josh and I walked home from work, fed Flip (the best dog on Earth!), ate dinner, took Flip out, showered, finished packing, and laid in bed. It was 8pm at this point and we were attempting to get some sleep. We thought it was smart, but we were waaaaaaay too excited. It was just like being a little kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve! We kept screaming and “Eeeeee”ing and jolting, and just freaking out in general. I kept saying “Ok, this time we really have to try and sleep,” but it was no use. At some point we finally fell asleep.
May 4th, 2014
We had the alarm set for 4am, but I woke up at 2:30am and saw the time and just could not get back to sleep. Josh woke up shortly after and that was it, we were up for good. I’m pretty sure I’d only gotten 4 hours of sleep IF that. Josh brought the luggage to the car while I got ready for the day. I double checked that I had all the important documents we needed for our trip:
- Flight reservation confirmation
- Hotel reservation confirmation
- Shuttle to the hotel confirmation
- Licenses
- Photopass+ Voucher
- Cash (especially to tip the shuttle guy)
- Disney Gift Cards
- Credit Cards
They have a dog named Nelly, and she and Flip get along, so Flip would be staying there with them while we were on vacation. (Also, they are probably 2 of the only people I would trust Flip with like that.) We had coffee while there, then packed up Josh’s Mom’s car around 5:45am, and I triple checked we had all the confirmation papers, and his parents drove us to the Denver airport, which is about an hour away, to get there early for our 8:30am (mountain time) flight.
All we packed for our trip were 2 carry on suitcases and a small bag each. (We purposely left room in our bags for souvenirs!) After security, we only waited about an hour before we started boarding the plane, so we got a couple bagels and I went to use the bathroom. Little did I know, that Josh pulled something secret out from his luggage and put it into his pocket while I was in the bathroom – an engagement ring!
Our flight was scheduled to take 2h 30min, and we slept through most of it – THAT’S how tired we were! We took United Airlines, which, was a step below Jet Blue, but not nearly as bad as American Airlines. I will always fly Jet Blue if it is an option. United gave free soft drinks, but you had to pay to watch anything on the tv or for anything else you wanted. It was fine though, no complaints.
We arrived at LAX earlier than expected: 9:30am (pacific). We’d previously booked a shuttle with Super Shuttle and it was really easy to find. From the United Airlines gates, we just went down to baggage claim, turned left, and walked to the doors to the arrivals pick up area. The shuttle station was clearly marked with a sign and someone was standing there with a Super Shuttle “uniform” on. He said the shuttle would arrive in 25 min, but it only took 10min. The guy who picked us up seemed fine at first, but he drove to pick up another group of 3 at another airline, but there were only 2 seats left so he kicked out one of the people in the shuttle who was traveling solo!!!! He said “another shuttle will pick you up here in a few minutes.” THEN, he argued with the woman who got on because her scheduled pick up time was for the day after and she said the guy she booked with said it wouldn’t matter, but he still argued for 10 min before giving in and finally just driving them to Disneyland. He kept looking at his tablet and driving crazy. I was scared, but we got there safely. The nice thing was that Super Shuttle will drop you off right at your hotel as long as you request it. So, he dropped us off at the Rodeway Inn Maingate.
We had read some reviews about the hotel and were expecting the worst, but honestly, I’ve stayed in waaaaay worse hotels. The staff was friendly and helpful, but not in an overly outward way. The guy at the desk even printed a map for us and showed us how to walk to the parks and back. From that point, you have to take the road we were on (Ball rd.) to Disneyland Dr. and walk all the way down to Downtown Disney or to Magic Way and turn Right to catch the tram which takes you directly to the gates of the parks! Most mornings we walked to Downtown Disney (DTD) because we arrived early and the parks weren’t open yet but some of the DTD shops were.
We walked to DTD and headed straight for Disneyland Park. It was about 11am and we walked over to the Firehouse, said “Hello” to Walt (to the light in the window above the Firehouse), walked to the center of the beginning of Main st., gazed at the castle and hugged each other, then started jumping around and going “EEEeeeeee!!!!! We’re HERE!!!!!!!!!!!” (by the way, the ring was still in his pocket!)
In the next post, we enjoy my FIRST TIME EVER at Disneyland Park – the most magical day EVER!
