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

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

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

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

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 !

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

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

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

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!

We landed in Santa Ana in no time and the airport (John Wayne) was beautiful!

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!!!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Thanks for following along!!!



Thanks....I'm already tired...hahaha



Haha so sorry Lisa! My grandma actually passed away last week which attributed to my delay but I am getting everything more organized now

So sorry to hear about your grandma.

OK! Sorry for the delays already! For those who have read my TR from the Princess Half Marathon you may remember that my sister Betta was pregnant ... and she had her baby yesterday!! Yay! I'm an aunt !! I promise to resume writing tomorrow just going to drive to Rochester after work to meet Max

Congratulations on becoming an aunt! That's so exciting! I agree with @Longers. It is fun to spoil them and give them back. Hope you enjoyed your visit.

 

[PMC0849]

It was definitely different and perhaps a little less magical not sure if you got the same impression but we still loved it!

We loved it too, but I agree it did feel less magical. I think that is because there is no bubble, you are in Disney, and just like that you are in Anaheim. But the DL version of Pirates was so much better.

 

[FlaggNL]

Haha I wish I could go to Paris in two years...I am hoping to go to Europe next year maybe I can convince my friends to hit up DLP.

We have the same wish for DL lol but it ain't going to happen in 2 years since we are going to WDW this Oct and Oct 2016 And if you can convince your friends... that would be marvelous I guess It is so different from WDW Check my former TR's as you think you like it

 

[Doc Disney]

congratulations Its the best being an auntie - we get to spoil them and then give them back

Thanks! I have already spoiled him so much haha

Fellow Buffalonian here! I've been to DL, and I also loved it. Glad you had a good time!

Ahh yay! Go Buffalo! Thanks for following along

 

[Doc Disney]

So sorry to hear about your grandma.

Congratulations on becoming an aunt! That's so exciting! I agree with @Longers. It is fun to spoil them and give them back. Hope you enjoyed your visit.

Thanks to both! I wish they lived closer so I could spoil him all the time!

We loved it too, but I agree it did feel less magical. I think that is because there is no bubble, you are in Disney, and just like that you are in Anaheim. But the DL version of Pirates was so much better.

Yea it probably is because of the lack of bubble! and totally agreed about Pirates!

We have the same wish for DL lol but it ain't going to happen in 2 years since we are going to WDW this Oct and Oct 2016 And if you can convince your friends... that would be marvelous I guess It is so different from WDW Check my former TR's as you think you like it

I will definitely check them out! I bet I could convince them if we do end up going to France!

 

[LilWalt]

Glad you had a good trip. Sorry for your loss and congrats on becoming an aunt! Can't wait to read about it. Never been to DL so I will live it through you!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Awww yay! Congrats to Betta!

 

[Doc Disney]

Ok Day 1 continued: (also sorry totally wrote this yesterday and forgot to hit post haha)

When we walked into the lobby we immediately saw Goofy and Chip and Dale! I wish I took a picture but my camera was in my carryon and I had too much luggage with me haha (we desperately missed DME!). I did cry a little when I saw Goofy, it was so cool to see characters right in the hotel!
Check in was fairly painless but our room wasn't ready so we dragged our luggage to the bathroom! (BTW the check in lady was the only one who wished us a magical day the entire time we were there!!). The bathroom, however, wasn't big enough so we basically sprawled our suitcases out in the tiny area outside the bathroom and dug through them for clothes, makeup, park bags etc. It retrospect probably should have put that all in our carryon haha oh well!
We then dragged our suitcases to the bellhop and we were on our way! (we did get a little lost for a minute thanks to the front desk lady giving weird directions).
This is around the Bellhop desk

So, to get to the parks for the Disneyland Hotel you walk through Downtown Disney which in my humble opinion was WAYYYYY cooler than WDW Downtown Disney (Disney Springs I guess). The buildings are a lot cooler and it just seemed to have a really chill vibe. It is definitely smaller, though. (I don't have any pictures?! Only videos). We got through security pretty quicly (same security for both parks) and went to the left for Disneyland! Its sooooo surreal to see both parks right across from each other. Its actually really cool and I did make a joke a few times that we better catch the bus before walking across haha
The weather at first seemed perfect but it actually turned out to be hot and the dresses we wore were probably not the best choice. We had nice-ish dinner reservations later in the day so we figured we would dress in case we didn't of back to the hotel (obviously we didn't know it was a quick walk back to the hotel).
When we walked through the gates we handed our ticket over (wheres my Magic Band ) and got our picture taken which is funny! When we walked in we saw the 60th Anniversary stuff and the train station (which is so little comparatively haha). I cried of course. It was just so surreal to be there. I didn't think I would ever make it to DL in my life...especially for the 60th Anniversary !

When we walked down main street at first it looked JUST like WDW but then I looked around and you can see subtle differences. Also, there were characters everywhere! It reminded me of the old WDW days..I still can't decide if I liked it or not
It took us awhile to look down to see the castle. It looked beautiful for the 60th Anniversary ...but we did giggle at the size. It was a must that the first thing we did was get new ears so to the Emporium we went The ears we got were so comfy and the cashier was so nice to cut the tags off for us!

We stopped to take some (more) pictures and a nice fellow mom and daughter team offered to take our picture!

We kind of hung out in the hub (do they call it that ?) for a bit taking it all in. The Disneyland app launched right around this time but I was still using the old wait times app which was pretty accurate. Everything was super busy since it was midday so we wandered around a little. We ended up going through the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through and landed in Fantasyland. We somehow ended up in line for Pinocchio so we waited for it. One thing thats really different about DL is that almost all the lines are outside...and you can eat and drink in them! It was pretty hot so at least we were under shade. You load the rides basically while you are outside...this concept seemed so weird to me
The ride was cute and not something we have seen before so I was glad we were able to do it!

After this we....got lost haha. This is where the tittle comes in; as much as I studied the map before I left it really did not help. For the first day or so I was always looking at the map haha. I can't tell you the last time I used a map at WDW more than once haha. Even if it has been years between trips I can usually remember the layout of parks. Its a weird ability.

Since it was so crowded we somehow ended up at Pirates so waited about 30 minutes for that. Its also funny they don't have digital wait times so you literally have to walk right up to the little sign to see the time . This line was mostly in the sun and it was hot but luckily we had our water bottles with us and filled them up (at the water fountains that were in the line...haha)

When we finally got on the ride it was awesome. Way superior to WDW version for sure...and much longer. There are two decent sized drops inside and there are a few extra scenes before and after the scenes that are in the WDW version. We loved it! I really wished my Dad was with us because that is his favorite ride and he would have really enjoyed it. Oh, we were behind a family in line of like 4 kids and the one daughter was clearly the favorite the mom only paid attention to her . It was also in this line that we first noticed line cutting...everyone cuts the line, its insane. Parents send their kids in line and then follow them in as if they are looking for people. It gets very irritating really fast and is something we dealt with the entire trip. I guess outside lines make it easier. Oh well, we tired to not let us bother us

After POTC we wandered over to Haunted Mansion. The outside is so awesome! It looks just like NOLA which is one of my favorite places! Again another very much in the sun line which is tough on hot days. The ride is pretty similar to WDW with some small changes and the hitchhiking ghosts don't appear in your doom buggy at the end

After this we decided to take a break and head back to the hotel. I got a text saying our room was ready within about 10 minutes of us being in the park so that was nice. It was also nice to be able to stroll through Downtown Disney to go back instead of waiting for a bus!

NEXT up the hotel and California Adventure!

 

[Doc Disney]

Glad you had a good trip. Sorry for your loss and congrats on becoming an aunt! Can't wait to read about it. Never been to DL so I will live it through you!

Thanks to both! It was awesome! Definitely recommend going if you ever can

Awww yay! Congrats to Betta!

Thanks! He's so cute! I wish I could post a picture but I have to ask her first if she wants one up here

 

[sheriffwoody]

hitchhiking ghosts don't appear in your doom buggy at the end

That's so strange! They definitely used to. One of the reasons the Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction is because I have memories of riding it with my grandaddy and laughing with him when a ghost appeared between us.

I can already tell this report is going to make me super homesick for DL , but I'm enjoying living vicariously through you!

 

[Doc Disney]

That's so strange! They definitely used to. One of the reasons the Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction is because I have memories of riding it with my grandaddy and laughing with him when a ghost appeared between us.

I can already tell this report is going to make me super homesick for DL , but I'm enjoying living vicariously through you!

I feel like it just wasn't working because it felt like they should come in the buggy when you are looking in the mirrors but they didn't! Hope I'm not making you too sad!

 

[Doc Disney]

That's so strange! They definitely used to. One of the reasons the Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction is because I have memories of riding it with my grandaddy and laughing with him when a ghost appeared between us.

I can already tell this report is going to make me super homesick for DL , but I'm enjoying living vicariously through you!

OK so after consulting with my mom she said the ghosts were in the buggy but they didn't change our heads or do all those special effects like they do at WDW I've lost my memory I guess haha

 

[sheriffwoody]

OK so after consulting with my mom she said the ghosts were in the buggy but they didn't change our heads or do all those special effects like they do at WDW I've lost my memory I guess haha

hahaha! I don't remember them switching heads either, so maybe that's just a WDW thing.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

I want to visit Disneyland so badly, but alas no time soon so I will live through this resort. Love it so far!

 

[Doc Disney]

I want to visit Disneyland so badly, but alas no time soon so I will live through this resort. Love it so far!

Ah well I hope this helps. Thanks for following along

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 1 continued :
When we walked back to the hotel we were pretty hot and at the time it seemed like it was going to be just too much to get our luggage so we called Bell Services to bring it to our room
We stayed in the Fantasy Tower which was great!
Our room was 2228 which seemed like it may have been on the second floor but it was on the fourth haha. We did actually get off on the fourth floor and apparently forgot how to read so tried to open the wrong door, then thought maybe its on the 6th floor so tried that and ultimately went back to the 4th floor to the correct room. Moral of the story is to read the legend on the first floor haha

There were tons of little Disney touches throughout!
Mickey hand!

The sink handle is a Mickey too! (Please ignore all the water haha)

Some cool photos in the bathroom

Some more lights

For some reason I thought this mirror was really cool

We had two queen beds and the pillows were cute too (not sure why its so blurry) (also totally took these pictures on the last day which is why the bed only looks half made haha)

My Penguin and Dinosaur of course had to come...

Walt was next to my bed every night

The rugs also have Mickey!

The headboard At night it lit up and played a Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

We had a lovely view of the pool which was nice because I only payed for a Standard View

The awesome slide!

The room was great! It was way bigger than any room I stayed at in Disney World! We were actually saying that it would have been nice to have this room when it was the four of us in WDW for the Princess Half Marathon haha. Fitting four adult women into one room was a squeeze and we were staying at the WL so it wasn't like it was a value hotel. Anyway this room was more than enough room for just my mom and I but we enjoyed it!
I would definitely stay at this hotel again
After getting our luggage (which took like 5 minutes...thanks Bell Hop!) we decided to take a break at the pool and made our way down to the E-ticket pool.
It was packed so we put our stuff to the side and enjoyed the refreshing water for a bit...the water was cold but it was so hot that day so we didn't mind

We didn't make it to the Monorail slides yet but we would later in the trip. Some kid in the pool kept being really annoying towards his Dad and splashing him when the Dad kept asking him to stop so he literally pushed him underwater while the kid was doing it and the kid was so mad when he came up hahahaha. I thought it was great and the Dad was like well sorry but thats what your get for not listening

After cooling off we were ready to head to California Adventure for dinner!!

Next up Cali Adventure, Dinner and World of Color

 

[DisSplash]

Yay!! The Doc is in! I was so happy to find your report today as I always love your little adventures with your family! Sorry to hear about your grandma, but your new nephew Max must have helped make you smile again!

It looks like you and mom are off to a great start to exploring Disneyland. I have only been there once when I was still in high school (many moons ago - how sad) but I am determined to get there with my family at some point soon (like maybe the next 3 years or so). I love the pictures of the hotel room and pool - the headboard is super cool!

Can't wait to see more!

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

Great trip report - following along

Sorry to hear about your Grandma..

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for the additions Looks familiar but yet so different

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

hahaha! I don't remember them switching heads either, so maybe that's just a WDW thing.

OK so after consulting with my mom she said the ghosts were in the buggy but they didn't change our heads or do all those special effects like they do at WDW I've lost my memory I guess haha

I got really concerned when you said they didn't appear in our doombuggies. First I thought it wasn't working for you, then I had that senior moment of 'wait, were they there?' Whew! Yes, the head-swapping in the doombuggy must be a WDW thing.

My question to you - was the Hatbox Ghost's head swapping? For us, he was nice and bright and clean and all gussied up, but his head stayed on his shoulders.