Trip Report From East to West … Two Besties Tackle Disneyland (LIVE 2/20-2/26)

It’s been a long 22 months. It’s been the best of times, and the worst of times. And it was during one of those “worst of times” that the promise of this trip began.

I remember the moment exactly. Me, bawling in a supermarket parking lot, just completely and totally overwhelmed by lockdown after lockdown after lockdown, and my Bestie @NYwdwfan promising that we will make this trip happen.

And here we are. Exactly 5 weeks out, God willing.

So much has happened since my last live trip report … not all COVID-related. Some gains - a brand new hip, and a puppy that is the light of our lives. Some losses - our 2020 WDW trip, and 50 lbs.

Here are the 5 W’s:

Who?
Me - JenniferS - Canadian, huge Blue Jays fan. After almost 2 years of spending every second together, I’ll be travelling without my usual ride or die Mike … aka Hubby.
I have been to WDW more than a dozen times, starting in 1991.

I will let Bestie introduce herself.
Ideally this will be a tandem trip report, with regular input and photos from her as well.

What?
A first time visit (for both of us!) to the OG park. We will cry the first time we walk down MSUSA. Guaranteed!

We have 5 day ParkHopper passes, and plan on utilizing both Genie+ and ILL,

Where?
Disney’s Grand Californian Resort and Spa. I’m a Moderate girl, whereas Bestie has often stayed Deluxe at WDW.

When?
We arrive at LAX within 20 minutes of each other on Sunday, February 20th.
Park Days: 21st - starting at DL
22nd - starting at DCA
23rd - starting at DL
24th - starting at DCA
25th - starting at DL
26th - morning departures from LAX

Why?
Why not? Our original plan was to stay off-site, but an email discount code for GC was just too attractive to pass up.

If you’ve read any of my previous reports, you know I post live. Mike has always been a good sport about it. Hopefully Bestie will be equally accommodating.

We will eat well (oh boy, will we eat well), hit most of the rides (together and separately, because someone doesn’t like big drops or going boing boing), and will savour every second of our time together. It has incredibly been 3 years since we have seen one another in person.

I’ll share our dining plans in a separate post.

Me, ‘cause it’s been a long time!
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Mikey. Says he’s not sorry to have been excluded:
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And Daisy, the best thing to come out of all this COVID carp:
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JenniferS

When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Original Poster
Bengal Barbecue is directly across from the entrance to Jungle Cruise. Zero wait. Less than zero. There were only six of us plus the Skipper.

No pics because it was dark.

And that’s a wrap for the day. Sheryl has already posted a ride re-cap … 25 of them!

We’re going to take it a little easier tomorrow.

I’m too old to do this 5 days straight.

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Katiekitten

Well-Known Member
I have just caught up and I can hardly keep up, so I imagine you are exhausted after your first day!

I am loving following so far, a trip to Disneyland is another dream of mine that I don't think is likely to happen any time soon so in the meantime I am going to live it through your trip report!
 

NYwdwfan

Well-Known Member
Bengal Barbecue is directly across from the entrance to Jungle Cruise. Zero wait. Less than zero. There were only six of us plus the Skipper.

No pics because it was dark.

And that’s a wrap for the day. Sheryl has already posted a ride re-cap … 25 of them!

We’re going to take it a little easier tomorrow.

I’m too old to do this 5 days straight.

View attachment 623151
View attachment 623150
Here’s mine. Literally next to each other all day long. She got a lot more credit for things!
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JenniferS

When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
Original Poster
Good morning! It’s DCA day with dinner tonight at Carthay Circle. We WILL be coming back to the hotel this afternoon for a couple of hours to freshen up.

We will not be rope dropping per se, but showing up right for 8:00 opening. No mad dash to Radiator Springs Racers for us … we’ll just pay for the ILL and then single rider it a second time. Webslingers is not worth the price by all accounts, and based on the negligible ride times in DL later in the evening, we can probably just wait in line for it.

Beds are made (we each made our own), coffee is brewed, and we are dressed and almost ready to go.

Sheryl will be modeling jeans with no rips (she says she doesn’t need air conditioning today) with a white tank top, a white and grey t-shirt, and a grey hoodie; and Jennifer will be resplendent in grey herringbone leggings and an Arendelle Aqua spirit jersey.

Park pics coming forthwith. We have our own dedicated entrance to the park from the hotel, so I believe our first views will be from Pixar Pier.

Current temp is 53°, going up to a high of 60°. See you all there soon. But first … coffee!
 

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