Trip Report Hippity Hoppity Easter Disneyland Solo Report

Hello, and welcome to my little trip report about my recent solo trip to Disneyland!

Background: I usually travel to Disney with my husband, but I've taken a couple solo trips to WDW. This year since I have the Premier Passport I decided to take my solo trip to Disneyland.

Who: Me (Amy)

Dates: April 13-17 2017

Hotel: Best Western Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites (located directly across from the crosswalk to Disneyland)

Everyone is welcome to read and comment on my report but I will tag a few people on here who I remember following my other reports..... @figmentfan423 @MinnieM123 @Cesar R M @donaldtoo @MySmallWorldof4 @MOXOMUMD @JenniferS @PacNWTigger @Tuvalu @Gabe1 @betty rose @Songbird76 @sheriffwoody @bee @blgauger @BuddyThomas @fractal @93boomer @MouseDreaming @Wrangler-Rick @PUSH @Mr Ferret 88

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Hello, and welcome to my little trip report about my recent solo trip to Disneyland!

Background: I usually travel to Disney with my husband, but I've taken a couple solo trips to WDW. This year since I have the Premier Passport I decided to take my solo trip to Disneyland.

Who: Me (Amy)

Dates: April 13-17 2017

Hotel: Best Western Park Place Inn & Mini-Suites (located directly across from the crosswalk to Disneyland)

Everyone is welcome to read and comment on my report but I will tag a few people on here who I remember following my other reports..... @figmentfan423 @MinnieM123 @Cesar R M @donaldtoo @MySmallWorldof4 @MOXOMUMD @JenniferS @PacNWTigger @Tuvalu @Gabe1 @betty rose @Songbird76 @sheriffwoody @bee @blgauger @BuddyThomas @fractal @93boomer @MouseDreaming @Wrangler-Rick @PUSH @Mr Ferret 88

Thanks for the tag! Will be following. Cannot wait to read it!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

So my trip officially started on the Thursday April 13th, but I had to get through a day of work first. I'm a middle school teacher and today was a half day for the students and the rest of our day was inservice. It wasn't such a bad day, as I have a student teacher right now but I did have to sub for our choir teacher and that was a little crazy! Anyway, I made it through work and a friend of mine was nice enough to drive me to the airport in Minneapolis.

Security was actually a breeze, less than five minutes and my plane didn't board until 7:30. Since I was there at 5:30 I had plenty of time to relax with a decent dinner and drink. Why was I there so early, since my friend was kind enough to drive me to the airport I didn't want to take up her whole night with driving back and forth from the airport. Plus I like to get there early so I can relax knowing I'm all checked in and ready to go.

So I had dinner at a place called Ike's, it is a branch of a local Minneapolis restaurant. If you ever find yourself in the Minneapolis airport it would be a good choice. It was great a pot roast sandwich and a local beer. I relaxed at the bar for a bit and listened to a Disneyland podcast before heading to the gate.

Dinner

At the gate, and ready to go!

Boarding time! I did a quick selfie in the jetway while there wasn't anyone around.

The flight went fine. I watched La La Land, I had high expectations based on what I'd heard and it had "won" Best Picture (quote because I know it didn't), but I can't say I particularly cared for it. I appreciate that Hollywood makes the occasional musicals because I am a fan of the old Hollywood musicals but something was lacking here.

Anyway, we landed at the Orange County (John Wayne) airport 30 minutes early! I was pumped! Disneyland was open until midnight that night and all along I had figured that if everything went well I would be able to get an hour in at Disneyland tonight. It was looking like I would be able to. So I gathered my luggage and I ordered an Uber. I was a little nervous using Uber but it was the cheapest option and as a first time user I got a special deal on my ride. My Uber experience turned out great, my driver was a guy originally from Australia who had 2 middle school age daughters and was a Disney and hockey fan. We had a great conversation on the way to my hotel. If I could have rated him higher I definitely would have.

Check in to the hotel went fine and my room was fairly close to the lobby as I had wanted. So I dropped off my bags and skipped out to get to Disneyland. I arrived just a couple minutes later, I was at the gate about 10:55. Well I didn't end up getting in until 11:10pm. There weren't lines at all. My pass wouldn't work. Apparently when we bought our Premier Pass at Walt Disney World they had not linked the Disneyland end of it successfully. So they had to issue me a temporary pass. It was quite annoying, especially since this is not the first thing WDW has messed up on our pass. The Disneyland cast members were really apologetic about it, but I wasn't irritated with them.

But soon I was inside and I decided to make Big Thunder Mt my first ride, it was a walk on. Literally I walked through the queue and waited less than a minute for my train to arrive.

I'm so happy to finally be here!

A quick shot while walking through the queue with my phone.

I walked past the castle and it may be small but it sure is pretty!

I decided to get into the Peter Pan line. I knew it was probably going eat of the rest of my time, but I was starting to crash (my body was still on Central time and it was 1:30 am there). Plus that line is always long and I didn't want to do the rush to it in the morning. I ended up getting off right at midnight. So all the lines were closed but I had a nice meander out of the park.

So it was time to head back to the hotel. I was a little nervous about walking back to my room alone so late. But it was really well lit and there were plenty of people still milling around. I was so excited to be in Disneyland and couldn't wait until the next day. Soon I was dreaming Disney dreams!

 

[MinnieM123]

So my trip officially started on the Thursday April 13th, but I had to get through a day of work first. I'm a middle school teacher and today was a half day for the students and the rest of our day was inservice. It wasn't such a bad day, as I have a student teacher right now but I did have to sub for our choir teacher and that was a little crazy! Anyway, I made it through work and a friend of mine was nice enough to drive me to the airport in Minneapolis.

Security was actually a breeze, less than five minutes and my plane didn't board until 7:30. Since I was there at 5:30 I had plenty of time to relax with a decent dinner and drink. Why was I there so early, since my friend was kind enough to drive me to the airport I didn't want to take up her whole night with driving back and forth from the airport. Plus I like to get there early so I can relax knowing I'm all checked in and ready to go.

So I had dinner at a place called Ike's, it is a branch of a local Minneapolis restaurant. If you ever find yourself in the Minneapolis airport it would be a good choice. It was great a pot roast sandwich and a local beer. I relaxed at the bar for a bit and listened to a Disneyland podcast before heading to the gate.

Dinner
View attachment 202006

At the gate, and ready to go!
View attachment 202007

Boarding time! I did a quick selfie in the jetway while there wasn't anyone around.
View attachment 202008

The flight went fine. I watched La La Land, I had high expectations based on what I'd heard and it had "won" Best Picture (quote because I know it didn't), but I can't say I particularly cared for it. I appreciate that Hollywood makes the occasional musicals because I am a fan of the old Hollywood musicals but something was lacking here.

Anyway, we landed at the Orange County (John Wayne) airport 30 minutes early! I was pumped! Disneyland was open until midnight that night and all along I had figured that if everything went well I would be able to get an hour in at Disneyland tonight. It was looking like I would be able to. So I gathered my luggage and I ordered an Uber. I was a little nervous using Uber but it was the cheapest option and as a first time user I got a special deal on my ride. My Uber experience turned out great, my driver was a guy originally from Australia who had 2 middle school age daughters and was a Disney and hockey fan. We had a great conversation on the way to my hotel. If I could have rated him higher I definitely would have.

Check in to the hotel went fine and my room was fairly close to the lobby as I had wanted. So I dropped off my bags and skipped out to get to Disneyland. I arrived just a couple minutes later, I was at the gate about 10:55. Well I didn't end up getting in until 11:10pm. There weren't lines at all. My pass wouldn't work. Apparently when we bought our Premier Pass at Walt Disney World they had not linked the Disneyland end of it successfully. So they had to issue me a temporary pass. It was quite annoying, especially since this is not the first thing WDW has messed up on our pass. The Disneyland cast members were really apologetic about it, but I wasn't irritated with them.

But soon I was inside and I decided to make Big Thunder Mt my first ride, it was a walk on. Literally I walked through the queue and waited less than a minute for my train to arrive.

View attachment 202009

I'm so happy to finally be here!
View attachment 202010

A quick shot while walking through the queue with my phone.
View attachment 202011

I walked past the castle and it may be small but it sure is pretty!
View attachment 202012

I decided to get into the Peter Pan line. I knew it was probably going eat of the rest of my time, but I was starting to crash (my body was still on Central time and it was 1:30 am there). Plus that line is always long and I didn't want to do the rush to it in the morning. I ended up getting off right at midnight. So all the lines were closed but I had a nice meander out of the park.
View attachment 202013

View attachment 202014

View attachment 202015

So it was time to head back to the hotel. I was a little nervous about walking back to my room alone so late. But it was really well lit and there were plenty of people still milling around. I was so excited to be in Disneyland and couldn't wait until the next day. Soon I was dreaming Disney dreams!

Sounds good so far (except for the Premier Pass issue).

The nice thing about the parks (whether in CA or FL), is that there's plenty of families around even at late hours. I've always felt safe walking alone in the evening.

 

[blreinsel]

Woohoo! What a great start to your trip (other than the issue with your pass). Along for the ride.

 

[donaldtoo]

So my trip officially started on the Thursday April 13th, but I had to get through a day of work first. I'm a middle school teacher and today was a half day for the students and the rest of our day was inservice. It wasn't such a bad day, as I have a student teacher right now but I did have to sub for our choir teacher and that was a little crazy! Anyway, I made it through work and a friend of mine was nice enough to drive me to the airport in Minneapolis.

Security was actually a breeze, less than five minutes and my plane didn't board until 7:30. Since I was there at 5:30 I had plenty of time to relax with a decent dinner and drink. Why was I there so early, since my friend was kind enough to drive me to the airport I didn't want to take up her whole night with driving back and forth from the airport. Plus I like to get there early so I can relax knowing I'm all checked in and ready to go.

So I had dinner at a place called Ike's, it is a branch of a local Minneapolis restaurant. If you ever find yourself in the Minneapolis airport it would be a good choice. It was great a pot roast sandwich and a local beer. I relaxed at the bar for a bit and listened to a Disneyland podcast before heading to the gate.

Dinner
View attachment 202006

At the gate, and ready to go!
View attachment 202007

Boarding time! I did a quick selfie in the jetway while there wasn't anyone around.
View attachment 202008

The flight went fine. I watched La La Land, I had high expectations based on what I'd heard and it had "won" Best Picture (quote because I know it didn't), but I can't say I particularly cared for it. I appreciate that Hollywood makes the occasional musicals because I am a fan of the old Hollywood musicals but something was lacking here.

Anyway, we landed at the Orange County (John Wayne) airport 30 minutes early! I was pumped! Disneyland was open until midnight that night and all along I had figured that if everything went well I would be able to get an hour in at Disneyland tonight. It was looking like I would be able to. So I gathered my luggage and I ordered an Uber. I was a little nervous using Uber but it was the cheapest option and as a first time user I got a special deal on my ride. My Uber experience turned out great, my driver was a guy originally from Australia who had 2 middle school age daughters and was a Disney and hockey fan. We had a great conversation on the way to my hotel. If I could have rated him higher I definitely would have.

Check in to the hotel went fine and my room was fairly close to the lobby as I had wanted. So I dropped off my bags and skipped out to get to Disneyland. I arrived just a couple minutes later, I was at the gate about 10:55. Well I didn't end up getting in until 11:10pm. There weren't lines at all. My pass wouldn't work. Apparently when we bought our Premier Pass at Walt Disney World they had not linked the Disneyland end of it successfully. So they had to issue me a temporary pass. It was quite annoying, especially since this is not the first thing WDW has messed up on our pass. The Disneyland cast members were really apologetic about it, but I wasn't irritated with them.

But soon I was inside and I decided to make Big Thunder Mt my first ride, it was a walk on. Literally I walked through the queue and waited less than a minute for my train to arrive.

View attachment 202009

I'm so happy to finally be here!
View attachment 202010

A quick shot while walking through the queue with my phone.
View attachment 202011

I walked past the castle and it may be small but it sure is pretty!
View attachment 202012

I decided to get into the Peter Pan line. I knew it was probably going eat of the rest of my time, but I was starting to crash (my body was still on Central time and it was 1:30 am there). Plus that line is always long and I didn't want to do the rush to it in the morning. I ended up getting off right at midnight. So all the lines were closed but I had a nice meander out of the park.
View attachment 202013

View attachment 202014

View attachment 202015

So it was time to head back to the hotel. I was a little nervous about walking back to my room alone so late. But it was really well lit and there were plenty of people still milling around. I was so excited to be in Disneyland and couldn't wait until the next day. Soon I was dreaming Disney dreams!

As always, thanks for the tag!
I may actually be able to keep up with this TR based on the timeline...!!!
As you know, I'm still so far behind on the CCCC thread, but, I promise to see this wonderful TR of yours through...!!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sounds good so far (except for the Premier Pass issue).

The nice thing about the parks (whether in CA or FL), is that there's plenty of families around even at late hours. I've always felt safe walking alone in the evening.

I have always felt pretty safe at WDW walking back to my room at night but it I try to stay vigilant and careful.

Woohoo! What a great start to your trip (other than the issue with your pass). Along for the ride.

The pass issue was a hassle that continued through the next day. Every time I tried to use the pass for a discount for dining or shopping the cast member had to call a lead over to override the system. Luckily by Saturday it was fixed. I had hubby send me a picture of the back of his pass and I stopped at the ticket booth and talked to a lead and he took the information and said they would correct the situation for him too. So hopefully when he uses his pass this summer we won't have an issue.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

As always, thanks for the tag!
I may actually be able to keep up with this TR based on the timeline...!!!
As you know, I'm still so far behind on the CCCC thread, but, I promise to see this wonderful TR of yours through...!!!

I know you are trying to "ketchup"! Read and follow along when you can.

 

[donaldtoo]

I know you are trying to "ketchup"! Read and follow along when you can.

Thank you so much...life is just crazy sometimes, but, I can also be a bit "slothy"...

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday April 14th! Time for Disneyland!

I was up early and ready to go. My hotel had a continental breakfast and it was a fine standard hotel breakfast. The coffee was actually pretty good, so that was important. And soon I was crossing the street and hearing the lovely Disney background music on my way through security and I found a fairly short line at the gate.

A look at California Adventure, I would see that more later.

I was hoping they would let us in about 10 minutes early or so with a rope drop, but they waited until 8am on the dot. I do love Disneyland but the gate opening is really lame. They pick a family to open the park and then a cast member yells out that they are going to open the park and there is a countdown from 10. Even the new Magic Kingdom show is better.

Another rant is that at Disneyland people can print a ticket at home and then go to the turnstile with it and then it will be exchanged for an actual ticket. I hate this option, it seems to take forever as they have to sign the new pass and get their ticket signed and I always seem to end up behind all the people that do this. Today was no exception I got behind a family of 8 that had this. At that moment I really missed WDW with the annual passholder entrance and the magic band that has everyone's ticket on it already.

I did a couple quick pictures in front of the train station before heading to Fantasyland. I had already done Peter Pan, so no need to rush that attraction. Instead my first stop was the Alice ride then Dumbo.

I had been hoping that all the trees near the Partner's statue would be blooming but it looks like I had just missed it. I was thankful that one of the pink trees was still in bloom.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

My Dumbo was green. I like to get the green teacups and green Dumbos, so I was happy to soar high above Fantasyland in my elephant!

Then I worked, yes it was a tough job , on going on the rest of the Fantasyland attractions. So I went to visit Mr. Toad.

Then Pinocchio and Snow White, and no luck pulling the Sword out of the Stone.

And a spin on the carousel. I really am bad at the selfie thing, sometimes I look at the camera, sometimes not.

Next, time for tea! Tea cups! These ones don't spin as well as WDW's so I just sit back and relax.

 

[Kiwiduck]

I'm glad you got to see at least one of the trees in full bloom, it looks so beautiful in pictures.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em saw La La Land and her reaction: "What WAS that?" Therefore I passed on it.

Forget about the pink trees.....I was most excited to see BENCHES!!!!!

 

[amjt660]

Hi @ajrwdwgirl
Enjoying the trip report so far

Following along

Max

 

[21stamps]

Following!! I haven't been to Disneyland since I was a small child. I love looking at your photos!.. someday I'll make it back there.

 

[kaitertot5249]

I always admire people who do Disney alone! I feel like I would enjoy taking a solo trip (especially because I want to visit Disney any chance I get and no one I know wants to go with me ) but I also love visiting with people so I'm torn!

I am loving reading along with your solo trip through, maybe someday I'll take one of my own!

 

[littleroo]

Following along and enjoying! Thank you!!

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Can't wait to read the rest of your report.

 

[PacNWTigger]

Thanks for the tag! I'm all caught up and ready to see more pics. You know I'm loving your pics from Mr. Toad.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm glad you got to see at least one of the trees in full bloom, it looks so beautiful in pictures.

I went a couple of years ago when all the trees in that area were in full bloom and it was so pretty. I was thankful to have some bloom this time since it was a little later.

Em saw La La Land and her reaction: "What WAS that?" Therefore I passed on it.

Forget about the pink trees.....I was most excited to see BENCHES!!!!!

Good choice on passing on La La Land. I was happy for at least one pink tree, but in all my day dreams I couldn't wait to relax on some of those beautiful benches! No lie...When I was walking towards the hub on my first night I said out loud, "Hello Beautiful benches! I can't wait to relax on you!" There was no one around me, but even if there had been, I still probably would have said it.

Hi @ajrwdwgirl
Enjoying the trip report so far

Following along

Max

Hi Max! Welcome to another report!