It's time for a trip to Disneyland!

Disneyland April7-10th

Why: Agent Training Program
Who: Me, Jess, Danielle
Where: Paradise Pier

I was so excited when this training opportunity came up! We lived in LA for a year and central California for two. We have been to Disneyland countless times and stayed at several hotels off property as well as the Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel. Since we let 2 1/2 years ago I've only been back once! I was way overdue!

Thursday, April 7th - Departure Day

We woke before dawn so dh could take me to the airport. M flight left at 6 am so I slept most of the flight. I got to LA really early though! About 7:30. At LAX I just missed the shuttle and waited about an hour.

Man it was cold! I was not excited about the cold! I did however get sentimental as soon as I stepped outside. I really miss California! I hope the Air Force sends us back one day!

I spent the bus ride answering emails and getting quotes on my iPad. I heart my iPad by the way.

We arrived at Paradise Pier and I was welcomed off the bus and walked inside.

As soon as I started checking in I was back on the iPad!

Then it hit me. I am at Disneyland!! Get off the Internet! Take in the atmosphere! Enjoy it all!

My room wasn't ready so I took my welcome packet to a bench and checked it all out. Then I got back on the iPad. :lookaroun

But just for a few minutes!

Then it was time to go explore!

I went in the bathroom and changed into flip flops. Shoot! I looked down and realized I forgot to paint my toenails!

I walked across the street to the Grand Californian first. This is one of my favorite hotels at any Disney property. We have stayed here many times and I think it's worth every penny!

I walked out to Downtown Disney and mosied around slowly. I love DL's Downtown Disney. The atmosphere, the restaurants, the convenience. Love it!

I snacked on some Weltzel pretzel bites while I walked.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Loved the update! Interesting to see the other Good Neighbor Hotels. Having only been to WDW it's hard to 'imagine' staying off-site. I really liked your PP room. The room itself looked like one we would enjoy. The pool (not that we're big swimmers) really is lacking. I hope maybe after they finish up with the Disneyland Hotel they'll spread a little Pixie Dust over in that area. Really. Just a liiiiiittle more effort to make it more than just a basic, motel pool with a Carnival cruise ship slide. Ya know? That view you had was amaaaazing! Ugh! So gorgeous!!!

 

[Disney_Belle]

Loved the update! Interesting to see the other Good Neighbor Hotels. Having only been to WDW it's hard to 'imagine' staying off-site. I really liked your PP room. The room itself looked like one we would enjoy. The pool (not that we're big swimmers) really is lacking. I hope maybe after they finish up with the Disneyland Hotel they'll spread a little Pixie Dust over in that area. Really. Just a liiiiiittle more effort to make it more than just a basic, motel pool with a Carnival cruise ship slide. Ya know? That view you had was amaaaazing! Ugh! So gorgeous!!!

I felt of the 3 resorts, PPH was the "least" Disney... but the room was great, and the view - well, breathtaking to say the least My next visit I will be staying at the Grand Californian. I could have sat in the lobby all day lol!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Loved the update! Interesting to see the other Good Neighbor Hotels. Having only been to WDW it's hard to 'imagine' staying off-site. I really liked your PP room. The room itself looked like one we would enjoy. The pool (not that we're big swimmers) really is lacking. I hope maybe after they finish up with the Disneyland Hotel they'll spread a little Pixie Dust over in that area. Really. Just a liiiiiittle more effort to make it more than just a basic, motel pool with a Carnival cruise ship slide. Ya know? That view you had was amaaaazing! Ugh! So gorgeous!!!

I have to agree. The pool was a little basic. Especially when you consider how nice the other two on property pools are!

It is hard to imagine staying offsite and we NEVER do at WDW. At DL however, if we don't have the funds to stay on, I won't hesitate to stay off.

It's so different. Some of the offsite hotels have a shorter walk to DL than Paradise Pier and the Disneyland Hotel! It's kind of crazy.

That theme park view was incredible though!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Saturday, April 9th - Park Tours

It was another early morning. We grabbed a quick continental breakfast in the conference room and walked to Disneyland for the early morning hours.

We rode the Matterhorn first. It's a little jerky, but fun as usual.

Next we walked over to the Alice in Wonderland ride. I realized then that I had dropped my phone in the Matterhorn car and walked back to get it while Jess and Dani rode. They found it. Phew!

Next we rode Mr Toads and then Buzz.

Our hour was almost up! On our way to Toontown for morning madness we noticed the Storybook Land Canal was open! Yay! No line!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

We made it to Toontown just in time! We sat down for the welcome show.

Next it was time for a quick tour.

We hit some highlights which included the place where Walt stood and planned out the park.

Here’s the tangled meet and greet:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

We broke up for a few minutes and met back up in the conference room. We ate and sat through a session on booking DL packages.

After we finished we all went together to see Aladdin. That show is still amazing. I can't believe they ever thought about closing it.

After the show we went on another quick tour. This time of DCA.

After we finished, it was time for a highlight of any Disney trip - Mickey bars!

We walked over to Screamin after that. Screaming is one of the few rides I think it's worth it to ask for and wait for the front row. Amazing view up there!

Jess waited for us next to the ride and we went to find her. We turned to walk towards the swings and almost ran into a very tall man and his entourage. I glanced up at his face and almost shrieked! It was Forrest Whitaker! Wow!! :sohappy:

I hit Dani in the arm and (quietly) screamed, that's Forrest Whitaker!

Dani, being all of 18, had no idea who that was. Youth.:lol:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Next Dani rode the swings while Jess and I sat by the pier.

Here’s my cute gloves I bought the night before:

We walked through Redwood Creek Challenge next. Love that area. We have sent several hours there relaxing while the kids ran all over.

Koda and Kenai were near the entrance. We waited in line and were mauled by two playful bears.

IMG]http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m258/tammyfalcon/Disneyland%202011/Disneyland2011143.jpg[/IMG]

Playful is putting it mildly. At one point I was praying they really couldn't feel anything through those paws! :lookaroun I was a bear sandwich here:

We went back to the room after that to relax a little. We decided to eat dinner in the PCH grill downstairs. It was very quiet and good.

Jess went back to the room after that and Dani and I went to Disneyland to use our Fastpasses. First up was Space Mountain. This version puts WDW's to shame. Enough said.

Next we walked over to Indy. It was down. Shoot! We decided to ride Big Thunder to kill a little time. I've always thought thus ride was the same at WDW, but someone pointed out they thought DL's was much faster. Maybe so! Dani agreed with that. When we got off, Fantasmic was in full swing. We had a great view of the dragon. Amazing!

We went back to Indy and decided to wait until it reopened. We waited about 20 minutes and were among the first on. Love that ride!

We hustled back to the room to catch World of Color after that.
Then it was bedtime! Last day tomorrow!

 

[Disney_Belle]

Dani, being all of 18, had no idea who that was. Youth.:lol:

How could she not know... he is an Oscar winner lol!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

How could she not know... he is an Oscar winner lol!

Silly girl!!:lol:

 

[Nicole220]

Your trip reports + Disneyland = a very happy me. :lol: Seriously. Love this!

I stopped at Toy Story next to see if I happened to see Nicole! No luck.

I kept an eye out for you but never saw you guys. Sadness.

So we went back to the Grand Californian to meet everyone else. They gave us our wristbands and we walked in a group to our reserved area. We had a great view.

From looking at the various Fastpass areas, I definitely recommend the dining package location. They had the best viewing location. To stand there you have three choices. A World of Color dinner package at Ariel's Grotto, Wine Country Trattoria, or a World of Color picnic package.

The show as just awesome. I really loved it. I put down my camera and enjoyed. I snapped this at the end:

Then it was finally bedtime!! Long but fun day!!

I picked up a WoC shift this day...were you guys at the back tier for the second show? I noticed a group with special lanyard things up there at the end of the show, so I looked around for you.

These guys have the most fun of any characters I've seen. I adore them so much.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Your trip reports + Disneyland = a very happy me. :lol: Seriously. Love this!


I kept an eye out for you but never saw you guys. Sadness.


I picked up a WoC shift this day...were you guys at the back tier for the second show? I noticed a group with special lanyard things up there at the end of the show, so I looked around for you.


These guys have the most fun of any characters I've seen. I adore them so much.

Nicole!! I'm so sad we didn't see you! We were up at the back tier! That was probably us! Oh wait, we didn't have lanyards this time. We were standing on the steps right next to the walkway to the dining package area. Does that make sense at all?:lol:

Those bears were pretty stinking funny!

 

[Disney_Belle]

Nicole!! I'm so sad we didn't see you! We were up at the back tier! That was probably us! Oh wait, we didn't have lanyards this time. We were standing on the steps right next to the walkway to the dining package area. Does that make sense at all?:lol:

Those bears were pretty stinking funny!

A lot of the agents had their WDTC lanyards on to carry their stuff in!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

A lot of the agents had their WDTC lanyards on to carry their stuff in!

I didn't even notice!!:lol:

 

[Nicole220]

Nicole!! I'm so sad we didn't see you! We were up at the back tier! That was probably us! Oh wait, we didn't have lanyards this time. We were standing on the steps right next to the walkway to the dining package area. Does that make sense at all?:lol:

Those bears were pretty stinking funny!

I know exactly where that is! Ahhh darn! We probably passed each other without even knowing it!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I know exactly where that is! Ahhh darn! We probably passed each other without even knowing it!

Shoot!! I should have given you my cell number!!

 

[disneygirl1]

Awesome report Tammy! This is really making me what to take a trip to DL now! I think I want to wait till after all the construction is done though!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Awesome report Tammy! This is really making me what to take a trip to DL now! I think I want to wait till after all the construction is done though!

Thank you disneygirl!! It's a bit of a mess right now! Still fun, but a bit of a mess!!

I'll try to get the rest up today!

 

[WDWFigment]

Awesome - this trip report comes just in time to get me excited for our next Disneyland trip!

Great photos, as always. You mention that you talked your way onto the DVC viewing area at VGC; is that intended for DVC members staying at the VGC, or can anyone flash their membership card and get out there? I'd love to take some photos up there some morning.

We debated staying at Paradise Pier or Disneyland Hotel, but ultimately opted for Desert Inn. We'll probably wait until 2012 when it's completely done before staying at DLH. VGC was too pricey for this trip!

Can't wait to read/see the rest!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Awesome - this trip report comes just in time to get me excited for our next Disneyland trip!

Great photos, as always. You mention that you talked your way onto the DVC viewing area at VGC; is that intended for DVC members staying at the VGC, or can anyone flash their membership card and get out there? I'd love to take some photos up there some morning.

We debated staying at Paradise Pier or Disneyland Hotel, but ultimately opted for Desert Inn. We'll probably wait until 2012 when it's completely done before staying at DLH. VGC was too pricey for this trip!

Can't wait to read/see the rest!

Thank, Tom! Picture compliments always mean a lot coming from you.

You do have to be staying there to get up there. I tried to show my card and even told a sob story about how last time we stayed at VGC the viewing deck wasn't open yet - which was true by the way. I'll pm you for what worked for me.

I'm sure Desert Inn will be great. Sometimes the Disney hotels and points are just too much! When we stay at VGC we only get a studio as opposed to our usual one bedroom. The points there are so high!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Sunday, April 10th - Departure Day

We had a working breakfast this morning. We talked about all the differences in booking DL and WDW. I can't tell you how much easier they would make our lives if they would standardize some things!

Jess had to catch an early flight so we said our goodbyes sometime in the middle of this.

At the end, Mickey came to give us our diplomas! Woo hoo!

Here’s Dani:

Me:

Look at this awesome graduation gift!

It’s a thumb drive!

When we finished we said goodbye to the other agents and went to our room to finish packing.

Dani and I left our overstuffed bags with bell services and went to California Adventure again. I was sure Screamin would have a huge wait so we decided to try single riders. There was no one there! :sohappy: We jumped in the regular line and only waited about 10 minutes for the front row.