Pre-Trip Not our typical Disney trip (and a bonus very typical Disney trip!)

Hi friends! For those who don't know the cast of my TRs, here we are:

M (my wife)
28
Writer/academic administrator

B (me)
28
Opera singer/voice teacher

We've been together for ten years and married for 2.5 years. We both grew up in Florida and went to WDW frequently as kids and teenagers. Then we discovered park-going as adults and realized...it's even more fun! We now live in NJ just outside of NYC and although we can't go to Disney as often as we'd like we still visit the Mouse when we visit M's family in Florida (and sometimes without visiting them...shhhh!).

Now about the title: we've been talking about doing a different kind of Disney trip for awhile now, and recently we finally picked some dates and started diving into trip planning. What makes this trip so different? We're going back to where it all began. We're going to Disney...LAND!!!

Now of course it would be silly for two East Coast girls to fly all the way to California without seeing more of what the state has to offer. So we're starting in northern CA and working our way down, and Disneyland will be at the end of the trip.

Dates: August 4-14, 2017
Flights: Southwest (we're quite loyal by this point!)
Lodging: various throughout the state

I'll post our plans a few days at a time in the following posts. Any tips for WDW veterans/first-time DLR visitors are more than welcome! We've been doing our research but the whole concept of not pre-planning very much is a little daunting. If this were a WDW trip we'd have all our ADRs planned by now, haha! We're very much looking forward to the different vibe of DLR.

Stay tuned for more!

 

[WDWDarling]

If he has a fear of flying, I highly suggest he read this book.

"It's for work, I swear!"

I read it before we flew to Orlando. I was scared to death to fly. It prevents me from traveling to laces that are just too far to drive. I've chronicled my progress in my trip report. It's amazing how well it worked. That's not to say all my fear is gone, but it decreased dramatically. I think the book is less than $15 on Amazon. One day we will fly out to DL. We also live in GA.

Thank you for the suggestion! There are so many places we'd like to go but haven't because of that so I'll definitely have to get that for him. I'm glad it helped on your trip .

 

[bee]

I interrupt this PTR to bring you: My VERY EXCITING Weekend (TM)

So this weekend was already scheduled to be busy. Friday afternoon I sang an audition for a local NYC opera company, Friday evening I sang in a masterclass for an agent, Saturday evening I sang on a benefit recital with 5 other singers to raise money for the International Rescue Committee (www.rescue.org), this morning I sang my normal church gig and this evening I have a church concert.

THEN

M texted me frantically after the masterclass Friday to tell me that our shower was causing a flood in the apartment BELOW, where the landlady lives. Apparently the landlady came up and banged on the door while M was IN THE SHOWER and told her she call the plumber to come Saturday but in the meantime we couldn't shower.

UHHHHH. No. We can't just go without showering after running around New York getting sweaty and smelly. SN: although I'm usually a cold-leaning person, when I sing I get very hot and unusually sweaty! So I was extra gross after singing all day. So I took THE quickest shower known to humankind because I can't be swimming in my own grossness all night.

Saturday morning the plumber came and said he didn't have the correct parts to fix our pipes and couldn't get them until at least Monday because we have a special tub apparently??? Again the landlady told us we can't shower (the plumber even tried to stand up for us and suggested she use a bucket to collect the water so we can just use the d@mn shower but alas). And again ummm #no. We have jobs and need to look AND SMELL professional for them!!!

So M suggested we look into hotels for the night. We found one in the small suburban town where my church job is. It's literally the only hotel in the town, haha! We booked it for Saturday night so we could at least take showers and not be totally gross.

So yesterday instead of just bring my gown and M bringing her camera (she was nice enough to film the recital!) we packed overnight bags in preparation for our adventure. After the recital we went out for drinks with some of M's coworkers who attended and donated and then we took the 45-minute bus ride to the hotel.

On the plus side I got to sleep in this morning since I can literally walk 10 minutes from the hotel to get to the church. And since I only had about four hours between the end of the morning service and my call time for the evening concert, I had a place to go between. This morning I called down to the front desk and asked about late checkout, and they let us stay for free until 2:30! We just checked out and I'm hanging out in the lobby for a bit until I need to go back to the church.

Above you can see the photo I took of the room! So fancy (lol). This hotel is pretty nice considering it's the only hotel in town and there's no competition. The bed was VEEEERY comfortable and I slept amazingly well for being stressed with everything. The fact that we got to check out at 2:30 was a huge plus of course!

Hopefully the plumber will be able to fix everything tomorrow!!!

I have two more days of PTR plans to post! Look for them some time this week.

 

[WDWDarling]

View attachment 196243

I interrupt this PTR to bring you: My VERY EXCITING Weekend (TM)

So this weekend was already scheduled to be busy. Friday afternoon I sang an audition for a local NYC opera company, Friday evening I sang in a masterclass for an agent, Saturday evening I sang on a benefit recital with 5 other singers to raise money for the International Rescue Committee (www.rescue.org), this morning I sang my normal church gig and this evening I have a church concert.

THEN

M texted me frantically after the masterclass Friday to tell me that our shower was causing a flood in the apartment BELOW, where the landlady lives. Apparently the landlady came up and banged on the door while M was IN THE SHOWER and told her she call the plumber to come Saturday but in the meantime we couldn't shower.

UHHHHH. No. We can't just go without showering after running around New York getting sweaty and smelly. SN: although I'm usually a cold-leaning person, when I sing I get very hot and unusually sweaty! So I was extra gross after singing all day. So I took THE quickest shower known to humankind because I can't be swimming in my own grossness all night.

Saturday morning the plumber came and said he didn't have the correct parts to fix our pipes and couldn't get them until at least Monday because we have a special tub apparently??? Again the landlady told us we can't shower (the plumber even tried to stand up for us and suggested she use a bucket to collect the water so we can just use the d@mn shower but alas). And again ummm #no. We have jobs and need to look AND SMELL professional for them!!!

So M suggested we look into hotels for the night. We found one in the small suburban town where my church job is. It's literally the only hotel in the town, haha! We booked it for Saturday night so we could at least take showers and not be totally gross.

So yesterday instead of just bring my gown and M bringing her camera (she was nice enough to film the recital!) we packed overnight bags in preparation for our adventure. After the recital we went out for drinks with some of M's coworkers who attended and donated and then we took the 45-minute bus ride to the hotel.

On the plus side I got to sleep in this morning since I can literally walk 10 minutes from the hotel to get to the church. And since I only had about four hours between the end of the morning service and my call time for the evening concert, I had a place to go between. This morning I called down to the front desk and asked about late checkout, and they let us stay for free until 2:30! We just checked out and I'm hanging out in the lobby for a bit until I need to go back to the church.

Above you can see the photo I took of the room! So fancy (lol). This hotel is pretty nice considering it's the only hotel in town and there's no competition. The bed was VEEEERY comfortable and I slept amazingly well for being stressed with everything. The fact that we got to check out at 2:30 was a huge plus of course!

Hopefully the plumber will be able to fix everything tomorrow!!!

I have two more days of PTR plans to post! Look for them some time this week.

OMG that's the worst! So sorry to hear about that. We had the same thing happen not long after we moved in to our first apartment. DH goes to sleep late and takes a shower right before he gets in bed - turns out a pipe burst and the poor girl below us had a downpour in her apartment in the middle of the night. We've only been in one other apartment since but we made sure to be on the top floor for that reason!

I hope they get everything fixed for you quickly. Can't wait to read the rest of your plans!

 

[bee]

OMG that's the worst! So sorry to hear about that. We had the same thing happen not long after we moved in to our first apartment. DH goes to sleep late and takes a shower right before he gets in bed - turns out a pipe burst and the poor girl below us had a downpour in her apartment in the middle of the night. We've only been in one other apartment since but we made sure to be on the top floor for that reason!

I hope they get everything fixed for you quickly. Can't wait to read the rest of your plans!

Everything is fixed!! The plumber came while I was out buying groceries so I didn't even have to interact with him (I have nothing against plumbers but I am socially awkward so meeting new people-even plumbers-can be stressful!). And now we can shower without flooding the downstairs!!! PTR plans coming sooon...

By the way, we raised over $1500 for the International Rescue Committee!!!

 

[bee]

EDIT: This is my 1000th post! And it's about DISNEYLAND!!!

Day 10: Sunday, August 13-Downtown Disney and LA catch up day
Since we're planning to spend most of our time in the parks on our park days we will likely spend some time in Downtown Disney on Sunday.
Catch up on any LA experiences we feel we've missed out on (without a car)
Lyft to LAX area
Overnight LAX hotel

Day 11: Monday, August 14-Travel day
Early flight LAX-MDW, then MDW-EWR
Land EWR around 5:00
Lyft home
Overnight at HOME!

So those are the basic plans! The only tours we have reserved are the two winery tours. As we get closer we'll reserve the SF and LA tours. We have our Disneyland tickets through the package.

I've also liked using our Disney Vacation Account! I was able to use those funds for the hotel/ticket package deposit and have set the goal amount to be just what we need for the package. We'll also start buying Disney gift cards at Target at some point in the future to use for meals, etc., in the parks.

Also, this weekend I received an envelope in the mail from SWA with four drink coupons! Woohoo!!

 

[amjt660]

Just for a mental note for your DCA day.
The fastpass system is the old school paper style.
The fastpass machines are normally very close to the attraction entrance EXCEPT for Radiator Springs Racers
The FP machine are near the middle of the park - they used to be for Tough to be a Bug (I think)
So if you walk all the way to the back of the park to the racers and decide to do FP then you will have to trek back to the machines.

Max

 

[PacNWTigger]

Definitely try to grab the Racers FP early in the day because they do tend to run out by early afternoon. @amjt660 is correct as to where the FP machines are, so don't miss them on your way down the main drag to Cars Land.

Racers does have single rider as well, but I do recommend riding together at least once. My guy and I enjoy being in different cars because then we get to race against each other sometimes.

 

[bee]

Just for a mental note for your DCA day.
The fastpass system is the old school paper style.
The fastpass machines are normally very close to the attraction entrance EXCEPT for Radiator Springs Racers
The FP machine are near the middle of the park - they used to be for Tough to be a Bug (I think)
So if you walk all the way to the back of the park to the racers and decide to do FP then you will have to trek back to the machines.
View attachment 196459

Max

Thank you for the map! This is exactly the kind of strategy I need to know!

Definitely try to grab the Racers FP early in the day because they do tend to run out by early afternoon. @amjt660 is correct as to where the FP machines are, so don't miss them on your way down the main drag to Cars Land.

Racers does have single rider as well, but I do recommend riding together at least once. My guy and I enjoy being in different cars because then we get to race against each other sometimes.

Ooh, great to know about single riders! I agree, I would like to ride together once for the experience and if we love it we can split up for the second ride

 

[LisaBelle]

Glad your pipes were fixed and you can shower at home again! Your California plans look awesome! So many exciting sights to see! Most of your stops are on my Cali "to do" list. I can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[amjt660]

Definitely try to grab the Racers FP early in the day because they do tend to run out by early afternoon. @amjt660 is correct as to where the FP machines are, so don't miss them on your way down the main drag to Cars Land.

Racers does have single rider as well, but I do recommend riding together at least once. My guy and I enjoy being in different cars because then we get to race against each other sometimes.

Agree completely on single rider
As a family of 4 we would always do the ride at least once as a group (rope drop and/or FP) and then single rider the rest of the trip

Max

 

[kaitertot5249]

My family did a CA trip last summer and we hit quite a few of the places you have in your plans. San Fransisco was awesome, if either of you are into photography, I would recommend going over to Land's End and the Sutro Baths around sunset. Its a really cool spot off the beaten path with some neat history and some incredible photo ops. Also, I LOVED Disneyland. It's wonderful in so many ways. I loved that is was different from Magic Kingdom but had that familiar magical feel. They are two completely different places in so many ways. They are both amazing for different reasons and I love them both.

I second the recommendation for Cafe Orleans, it was amazing. I dream about those fries I would also recommend that you spend some time just taking in the ambiance of Orleans Square too, it is one of the most detailed places I've seen in a Disney Park (I've only been to US parks though). I also enjoyed comparing the sister/twin rides (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, the three mountains, Small World, etc) some are the same ride and others are pretty different. It was cool to see the differences and compare them. DCL was also a lot of fun, I'm not a huge Frozen fan and I was blown away by the Frozen show at the Hyperion so I recommend seeing that - it's also a nice escape from the heat!

I was worried about the more laid back planning of a DL trip compared to the insane 6 month planning period that I have a love/hate (mostly love) relationship with at WDW. I ended up really liking it when all was said and done. Because of the generally smaller footprint and the paper FastPass system, it all feels very manageable and I never once felt like I needed to plan more. It was a very refreshing feeling.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[DryerLintFan]

If you end up with extra time in Napa, I highly recommend a visit to the Jelly Belly factory! You get a factory tour that empties onto a tasting floor with free samples. AND they sell bags of "rejects" for stupid cheap. We grabbed a five pound bag of not shiny enough or round enough beans for only $3!

ALSO!!! You'll never regret going on the wine train if you can swing the cost. We did the wine train murder mystery dinner and it was so amazing!

 

[bee]

My family did a CA trip last summer and we hit quite a few of the places you have in your plans. San Fransisco was awesome, if either of you are into photography, I would recommend going over to Land's End and the Sutro Baths around sunset. Its a really cool spot off the beaten path with some neat history and some incredible photo ops. Also, I LOVED Disneyland. It's wonderful in so many ways. I loved that is was different from Magic Kingdom but had that familiar magical feel. They are two completely different places in so many ways. They are both amazing for different reasons and I love them both.

I second the recommendation for Cafe Orleans, it was amazing. I dream about those fries I would also recommend that you spend some time just taking in the ambiance of Orleans Square too, it is one of the most detailed places I've seen in a Disney Park (I've only been to US parks though). I also enjoyed comparing the sister/twin rides (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, the three mountains, Small World, etc) some are the same ride and others are pretty different. It was cool to see the differences and compare them. DCL was also a lot of fun, I'm not a huge Frozen fan and I was blown away by the Frozen show at the Hyperion so I recommend seeing that - it's also a nice escape from the heat!

I was worried about the more laid back planning of a DL trip compared to the insane 6 month planning period that I have a love/hate (mostly love) relationship with at WDW. I ended up really liking it when all was said and done. Because of the generally smaller footprint and the paper FastPass system, it all feels very manageable and I never once felt like I needed to plan more. It was a very refreshing feeling.

I hope you have a great trip!

Even though the whole lack of planning thing makes me a bit nervous we are SO excited for all the new experiences! And we must check out this Cafe Orleans!

If you end up with extra time in Napa, I highly recommend a visit to the Jelly Belly factory! You get a factory tour that empties onto a tasting floor with free samples. AND they sell bags of "rejects" for stupid cheap. We grabbed a five pound bag of not shiny enough or round enough beans for only $3!

ALSO!!! You'll never regret going on the wine train if you can swing the cost. We did the wine train murder mystery dinner and it was so amazing!

Jelly Belly factory is now on our consideration list!

We originally wanted to do the wine train (REEEEEALLY wanted to do it!) but we just couldn't justify the cost when we have so many other things planned on the trip. But maybe we'll be back another time!

 

[amjt660]

Even though the whole lack of planning thing makes me a bit nervous we are SO excited for all the new experiences! And we must check out this Cafe Orleans!


Jelly Belly factory is now on our consideration list!

We originally wanted to do the wine train (REEEEEALLY wanted to do it!) but we just couldn't justify the cost when we have so many other things planned on the trip. But maybe we'll be back another time!

We did the jelly belly factory tour and it was fun
As @DisneyBound2017 said the "reject" jelly bellies (wrong shape, colour, the lettering is not right) are sold off cheap
The funny part is that they call them Belly Flops!!

Max

 

[bee]

So we finally saw the BatB remake. If you liked it (or haven't seen it and want to like it) you may want to skip this section...

Spoiler: Spoiler

I just didn't care for it. It was a pretty movie. Most of the costumes were beautiful and I liked the large group song and dance numbers. But the singing was SO BAD (except for Audra, of course). Even Emma Thompson, who can hold her own and legitimately sing, sounded overly processed in the recording. What is wrong with casting real singers for singing roles??? I'd rather they have dubbed Emma Watson and Chins (er...Dan Stevens) that have had to sit through that awful auto-tuned mess. I also HATED Belle's yellow dress. It looked super cheap. I really wanted to like this whole movie but I just didn't. *runs and hides*

No real trip updates, except that now I'm going to be in Texas for a few weeks in June/July for an opera training program. I'm singing the title role of Handel's Alcina and covering another leading role in a different opera. I may stay with my parents and brother for a few days after so I'll only have about a week back in NJ before we go to California.

Also, we are starting to plan a fall WDW trip and we're actually within the ADR window, which makes it feel extra strange that we can't book dining for DLR! But that will eventually be in a separate PTR!

 

[lostpro9het]

Spoiler: Spoiler

I just didn't care for it. It was a pretty movie. Most of the costumes were beautiful and I liked the large group song and dance numbers. But the singing was SO BAD (except for Audra, of course). Even Emma Thompson, who can hold her own and legitimately sing, sounded overly processed in the recording. What is wrong with casting real singers for singing roles??? I'd rather they have dubbed Emma Watson and Chins (er...Dan Stevens) that have had to sit through that awful auto-tuned mess. I also HATED Belle's yellow dress. It looked super cheap. I really wanted to like this whole movie but I just didn't. *runs and hides*

I can see your issues with it and agree. As a non BatB nut I thought it was ok. One thing that struck me as odd, though, is it seemed clear they needed/wanted more songs to sing in the movie and made some up, not very good ones if you ask me, but opted to NOT sing Human Again!!! I mean here they had a perfect BatB song at their disposal and they didn't use it. Instead they made up some new garbage songs to fill in the the time.

 

[bee]

I can see your issues with it and agree. As a non BatB nut I thought it was ok. One thing that struck me as odd, though, is it seemed clear they needed/wanted more songs to sing in the movie and made some up, not very good ones if you ask me, but opted to NOT sing Human Again!!! I mean here they had a perfect BatB song at their disposal and they didn't use it. Instead they made up some new garbage songs to fill in the the time.

I thought that was odd also! Of course it's traditional to add one totally new song for the purposes of Oscar consideration (lol good luck with that), but they had so many choices from both deleted original songs (like "Human Again") and the Broadway musical. An instrumental version of "Home" kept playing when Belle was first shown her bedroom and I was expecting her to sing it...but I'm kind of glad she didn't TBH.

 

[bee]

A few updates!

SO, my pre-Cali summer plans have changed. I was offered a professional cover contract in upstate New York for a DREAM ROLE of mine that hopefully will become one of my signature roles. In the opera world most singers have or at least hope to have 5-10 signature roles in their repertoire that they can perform over and over in different productions/with different companies so it's helpful to start learning them young. The rehearsal/performance period overlaps with the the training program in Texas. So obviously I picked the one that pays me instead of me paying them, and I will get home a week later than previously planned. That leaves only four days to pack and prepare for California! It makes me nervous but I know we will manage.

Southwest recently sent me more drink coupons!! Our next planned flight is to CA so we'll definitely enjoy a beverage or two on our way!

Last week I sold two Hamilton tickets that I bought a while ago (kind of sad, but-don't hate me Hamilfans-I have tickets for November so I'm still going to see it in New York) to help pay for the training program. Obviously I don't need that money for the program anymore, and that amount combined with my refunded deposit is enough to pay for our WDW APs!!! It's like we don't even have to save up for them!!! So I've been busy dreaming of future trips in my mind and probably driving M nuts telling her every time I have an idea for a trip.

For most classical singers Holy Week is crazy busy. Mine hasn't been too bad so far but this weekend will be busy. Today I sang for a brief Good Friday service, tomorrow night is Easter Vigil, and then of course Sunday morning is the BIG DAY. I'm already looking forward to a BIG NAP Sunday after church. Happy Easter to all those who celebrate!

 

[Tuvalu]

Congrats!!

 

[MinnieM123]

A few updates!

SO, my pre-Cali summer plans have changed. I was offered a professional cover contract in upstate New York for a DREAM ROLE of mine that hopefully will become one of my signature roles. In the opera world most singers have or at least hope to have 5-10 signature roles in their repertoire that they can perform over and over in different productions/with different companies so it's helpful to start learning them young. The rehearsal/performance period overlaps with the the training program in Texas. So obviously I picked the one that pays me instead of me paying them, and I will get home a week later than previously planned. That leaves only four days to pack and prepare for California! It makes me nervous but I know we will manage.

Southwest recently sent me more drink coupons!! Our next planned flight is to CA so we'll definitely enjoy a beverage or two on our way!

Last week I sold two Hamilton tickets that I bought a while ago (kind of sad, but-don't hate me Hamilfans-I have tickets for November so I'm still going to see it in New York) to help pay for the training program. Obviously I don't need that money for the program anymore, and that amount combined with my refunded deposit is enough to pay for our WDW APs!!! It's like we don't even have to save up for them!!! So I've been busy dreaming of future trips in my mind and probably driving M nuts telling her every time I have an idea for a trip.

For most classical singers Holy Week is crazy busy. Mine hasn't been too bad so far but this weekend will be busy. Today I sang for a brief Good Friday service, tomorrow night is Easter Vigil, and then of course Sunday morning is the BIG DAY. I'm already looking forward to a BIG NAP Sunday after church. Happy Easter to all those who celebrate!

What an exciting update!! So happy for you getting your dream role!

Glad to hear that you have Hamilton tickets for later in the year. I would think that seeing it in NY would be the ultimate experience.