Hi all, I’m a couple of weeks back from a trip where I spent a few days in Disneyland and Las Vegas followed by two weeks in WDW. I took good trip notes for the first few days but by the time I arrived at WDW I had stopped and so will have to rely on photos to remind me of what I did when, allowing for some discrepancies as my phone and camera seem to exist in different time zones.
Who – Renee from Auckland, New Zealand which Dr Google tells me is 8091 miles away from Orlando.
When – 21st of November until 11th of December.
Where – Park Vue Inn at Disneyland, The Venetian in Las Vegas and Pop Century, French Quarter and the Animal Kingdom Lodge at WDW.
Why – Because I wanted to, what other reason is needed!!
I was more stressed about this holiday than I normally am. I had surgery in July with 6 weeks off work, closely followed by an awful stomach bug and then a cold which hung around for two months and which I only recovered from a week before I left. All this meant that I hadn’t slept well in months, was very stressed and had been especially inactive so was worried about how I would cope with three weeks of solid walking. I was also worried I would get another cold which I often do when I travel. So, will this trip report consist of photos of me sitting in my hotel room nursing sore feet and coughing up phlegm or photos of fun theme park activities? You will have to come along for the ride to find out!!
Here is a photo of the Annual Pass from the title. I realise in this Instagram age that I should have taken a photo of this in front of some iconic structure like Cinderella Castle or Spaceship Earth and not in front of the curtains in the Pop Century value resort but I am still learning!
Travel
I had the day of my flight off work which was gave me a chance to sleep in and pack at a relaxed pace. I wanted to leave plenty of room for the new Starbucks mugs from each of the parks as well as some Christmas ornaments but I also didn’t want to do any washing while I was away. I hoped I had achieved the perfect balance of packing everything I own while leaving lots of room for souvenirs.
I spent as much of the day as I could playing with my lovely little dog Sookie who had known something was up ever since I dragged the suitcases out. This is a picture of my favourite dog on my favourite friend’s lap!
As usual I would miss her a lot and was reminded of her every time I saw a “service dog” in the park.
The first Uber I ordered to take me to the airport arrived after only a couple of minutes but parked himself in the middle of the road outside my house and yelled out that he can’t take me to the airport as he’s been banned from there. Umm, maybe don’t accept my ride then and also don’t park in the middle of the street to yell at me so that cars have to swerve around you, honking their horns and giving me the evil eye out their car window as though it was my fault. The next driver got me to the airport OK but was kind of creepy and persistently asked questions like will your husband miss you, where is your husband, are you married, so your boyfriend will miss you then wont he, who are you travelling with etc etc. Thankfully the drive is not that long but thanks for the weird trip to the airport Uber drivers of Auckland.
I relaxed before the flight with some chips and rose, the start of three solid weeks of poor dietary choices!
My father is retired airline staff and I was flying on his staff benefits. I had applied and paid for an upgrade to business class but had to wait until I got to the gate to see if I was upgraded or not. I had all my legs and fingers crossed as there is nothing better than a lie-flat seat on a long-haul overnight flight. Sadly, business class was full but I did get a seat in an almost empty premium economy cabin. This is very comfortable relative to economy and which also meant I would get back most of the money I had paid. My row was empty but because the armrests were fixed I couldn’t utilise the space and lie down.
My appetiser and dessert. The main course was delivered a little while later. (In NZ we call what you call appetizers entrees and what you call entrees are called mains and what you call desserts we call desserts!)
It was a pretty good flight, lots of leg-room, comfortable seat, great service and food but as per usual I only got at most an hour or two of sleep.
Once at LAX I got through security and picked up my bags quickly and with no issues. I caught the Disneyland Express and headed to the Park Vue Inn. I really hoped they would have an early room for me as I wanted to shower and lay down for a while but they didn’t so I had to freshen up and change in the lobby bathroom and then headed to Disneyland.
Who – Renee from Auckland, New Zealand which Dr Google tells me is 8091 miles away from Orlando.
When – 21st of November until 11th of December.
Where – Park Vue Inn at Disneyland, The Venetian in Las Vegas and Pop Century, French Quarter and the Animal Kingdom Lodge at WDW.
Why – Because I wanted to, what other reason is needed!!
I was more stressed about this holiday than I normally am. I had surgery in July with 6 weeks off work, closely followed by an awful stomach bug and then a cold which hung around for two months and which I only recovered from a week before I left. All this meant that I hadn’t slept well in months, was very stressed and had been especially inactive so was worried about how I would cope with three weeks of solid walking. I was also worried I would get another cold which I often do when I travel. So, will this trip report consist of photos of me sitting in my hotel room nursing sore feet and coughing up phlegm or photos of fun theme park activities? You will have to come along for the ride to find out!!
Here is a photo of the Annual Pass from the title. I realise in this Instagram age that I should have taken a photo of this in front of some iconic structure like Cinderella Castle or Spaceship Earth and not in front of the curtains in the Pop Century value resort but I am still learning!
Travel
I had the day of my flight off work which was gave me a chance to sleep in and pack at a relaxed pace. I wanted to leave plenty of room for the new Starbucks mugs from each of the parks as well as some Christmas ornaments but I also didn’t want to do any washing while I was away. I hoped I had achieved the perfect balance of packing everything I own while leaving lots of room for souvenirs.
I spent as much of the day as I could playing with my lovely little dog Sookie who had known something was up ever since I dragged the suitcases out. This is a picture of my favourite dog on my favourite friend’s lap!
As usual I would miss her a lot and was reminded of her every time I saw a “service dog” in the park.
The first Uber I ordered to take me to the airport arrived after only a couple of minutes but parked himself in the middle of the road outside my house and yelled out that he can’t take me to the airport as he’s been banned from there. Umm, maybe don’t accept my ride then and also don’t park in the middle of the street to yell at me so that cars have to swerve around you, honking their horns and giving me the evil eye out their car window as though it was my fault. The next driver got me to the airport OK but was kind of creepy and persistently asked questions like will your husband miss you, where is your husband, are you married, so your boyfriend will miss you then wont he, who are you travelling with etc etc. Thankfully the drive is not that long but thanks for the weird trip to the airport Uber drivers of Auckland.
I relaxed before the flight with some chips and rose, the start of three solid weeks of poor dietary choices!
My father is retired airline staff and I was flying on his staff benefits. I had applied and paid for an upgrade to business class but had to wait until I got to the gate to see if I was upgraded or not. I had all my legs and fingers crossed as there is nothing better than a lie-flat seat on a long-haul overnight flight. Sadly, business class was full but I did get a seat in an almost empty premium economy cabin. This is very comfortable relative to economy and which also meant I would get back most of the money I had paid. My row was empty but because the armrests were fixed I couldn’t utilise the space and lie down.
My appetiser and dessert. The main course was delivered a little while later. (In NZ we call what you call appetizers entrees and what you call entrees are called mains and what you call desserts we call desserts!)
It was a pretty good flight, lots of leg-room, comfortable seat, great service and food but as per usual I only got at most an hour or two of sleep.
Once at LAX I got through security and picked up my bags quickly and with no issues. I caught the Disneyland Express and headed to the Park Vue Inn. I really hoped they would have an early room for me as I wanted to shower and lay down for a while but they didn’t so I had to freshen up and change in the lobby bathroom and then headed to Disneyland.
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drive to Las Vegas
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