Jeffrey made me do it, but it’s almost free for our three!! **Updated 5/19** About This Page:

[DyanKJ130]

Okay, so we returned from California nearly 3 weeks ago and I’ve yet to start my TR. Now that I’ve managed to organize my computer files, I’m ready to give this a go! [Read…Dyan neglected to archive the photos on her laptop for 1 ½ years, which wasn’t exactly a smart move It only took me more than a week of evenings burning more than 2 dozen CDs and DVDs on a computer running extremely slow due to my stupidity! I won’t be doing that again anytime soon (waiting to archive, not the archiving itself…. …don’t want to go there again! : ) Long story short – back up your files regularly! ]


Now playing: “Jeffrey made me do it, but it’s almost free for our three!!” A trip report by DyanKJ130 featuring her family's Southern California Adventure: February 15, 2008 – February 23, 2008.

Destination: Southern California
Dates: Friday, February 15th – Saturday, February 23rd
Hotel/Resort: Renaissance Hollywood Hotel – Los Angeles (2/15) & Dolphin’s Cove Resort – Anaheim (2/16-2/23)

Adventurers:
Jeffrey (43) – my charming husband, 911 Dispatcher/EMT/Fireman, NASCAR fan & converted die-hard Red Sox fan (Like he really had a choice….he’s married to me! )…and after the last time we saw Bronson, he’s sold on being his fan too!! I knew he’d come around eventually! Jeffrey is happy doing whatever, as long as it’s already planned Gotta him, even if he is PAINFULLY shy! This is his 1st trip to California. Actually, the farthest west he’d ever gone before this was Pennsylvania.

Jeffrey wearing Bronson’s ring!



Dyan (40) – that’s me! 7th&8th grade Special Educator (I run the Behavior Adjustment Resource Program in a junior high school….trust me, it’s A LOT of fun! Never dull, anyway), trip manager, player & tour guide. I’ve been a Red Sox fan since birth and a fan of Disney ever since I can remember. I’m also an admirer of one of the sweetest, most sincere baseball players on the planet…Cincinnati Reds pitcher, Bronson Arroyo! Let’s just say that DH every time I walk away from a conversation with him! Anyway, back to the trip…I could talk about Bronson all day, but I’ll save that for another time… This is my 3rd trip to California (& DL), with the last being in 1988, when I traveled alone to attend California’s Rainbow Girls’ Grand Assembly.

I’m the one on the left!



Kyle (15) – our son, high school sophomore , Red Sox fan, saxophonist, black belt in Oki-Ryu Kenpo Karate, Wii junkie, Rubik’s Cube aficionado, seasoned WDW adventurer and 1st time visitor to California! While he may be the sarcastic teenager, at times, we are still very close as we battled some turbulent storms when he was very young. (His unfortunate observation of my abuse by his biological father, the disappointment of his lack of involvement after our divorce and the sadness of dealing with his death in 2005) The farthest west DS had been prior to this trip was Oklahoma, where he was born, but he doesn’t remember much of where we lived in the Midwest as we were permanently back in Rhode Island (3/1995) 6 months before his 3rd birthday.

Kyle playing it cool!



So, why the trip name? This trip wasn’t even a thought in the back of our minds (at least not mine) until my aunt called me one day in the fall of 2006 to ask if we would like to use some of her timeshare points that she was going to lose if she didn’t use them. She told us we could use up to 150,000 points; the only stipulation was that we had to book before she lost them. She gave me the website to research destinations. Kyle could have cared less, just as long as he didn’t have to fly. Jeffrey immediately focused on DL, while I tried to explore other options as well…all within the United States as we don’t have Passports…Hawaii…Washington, DC…Lake George, NY… I was afraid that they would be disappointed with DL, but Jeffrey kept going back to the possibility so I agreed. There were only 2 choices in the Anaheim area and after much reading we decided upon Dolphin’s Cove Resort. My aunt couldn’t book it until February 2007, but a major part of our expenses were already going to be taken care of!

So, Christmas 2006 comes along and my aunt drives down from her home in Cherry Valley, NY to spend my dad’s birthday and the holiday with us. We were having a lovely time Christmas morning opening gifts, but imagine our surprise when she gave me a card with a note inside letting us know that she was going to be taking care of our flights to California by using frequent flyer miles she has with Continental Airlines!! We were dumbfounded! What an amazing gift!

With accommodations and airfare taken care of, all we had to worry about was our one night stay in Los Angeles, tickets to attractions, food and transportation! Not quite free, but that’s close enough for me!


So, there you have it…..the 5 W’s of our trip…..
Who? Jeffrey, Dyan, & Kyle
What? Our Southern California Adventure
When? Friday, February 15, 2008 – Saturday, February 23, 2008
Where? Renaissance Hollywood Hotel – Los Angeles (2/15) & Dolphin’s Cove Resort – Anaheim (2/16-2/23)
Why? Hmmmm……because Jeffrey made me do it, but it’s almost free for our three!! hee hee


Up next: The itinerary!!

[chezp]

Wow, what a great gift - and how cool to have an almost free trip!

[Colexis Mom]

Yeah!! I'm glad your writing a TR More please

[MickeyMAC]

Great start

[DawnDenise]

YAY! You've started!! Great beginning and looking forward to the plans!

[PrincessSharon]

I've been waiting for you to get started on this TR. I was about to send you a PM. Sounds good so far (almost free is never a bad thing). Can't wait for more!

[DyanKJ130]

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

I've been waiting for you to get started on this TR. I was about to send you a PM.

Uh-oh! I better keep up on the updates or there may be links to this TR all over the place!

[DyanKJ130]

for all the kind replies!


Now playing: The itinerary!!


Day 1 - Friday, February 15th

Depart: Providence, RI on Continental Airlines at 4:35pm
(Dad will resume his duties as ‘taxi driver’ and will bring us from Warwick to the Providence airport (T.F. Greene), which is actually located in Warwick NOT Providence. )
Arrive: Newark, NJ at 5:58pm
Depart: Newark, NJ at 7:10pm
Arrive: Los Angeles, CA 10:39pm

After we collect our luggage, we will find Alamo, choose our car for the next week and then drive to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel – Los Angeles. We have already programmed Jeffrey’s GPS with all of our destinations for this trip, so hopefully this will make getting around in a strange place much easier.


Day 2 – Saturday, February 16th

This is our day to tour the Los Angeles/Hollywood area. We’re planning on taking a tour. for recommending Starline Tours, Sarah (Dopeygirl)! We’re going to try one of their newer tours: Hop-on, Hop-off Double Decker Fun Tour. The cost is $25 per person and you can get on and off as you please over the course of the day, with buses leaving every half-hour. We thought about taking the Grand Tour, but thought this would be more flexible. We definitely would like to stop at the Guitar Center: RockWalk and the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum.

After the tour, we’ll take a walk over to the Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store to have lunch/dinner. We also hope to check out Ripley’s Believe It or Not, as I think the boys will find that interesting after bradk’s recommendation. The last thing on the agenda is to visit Meet the Oscars ( for this great tip, Brad!), which sounds like great fun!

Once we’re finished seeing everything we’d like to see, we’ll collect our luggage from bell services at the Renaissance and head to Anaheim, where we will check into the Dolphin’s Cove Resort. After we check in, we’ll settle into the place that we will call home for the next week.


Day 3 – Sunday, February 17th

We’ll rise bright and early for our 1.5 hour drive to the San Diego Zoo. We will purchase the Best Value Ticket ($34 each, but we’ll receive a AAA discount), which will give us: One Day Admission with unlimited use of Guided Bus Tour, Express Bus, and Skyfari Aerial Tram. We plan to spend our entire day there and then have dinner at the Corvette Diner, where Meggera & her family had such a wonderful time in her TR!


Day 4 – Monday, February 18th

Today starts our time at DLR. I pre-purchased our tickets online. I was able to get us 5-Day Park Hoppers for the price of 3-Day Park Hoppers ($184 each). I figure we’ll use at least 4 of the days, with the 5th as a bonus if we find we have some extra time.

Since today is Presidents’ Day, I figure the park will be pretty busy, so I booked us the tour, “A Walk in Walt’s Footsteps.” I figure it will be a nice introduction to the park for us on our first day, as well. We would like to catch the Electrical Parade in DCA at 7:45pm and then return to DL for Remember at 9:25pm, since these 2 events will only be held on the Monday & Friday. (Fantasmic! is dark during the time we are there.)


Day 5 – Tuesday, February 19th

A full day at DL! We have no plans other than to get there for park opening and to stay until we run out of steam.


Day 6 – Wednesday, February 20th
Today we will drive 1 hour to Carlsbad and spend the day at LEGOLAND.


Day 7 – Thursday, February 21st

This morning marks the only day that we have a scheduled meal at DLR. We’ll be having breakfast at Storyteller’s Café in the Grand Californian. I decided on this one based on reading the TR’s from the Girls’ trip last year and from recommendations on the board. I think the characters are also some that Kyle will enjoy seeing, as well. We have an 8:00am PS. We hope to be finished and arrive for 10:00am opening at DCA. We will make time to see Aladdin, as it is only showing Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, while we are there. We will spend the entire day at DCA.


Day 8 – Friday, February 22nd

Our final day in the parks! We plan to arrive for DL park opening and spend the day finishing up the attractions we didn’t get to see at either park over the course of the day. We plan on viewing Remember one last time.

When we get back to Dolphin’s Cove, we will pack everything up so we’re ready to go in the morning. I’d like to avoid any last minute running around.


Day 9 – Saturday, February 23rd

Our last day. Our plane departs LAX at 10:25am, so we’ll have to be up and ready to go early.

Depart: Los Angeles, CA on Continental Airlines at 10:25am
Arrive: Newark, NJ at 6:42pm
Depart: Newark, NJ at 9:35pm
Arrive: Providence, RI 10:43pm

Seeing that we’re arriving at such a late hour, we won’t ask either of our fathers to venture out at that time. We’ll just hail a cab for the 5 minute ride home.

That’s it!! Now, let’s see how true to form we stay!


Up Next: “But we’re not going to Detroit!” and “Not again!!”

[Big Sister]

Hi Dyan,

I thought you started your report off great by listing your itinerary as one of your first entries! It gives the reader a taste of the exciting things to come.

I look forward to reading more (especially as you're doing some of the things my bro and I cancelled due to not being able to bear the thought of leaving the Disney parks!)

Alison

[Lemap760]

Can't wait to hear more.

[Colexis Mom]

Great plans Dyan More please

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by DyanKJ130

Uh-oh! I better keep up on the updates or there may be links to this TR all over the place!

And if links in my posts don't work, I'll put one in my sig!

Your plans look really great! Can't wait to hear about all the fun!

[DawnDenise]

Loving the itinerary!! You;ve got a lot planned and I am looking forward to seeing how if ya stick to your plans!

[ilovedisney0_0]

Dyan, I didn't know your son is 15yo, too! Isn't that a fun age?? I am lovin' your plans, and I can't wait to read your view of the Walk In Walt's Footsteps tour. I just had a long conversation with my DSis, and we are planning on doing that one as soon as she gets home from Japan.

[disneydani]

Just getting caught up....what an awesome auntie you have there! Your plans look great and I can't wait to hear how it all worked out.

danielle