Springtime Jaunt to Disneyland: Final Days and Final Thoughts: COMPLETE 6/11/08 About This Page:

[DawnDenise]

Springtime Jaunt to Disneyland

Wow…a third trip to a Disney park in a 6 month time period. Definitely not something that happens regularly for me. There were times I didn’t think it was actually going to happen. I couldn’t think of a fancy title for this report other than we were escaping in the Spring and heading to CA!

Cast of Characters:

Dawn: That would be me! I’ll be 36 on this trip, my 3rd to Disneyland. DL holds a very special place in my heart as it is the original. Hoping to get some great pics and see some of the hidden treasures that DL has. Also going to be able to have my favorite ice cream beverage in the world!


Yummy!!! Bailey’s Irish Cream Shake!!

Chuck: He’ll be 30 on this trip, his 2nd to Disneyland. He’s a workaholic who hasn’t had a vacation since our October 2006 trip to WDW. Just wanting to relax and enjoy this trip as he didn’t fully appreciate his first trip as he was worried about his mom and step-dad having fun. Wants to eat some good food and have fun.


Here we are!! Taken in February.

Chuck came to me in October and said to plan a trip to somewhere in April. He hasn’t had a vacation since our trip in October 2006 to WDW so it was a little overwhelming trying to think of where to go. I started researching on the net for NYC, D.C., San Fran, etc, thinking I would try and get us somewhere other than a Disney park. (shocking I know!) I even looked at England, France, and Italy. Chuck then gave me the restriction of only being able to be gone for 5 work days as he has a huge project going live in April and gave the week of April 14-18th as the best week. Well that knocked out any European destinations.

I was having a really hard time making a decision on a destination. So, we started talking one evening and he asked why not Disneyland. I thought okay…he’s trying to make me happy. So I said how about 4 days at DL and a couple days in San Francisco. Chuck said no, he just wants to go to one place and it would be pushing the time limit on the number of days. He said we could go to DL and he didn’t want to know anything about the trip. The decision on where to stay, where to eat, any extras, and how we get there were all mine and he wanted to be surprised. I was paying for this trip all on my own so it was going to be easy to keep things from him as far as that went. Do you know how hard it is to not talk about your upcoming vacation when your DH wants to be surprised? Not an easy task to say the least.

With my DL PassPorter in hand, I called my mom and had her look into packages for me as I was trying to decide if we were going to stay onsite or offsite. I was leaning toward the Candy Cane Inn for offsite and the Disneyland Hotel for onsite. Mom came back with the prices and since we were getting the 5 days for the price of 3 days park hoppers, I went with DLH. I will admit that I wanted to stay at DLH so I was just trying to rationalize it in my own head. I paid the deposit and kind of put this trip to the side until my Mousefest trip with Tiff and my trip with my mom in February. Well so I thought.

In November, Chuck’s mom passed away after a battle with leukemia. Chuck debated about canceling this trip as the last time he went was with his mom and didn’t now if he could handle it. We had many talks about it and even went through the scrapbook remembering the good times. I told him that he had until March 14th to make a decision as I would hold off paying it off until it was actually due so we wouldn’t lose anything.

Next came Christmas day with a call from my sister in Alaska. Her man John gave her a wedding date as one of her gifts of July 5th. She told me she didn’t expect me to come as it was quite a trip and I came to her first two weddings. I told her I would look into it and see what the prices would be. July was prime tourist season in Alaska and it showed in the prices of hotels and airfares. Airfare alone for Chuck and I would be $2400. Sorry sis! Mom is literally just flying in the day before the wedding and flying out the day after and only because my sister’s partner in her medical practice used frequent flyer miles. So the trip was still on unless Chuck changed his mind.

So, after coming back from my February trip, I asked Chuck what he wanted to do. He decided to stick with the trip and let me show him what DL is really about. I do him! Now it was time to think about some dining reservations. At first I was only going to do one character meal and that was the Lilo and Stitch one at Paradise Pier, as the little blue alien is his fave. But then, I really wanted to try Ariel’s Grotto and go back to Storyteller’s Café. As I was mulling over choices, Chuck said he would pick up the cost of meals within reason. I debated Napa Rose but knew that would be a little out of the price range if I wanted to eat at some other places. Then came the debate in my head of Goofy’s Kitchen as our last meal before leaving. So here it was I came up with.

April 13th: Yamabuki (D)
April 14th: Blue Bayou (L)
April 15th: Storyteller's Cafe (B), Wine Country Trattoria (D)
April 16th: Ariel's Grotto (L), Hook's Pointe (D)
April 17th: PCH Grill-Lilo and Stitch's Aloha Breakfast (B), Steakhouse 55 (D)
April 18th: Goofy’s Kitchen (B)

We are celebrating the 10th anniversary of our first date on the 17th. Nothing official but still a milestone in our relationship.

I was keeping my eye out on Southwest for flights and the prices were just not coming down at all. It was looking like close to $800 RT and that just floored me as I flew non-stop just last year for $245 RT. Darn those gas prices. One day I decided to play on priceline.com and got an excellent price of $263 per person RT on American. We would have a stop in Dallas but I hopped on those prices right away. We would be landing @ LAX around 1:25pm and leaving at 2:15pm on our last day. I set up the Disneyland Resort Express as I had a coupon for $2.00 off per person for a RT ticket. It might cost us some time initially but figure we would be at our hotel around 3:30pm or so.

After a couple of months of visiting the DL website to find out the park hours and schedules for parades, shows, and fireworks, all the information showed up at the 60 day mark. I was shocked to see that Disney’s Electrical Parade @ DCA, Remember…Dreams Come True fireworks, and two showings of Fantasmic were only being shown on our arrival day. It was going to make for a very long first day but since I have never seen the parade or Fantasmic on any of trips to DL, I was determined. I did make sure we could sleep in the first full day a bit and start our day with an early lunch. All of the other parades and shows would easily been seen on the other days of our trip.

Most of the planning is done. Finished off the Mousekeeping envelopes and completed the autograph book. Went with Chip and Dale this time around.



Doggie hotel reservations have been made for Miss Ana and we have gotten our complex to come in and paint the kitchen and fix the minor drip in the master bathroom shower while we are gone. Both of us have been downloading new songs for the I Pod and I even splurged and got a movie for mine. The piles of clothes are in stacks in the 2nd bedroom on the futon so Miss Ana doesn’t get depressed. I received my package documents from my mom today so everything is in the PP as it should be. Just playing a waiting game at the moment! Come on!! Time move faster!!

So stay tuned…the trip is yet to come!!!

[disneydani]

I am so glad Chuck gave you the green light and you and he can make some wonderful, new memories at DL. Your plans look great. Looking forward to reading all about your adventures and your opinions on DLH.
BTW, love the autograph book!

danielle

[chezp]

What great plans - congratulations on snagging such a good airfare. You're going to love the Disneyland Hotel, we really enjoyed our stay there a couple of years ago.

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Dawn Love the autograph book And great plans too!!

[PrincessSharon]

Great start, Dawn! I know you and Chuck will have a most excellent time. Can't wait to hear all about it!

[bsblady01]

more please

[DyanKJ130]

Great start, Dawn!! Your plans look great! Glad you were able to secure decent airfare! I suspect part of the increased prices is due to those of us in the Northeast having our Spring Break that week. Your autograph book is beautiful! Can't wait to hear how everything plays out!

[ilovedisney0_0]

Yay! I love your TRs! It sounds like you and Chuck are going to have an amazing time - and hopefully, a well-deserved break for him, too.

[bfth]

Following you over from your WDW trip report.

Hoping you have just as good a time in DL with Chuck as you did in WDW with mom!

[tammyd_rn]

Looks like an amazing relaxation and 10th date anniversary.

[lauren-roxy]

Great start Dawn!! YOur dining plans sound wonderful!!

[Lemap760]

Great start. Sorry to hear about Chuck's mom, but glad he decided to still go on the trip.
Have a great time.

[TinkerBelz]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that autograph book!!!

[DyanKJ130]

Have a magical time, Dawn!! Can't wait to hear about it when you return

[Grammy Grumpy]

OMG Dawn, it's almost time for you and your DH to get going on your trip! Can't wait to hear all about it as I still need to make some final plans for my trip with DH pre-cruise in August. Have safe travels and a magical time!