California Dreamin' - I'm back & TR started - UPDATED 14TH OCT

[Sarah84]

Welcome to my pre trip report , hope I don't bore you all too much ​

Index
Part 1 - The Intro
Part 2 - Trip details
Part 3 - And that's more sorted
Part 4 - Past visits to Disney part 1
Part 5 - Past visits to Disney part 2
Part 6 - The trip plans so far
Part 7 - Vegas to San Diego
Part 8 - Planning tools
Part 9 - Updates about Disneyland
Part 10 - And more planning
Part 11 - Priority seqating is made
Part 12 - The park hours are out
Part 13 - And the final things are booked
Part 14 - New camera & Ice hockey tickets

THE TRIP BEGINS

Day 0 - The day before
Day 1 -We arrive in Anaheim
Day 2 - Day 2
Day 3 - Day 3 - part 1
Day 3 - Day 3 - part 2
Day 4 - Day 4 - part 1
Day 4 - Day 4 - part 2
Day 5 - Day 5
Day 6 - Day 6 - part 1
Day 6 - Day 6 - part 2
Day 7 - Day 7 - part 1
Day 7 - Day 7 - part 2
Day 8 - Day 8 - part 1
Day 8 - Day 8 - part 2
Day 9 - Day 9
Day 10 - Day 10 - part 1
Day 10 - Day 10 - part 2


With just over 5 months to go and being the planning freak that I am, I thought i'd start my pre trippie plus it gives me somehwere to let out my excitiment

So some background info on this trip - I had intially started thinking about a simular trip back in 2005 just after i got back from my first trip to WDW & Bahamas with 2 freinds. We had such a great time we started thinking where we'd like to go the following year and as we all wanted to visit California & Vegas and we could also get a Disney fix by doing that it of course came top of the list, sadly it never got further than the talking about stages and we just ended up (minus one of us, who was of to Antigua with her DBF) with a couple of weeks in a villa in Spain, as nice as it was to have a break enjoy the sunshine and just relax for a couple of weeks it didn't compare to the holiday we had the year before or what we had intially decided we wanted to do, plus I had met my DBF about a month before we met and I missed him (i know, i know we had only been together for a month but we spent most of our time together since we met)

2007 came along and I booked a wonderful holiday with my DBF to Mexico & Miami, so the California trip didn't cross my mind that year.
Roll on mid 2008 for a few different reasons, mainly DBF's job commitments we hadn't had a holiday yet and it was becoming quite likely we wasn't going to, so of course being the holiday planning fanatic i am (its always good to have ideas in mind, right?) I was certain we would be going away next year (well this year now) and i intended to choose the destination plan it as I had missed out on a holiday in 2008.
My first idea of course was my beloved WDW, although I have only been once I completely fell in love with it there and have dreamed of going back ever since. I put this idea to DBF who basically said 'NO WAY, I'm NOT spending two weeks with Mickey Mouse' so as I had to get that idea out of my head , after a few more times of asking of course. So where else could I come up with? My old California & Vegas plans popped into my head, I could sneakily get my Disney fix, and tick another Disney off (I dream to visit every Disney around the world) and Darren wouldn't have to suffer 2 weeks in Disneyworld and when I put it to him he loved the idea espcially when I mentioned San Diego Zoo (he loves Zoo's) I did however fail to mention Disneyland, i thought it was best to drop it in a bit later

So, onto the where when and who....


Where:

6 nights Anaheim, staying at the Sheraton Anaheim hotel
4 nights Las Vegas, staying at the Mirage hotel
3 nights San Diego, hotel still to be booked
3 nights Hollywood, staying at Holiday Inn Express Hollywood hotel

When:

1st September - 17th September 2009

Who:

Me - 25 and the one in charge . Lover of all things Disney (esp Tinkerbell & Disney Princesses and the 7 Dwarfs), American, Sparkly, Holidays, Hot weather and MAC Cosmetics. Very much a girly girl into shopping, makeup, shoes, clothes and things pretty & pink and anything that shines & sparkles
And here's my trying on Minnie ears in Disneyland Paris

DBF, Darren - 25 (will be 26 when we go) and does as he's told (well most of time, but he did put his foot down on WDW) Loves football (Soccor to American readers) & his PS3 and thats probably about it as far as he's interest go *typical bloke* , Ok well maybe not he also loves Films, Animals and is obsessed but petrified of sharks insists we will not be stepping foot into the sea in California, though he said that when we went Mexico & Miami but he couldn't resist a little paddle once he was there

And Darren just slightly drunk in Miami

 

[goofycathy]

Sounds great, cant wait to read more!

 

[Sarah84]

So a bit more background info:​

I spent quite a few hours, weeks and a few months researching what i really wanted to see & do, changing my mind about what places to visit in California most San Francisco kept being added to the itinerary and dropped again and when was the best time to go for nice hot weather (very important, for a sun worshiper like myself). Fast forward a few months i have lots of ideas and im set on going then Darren drops the bombshell.....
.
.
.
.
.
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He quite fancys going to Florida, HE WHAT?? as you can imagine I was not amused in the slightest, apprently the idea of Universal, Animal Kingdom and Seaworld had sold it to him, well he could have decided that a few months ago, I had now spent hours playing with ideas for the the West Coast and really getting excited to be going to another place I had always wanted to visit and now I had the oppertunity to go back to Orlando, the place I had dreamed to return to since my first visit back in 2005

Well as you can obviosuly tell, California won the decision mainly due to the fact I was hyped about it, it was somewhere new, and it would be another tick on my list of 'must go' places and fingerscrossed I'll get the chance to return to WDW in the next couple of years.

So now we had decided where we would be holidaying in 2009 we had to really start researching (well I did, Darren is far to laid back to plan)

I had to think about flights, nights in each place, how we would travel from a to b, hotel choices with so many options I knew it was going to take some time. I spent a good few months changing my mind about alot of things and in the end came up with the following....

Firstly our main flights were booked, we'd be on the...

Virgin Atlantic 11.15 am London Heathrow - Los Angeles LAX on Tuesday 1st September and returning
Virgin Atlantic 20.55 pm Los Angeles LAX - London Heathrow on Thursday 17th September

We will then pick up our hire car at LAX from Dollar rental, around 4pm I imagine as we land around 2.30pm and drive to our first stop....

6 nights at the Sheraton Anaheim Hotel

Where we will have 3 days for Disney, visit Laguna & Newport beaches and hopefully still have a bit of time to relax by the hotel pool.

Originally I had decided we would then fly to Las Vegas but as we would have the car and it would cost no extra to drop it off in Las Vegas and to keep it till we got there rather than dropping it off at the airport before our flight to Vegas plus comparing costs and time I decided that we would drive.
I have never taken a long drive in the US before and thought it would be fun, plus i'd get to drive through the desert which may sound strange to some but this is something i'd never get the oppertunity to do in the UK and thought we'd enjoy it.
So Monday 7th September (Labor day) we will leave Anaheim and drive to Las Vegas, hopefully it won't take more than about 5 hours. And will then spend the next part of our trip...

4 nights at The Mirage Hotel

Where we will spend relaxing days lazing by the pool with a nice cocktail catching a tan I hope, looking around the amazing hotels and a few nights partying and maybe a little gambling on the side

From there we will move onto our 3rd destination of the trip San Diego, we will get an early flight on Friday 11th September from Las Vegas with Southwest and hopefully land in San Diego around 12-1pm

3 nights at ???

Hotel not sorted yet. We plan to visit the Zoo, Seaworld and just explore downtown and the Harbour area of San Diego.
The on Monday 14th September we will get the Amtrack train up Los Angeles, hopefully get a train around 11am

3 nights at Holiday Inn Express Hollywood hotel

Where we will visit Universal Studios, ride the Hollywood starline hop on hop off tour bus, walk around Hollywood, Beverly hills etc to see the usually tourist sites and perhaps visit the Warner Bros studios, and sadly we will come to the end of our trip

 

[DizNee Luver]

Sounds like you'll have a great trip with lots of activities planned in. By the sounds of it, you've never been to Disneyland. Please remember not to compare it to WDW. It is soooooo much smaller & intimate. We love Disneyland & how easy it is to get from Disneyland to California Adventure & Downtown Disney. You walk to everything. Even the motels on Harbor are within walking distance. From what I've read, people who've never been to DL & only been to WDW are shocked at the size difference in the castle. If you're prepared for the smaller park, you'll have a great time. They really have filled every inch of land they have & you won't be disappointed in the amt of rides & entertainment offered.
I can't really help with the San Diego motel situation as I haven't been there since I was 10. Plan to do this again sometime in the future.
As for your Hollywood plans, I'm just going to tell you about our experience in 2005. We were so excited to see the Walk of Fame (the stars), Mann's Chinese Theater & the Kodak Theater. We were shocked at the condition of the sidewalks & stars. Tree roots breaking them up, filth everywhere & tons of "adult" type shops. Not what we expected at all! In front of the Chinese Theater you will find people dressed up in characters that will gladly pose for a picture......for a price! My son (3 at the time) was very excited to see Spiderman & when I pulled my camera out to snap a photo, he said that will be $5.00 I had no choice at that point. We couldn't get out of there quick enough. Now some people have said that it's been cleaned up a bit down there but others say they've been saying that for years & not really any difference....so thought you should be aware that it's not all glitter & gold down there.
Can't wait to read more!!

 

[maryr1oz]

Your trip sounds like alot of fun... we are doing the Anaheim to Vegas drive ourselves in August and like you i'm looking forward to some novelty scenery. We've done that drive before and it only took 4 hours including a brief stop...

Can't wait to hear about more of your planning!

 

[Sarah84]

Sounds like you'll have a great trip with lots of activities planned in. By the sounds of it, you've never been to Disneyland. Please remember not to compare it to WDW. It is soooooo much smaller & intimate. We love Disneyland & how easy it is to get from Disneyland to California Adventure & Downtown Disney. You walk to everything. Even the motels on Harbor are within walking distance. From what I've read, people who've never been to DL & only been to WDW are shocked at the size difference in the castle. If you're prepared for the smaller park, you'll have a great time. They really have filled every inch of land they have & you won't be disappointed in the amt of rides & entertainment offered.
I can't really help with the San Diego motel situation as I haven't been there since I was 10. Plan to do this again sometime in the future.
As for your Hollywood plans, I'm just going to tell you about our experience in 2005. We were so excited to see the Walk of Fame (the stars), Mann's Chinese Theater & the Kodak Theater. We were shocked at the condition of the sidewalks & stars. Tree roots breaking them up, filth everywhere & tons of "adult" type shops. Not what we expected at all! In front of the Chinese Theater you will find people dressed up in characters that will gladly pose for a picture......for a price! My son (3 at the time) was very excited to see Spiderman & when I pulled my camera out to snap a photo, he said that will be $5.00 I had no choice at that point. We couldn't get out of there quick enough. Now some people have said that it's been cleaned up a bit down there but others say they've been saying that for years & not really any difference....so thought you should be aware that it's not all glitter & gold down there.
Can't wait to read more!!

Yep i've spent alot of time researching, planning, looking at photos & on the Dis with regards to Disneyland and am not going there expecting another WDW but thanks for the heads up. I've certainly heard (well read) many people say how disapointed they are with the castle but i read before I go and I know its much smaller, very cute imo I'm just so excited to go to Walts original park
I've also read a few times the things you mentioned about Hollywood which is kind of disapointing to hear but hopefully i won't be too disapointed im just kinda excited to see hollywood plus living in London im use to the streets not being so nice & clean

We are planning to use Hotwire or Priceline for our San Diego hotel as we want to stay in a 4* in the Gaslamp/Downtown area and are not to fussed which one so by using them we can get a nice hotel for a fraction of the price than booking direct

 

[Sarah84]

Your trip sounds like alot of fun... we are doing the Anaheim to Vegas drive ourselves in August and like you i'm looking forward to some novelty scenery. We've done that drive before and it only took 4 hours including a brief stop...

Can't wait to hear about more of your planning!

Thanks for reading
4 hours? thats great hopefully we can do it around that time too fingerscrossed there won't be much traffic but it is Labor day over there say not sure how much affect that will have.

 

[Sarah84]

Arghh my countdown just seems to be going slower & slower but i cant help myself getting more and more excited espcially everytime i read somebodys trip report or look at pictures I just can't wait for this holiday (vacation)

Hope that ticker starts to move a bit quicker and it would be lovely if the dollar rate could improve aswell (more shopping for me then )

So when can I expect park hours and the entertainment schedule to be released? i'm basing my itinerary on the last years hours to get an idea at the moment

 

[blabbermouth]

Hi, good report so far! By the way, I don't think anyone from North America would ever say 'just Spain'! I think park hours are usually posted about 2 months out?

 

[Sarah84]

Hi, good report so far! By the way, I don't think anyone from North America would ever say 'just Spain'! I think park hours are usually posted about 2 months out?

Thanks
Its strange I guess because spain is so close, and where alot of brits tend to go for a cheap, close to home beach holiday abroad and some parts are just like being back at home as its just full of english people everywhere. Its just not the same as a trip to the likes of the US, Canada, carribean etc

I thought it was about 2 months, means i have to wait till july arghh i want my trip to be here so bad

 

[kaoden39]

When I went to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills I loved it. I thought that it was a fun window shopping location. Another thing you can do if you are in the area on a Tuesday night, Thursday night, or a Saturday morning you can go workout with Richard Simmons at his exercise studio. He teaches a class on those days.

 

[Sarah84]

Car Hire​

I have now just booked our car hire, a Compact 4door with Dollar from USRENTACAR. We will collect the Car when we land at LAX and have it for 6 days, will be dropped off at The Mirage hotel in Las Vegas when we arrive.
We will probably check out what upgrade offers are avaliable when we get there as I wouldn't mind a convertible or even a SUV. Last time I drove in the US I had a Dodge Durango and loved it, so we'll see what happens there.

I also purchased one of these clever things

A Joby Gorillapod. My camera takes pretty decent pictures but I needed a tripod to try and get decent non blured night shots and was recommened this, it looks fantastic as its flexible so can wrap it around trees, poles etc
Plus 2 2GB SD memory cards for my camera, I need another couple of these for the holiday too as i only had 1 plus some smaller sized ones and I wanted to make sure I had enough to take plenty of photos

 

[kaoden39]

That is the coolest tripod I have ever seen. I am gonna have to show that to my hubby.

Good car for gas mileage.

 

[Sarah84]

That is the coolest tripod I have ever seen. I am gonna have to show that to my hubby.

Good car for gas mileage.

Doesn't it look fantastic? going to be so useful with it being bendy and stuff. I've never used one before so hopefully it will also come in handy taking pics of just the two of us, we have very few as I don't like bothering people to ask them to take one for us all the time.

 

[troobabiee7]

I know I responded to your thread but it's somehow gone That's weird! anyway, what I typed up before was that your trip sounds amazing! I've never been to Cali/Vegas so I'll have to live vicariously through you and your bf. You two are so cute, btw! I can't wait to read more of your plans and all about your trip!

And that tripod's awesome. I've never seen anything like that!

 

[kaoden39]

Doesn't it look fantastic? going to be so useful with it being bendy and stuff. I've never used one before so hopefully it will also come in handy taking pics of just the two of us, we have very few as I don't like bothering people to ask them to take one for us all the time.

One thing I found really nice at the DLR is the CM's at all of the picture high points will take your picture with your camera if you let them take yours with theirs. And then you can buy theirs if you want.

 

[Sarah84]

Disney photos​

As I have no previous pictures to share from Disneyland, I thought i'd share some from visits to other Disneyparks.

Firstly here's some pictures from my first ever visit to a Disneypark, Walt Disney World in Orlando back in 2005. I went with a couple of friends and spent a week there before going onto the Bahamas for a week. It was also my first visit to the US and after years of dreaming of wanting to go, I loved the county just as much as I thought I would

 

[kaoden39]

I know I responded to your thread but it's somehow gone That's weird! anyway, what I typed up before was that your trip sounds amazing! I've never been to Cali/Vegas so I'll have to live vicariously through you and your bf. You two are so cute, btw! I can't wait to read more of your plans and all about your trip!

And that tripod's awesome. I've never seen anything like that!

Great picture of Adam as your avitar. My daughter loves him. Wasn't he wonderful lastnight? Sorry for the off topic.

 

[Sarah84]

I know I responded to your thread but it's somehow gone That's weird! anyway, what I typed up before was that your trip sounds amazing! I've never been to Cali/Vegas so I'll have to live vicariously through you and your bf. You two are so cute, btw! I can't wait to read more of your plans and all about your trip!

And that tripod's awesome. I've never seen anything like that!

Im so excited for it, part of me still really wishes I was going back to WDW but there is always another time and its so great to go to new places and I am really excited to be visiting California (its another place on my must visit in the US places that I can tick off ) and I know that I'll get back to WDW again in the next couple of years, I have to it is after all the most magical place on earth. Infact I had a workman come round to my house today about some problems we need sorting and we were chatting about Disneyworld.

The tripod looks so great, i just hope it works as good as it seems to. It was fairly cheap too only £12.99 (about $20)

 

[kaoden39]

Disney photos​

As I have no previous pictures to share from Disneyland, I thought i'd share some from visits to other Disneyparks.

Firstly here's some pictures from my first ever visit to a Disneypark, Walt Disney World in Orlando back in 2005. I went with a couple of friends and spent a week there before going onto the Bahamas for a week. It was also my first visit to the US and after years of dreaming of wanting to go, I loved the county just as much as I thought I would

Great pictures. I hope you have as much fun in California. I happen to love it a lot. I have lived here my whole life. But IMHO I live in the pretty part of the state. I live 45 miles from San Francisco.