Here it is, nearly 2 months after our vacation, and I'm finally ready to begin my trip report. What took me so long was organizing, then uploading, my pictures on Photobucket...I have over 400 of them. 
I had already written a pre-trip report so that's where I'll start. Hope you have some time cause I think this is going to be a long one with lots and lots of photos. So here goes...
When:
November 10th - November 16th - 2007
Where:
5 Days at Disneyland & DCA
1 Day at Knott's Berry Farm & Medieval Dinner Show
1 Day at Unversal Studios Theme Park in Hollywood
Cast of Characters:
Joy (Me - age 55 - biggest Disney fan of the family)
DeWayne (DH of 35 years - age 55 - loves fishing more than DL)
Chris (Son - age 26 - takes after his father - loves fishing)
Corey (Son - age 17 - baby of the family - good natured - video game geek)
Shelli (Daughter - age 37 - oldest of our kids - loves to Scrapbook)
Craig (Son-In-Law - age 37 - a fun person to be around - quite the artist)
Kristyl (Grand-daughter - age 16 - a wonderful, responsible young lady -wants to be a hair-stylist)
Brandon (Grandson - age 5 - cute as a button with a personality to match)
Back Row - L to R: Chris, Corey, & Dewayne - Front Row: Joy (me), Kristyl, Brandon & Craig
Craig, Brandon, Kristyl, & Shelli
Transportation:
Shuttle Express to SeaTac Airport (Picks us up at 4:00 AM)
Alaska Airlines Flight to SNA - Departs Seattle @ 6:40AM - Arrives @ Orange County at 9:28 AM
Super Shuttle from SNA to BWPPI
Rent a 12-passenger van for Sun, Mon & Tues from Van4Rent at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel
Super Shuttle to SNA on Saturday, Nov. 17th - departure at 11:00 AM
Arrive at SeaTac at 1:47 PM
Shuttle Express from SeaTac to home
Hotel:
2 Double Queen Mini-Suites @ The Best Western Park Place Inn ($107 per night)
I began this pre-trip report way back in the spring of 2007: Here's what I had jotted down:
Well, here I am again planning another Disneyland vacation. We have been going to the Happiest Place On Earth every other year since 1986 except for a brief hiatus between 2001 and 2005, the latter year being when we went to WDW for the first time. Im not sure why we didnt make it to California during those 4 years, but perhaps it was because 2 of our kids got married and were starting their new lives during that time.
In 2000, we inherited a small amount of money and treated the entire family to a trip to Disneyland. In August of 2001, we had planned on just driving down the Oregon coast to the Redwoods, but since we were already half way there. we decided to just keep driving on down to Disneyland. That was such fun (aside from our tranny going out on the border between Oregon & California and having to rent a car for the rest of the trip.) I love doing spur of the moment kind of things.
In 2005 we flew to WDW, and while I enjoyed the experience, I cant wait to go back to our home base in Anaheim.
I started dreaming of this vacation as soon as we got back from Florida. I didnt know if any of our kids were going, but I knew that I was going and anyone else who wanted to go had better start planning and saving too. (Our other son (Steve - age 33) and his family went with us to WDW, but couldn't go with us this time because he had just started a new job and couldn't get the time off -
)
Purchasing our plane tickets was #1 on our agenda. We had been watching the Alaska Airlines website waiting for the prices to drop praying that we would have enough money saved to purchase 8 tickets when they did. On March 17th, Shelli calls to tell me that the tickets had dropped from $400.00 to $312.00. do we have enough money in the bank? We have exactly $2500.00 and the tickets come to $2496.00. Talk about cutting it by the skin of our teeth!
We purchased our tickets and saved a total of $704.00.
The decision of which hotel to stay at was a hard one. At first we made reservations at Desert Inn & Suites, but the reviews I had read made me nervous especially the parking issue as we had been thinking of renting 2 cars and planned on going to other theme parks in the area. Update: We ended up renting an 8-passenger Van for 3 days instead of renting 2 cars.
We had stayed at the Howard Johnson in 2001...loved the large rooms, the quiet pool and game room. What I recall not liking about HOJOs was the somewhat long walk back to the hotel. I remember looking longingly at the other hotels as we passed them after our first full day at the park.
Update: We finally decided on BWPPI, right across the street from the DL gate. We are renting 2 QQ mini-suites for $107.00 a night for each room. There are 2 Queen beds and a Queen fold out sofa. The room also comes with a fridge and microwave and the hotel offers a free continental breakfast not a fancy one, but good enough.
Ive read reviews that the pool at BWPPI is really small, but none of us are too interested in the whole swimming thing anyway since were going to CA in November and weather should be pretty pleasant not hot.
Regarding the off season DH is thrilled that were not going during a time when the parks are open until midnight. He loves DL, but he hates getting up early and staying up late. I would say its because were getting older, but the man has always been this way.
We are also heading back home on a Saturday instead of Sunday like we usually do, because DH wants a day to unwind before going back to work. 
Because I love him dearly, Im happy to accommodate the man, but it sure plays havoc on my planning days at the parks. DD wants to see the Christmas parade, which will only run the last Friday were there, and I want to make sure that the 2 new DL visitors in our group see Fantasmic which will only show on weekends. Cutting out that last Saturday makes it tough especially since our first weekend is during this years Veterans Day Holiday. But where theres a will theres a way
Update: Fantasmic is showing every night the week we are there.
This is the plan for our 1st day in Anaheim.
Day 1: Saturday, November 10th
Arrive @ John Wayne Airport at 9:28 AM on Sat. November 10th.
Claim our luggage, check in with SuperShuttle where we have reserved a private van to the hotel and back to the airport.
Let the hotel know we have arrived maybe well get lucky and at least one of the rooms will be ready and we can dump our luggage. If not, well check our luggage in the lobby and head over to DCA to activate our tickets.
This is when well see if purchasing Ridemax was worth it.
November 10th is the first day of Veterans Day Weekend. Its also the day that Disneyland officially opens their holiday season. Last year, they closed the gates to any new admissions because they reached crowd capacity I expect this year to be just as crazy.
Update: DL has posted their entertainment schedule for the week we are there. They are pushing the official holiday opening to the last Friday we are in the park so it looks like were going to be able to see the Remember, Dreams Come True fireworks over Veterans Day weekend. Because this show is a must do for me, our itinerary may change a bit.
Update: The filming of the Christmas Parade is on Nov. 10th. Theres also a big convention going on at the same time. Oh well whats a few more thousand people?
Update: No Turtle Talk during the week we are there. Im crushed! The closer we get to our trip, the more changes and surprises come our way. Note: About this time, I took up chanting and meditation. Breathe deeply, Joy Relax., it really will be ok.
I had already written a pre-trip report so that's where I'll start. Hope you have some time cause I think this is going to be a long one with lots and lots of photos. So here goes...
When:
November 10th - November 16th - 2007
Where:
5 Days at Disneyland & DCA
1 Day at Knott's Berry Farm & Medieval Dinner Show
1 Day at Unversal Studios Theme Park in Hollywood
Cast of Characters:
Joy (Me - age 55 - biggest Disney fan of the family)
DeWayne (DH of 35 years - age 55 - loves fishing more than DL)
Chris (Son - age 26 - takes after his father - loves fishing)
Corey (Son - age 17 - baby of the family - good natured - video game geek)
Shelli (Daughter - age 37 - oldest of our kids - loves to Scrapbook)
Craig (Son-In-Law - age 37 - a fun person to be around - quite the artist)
Kristyl (Grand-daughter - age 16 - a wonderful, responsible young lady -wants to be a hair-stylist)
Brandon (Grandson - age 5 - cute as a button with a personality to match)
Back Row - L to R: Chris, Corey, & Dewayne - Front Row: Joy (me), Kristyl, Brandon & Craig
Craig, Brandon, Kristyl, & Shelli
Transportation:
Shuttle Express to SeaTac Airport (Picks us up at 4:00 AM)
Alaska Airlines Flight to SNA - Departs Seattle @ 6:40AM - Arrives @ Orange County at 9:28 AM
Super Shuttle from SNA to BWPPI
Rent a 12-passenger van for Sun, Mon & Tues from Van4Rent at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel
Super Shuttle to SNA on Saturday, Nov. 17th - departure at 11:00 AM
Arrive at SeaTac at 1:47 PM
Shuttle Express from SeaTac to home
Hotel:
2 Double Queen Mini-Suites @ The Best Western Park Place Inn ($107 per night)
I began this pre-trip report way back in the spring of 2007: Here's what I had jotted down:
Well, here I am again planning another Disneyland vacation. We have been going to the Happiest Place On Earth every other year since 1986 except for a brief hiatus between 2001 and 2005, the latter year being when we went to WDW for the first time. Im not sure why we didnt make it to California during those 4 years, but perhaps it was because 2 of our kids got married and were starting their new lives during that time.
In 2000, we inherited a small amount of money and treated the entire family to a trip to Disneyland. In August of 2001, we had planned on just driving down the Oregon coast to the Redwoods, but since we were already half way there. we decided to just keep driving on down to Disneyland. That was such fun (aside from our tranny going out on the border between Oregon & California and having to rent a car for the rest of the trip.) I love doing spur of the moment kind of things.
In 2005 we flew to WDW, and while I enjoyed the experience, I cant wait to go back to our home base in Anaheim.
I started dreaming of this vacation as soon as we got back from Florida. I didnt know if any of our kids were going, but I knew that I was going and anyone else who wanted to go had better start planning and saving too. (Our other son (Steve - age 33) and his family went with us to WDW, but couldn't go with us this time because he had just started a new job and couldn't get the time off -
)Purchasing our plane tickets was #1 on our agenda. We had been watching the Alaska Airlines website waiting for the prices to drop praying that we would have enough money saved to purchase 8 tickets when they did. On March 17th, Shelli calls to tell me that the tickets had dropped from $400.00 to $312.00. do we have enough money in the bank? We have exactly $2500.00 and the tickets come to $2496.00. Talk about cutting it by the skin of our teeth!
We purchased our tickets and saved a total of $704.00. The decision of which hotel to stay at was a hard one. At first we made reservations at Desert Inn & Suites, but the reviews I had read made me nervous especially the parking issue as we had been thinking of renting 2 cars and planned on going to other theme parks in the area. Update: We ended up renting an 8-passenger Van for 3 days instead of renting 2 cars.
We had stayed at the Howard Johnson in 2001...loved the large rooms, the quiet pool and game room. What I recall not liking about HOJOs was the somewhat long walk back to the hotel. I remember looking longingly at the other hotels as we passed them after our first full day at the park.
Update: We finally decided on BWPPI, right across the street from the DL gate. We are renting 2 QQ mini-suites for $107.00 a night for each room. There are 2 Queen beds and a Queen fold out sofa. The room also comes with a fridge and microwave and the hotel offers a free continental breakfast not a fancy one, but good enough.
Ive read reviews that the pool at BWPPI is really small, but none of us are too interested in the whole swimming thing anyway since were going to CA in November and weather should be pretty pleasant not hot.
Regarding the off season DH is thrilled that were not going during a time when the parks are open until midnight. He loves DL, but he hates getting up early and staying up late. I would say its because were getting older, but the man has always been this way.
We are also heading back home on a Saturday instead of Sunday like we usually do, because DH wants a day to unwind before going back to work. Because I love him dearly, Im happy to accommodate the man, but it sure plays havoc on my planning days at the parks. DD wants to see the Christmas parade, which will only run the last Friday were there, and I want to make sure that the 2 new DL visitors in our group see Fantasmic which will only show on weekends. Cutting out that last Saturday makes it tough especially since our first weekend is during this years Veterans Day Holiday. But where theres a will theres a way
Update: Fantasmic is showing every night the week we are there.
This is the plan for our 1st day in Anaheim.
Day 1: Saturday, November 10th
Arrive @ John Wayne Airport at 9:28 AM on Sat. November 10th.
Claim our luggage, check in with SuperShuttle where we have reserved a private van to the hotel and back to the airport.
Let the hotel know we have arrived maybe well get lucky and at least one of the rooms will be ready and we can dump our luggage. If not, well check our luggage in the lobby and head over to DCA to activate our tickets.
This is when well see if purchasing Ridemax was worth it.
November 10th is the first day of Veterans Day Weekend. Its also the day that Disneyland officially opens their holiday season. Last year, they closed the gates to any new admissions because they reached crowd capacity I expect this year to be just as crazy.
Update: DL has posted their entertainment schedule for the week we are there. They are pushing the official holiday opening to the last Friday we are in the park so it looks like were going to be able to see the Remember, Dreams Come True fireworks over Veterans Day weekend. Because this show is a must do for me, our itinerary may change a bit.
Update: The filming of the Christmas Parade is on Nov. 10th. Theres also a big convention going on at the same time. Oh well whats a few more thousand people?
Update: No Turtle Talk during the week we are there. Im crushed! The closer we get to our trip, the more changes and surprises come our way. Note: About this time, I took up chanting and meditation. Breathe deeply, Joy Relax., it really will be ok.
