PTR: Ka-Chow, It’s a Spring Break Road Trip

[momabaarjo]

I never claimed I was firing on all cylinders, so throwing together a trip to Disneyland in less than 45 days seems something I might do. I found myself thinking that I really need to experience the Happiest Place on Earth. Trust me it has been MANY MOONS since I have been to DL, I think I was in my early teens. So I came up with my justifications... spring break is coming up, I needed to go on a fact finding mission for a friend who is going this summer, and my boys have been dying to go to Carsland (DID I MENTION HOW MUCH OF CARS FANS THEY ARE)...presented them to Mr. Grumpy and about fell over when he agreed.

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So off we are going driving the Mother Road for most of the journey, because after all Life is a Highway and the original mother road is only a 6 block drive south of my house to jump on and head to California.

 

[momabaarjo]

Table of Contents​

Trip Overview
Cast of Characters
Tropicana Inn: It's All About the Location
Day 1-Friday Evening: Departure Day (home to Tucumcari, NM)
Day 2-Saturday/Part 1: Tucumcari, NM to Holbrook, AZ
Day 2-Saturday/Part 2: Holbrook to Williams, AZ
Day 3-Sunday: Williams, AZ to Disneyland
Day 4-Monday/Part 1: Disney California Adventure
Day 4-Monday/Part 2: Disney California Adventure
Day 5-Tuesday: Disneyland
Day 6-Wednesday: Park Hopping Last Day at DLR
Day 7-Thursday: DLR to Seligman, AZ

 

[momabaarjo]

Trip Overview
I will continue to update as our plans become more defined.
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revised in the Table of Contents

 

[momabaarjo]

Cast of Characters

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I am Tammie, your narrator and planner of this trip…

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You will notice that I am totally selfie challenged! I am a 40 something (closer to 50) wife and mother of 3 whose family usually gets left behind when I go on a Disney trip because I love to runDisney and go with a group of girlfriends.

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My favorite Cars character is Flo. She has a little sass to her, but is no nonsense!

Also coming along will be “My Boys”...

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My husband is Jeff, but I refer to him as Mr. Grumpy. He is a self-employed contractor and small business owner, which is nice when it comes to planning last minute trips. In his free time he loves to restore hot rods, fish and hunt. He won’t admit it, but he loved WDW and like all my boys is a huge Cars fan.

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His favorite character has always been Doc Hudson, in fact he even had to buy a Hudson to restore because of Doc. He is classic, straight forward and a little gruff just like Doc.

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My oldest son is Boo, who is also the middle child. Boo is quiet and has a go with the flow personality. He is junior in high school with dreams of joining the Air Force and fly drones all day (putting his love of computer games to the ultimate test). He plays varsity football and tennis as well as being very involved in student council, FFA and Boy Scouts…earning is his Eagle this past fall.

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His favorite Cars character is Mater. I can see Mater in him, because they both have big hearts and a goofy side.

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My youngest son is #monsterchild, a 5th grader, who still claims to be Lightning McQueen’s #1 Fan. For 4 birthdays in a row he had to have a Cars birthday theme. We burned through several copies of the original Cars movie by playing it repeatedly. He could recite all the lines and every time laughed in the exact same places.

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#monsterchild has 2 speeds in life…full throttle and stop. He is our whirlwind, funny and the life of the party!

Our daughter, Ab, is not going to be making this trip. She is a sophomore in college and has plans that don’t involve her family for spring break. College kids…you would have thought I could have lured her away with the carrot of a Disney trip. She is our Sally, a determined young lady with lots of smarts.

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[Dis_Yoda]

Joining in! Disneyland is so much fun

 

[momabaarjo]

Joining in! Disneyland is so much fun

Melissa...I am going to be asking for lots of your expert advice...especially what I need to eat!

 

[Ladyfish77]

Joining in. Saw your TP for running F&W. Sorry to hear about your injury and hope it heals well and quickly.

Looking forward to your DL report. I grew up going to DL almost every summer for one day a year since we had family in CA. Ahh the memories of driving across the desert in a station wagon with vinyl seats and no AC...those were the days. I haven't been back in 30+ years and can't even picture the place since the made a new park out of the parking lot!!! I really should try and make it out there sometime!

 

[momabaarjo]

Joining in. Saw your TP for running F&W. Sorry to hear about your injury and hope it heals well and quickly.

WELCOME! Thank you for the well wishes! I am really praying that I am not going to be wearing this dang boot when we go...but I have a feeling I will be.

Looking forward to your DL report. I grew up going to DL almost every summer for one day a year since we had family in CA. Ahh the memories of driving across the desert in a station wagon with vinyl seats and no AC...those were the days. I haven't been back in 30+ years and can't even picture the place since the made a new park out of the parking lot!!! I really should try and make it out there sometime!

LOL...I can totally picture those trips. We are going in my modern station wagon...Ford Explorer and each boy gets his own seat! I was in high school the only time I went and it was for a Girl Scout Wider Opportunity in Southern California. I really need to dig those pictures out. I really do not remember anything but trying to get around the parade at night to ride things. It is going to be great fun.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Melissa...I am going to be asking for lots of your expert advice...especially what I need to eat!

Well - we all know I love food!

 

[VandVsmama]

Following along! Our family just loves Carsland at Disneyland. You're going to have a great time!!

 

[SarahDisney]

Disneyland! Yes!!
If you're big Cars fans, then you're definitely going to love Radiator Springs. It's so immersive. It's absolutely incredible!

 

[rteetz]

Why is everyone going to Disneyland and I am not?!?!

So jealous but excited to hear all about it.

 

[momabaarjo]

It’s all about the Location!​

Since this is a budget friendly, last minute trip I went with a Good Neighbor Hotel….the Tropicana Inn. There really was not a lot available for our dates to select from and the Tropicana seemed the best option. It has good reviews, which is always the first thing I look at on Trip Advisor. I am not too thrilled with $15 a day parking fee, however.

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I love that is literally across the street from the Disneyland Resort, a five minute walk the promotional video shows you. My family hates when I plan trips, because they know that it will involve early mornings, long days and LOTS of walking. So the Tropicana Inn should save a few steps and give us a few more minutes in the morning, plus to be able to come back to the hotel and rest in the afternoons, should we decide that we need a little down time (like that is going to happen on this fact finding mission).

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High on the boys of must haves is a pool and hopefully the weather will cooperate so that they can get a little afternoon pool time.

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Rooms seem pretty motel standard, which is not a big deal for us. While I love the Beach Club at WDW, this is a different type of trip to Disney. I like the fact that the rooms have a small microwave and a refrigerator so we can do a little breakfast before heading out on our early mornings. Although, at the moment I am really craving a Mickey Waffle.

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There are several good choices of restaurants near the Tropicana…McDonalds, Johnny Rockers, Panera, IHop, and Denny’s. Since I am not finding a lot of must have Table Service places at Disneyland these will be great options to grab midday or early evening.


Overall, I am pretty happy with the Tropicana on paper; hopefully it will exceed expectations and end up an AWESOME choice.

 

[rteetz]

Looks nice. Walking distance is a huge plus! Who doesn't crave Mickey waffles?

 

[VandVsmama]

We've never stayed at the Tropicana, but I've heard really good things about it!

 

[SarahDisney]

We looked at the Tropicana for our first trip, but ended up getting a slightly cheaper rate somewhere else (I honestly can't remember where, but it was one of the hotels on the block). It's a really easy walk from there to the Harbor Blvd entrance ... and depending on your room location, it's possible you'll have a view of the park!
From what I hear, Tropicana is definitely a good choice.

 

[momabaarjo]

Looks nice. Walking distance is a huge plus! Who doesn't crave Mickey waffles?

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We've never stayed at the Tropicana, but I've heard really good things about it!

We looked at the Tropicana for our first trip, but ended up getting a slightly cheaper rate somewhere else (I honestly can't remember where, but it was one of the hotels on the block). It's a really easy walk from there to the Harbor Blvd entrance ... and depending on your room location, it's possible you'll have a view of the park!
From what I hear, Tropicana is definitely a good choice.

I am glad to know that you both have heard good things...

 

[momabaarjo]

I was feeling a little discouraged last night because apparently I have lost my OCD planning nature and I am really trying to dig deep and find it for this trip. Plans are not coming together for park days like I had hoped, but...

Our Disney part of the trip is PAID IN FULL....

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the countdown calendar is showing...

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[rteetz]

Disneyland is much more relaxed in planning than WDW it seems.

 

[momabaarjo]

Disneyland is much more relaxed in planning than WDW it seems.

It is...but it is hard to put things together when you really are not sure of attractions...and man there is just not a lot of fun food choices!