casagray
Kinda New to this!
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2015
Hi -
I'll be in Disneyland at the beginning of November, two partial days and three full days, and have been preparing for it for a while now, so I though I'd put together a pre-trip report.
Cast of Characters:
Me. I am not a Disney nut, but I really enjoy going to Disneyland/Disney California Adventure, especially alone. Early 50's, kinda round (working on being less round), and have problems with Plantar Fascitis, which I probably spelled wrong. I have two kids, and am thinking next two trips won't be solo, but trips with first one then the other child - and then possibly me and my husband (he's just not as into it). I'm the main wage earner in an at times highly stressful job, and as wonderful as my husband is, I'm still the one who does all the doctor's appointments, deals with the schools, the teachers, etc. With two kids who have IBS and anxiety - and one with POTS - I need some time as a break from it all (and no, going to a conference is not the same).
This will be kinda my third solo trip. The reason I say kinda is that in the spring of 2014 I was at a conference in Anaheim, which included on-site stays at Disney Parks ... so I took advantage and went in a day early and went to the parks. I bought a two day park-hopper that I then extended to a three day, and then a four day, then a five day ... even though days 3-5 were from ~5-until closing (e.g., after the conference). It coincided with my 50th birthday (okay, birth year), and so I treated myself.
I loved doing it so much that when the next summer my husband really wanted to go on a road trip to see a few baseball games and the baseball hall of fame, I suggested maybe we could do separate 3-4 day vacations. He went off on a great trip, and I went back to DL/DCA, in November. I did what I could to keep costs down, and keep to a comparable price. Of course, being a baseball fan, he did spend a bit at the baseball hall of fame ... While I did love my time alone, I was fortunate enough to gain some new friends who I spent some of my time with, and were okay when I was ready to wander off away on my own.
This year, we didn't do separate vacations. I still wanted to go, and was lucky enough to have a few things happen that made it somewhat affordable.
With the plane, hotel and park hopper all set, in August (a bit late), I started looking around for other ways to help fund my trip - I have been stashing some extra away to help offset some of the hotel, but I wanted money for food and fun. I've found some survey sites that pay per survey, and a few that offered gift cards. If I had started earlier I may have earned enough to pay for all of the hotel (still the most expensive part of my trip), but as it is I think I have enough for all my meals (I hope) and some souvenirs/fun. It was during this research I found the info about Lyft that I shared.
For my hotel, I did look at the Dapper Days rate - as I thinking of going to the Expo - but I couldn't justify the extra money. I thought about doing it for one night, but it didn't seem to make sense, the AAA rate I have at BWPPI is so much less.
I am currently planning on a few "splurges" with the "food and fun" money - a character breakfast and a table service dinner. Even so, I may cancel the character breakfast, as I'm hoping it will be quiet enough that I can see more characters without a ton of lines. I have breakfast reservations for Thursday morning, after I use the MM entry, so I thought by the end of Tuesday I'd know if I want to keep it or not and be able to cancel within the right time frame. My table service is for Friday night, as I was thinking with the it being one of the last Fridays the annual pass holders can go, and the Friday of Dapper Day weekend, it would be good to plan out my dinner that night. I also did get a $25 Ghiradelli gift card, so that will be more spur of the moment splurges.
I do have some touring plans put together for Tuesday and Wednesday, which I'll see if I use....
So, with a few weeks left, that's where I am.
I'll be in Disneyland at the beginning of November, two partial days and three full days, and have been preparing for it for a while now, so I though I'd put together a pre-trip report.
Cast of Characters:
Me. I am not a Disney nut, but I really enjoy going to Disneyland/Disney California Adventure, especially alone. Early 50's, kinda round (working on being less round), and have problems with Plantar Fascitis, which I probably spelled wrong. I have two kids, and am thinking next two trips won't be solo, but trips with first one then the other child - and then possibly me and my husband (he's just not as into it). I'm the main wage earner in an at times highly stressful job, and as wonderful as my husband is, I'm still the one who does all the doctor's appointments, deals with the schools, the teachers, etc. With two kids who have IBS and anxiety - and one with POTS - I need some time as a break from it all (and no, going to a conference is not the same).
This will be kinda my third solo trip. The reason I say kinda is that in the spring of 2014 I was at a conference in Anaheim, which included on-site stays at Disney Parks ... so I took advantage and went in a day early and went to the parks. I bought a two day park-hopper that I then extended to a three day, and then a four day, then a five day ... even though days 3-5 were from ~5-until closing (e.g., after the conference). It coincided with my 50th birthday (okay, birth year), and so I treated myself.
I loved doing it so much that when the next summer my husband really wanted to go on a road trip to see a few baseball games and the baseball hall of fame, I suggested maybe we could do separate 3-4 day vacations. He went off on a great trip, and I went back to DL/DCA, in November. I did what I could to keep costs down, and keep to a comparable price. Of course, being a baseball fan, he did spend a bit at the baseball hall of fame ... While I did love my time alone, I was fortunate enough to gain some new friends who I spent some of my time with, and were okay when I was ready to wander off away on my own.
This year, we didn't do separate vacations. I still wanted to go, and was lucky enough to have a few things happen that made it somewhat affordable.
- First, I booked my room early - in March for a November stay - using a AAA discount. This is still the most expensive part of my trip, but getting in early with the AAA discount helps. I also knew if things fell apart I could cancel it. I actually made three different reservations, cancelled one about a week later after reading more reviews of the hotel (Del Sol), and then after a lot of debate, cancelled the second one about two weeks ago, as it was just a bit further and I was concerned the rate I had was going to mean I was not in the updated part of the hotel (Grand Legacy). I kept BWPPI, as I really liked the location, and the people are very nice.
- Second, we had enough miles that I could use them for a round trip ticket. So my out of pocket for that was $25 (yes, I know, it really was more in the long run, but at the moment I paid for the ticket, I shelled out $25).
- Third, I plan to use Lyft. I have downloaded the app, but don't plan to sign up until a few weeks before; and then use a code from http://rideshareapps.com/lyft-promo-code-credit/ - hopefully that will get me from and then back to SNA. Most of these codes require you to be a new user, and the credit expires in a month.
With the plane, hotel and park hopper all set, in August (a bit late), I started looking around for other ways to help fund my trip - I have been stashing some extra away to help offset some of the hotel, but I wanted money for food and fun. I've found some survey sites that pay per survey, and a few that offered gift cards. If I had started earlier I may have earned enough to pay for all of the hotel (still the most expensive part of my trip), but as it is I think I have enough for all my meals (I hope) and some souvenirs/fun. It was during this research I found the info about Lyft that I shared.
For my hotel, I did look at the Dapper Days rate - as I thinking of going to the Expo - but I couldn't justify the extra money. I thought about doing it for one night, but it didn't seem to make sense, the AAA rate I have at BWPPI is so much less.
I am currently planning on a few "splurges" with the "food and fun" money - a character breakfast and a table service dinner. Even so, I may cancel the character breakfast, as I'm hoping it will be quiet enough that I can see more characters without a ton of lines. I have breakfast reservations for Thursday morning, after I use the MM entry, so I thought by the end of Tuesday I'd know if I want to keep it or not and be able to cancel within the right time frame. My table service is for Friday night, as I was thinking with the it being one of the last Fridays the annual pass holders can go, and the Friday of Dapper Day weekend, it would be good to plan out my dinner that night. I also did get a $25 Ghiradelli gift card, so that will be more spur of the moment splurges.
I do have some touring plans put together for Tuesday and Wednesday, which I'll see if I use....
So, with a few weeks left, that's where I am.