"Your 'Must-Do' List is Just the Whole Guidebook!"- PTR of a Father/Daughter Pilgrimage to the 60th

[CaptainKat]

"Your 'Must-Do' List is Just the Whole Guidebook!"- PTR of a Father/Daughter Pilgrimage to the 60th

Chapter 1: Introductions​

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first official trip report! I say official, because I have about three PTRs of previous trips started on my computer that never got the first installment finished and posted, as school and life would get in the way. But I'm determined to see this one through, as it is a very special trip! So let's get started!

The Who:
First off, this is me, Kat!


I'm 24 and a lifelong Disney fan. I've been going to the parks since before I can remember, and our family has been DVC Members since 2001.


I'm also a Disney College Program Alumni! I was Fall Advantage 2014, with an extension through Spring 2015, and afterwards I went part time for a few months. I worked as a Pirate Master at The Pirate's League in Magic Kingdom, transforming guests of all ages into pirates and mermaids (unlike those stinky-clean princesses with their age rules ).


I'm not a CM anymore, but I am living in Orlando and working as a Scenic Apprentice at a nearby theatre, so I caved and got an AP for the year. I'm currently trying to accept that I most likely will not be in Florida for the next year or so, due to current job openings at theatres and such. It's sad, but my plan is to be back eventually, and I just have to remind myself that I left the CM life so I could get the experience I needed in my field to eventually be back with the mouse in entertainment or Imagineering.

One other relevant thing about me: I love to sew in my free time, and make a lot of my own dresses and costumes. Here's two of my favorites:

Dapper Day 2015 (I made the dress, petticoat, gloves, and parasol)


And my Rapunzel costume, which I made in 2012 and was so excited to wear at Mickey's Not-So-Scary last year! The wig is to this day one of the craziest projects I've ever tackled.


The sewing will come into play in a future installment of this PTR! Meanwhile, it's time to meet the other half of the traveling crew!

Meet my dad, Art!


He's about as cool of a dad as a girl could ask for! We're definitely the two peas in a pod of our family. We have the same taste in music, the same sense of humor, you name it! And while the rest of the family likes or loves Disney, he's the only one who has the same touring style as I do (aka, do it all, hit the ground running and don't stop), and who has the most patience for and interest in my rants about Disney history and behind the scenes details. We do a lot of park touring together when the family splits up, we did the Holiday Yuletide Fantasy Tour while on our big family Christmas/New Year's trip in 2012, we took a father/daughter trip to Food and Wine in 2013 to celebrate my college graduation, and he's visited about half a dozen times since I moved down here two years ago, both with the rest of the fam and solo.


The What:
A father/daughter trip to Disneyland to catch the tail end of the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration!

The When:
May 20th-24th, 2016

The Where:
Staying at the Villas at the Grand Californian on DVC points. Right now we are in a 1-bedroom unit, but are on the waiting list for a studio as it is fewer points and we really don't need the full kitchen, since our park food to try list is pretty long!

The Why:
Mostly to see the Diamond Celebration. The whole family visited DLR way back in 2008, staying at the Paradise Pier Hotel (I remember seeing the construction for the VGC) and while it was a fun trip, I hadn't quite caught the Disney bug as far as history went, and I really didn't realize the significance of being in Walt's park, and so I don't remember much from the trip. The past 5 years or so, I've always wanted to go back, but we've never quite made it, between airfare, villa availability, and other trips. But when the 60th celebration was announced, I kind of put my foot down and said "I'm going. You can come with me if you want." I couldn't miss this opportunity; the next big anniversary probably won't be until the 75th! Luckily, my dad was more than game to tag along, and we found a few days after my apprenticeship ends that he could take off work, and the airfare wasn't too bad. And the bonus was that we got to stay in a villa on site, rather than me at whatever good neighbor hotel I could afford. I even saved the two comp tickets I got as a CM that are good though June, so we're saving on 2 days of park admission for me too! Mom's a bit jealous that she doesn't get to tag along, since my youngest brother is still in high school, and too much of a troublemaker to be left alone, haha. She informed me last week that since my dad got a turn to go to DL for a big event, next year she wants to go with me to D23, and well, how can I say no to that

Anyways, I think this post is long enough. I will be back in time with future installments about plans, ADRs, and special pre-trip projects I have planned. I hope you all will follow along, please post your favorite touring tips, tricks, and 'must-dos'! I'm so well-versed in WDW, but DL is a whole 'nother beast. Just planning ADRs without park hours has got me in a tizzy, and going back to legacy FP is going to be quite an adventure, so I appreciate any advice from you veterans!

TTFN!

 

[caralyn817]

Can't wait to hear your plans! We're planning on going in July.

 

[CaptainKat]

Can't wait to hear your plans! We're planning on going in July.

Thanks! I'm glad to see that I'll have at least one person tagging along, and won't just be over here talking to myself! July sounds exciting, if a little bit busy!

 

[CaptainKat]

Chapter 2: Dining Reservations and Park Days​

Alright, it's been a crazy couple of weeks down here! We just opened our last two shows of the season at the theatre, I've had a bunch of job interviews for the year, and I was making an outfit for Dapper Day, so time just got away from me!

Anyways, we're a month out now, and park hours came out a week or two ago, confirming my preliminary park plans for our days! Our ticket situation was interesting in that while my dad got a 3 day hopper, I'm using my 2 CM comps I got last summer while still working at WDW, and then I bought a 1 day non-hopper. So I had to think of which would be the best day to stick to a park. I'll run down them here, and welcome any and all suggestions and strategy tips!

Friday, May 20th
Land at LAX midmorning, transport to Grand Californian. Our plan is to not do a park, but explore the hotels and DTD. We definitely want to have lunch or at least a drink at Trader Sam's. No solid dinner plans, we'll go with the flow, and if the Ducks or the Kings are still in the NHL playoffs we may end up at a game if there is one (our family has a bucket list to see a game in every NHL arena).

Saturday, May 21st
Disneyland, EMH 7am-8am, open 8am-12am
This is our one non-hop ticket day, and I figure there is more than enough to keep us busy all day long. The plan is to definitely make EMH rope drop, and head to Fantasyland to knock out a lot of non-FP rides. I've found out that this day is a Grad Nite, so we for sure want to take advantage of the early morning time before the crowds of teenagers start to arrive . We may take a small break in the afternoon, depending on crowds and weather, and we'll definitely close the park.

We have a reservation for Blue Bayou at 5:30pm, with the Paint The Night package. Blue Bayou was my number 1 food must do, considering my Disney pirate history. At least once a day at the League we would have a guest mistake us for that place, since we were right next to the ride entrance. So of course I had to see what all the fuss was about! I've seen mixed reviews about the package experience, but since we were already planning to eat here, and looking at the menu the price seemed like a good deal for us, we went ahead.

Sunday, May 22nd
California Adventure, EMH 7am-8am, open 8am-9pm
We plan to spend the majority of the day in DCA, and hop to DL at DCA park close, since it's open later, and maybe some points in the afternoon. We're going to try to make the most of EMH again, and I was thinking of heading to Paradise Pier to get some rides on TMM and Screamin', as I've heard with the Carsland rush it's not very busy down that way. Then after, we'll head to Carsland and grab a FP for RSR and have some time to really take in the surroundings. As an Imagineering nerd, I'm super excited to see the theming and want to get to enjoy it while not in a cattle call to the one ride .

Our ADR for that day is the World of Color package at Ariel's Grotto for dinner at 5:45pm. I was initially gunning for Carthay Circle Restaurant, but we looked at the menu and neither of us could find anything that really appealed to us, and it was very expensive to go and only maybe enjoy it. Trattoria looked okay, but we both liked some of the options at Ariel's better and it helped that it was cheaper, haha. I'm excited to get the dining viewing area, though I'm definitely nervous about still being not able to get a great spot, I've heard a lot about how poorly the viewing was designed.

Monday, May 23rd
Our third day we've left very much up in the air. It's very much a hop from park to park, hitting favorites or things we missed. We may or may not opt to hit DCA's EMH that morning, depending on how the previous day's went. No ADRs as of right now, but if we think we'll have time to spare the day of or day before we may look at a few options. The Plaza and Cafe Orleans both look really good!

Tuesday, May 24th
We both fly back to Orlando together, as dad's helping me pack up my car and drive to my summer theatre job in West Virginia. Our flight's early in the morning, so no parks or ADRs.


So what do you all think? Anything glaring I should have thought of? Suggestions? I'd love to hear from you all! Now, I'm off to work on my next sewing projects, which will be revealed on this PTR in due time!

 

[Angrose]

Sounds like a fantastic trip! Your itinerary looks pretty good. I don't think you would need ADR's on your last day in the parks. Plaza Inn is really good so I would go with that.
LOVE your Rapunzel wig...you are very talented!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in - sounds like a really fun trip. The 60th Anniversary stuff is really cool and definitely worth a trip (though the impact it appears to have on crowds, I wouldn't be surprised to see Disney announce a "very special 61st anniversary celebration!"

I think your plans sound great. As a note, we did both Ariel's and Carthay Circle and for the money we greatly preferred Ariel's (though, to be fair, we did that for lunch) - so I think you are making the right call. We did Blue Bayou as well (though, also for lunch) and it was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Definitely get there early for your ADR and request a table by the water and be willing to wait for it - it really makes a big difference!

At least when we went we found the lines really built up at Pirates and HM and that whole area and on our third day we decided to go that way at park opening and it really helped, so that is something to consider for your third day depending on how things are going

We did a similar thing and explored Trader Sam's and DTD our first night. It worked out great! We did dinner at the UVA Bar and that had some nice food options and was fun to sit outside in the middle of DTD and people watch, etc.

BTW - your sewing projects you shared look so great! That is exciting you got to experience working for Disney and now get to build up your skills and experience - I very much hope it all works out for you!

 

[Bebella]

Sounds like a fun trip planned! We'll be there the same time ...May 22-24th staying at the Disneyland Hotel

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

We will be there at the same time as you - May 22-24th, but we are staying at the HoJo Our first trip to Disneyland!

 

[Jaina]

This sounds so fun! I'm excited to read how it goes for you! Growing up we always visited in May, and it was always so nice!