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Who: Me (36) and my littlest bro, Nest (22) When: 26 September-14 October 2012 Why: Our first proper Halloween Where: Universal - Pacific Coast Cruise - Disneyland
This is being written at the last minute, so wont be as detailed as I would like. It's my last day at work before the trip, and I can barely concentrate on what I'm meant to be doing, so I thought I'd share some excitement, and perhaps that will help me settle down (though it probably wont! )
My littlest bro and I fly out to LA next Wednesday We leave our hometime in Oz at 9.55am, and arrive in Sydney approximately 35 mins later. We're not dreading the flight from Sydney to LA as much this time round, as after a lot of work, planning, and saving, I was able to score us tickets in Qantas' premium economy class, instead of just general economy They promise more leg room and greater seat recline, which is exactly what Nest needs, at 6'3" tall
We arrive in LA at around 9.30am, and will head straight to Universal Studios Hollywood, where we'll be spending the next four days. We have tickets for their Halloween Horror Nights on two separate nights, which we’re really excited about, as I've read they’re meant to be the scariest in Southern California. (After watching some of the teaser videos, I must admit I’m now starting to feel a little apprehensive about these HHNs! Hopefully it’s just the excitement really starting to kick in ) One of the HHNs will be a VIP experience for us, and the other one we have front of line passes for the attractions, because as we'll be there for the weekend, we know how crowded it can get from past experience, and want to be able to make the most of everything during our short stay. As soon as we hit this park, we’re making our way straight to our favourite ride – Jurassic Park River Adventure!
For the next seven days after Universal, we’ll be cruising down the Pacific Coast on the Disney Wonder, with stops at San Francisco, San Diego, and Ensenada. This will be our very first cruise, and we're both just so excited!! (Can you tell? ) I’m massively excited about San Francisco in particular, as I fell in love with the place when I visited back in 2006, and have been busting to introduce my bro to it ever since. We’ll be visiting Alcatraz, doing a tour of the city on the back of a fire engine, and going to Muir Woods – those are the organised tours – we also hope to do a lot of free time stuff also, as there’s just so much to see and do there. With our day in San Diego, we’re going to the Zoo, and with our day in Ensenada, we’re going on a tour of the town, then having an authentic Mexican cooking class with a Mexican chef, followed by a bit of shopping before returning to the ship. As you all know, on one of the nights, it’s Pirate Night – I eagerly sorted my costume months ago. I bought my bro some pirate accessories (on seeing the eyepatch, he said I should’ve bought him two! ) and an awesome wig, as he’s not as keen about dressing up as I am.
Our Disneyland adventure begins on Sunday, October 7 . We’ll be staying for a week at Disney’s Grand Californian So many changes have occurred at the park since our last stay in 2010, and we can’t wait to experience them all, as well as revisit all our old favourites such as Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Peter Pan’s Flight, the Haunted Mansion, the Tower of Terror, California Screamin’, Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train (a baby’s ride, as my friends call it, but we love it), and Winnie the Pooh … amongst others The newest ride I’m looking forward to experiencing the most, is the Little Mermaid – I know it features the song, “Under the sea”, which I absolutely adore Nest is going to be so embarrassed riding it with me, as he knows quite well I wont be able to resist singing along! We have tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party on two separate nights . I have a costume sorted for that too – am so excited! We have two special dining reservations – one at Goofy’s Kitchen (a tradition since we began travelling to Disneyland back in 2007), and one at the Blue Bayou (we dined there in 2010, and had the best meal ever! We're so looking forward to the mint juleps – they’re so delicious!)
This will be our first proper American Halloween experience, and we’re both so excited! I look forward to sharing our memories with everyone on our return. (In case anyone is wondering, I haven't given up on my 2010 trip report ...)
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Sounds like a wonderful trip! I like that you arranged for the cruise in between the two park stays. Three trips in one! How long does the ship stay in San Francisco? That's a lot you have planned there!
Great start! Looking forward to another one of your wonderfully detailed TR's. (I just recently realized that I never finished the WDW portion of your 2010 TR. I must remedy that!)
everyone! I've finally organised myself enough after being back, to post our first TR entry, which can be read here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disney4us2
Sounds like a great trip. We will miss you by just a few days. We live closer to Universal than Disneyland.
Don't forget to check out Cars Land. It is totally incredible.
Have a great time.
Thanks Marci! I hope you had an enjoyable trip yourself! (You're so lucky living close to Universal! I'm so envious! )
After a few false starts due to the crowds, my bro and I were eventually able to experience most of what Cars Land had to offer. We loved Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, as simple as it was, and thought that Radiator Spring Racers was absolutely AWESOME! Well worth the 2+ hour wait! Unfortunately, we didn't get to ride Luigi's Flying Tyres We had lunch at Flo's one day - the food there was great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs.K.
Sounds great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great start! Have a wonderful time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mushu22
Great Start
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Great Start!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hleland
Sounds like lots of fun. Hope you have a fabulous time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Awesome plans. I envy your cruise!
Thank you! We had a fabulous time, and our first ever cruise was absolutely awesome!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Sounds like a wonderful trip! I like that you arranged for the cruise in between the two park stays. Three trips in one! How long does the ship stay in San Francisco? That's a lot you have planned there!
I purposely planned the trip so the cruise would be in-between both park visits.
The ship stayed in San Francisco for two days. We got quite a lot done, but didn't make it to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory as planned. What took up most of our spare time after going on our port activities, was the Musee Mechanique. We spent hours there each day, as it was an absolute gem of a find! (More to follow in my TR.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Great start! Looking forward to another one of your wonderfully detailed TR's. (I just recently realized that I never finished the WDW portion of your 2010 TR. I must remedy that!)
Thank you
One of the reasons you never finished reading the WDW portion of my 2010 TR, was because I haven't actually finished it yet (sorry! ) I do plan to though
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlandmom2
Have a great time! I'll be at Disneyland on one of the days you're there so maybe I'll see you and Nest!
Thanks - we certainly did have a great time! Hope you did too! People we ran into during the trip, didn't identify themselves as Passporter people, so we must've missed you
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About This Page: 
- Pacific Coast Cruise 
- Disneyland 
)
Hopefully it’s just the excitement really starting to kick in 
) One of the HHNs will be a VIP experience for us, and the other one we have front of line passes for the attractions, because as we'll be there for the weekend, we know how crowded it can get from past experience, and want to be able to make the most of everything during our short stay. As soon as we hit this park, we’re making our way straight to our favourite ride – Jurassic Park River Adventure! 
) I’m massively excited about San Francisco in particular, as I fell in love with the place when I visited back in 2006, and have been busting to introduce my bro to it ever since. We’ll be visiting Alcatraz, doing a tour of the city on the back of a fire engine, and going to Muir Woods – those are the organised tours – we also hope to do a lot of free time stuff also, as there’s just so much to see and do there. With our day in San Diego, we’re going to the Zoo, and with our day in Ensenada, we’re going on a tour of the town, then having an authentic Mexican cooking class with a Mexican chef, followed by a bit of shopping before returning to the ship. As you all know, on one of the nights, it’s Pirate Night – I eagerly sorted my costume months ago. I bought my bro some pirate accessories (on seeing the eyepatch, he said I should’ve bought him two! 
) and an awesome wig, as he’s not as keen about dressing up as I am.
So many changes have occurred at the park since our last stay in 2010, and we can’t wait to experience them all, as well as revisit all our old favourites such as Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Peter Pan’s Flight, the Haunted Mansion, the Tower of Terror, California Screamin’, Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train (a baby’s ride, as my friends call it, but we love it), and Winnie the Pooh … amongst others 
The newest ride I’m looking forward to experiencing the most, is the Little Mermaid – I know it features the song, “Under the sea”, which I absolutely adore 
We have tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party on two separate nights 
for now! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
everyone! I've finally organised myself enough after being back, to post our first TR entry, which can be read 
(You're so lucky living close to Universal! I'm so envious! 
We had lunch at Flo's one day - the food there was great! 
I purposely planned the trip so the cruise would be in-between both park visits.
) I do plan to though 
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