First Ever Disneyland Trip Updated 10/13 About This Page:

[Cam22]

Yesterday and today have been the kind where I start out with few plans and then the projects accumulate. So even though I have my list of counter service places at Disneyland that we might try that will have to wait until tomorrow, which right now only has walking planned. In working on one project in the garage I rediscovered a booklet and the back of my ticket from my very first Walt Disney World visit in 1980. There was also a laminated card with additional ticket info. I got the camera out, but ran out of time to photograph these. But I’ll try to do that tomorrow so I can share. If I remember, I’ll also take a photo of the Mickey’s Halloween Party tickets. See my project list for tomorrow is already growing. Goodness! We split our walk up today so Luke could mow the yard. So when we went back out to finish the last mile, I took my camera because the road we walk on is so picturesque. I don’t think the sunlight was as cool at 11:00 AM as it is at 8:30. I haven’t had time to even look at the photos, much less edit them. So I’ll add that project to tomorrow as well.

Of course, I went to disneyland.com before our walk this morning. Once again, Luke was eagerly watching over my shoulder. But no scream, no happy dance. I think I might be getting numb to the process as I barely groaned today. When the calendar showed nothing beyond October 3, Luke moved on to something else. I moved over the park hours calendar, and was happy to see that there are now hours for October 1 -3 for both parks, so that is progress. I’ll be back at it tomorrow.

[chezp]

I'm not surprised you're getting a bit numb with all those visits to the website for nothing. I think I'd just be groaning a bit now too.

[lauriep]

When the information finally appears, you may be too stunned to scream!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

They are so slow with posting their updates. WDW makes you plan everything 6 months in advance. DL is so much more laid back. It is hard to adjust to!

[Colexis Mom]

At least the park hours are starting to show up!

[manticorjenn]

Originally Posted by Cam22

What two rides did you all get to ride as part of the tour?

We did the Jungle Cruise and the Enchanted Tiki Room. They even brought out one of the flowers to show how they are handpainted and the mechanisms. It was really neat. Our tour was prior to going to Walt's Apartment, but, we did get to see the Lobby of Club 33. I would definitely do the tour again to be able to see the apartment.

[roaminggnome]

WOW just reading about the website for DL it is moving further and further down on the list of places to visit.

[bobr]

Funny how times and perspectives change. I first went to Disneyland in 1964 after we moved to California. We got in the car and my parents said "we're going to Disneyland." We went often over the next five years, with no thought of planning. When I made my first trip to Walt Disney World in 2011, it was a real shock to realize that planning at least six months in advance. Fortunately, I had Passporter, Unofficial Guide, and a good travel agent. I'm glad I've done the planning for my WDW trips, and enjoy the process. I think it increases my anticipation, but I loved being able just to get up and go to Disneyland almost on a whim.

[SuperDave]

The whole thing is just so frustrating for you and Luke! Well at least the park hours are starting to appear so that may be a good sign! That tour sounds good and as you said may be similar to the KTTK in WDW. I took that a few years ago and really enjoyed it!

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by chezp

I'm not surprised you're getting a bit numb with all those visits to the website for nothing. I think I'd just be groaning a bit now too.

This has definitely become a test of patience.

Originally Posted by lauriep

When the information finally appears, you may be too stunned to scream!

I have this feeling I may freeze up when I finally see open dates.

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

They are so slow with posting their updates. WDW makes you plan everything 6 months in advance. DL is so much more laid back. It is hard to adjust to!

Definitely a hard adjustment!

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

At least the park hours are starting to show up!

That is a positive and I'm really hoping even more are up tomorrow.

Originally Posted by manticorjenn

We did the Jungle Cruise and the Enchanted Tiki Room. They even brought out one of the flowers to show how they are handpainted and the mechanisms. It was really neat. Our tour was prior to going to Walt's Apartment, but, we did get to see the Lobby of Club 33. I would definitely do the tour again to be able to see the apartment.

Cool! I'm still working on talking Luke into this.

Originally Posted by roaminggnome

WOW just reading about the website for DL it is moving further and further down on the list of places to visit.

I'd hate to turn you off on planning a DL trip because I have a feeling once we get there, all the planning woes will be forgotten quickly.

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by bobr

Funny how times and perspectives change. I first went to Disneyland in 1964 after we moved to California. We got in the car and my parents said "we're going to Disneyland." We went often over the next five years, with no thought of planning. When I made my first trip to Walt Disney World in 2011, it was a real shock to realize that planning at least six months in advance. Fortunately, I had Passporter, Unofficial Guide, and a good travel agent. I'm glad I've done the planning for my WDW trips, and enjoy the process. I think it increases my anticipation, but I loved being able just to get up and go to Disneyland almost on a whim.

I know my first trip to WDW in 1980 when it was only the MK we didn't do any planning either. But as you say times change.

Originally Posted by SuperDave

The whole thing is just so frustrating for you and Luke! Well at least the park hours are starting to appear so that may be a good sign! That tour sounds good and as you said may be similar to the KTTK in WDW. I took that a few years ago and really enjoyed it!

I think the addition of more park hours is a positive sign, but I don't know how slow it will still go.

[Cam22]

Sunday, August 23

My usual routine continued this morning without Luke looking on because we both were pretty sure nothing would have changed. We were right no openings for WoC or Fantasmic dining package ADRs and no additional days with park hours passed October 3. Tomorrow is a new week so just maybe some things will have changed. I’m hopeful!

As I mentioned yesterday, I took my camera out for the last mile of our walk. We leave in a neighbor that is technically in the county, rather than the city. But in actuality, we are just minutes from the road formerly known as the bypass (This is how our local paper names it every single time ) or officially known as the Wendell Ford Expressway/US 60, which can take us to all parts of the city fairly quickly. A major parkway is visible from one end of street, though it is probably several miles away. We do have some advantages of country living though. The atmosphere is quieter, traffic is much less congested, corn and soybean fields surround us, and, Cheryl will like this, cows inhabit a few acres. I have liked to classify and sort things since I was a little girl because it helps me remember stuff. Our neighborhood is basically in three sections based on when each was built. During our walks as I mused, I came up with names for each section. Our portion, the oldest and original section, is Uptown. The second section build right behind us with a mix of original and newer homes is Midtown while the newest section where folks don’t believe in planting trees, so there will never be any shade is Funkytown. The name comes from the fact that some of the homes have less well-maintained yards, large antagonistic dogs, and odd additional structures. One has a large box built in the backyards where a medium size dog paces and barks. Think detached garage size, which is what I’m hoping one day it becomes, though for now it can only be described as a box. The last section where we walk is along a country road named Lee Rudy Road, which is cool because our niece married Lee Rudy whose granddad is the namesake for the road. They also live on this road about a mile from us. Luke asked one day when we were walking what I had named this part. I looked at him blankly, confessing I’d never thought to name it. So he came up with Out-of-Town. Now wasn’t that a long story to set up the next few photos.

Out-of-Town was the last mile of walk yesterday. This portion of Lee Rudy is a dead end. Only recently have a few houses been built along it. Before that there were only two, one at the corner, and another at the end that has no trespassing signs posted as it is down the end of a very long gravel drive. So without further stories here is the calming portion of our walk. The first two photos are about midway down the road, past the new houses. I stopped just past a small bridge where we’ve seen beavers to take these.





Last year the farmers planted corn and wheat, but this year it is all soybean, which has seemed to grow a foot in the past few weeks.





I’m not sure if you all are familiar with “barn quilts,” but these quilt blocks on the sides of barns are very popular here. A friend of mine who lives a couple miles from us as even created one for their business which is on a main country road here. I don’t know why, but I’ve always liked barns. I only took the one photo because the sun was right behind it. Maybe one morning when the sun is less bright on it, I’ll get some cool shots of it.



The next few are at the end of the road, which butts up to the aforementioned bypass. Our bypass has been getting a major refurb since March so it has been much noisier down here this summer. Hopefully, all that work will be completed as planned in late October or early November, so next summer isn’t so noisy. I almost forgot but the cicadas are making their own noise this year too, which can be pretty intense.





As I said before the last house on the road is down a long winding gravel road that cuts its way through the soybean fields and is lined with trees. For some reason this end of the road holds the record for most wildlife sightings, including a deer, a snake I though was a stick and almost stepped on, a rat that made me cringe, and a squirrel a few months later that I feared was a rat.





At this point we turn around and head home.





After our walk yesterday, I decided it was time to transfer some items from a large garbage bag to a plastic bin. We had pulled all this stuff out of an antique trunk earlier this summer, discovering that they had picked up a very musty smell and were slightly damp. We put them in the garbage bag along with DampRid. The stuff has remained in the bag for the past two months, though we have checked it weekly and replaced the DampRid. Everything still smells, but is not as intense, and it is all dry now. Among the items were two pieces I had removed from my college scrapbook before I threw it away. Before anyone gasps, the scrapbook was poorly made and poorly stored with most items already falling of the pages. I was surprised at first to realize that I had not included a single photo in the entire scrapbook. Those are all in two photo albums that I’ve kept inside. Scrapbooking was bit different back in the 70s. On spring break of 1980, I traveled with some college friends that I went to church with to Cocoa Beach, Florida. Normally, I stayed home so I could work the entire week to save more money for school, but this was my last year and I wouldn’t need the money quite so bad. My roommate and best friend talked me into going with the promise that we’d go to Disney World one day. That day came on Thursday, March 20. It was supposed to have been Friday, March 21 when Luke would have gone, too. But my BFF and Luke’s BFF could not stand Luke’s girlfriend who had joined us late in the week. I thought she was actually sweet, and Luke and I weren’t dating so I didn’t feel threatened. At something like 6:00 AM, my BFF woke me on the 20th and told me if I was going to WDW, it had to be today. She didn’t have to tell me twice before I was dressed and ready to go. I did feel a little bad that we were abandoning Luke, but my BFF was paying for my ticket.

Well, there is another long story to set up some photos. The first item is a laminated card that gives ticket information.







The second item is a brochure that I received with my ticket. You’ll see the back part of my ticket glued to the brochure’s cover. I’m a little sorry now that I glued stuff to the cover, and wouldn’t you know that adhesive is still holding strong. It amazed me to see what attraction/shops/restaurants are still there and those that are not. One of our first attractions was Circle Vision 360 “Magic Carpet ‘round the World. I had been afraid this one might make me motion sick as 360 films sometimes do. But the most hilarious thing was that after lecturing me to get to the floor before passing out, Luke’s BFF was the one who passed out and hit the floor hard. I did refrain from laughing for all of 10 seconds. My favorite ride is the now defunct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. My greatest disappointment in the park was that the Haunted Mansion was closed for refurbishment. I remember we saved it for the evening so it would be even scarier. Then we got excited that there appeared to be no line, and began running to the front entrance. We stopped, read the sign on the door, and let out a collective moan.



























NEXT: Counter Service Options for Disneyland

[SuperDave]

Love your names for the three areas of your town and can't get over the name "FunkyTown" as all I can do is think about that pop hit of the same name by one hit wonder Lipps Inc. from the early 80's. Always liked that song.

Your town is so beautiful, rural and peaceful....how can one go wrong by living here?

The old tickets, passes and general WDW booklets are quite amazing and something for nostalgia that you and us here will cherish! I don't have mementos from WDW like this as my first "real" trip to "The World" was in 2002 and not 1980!

EDIT:
Although, there was my first trip, when I was real young in April, 1972. It was a nightmare as I can still remember to this day! Over flowing crowds on Main Street USA, intense heat and humidity, eateries out of beverages, never riding any attraction! Not WDW as we know it now! I guess I decided to give it another try and surprised after that experience....and now 11 trips to WDW in the bucket!

[DMA]

What great Disney World memorabilia! And a great back story too! I know what you mean about old scrapbooks and the contents falling out. We were going through some boxes in the attic a few months ago and found that my scrapbooks from the 70s had done that same thing. But I put them all in a bin and kept them anyway.