A special birthday, a diamond anniversary and a west coast adventure UPDATED 9/7 About This Page:

[chezp]

Pre-trip report – part thirteen: how many times are you going to tell us you’ve changed the time of the flight?

Monday 3 August

Well, remember I said that yesterday we’d both bought walking boots? I was quite happy with mine, but Mark wasn’t, as he was concerned that one would rub on his right foot. I can only assume his right is bigger than his left, as apparently there’s no issue with the left one. Well, he was told he could bring them back and exchange them within 28 days, provided he didn’t remove the tags, and provided he didn’t wear them outside. So, as of tonight, he’s wearing them in around the house. Fingers crossed they work for him!

Tuesday 4 August

Walking boot update – well, he’s still walking around the house in them. I put mine on for about five minutes, and decided they’d be absolutely fine, and removed the tags straightaway. No turning back for me then!

In the end, Mark lasted two hours in the boots, but apparently still isn’t sure about them. I did ask how many hours it would take for him to be sure about them, and got no response…

Wednesday 5 August

Between us, today we had four text messages and four emails from Virgin Atlantic, saying the time of our outbound flight to San Francisco had changed, by all of 10 minutes. However, it has now changed about an hour since we first booked it, so I suspect we’ll be arriving a lot earlier for the valet parking than we’d originally anticipating. I guess at some point, I’d better let them know…

I did a little more packing today. I’ve gathered up my medication, and some of the suntan lotion. Why only some? Well, heck I know Mark won’t need any over here before we go, unless there’s some massive heatwave before we go anyway, which I highly doubt! The only reason we’re taking any suntan lotion is for Disneyland, and the last time I checked the temperatures on the long term forecast a couple of days ago, it was still looking like high 80s or low 90s. I’m still leaving my factor 100 lotion out that Mari kindly brought over last summer, just in case we do have any warm temperatures here, as trust me, I can burn in just about any sunshine.

I also went through the first aid kit, and made sure we’ve got everything in there. Where we’re out of things, that then gives me enough time to order things in, and it’s also a useful exercise to check the expiration dates, as trust me, we’ve been caught out with those before now. We had most things, but we still need a few bits – some Aspirin, antiseptic cream and antiseptic wipes, so that’s not too bad.

The next thing on the list to do was to have a look for some long sleeved tops for Alaska, and a couple are now in the packing pile, ready to go. I also tried on my formal dress from our Med cruise last summer, and that’s fine, it fits. I then tried on my formal dress that I’d used for our last Alaskan cruise and for our cruise on the Fantasy for my 40th in December 2012. Since then, sadly I’ve put quite a bit of weight on, hence why I had to get a new formal dress last summer. Anyway, I thought I’d give it a go, and I can nearly fit back into it… not quite, but nearly. Maybe I’ll give it another go the weekend before we fly out and see if it’s coming with me or not. Don’t worry, if it does, the other dress will still be coming regardless, as I’d hate to be left without a formal dress.

Friday 7 August

Well, I now have the startings of my trip report, and my photo library for this trip… let me explain… before we go on any trip where I intend to write a trip report, I create a document for each day, then I also create a folder where I can upload the resized photos for the trip report, so that’s all ready to go.

I have to say I’m getting a lot more excited about this trip, and specifically the Disneyland portion – something to do with Deb Wills of All Ears Net fame having just arrived out there. It is so neat to see her photos and that made me go and have a look at the extended weather forecast on Accuweather (I love that feature!). It’s still showing hot and sunny for the whole time we’re there, and by hot, I mean high 80s or low 90s. Just as well that factor 100 sun cream is coming with me, as it sounds like I’m going to need it…

I also had a quick sneak peek at San Francisco, and that’s also saying sunny, but only temperatures in the high 60s. It still amazes me how temperatures can vary so much in one state, although given that some of your states are way bigger than some countries!

This evening, we went out to the cinema to see Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. It’s funny you know, how things go. Most years, if we get to the cinema once or twice a year, we’re doing well. Well, a couple of months ago, we went to see Jurassic World while we were visiting Cardiff, and now we’re back there again. I know we’ve been to see other things as well this year, although I can’t place what now, which is typical. Before the year is out, we intend to see Spectre, the new James Bond movie, and the new Star Wars movie – I don’t know if that actually has a name or not yet. Anyway, when we went to get our dinner there, we were given two vouchers for two tickets for £12, valid until early September. Ok, maybe we’ll be returning before we fly out then…

Saturday 8 August:

We fly out three weeks today!

Well, today I was going to share some (hopefully wonderful) photos of Cliveden, a National Trust property, which we were due to visit with an old family friend of ours, Maureen. She bought us life membership to National Trust many years ago, and now we try and use it as much as we can. Sadly she decided yesterday that she wasn’t feeling up to it, as she’s had a flood in the house, and now another in the garage, and is completely exhausted. Hopefully, we’ll go later in the year instead… so no photos of the place, but hopefully you can get an idea of what it would have looked like from the link to the National Trust site…

Instead, we went into town shopping, and Mark got some more bits and pieces for Alaska, mainly long sleeved tops, and sweatshirts, along with a couple of books. It’s rare for him to spend more than me on a shopping spree, but then again, given I shop much more regularly, it’s not a problem.

I have to say I was very jealous to read all the updates from Deb Wills and Linda from Disneyland. They’re out there, I guess, for the D23 expo next weekend, and as I read them, I couldn’t help but wish we were there now. Oh well, one month today, we will be! The bit that fascinated me the most were the comments about the 60th anniversary photos. Deb shared ones that you could do with Grizzly Peak, the Haunted Mansion, and Soarin’. I had no idea these existed, and to be honest, I couldn’t find out much more than that, but they sound fun, so I’ll have to keep an eye out for those during our visit…

Sunday 9 August

I happened to be on the Disneyland website for various reasons this morning, and noticed that they were advertising Mickey’s Halloween Party, which we have been to before at Disneyland. I figured we’d be out of luck with the dates, but I thought I’d at least check. Well, it turns out my initial reaction was spot on, as the party only starts on 25 September, but at least it was worth looking.

As I was on the site, I took the opportunity to double check the park hours and the evening entertainment, i.e. Paint the Night, the fireworks and World of Color, and they all remain the same. I somehow doubt they’ll change, given how late in the day they were released, at least compared to Walt Disney World anyway. I suspect that’s why you see so many changes to park hours there, as presumably Disney refine the crowd predictions as they get nearer and nearer to the actual days, if that makes sense?

I had a look on the Disneyland site for the diamond photo opportunities that I’d seen mentioned yesterday, but I couldn’t find anything, so I had a look on Google, and quickly discovered that it’s part of Photopass, which makes sense. That reminded me that I was going to pre-purchase the Photopass, and heck if it includes the diamond photo opportunities, then that makes it even more worthwhile. It’s $69.95 if you purchase it at least 14 days before your trip. If you pay after that, the price goes up $30, so it’s a hefty saving. We normally get our money’s worth out of Photopass, and I’m sure that will be the case this time as well.

I will confess to later on in the day playing some California songs very loudly in recognition of the fact that in three weeks’ time we’ll be in San Francisco Most notably they included California Gurls by Katy Perry, and California Soul by Marlene Shaw (first heard in the Lincoln Lawyer, which I saw on two plane trips on our 2011 trip, which took in our first Alaskan cruise and a visit to Disneyland. Talk about déjà vu!

Next: a little friend for Olaf!

[disney_duke]

It's all coming together so quickly now!! So..... is Mark keeping the boots?

San Francisco tends to have cool summers and their temperatures warm up more in September and especially October. I have no idea why, but that's what I've always read - and experienced as well! The high temps were around 90 when I was there in October a few years ago.

[lauriep]

Glad your boots are working out. I think if Mark feels at all like wearing those boots could rub and cause blisters he should return them! It would be terrible to end up with painful feet just with all the touring you'll be doing!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

It's all coming together so quickly now!! So..... is Mark keeping the boots?

He is!

San Francisco tends to have cool summers and their temperatures warm up more in September and especially October. I have no idea why, but that's what I've always read - and experienced as well! The high temps were around 90 when I was there in October a few years ago.

Interesting and not what you'd expect.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lauriep

Glad your boots are working out. I think if Mark feels at all like wearing those boots could rub and cause blisters he should return them! It would be terrible to end up with painful feet just with all the touring you'll be doing!

I think he'll be fine with them. Well, let's put it this way - they're de-tagged and in the suitcase, so they're coming with us.

[KMB733]

How annoying to get all those texts and emails changing the time of your flight! Glad the boots seem to be working out. The last thing Mark needs is sore feet!

[Cam22]

Sounds like it is all coming together bit by bit! I'm glad to hear that the diamond celebration photos are part of PhotoPass+ as I do plan to buy that.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by KMB733

How annoying to get all those texts and emails changing the time of your flight! Glad the boots seem to be working out. The last thing Mark needs is sore feet!

Oh definitely!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Cam22

Sounds like it is all coming together bit by bit! I'm glad to hear that the diamond celebration photos are part of PhotoPass+ as I do plan to buy that.

Oh you wait - there will be a very cool update on the Photopass later in the week...

[chezp]

Pre-trip report – part fourteen: a little friend for Olaf!

Monday 10 August

Rather intriguingly, when I got up this morning, I had an email saying that my Disney Photopass order had shipped. Ok, that’s a bit bizarre… I can only think that they send a pass to you to prove you’ve pre-purchased your Photopass, as I remember reading somewhere about getting a pass. I wasn’t sure I’d read that right, but maybe I have. Oh well, only time will tell, and hopefully whatever it is will get here in time before we leave. No wonder they said you had to order it at least 14 days before your vacation!

In other news, we are officially in the teens now! Excuse all that dancing, but heck, I’m starting to get excited, and Colleen’s trip report (cubfancolleen) really helped with that, as she posted an update today, including a photo of the lobby and their room at the Pan Pacific. Oh boy, in less than three weeks, we’ll be back there again… I’d forgotten how much I loved that hotel from our last stay there, but her photos reminded me, so for that.

Tuesday 11 August

I cannot thank Colleen enough for posting her trip report – today’s instalment covered their breakfast at De Dutch, which I’d never heard of, but it sounded so good, so I immediately found their website and it’s just the sort of thing I like – pancakes or French toast, so I now have the details of exactly where they are, and guess where we’re going to head for breakfast on the day we board the Wonder?

I added that into our itinerary, and realised that I didn’t have any details of the nearest Bath and Body Works, as I was planning to hit one while we’re in Canada, given the weakness of the Canadian dollar ( to any Canadian friends reading this), as I figured we’d get better value. Well, now I have the detail of the Pacific Center, so that I know where it is. It’s about a 10 minute walk from Canada Place, and it opens at 10:00am, so if we can get there for opening, we should have time to shop, then get back to the cruise terminal, ready to board the Wonder between 11:30am and midday. We may also see if we can find some souvenir places, as we love the Canadian humour, and got some wonderfully funny fridge magnets and T-shirts last time, so maybe we’ll luck out again…

Wednesday 12 August

Having been reading some posts about places people enjoy dining at Disneyland in a couple of different threads on the boards, I’ve decided that if we can’t get into Club 33, then we’ll probably have dinner at the Blue Bayou. I haven’t dared to broach this with Mark yet, as I know he wasn’t overly impressed with it the last time we ate there, but that must’ve been some time ago – maybe 2011 after our last Alaskan cruise, or possibly even back in 2008. Anyway, hopefully, if we can get into Club 33, this won’t even be an issue…

I also read in my All Ears newsletter this morning about a new Disneyland app. I’ve made a note of it in my itinerary, as there’s not much point getting it for our UK mobile phone, as I doubt I’ll be using it in the States, but it might be worth downloading it to the American cell phone. I like the idea of being able to check things like attraction wait times from wherever you are, as that’s something you want the latest information on.

I am loving all of Colleen’s updates – today she brought back some great memories for me with her photos of the totem poles at Stanley Park and around Gastown. I have to be honest though, I’m reading it and thinking “was it really four years ago already since we were last there?” Where the heck does the time go?

Thursday 13 August

Well, after an appalling day of weather – we are talking high winds, cold (so cold I got my winter boots out that I’d bought for Alaska – and I am not joking!) and torrential and I mean torrential rain. Like seriously, we had a month’s worth of rain this morning! To cheer myself up, I had a look at the weather and temperatures for our vacation, and I have to say, from what I could see (Accuweather’s website was being a real pain! :rolleyes2) – not looking too bad… In fairness though, Anaheim was one of those I couldn’t get. I guess I’ll look it up over the weekend sometime…

I also heard from Jeannie (Dlandmom2) who we were due to be meeting up with. I can’t believe she had to get in touch with me. I am so about that – in my defence, I am trying to juggle everything and I hate planning so close to a vacation. Anyway, she told me that she’s got some time off that week, and I’ve told her our plans, so hopefully we can hook up.

Friday 14 August

Today we headed out to Bluewater, the big shopping mall near us, so that Mark could try and get some more jeans for Alaska. I wasn’t holding out much hope, but we were in luck, and he ended up trying on about 10 pairs, and came away with four, which was very impressive, considering he rarely buys any clothes. As for me? Well, I think I’m pretty much good as far as clothes go for this trip. I may head to my favourite shop tomorrow, but generally anything I get in there will probably be for work…

We had dinner up there, then we went into the Disney Store, and I found Hawaiian Olaf.



Well, he just happened to find his way home with us. I mean, after all, if I get to meet Olaf on board the Wonder, I have to have a little friend to show him, right?

I finally managed to get the latest weather forecasts for Anaheim and the other places I was missing. There were no huge surprises in all honesty. There’s a fair bit of rain forecast for Alaska, but I was surprised to see temperatures in the mid to high 60s. If that proves to be right, then that’ll be a lot warmer than the last time we were there. Those are the “real feel” temperatures as well, which sounds promising. San Francisco and Vancouver both have temperatures in the high 70s, while Anaheim is still showing the high 80s. Well, like I say, no huge surprises there then…

Saturday 15 August

I went to go and print out the rest of our itinerary this morning, and realised just how much paper I’ve got for all our confirmations etc., so I decided to reprint a lot of it double sided. It took quite a bit of figuring out, as I never quite know how to print my personal emails out double sided, but now I know, and even though my folder is still quite heavy, it’s certainly not as bad as it was.

I’ve also now got all the suitcases out, and they’re de-tagged, with tags from our last cruise removed, and any trace of other airports we’ve flown into recently. We’ve got five in total, but we’ll only be taking four, and one of those will be inside another one, so now just to decide which out of the five are the lucky ones that get to fly away with us!

Later on, I went out into town for afternoon tea with a couple of friends from work, then I did some shopping before heading over to the cinema to meet Mark at the cinema to see Inside Out. I’d heard such great things about it, but I have to say I had no idea that a lot of it was based in San Francisco, which was very cool, given that two weeks today we’ll be flying into that city! We enjoyed the movie, and there were some wonderfully funny bits and some very sad bits too, as is the way with Pixar films. They just have a wonderful way of capturing human emotion. However, we both felt it was a little bit too long, and that feeling wasn’t helped by the appallingly uncomfortable seats in that screen. Ugh! We both came out of there, saying if there’s ever a film showing in screen 7 again, we’ll know to avoid it…

When we got home, Mark said that people at work had been asking what he wanted for his 50th birthday, and his answer was exactly what I expected… “to see an orca”. Well, here’s hoping…

The big news from D23 tonight was the long anticipated announcement of Star Wars Land at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and having seen the artists’ impressions of it, it does look as if it will be absolutely amazing. While I can see where it will be built in Florida, I’m not quite so sure about Disneyland. [/b]

Next: I’m really torn about whether to go and miss you guys…

[lauriep]

The Hawaiian Olaf is adorable! I'm really hoping Mark gets his birthday wish!!

[disney_duke]

Lots of final details shaping up nicely.
From what I've read - rumors! - Mickey's Toontown is supposedly going to be going away to make room for SW land. Which is weird because the actual ride is over in Tomorrowland! So who knows.
I can't believe how much rain you guys have had! I guess it's all prep for your cruise...

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

Lots of final details shaping up nicely.
From what I've read - rumors! - Mickey's Toontown is supposedly going to be going away to make room for SW land. Which is weird because the actual ride is over in Tomorrowland! So who knows.

I know - it's all so confusing, isn't it?

I can't believe how much rain you guys have had! I guess it's all prep for your cruise...

Ironically, I think it's going to be drier in Alaska than it has been here, and that's saying something! We had a month's worth of rain a couple of days ago and I dread to think how much here...

[taylan1]

Great update! Your plans are all coming together. I believe the photopass card for Memory maker is just that, a card. We purchase it on our last trip and they sent us a photopass card that says memory maker on it. I brought it with us but since it was linked to our Magic Bands through DME, we never had to use it. But I had it just in case.

Fingers crossed the Mark does indeed get to see an Orca!

[cubfancolleen]

So happy my TR has been both reminding you of things you're looking forward to, and giving you some info on new places to try! I am embarassed that it's taking me SOOOOOOOO long to get through it, though! I was honestly thinking that I should work to get through the cruise, or at least the first few days, before you leave on your trip. But, doesn't look like that's going to happen. The universe seems to be conspiring against me. I did just post another update an hour or so, ago, and I have the next 2 written up. So, you'll at least see us onboard before you board!
Wish I was heading to breakfast at De Dutch in a few days! And I really hope you love it as much as we did, and as much as I've now talked it up!