Disneyland Trip Report 5/9/18 to 5/18/18 - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Our Super Shuttle is scheduled to pick us up at between 8:00 and 8:15 a.m. for our 11:20 flight, so we are up early. We have another fine breakfast at Captain Kidd’s. We then wait in our hotel lobby for the shuttle. It’s on time, and off we go. We are the last 3 on, so it’s straight to the airport.
A lot of lane closures near LAX, but our driver gets us in ok. We get assistance with our only checked bag (those self-serve kiosks are confusing), then we are quickly through security to our gate. Plane is on time, but there’s some noticeably rough turbulence during the flight. We land on time and have the usual 20 minute O’Hare taxiing around to our gate.
Baggage claim is a little slow. Our limo company sedan is timely enough but Friday traffic is heavy. We get home at bit after 7:00. A full day of travel as we lost 2 hours flying east.
Well, it’s always wonderful to be home no matter how great the vacation! (Going back to work is the tough part.)
Overall
Well obviously, we had a lot of GREAT days!
It was so nice to have a free breakfast buffet each morning. It saved money on groceries or park snacks, and a lot of snack places in the parks were not open until 11:00 anyway.
The convenience of just being able to walk everywhere for all the Disney activity was awesome. I did not miss the Disney buses (except I did miss Magical Express). For the non-Disney part, the shuttle to and from the airport, our private van tour, and the ART bus were all very timely and comfortable.
Disney in California is NOT small. We had heard from many sources how “small” Disneyland /California Adventure is. Some had said that we might be disappointed. Maybe they lowered our expectations – because I was actually impressed with the overall size. Yes, I missed Epcot and Animal Kingdom some, but there was plenty to do. We did not get bored. We repeated our favorites just like we would at WDW. Of course, they had many rides that WDW does not have, which helped to make our trip extra special.
When we first planned on going to Disneyland, I thought if it goes well, then we will return in 10 years or so. Now, I want to go back in 3 or 4 years!
Side trips: Knot’s Berry Farm was very good. The “Walt Tour” was awesome.
Since we always stay on-site for WDW, it was a little odd staying off-site. But, we were right across the street from the entrance, so it felt like we were still “in the World.” The most noticeable difference was not having all the Disney channels on the TV, especially the Disney Must Do’s with Stacey J. Aswad.
Favorite rides & attractions: For me -- Guardians of the Galaxy Breakout and Hyperspace Mountain. For my wife and daughter – the Paint the Night Parade and the Frozen show. I really enjoyed a lot of the live music, two special favorites: the Pixarmonic Orchestra and the jazz band at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disneyland.
We were blessed with great weather – no rain issues . A few degrees warmer in the evening would have been nice, I guess, but at least we were not fighting any 88+ degree heat during the day.
The only disappointment was being there during all the Pixar refurbishments – no big Mickey Fun Wheel or California Screamin’ roller coaster. If only they had finished them a month earlier (or checked with us first ). Aside from that, the vacation was near perfect!!
(Thanks to all of you who read my trip reports and/or commented. I usually don't do trip reports, but the Disneyland boards are so quiet, I wanted to contribute and show it love.)
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You are all welcome! Glad you enjoyed the daily reports! Your thanks makes it worthwhile to put all the effort into writing them.
Having just finished my WDW one and got all the thanks, I really hear you about that. Writing the trip reports takes some work, but it makes it worthwhile when people thank you for doing it.
Just read through your whole TR and was glad that you all had such a magical time. We were in DL three years ago and really loved it. It was nice that you were able to enjoy your time in Downtown Disney at night when your family went back to the hotel. They do have some great entertainment in the evening! Thanks for sharing your vacation memories.
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(Going back to work is the tough part.)
It saved money on groceries or park snacks, and a lot of snack places in the parks were not open until 11:00 anyway.
We had heard from many sources how “small” Disneyland /California Adventure is. Some had said that we might be disappointed. Maybe they lowered our expectations – because I was actually impressed with the overall size. Yes, I missed Epcot and Animal Kingdom some, but there was plenty to do. We did not get bored. We repeated our favorites just like we would at WDW. Of course, they had many rides that WDW does not have, which helped to make our trip extra special. 
. A few degrees warmer in the evening would have been nice, I guess, but at least we were not fighting any 88+ degree heat during the day.
). Aside from that, the vacation was near perfect!! 
for that.
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