Originally Posted By mickeynewe Warning, this is very long!! Best to grab a cup of coffee or a glass of soda because if you decide to read it all...you may be here awhile! LOL Also, be forewarned, after typing it all out, I didn't check for grammar and spelling errors, so please forgive me! My trip report: Thanksgiving Week~ Sunday, November 19th – Friday, November 24th All week long I struggled trying to get packed, getting everything organized. What is with me I ask? Usually, I am so energetic, so excited! Not this time. This time I am wishing for a few more weeks to prepare. Never before have I wanted to put off Disneyland, but this time was different. I blamed it on the blasted head cold I had been battling all week. I was stuffy, I was grumpy, and I just wasn’t feeling myself. I was constantly tired. I assured myself I would feel better once I got to Disneyland. Friday. We leave tomorrow: so much to do, and none of it done yet! Well, it is a good thing I decided to take off today at the last minute. I work on getting the remainder of the bags packed. I clean our rabbit’s cage, out in the rain, grumbling all the time that my daughter wasn’t there to help me. I pack up bunny and head off to my best friend’s house who is so awesome and has agreed to bunny-sit for the week. I get there and start complaining that I don’t feel well. I have a fierce headache and my tummy is getting queasy. As always, she is very supportive (love ya 4Disnee) and lets me complain and commiserates with me. She always makes me feel better. Time to pick up my daughter from school. Hurry, hurry I say. Get as much school work you can done! Meanwhile I try and continue packing while my head feels like it is splitting open and my stomach feels like it is on a roller coaster. Finally, I lose the battle, and the contents of my stomach, and find myself best friends with the “throne†for the next 7 hours straight even though there is nothing possible left in my stomach. Around 11:00 p.m. I finally I made it to bed and lie there from exhaustion unable to fall asleep. Saturday, 3 am. The alarm clock screams and so do I, “turn it off, turn it off!†I promptly lay my head back on the pillow. 7:00 a.m. arrives and with my head still throbbing, I try and muster the energy to take a shower. That didn’t last long. My stomach decided it had once again had enough. Saturday, 8 am. My hubby takes me to the hospital. Over the next few hours my vitals are taken several times and it is decided that I am suffering from dehydration (again? dang!) I then spend the next 2.5 hours getting an IV and blood work done. 2 bags of fluid, 1 bag of anti-nausea medication guaranteed to last 24 hours! Thank you, thank you. Back to see the doc. The doc tells me my blood work is fine and that I appear to be suffering from the local virus going around and dehydration. Lucky me! I am to stay on a liquid diet to keep me from tossing my cookies and to rest and relax. Um, did I mention we were leaving to go on vacation? Oh no, you need to postpone…. Yeah, right! After assuring her that wasn’t going to happen I left with some anti-nausea pills to take with me. We finally left the hospital at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, 5 or 6 pm. We are on the road. I have my pillow, and my blanket, and I am curled up on the front seat keeping my hubby company for the long drive. Forget trying to sleep. I haven’t slept in over a week thanks to a really bad bout of insomnia and the silly old cold. Around 11 pm we arrive in Hollywood. Kudos to the Magellan! New piece of equipment and wouldn’t go anywhere without it again! Got us right where we needed to be! We arrive at the Magic Castle Hotel. We have the option of staying there (at an additional $80.00 a night) or at their original sister hotel where we were booked. Since it was so late, we decided to keep our original reservation. But, the very nice reservation attendant offered us a look at the rooms for our next visit. I was unimpressed with the accommodations and it was one of the decided factors of why not to upgrade for the extra money. After checking in, off we went to the sister hotel at the top of the hill. There we are “assigned†a parking space. Unfortunately, the parking space assigned to us is only suitable for maybe a Cooper, definitely not our SUV! So, there we are calling the front desk asking where else we can park. After several minutes we are given an alternative. We then finally headed off to our room. If the Magic Castle left me unimpressed, this place was just plain dreary! It is a good thing that the staff is excellent, because as far as I was concerned, it would be the only reason someone would stay there twice. The rooms definitely need renovating beyond a shadow of a doubt. At this point though, all I really cared about was going to bed! Sunday. I am the first one up and the first one in the shower. I set the temperature and after 2 minutes in the shower, it turns cold. Is hot water too much to ask? It was a very quick shower to say the least. We then went down to the Magic Castle to checkout. They had a nice continental breakfast both my daughter and husband enjoyed. I ate about a quarter piece of dry toast before my stomach protested and I went back to my herbal tea. We then went over to the Magic Castle and watched a few performances. The best by far was Nathan. He was quite enjoyable and did an excellent close-up performance. Very skilled, especially for a 20 year old! He’s someone to watch out for! He has a bright future ahead of him if he continues in magic. Brunch at the Castle offered a variety of choices and my family took advantage of all of them. LOL. I did manage to get down a little bit of scrambled eggs. YAY! Protein! Soon we were back on the road heading off to Disneyland! Now I am getting excited because I love it so much! We get checked in at the Howard Johnson and unload our car. After our last hotel I walk in a little skeptically, but there was nothing to worry about! The room was 100% +++ better than the last hotel! It was bright, clean, and very quiet and peaceful. Sunday, Disneyland. We get to the main gates and find lines! It is dark outside and we are surprised by the amount of people waiting to get in. Just then, my phone rings and it is my uncle wondering where we are. I tell him and he happily replies that they are watching the parade and has seats saved for us. We hurry to get in and make our way to the Coca-Cola place up on the corner. There we all hug and say hello and settle in. After the parade my daughter and my younger cousin who is 2 years older than her are excited to get on the rides and so we spend an enjoyable evening wandering the park, looking at all the beautiful lights, and riding on the rides. Monday, Disneyland. My uncle’s family had decided that they weren’t going into the park early so we all agreed to meet up later by cell phones. My family decided to get up and walk over. Our intention was to go to Disneyland, but since there were no lines at DCA, we decided to go and get a quick peak at Monsters, Inc. Such a cute and adorable ride! We rode twice and then went and picked up fast passes for Grizzly and Soarin’. We also did the single-rider thing on Soarin’ and got in within just a few minutes despite the long standby line. Then we were off to Disneyland. As we are standing in line my Uncle calls. They are inside the park having coffee. We meet up with them and spend and enjoyable morning riding Pirates and checking out Tom Sawyer’s Island. It afforded us some very cute photo ops. At 12:40 my aunt meets us for lunch at the BB. I have to say that I found nothing appealing on the menu (considering I was supposed to still be on a liquid diet, I was trying to be as bland as possible) and had a difficult time deciding what to eat. Both my 13 year old daughter and I tried to order a children’s menu and they refused us stating we had to be 9 and under. Well, neither of us was obviously going to pass for that! Since my uncle has some very serious food allergies the chef came out to speak with him about his meal. I decide to use that opportunity to ask for something bland. The chef prepared a nice chicken meal that my daughter and I split between us. The chef was very sweet and helpful to both my uncle and me. I then give everyone puppy dog eyes and say I want to go see Santa. My 15 year old cousin gives me the look, “you can’t be serious?†when I ask very nicely for him to take a pic on Santa’s lap with my daughter. He grudgingly agrees. At this point, I am really pressing my luck since I made him wear the Pirate hat from the BB. He really is a good kid to put up with his adult cousin and her whims! Hehehe The fun part was when Santa decided that he needed to sit on the 15 year old’s lap instead of vice versa! What a cute pic! One my aunt and uncle are threatening to put in my cousin’s yearbook photo page! Hahaha…you should have seen the look I got then! We spent the rest of the day cruising the parks. The crowds were a little busier than a normal Monday when we travel off-season, but for a holiday week, quite manageable and we had to hardly wait in line at all. Tuesday, Disneyland. The park was even less crowded today. It was actually very nice and we got there early and stayed until past closing. This was probably one of our most laid-back, non-energetic trips ever, but it was quite nice. We got a lot of one-on-one time with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. We watched Fantasmic this night and my aunt had scouted out the perfect table and held it for us for over 2 hours so we could have prime viewing! While we waited we ate, the kids went on some rides, and my hubby bought a deck of cards and did some magic. Afterwards, we went on more rides and they talked me into going on Space Mountain. I love Space Mountain usually, however, I should have listened to my gut feeling that I wasn’t quite up to it yet. After the first initial “rush†of the first dip and turn, I found myself saying, “don’t hurl on your daughter, don’t hurl on your daughter†who was sitting on the seat in front of me. I was shot for the rest of the night. I didn’t want to see food, didn’t want to smell food, and I was definitely not going on any “whooshing†rides! We once again closed the park down. Wednesday, DCA. We slept in a bit knowing that the park didn’t open until 10:00 am. We got there right around opening. Disneyland had already put up their big reader board sign that said, “Disneyland is very busy today….†I immediately called my uncle and his family to warn them to get to the park soon to avoid having the park close down. They all arrived within the next 30 minutes. We started collecting fast passes. Everyone but my daughter and I wanted to go on Tower of Terror (nope, I’m not stupid enough to try that after last night’s adventure) and so she and I went off taking pics together. We got some great shots! We spent the entire day there. No one would venture Grizzly with her though as the temperature had cooled off, so she was very happy when I agreed to brave it with her (along with my poncho of course!). We made several turns around the mountain as there were walk-on lines until eventually I told her I had “enough†and I needed my land legs again! We ended the evening over at Disneyland. We left before park closing because my uncle and his family had plans to leave to go home early on Thanksgiving and we had plans to be at the park at 7:30 the next morning….and at this point….sleep sounded good! We left the park around 11:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. We headed over to the park bright and early and waited for guest relations to open up to pick up our special Club 33 tickets thanks to a very dear lady who has befriended us. Since we are “dressed†up just a bit for Thanksgiving I happily drag my family around taking every photo picture I possibly can in hopes to get a nice picture for Christmas cards. First stop was Santa and I am happy to report we were the first to see Santa on Thanksgiving morning! We also took pictures with Goofy, Pluto, Jessie, and Woody that morning. By the time the photos were taken, it was time to head over to Club 33 for dinner. We arrive about 15 minutes early and I rang the bell to the “special†green door! I announce our name and number in our party and the time of our reservation. The door miraculously opens! We are inside looking at the beautiful red walls and the wooden/glass elevator waiting to take us to the dining room. Our hostess is sweet and she leads the way to the elevators and wishes us happy holidays. We are then seated at a lovely little table next to the French doors where we can look out. During the course of our 2.5 hour lunch we take many trips out onto the balcony to walk around and enjoy the fresh air and music without having to fight the crowds. The fare for the day was wonderful! They were serving a four course meal, which my husband had, but it was too much food for my daughter, and I knew my stomach couldn’t handle all the courses they were offering. Our waiter was such a sweetheart! I really, really liked him. You had a choice of ordering either the special Thanksgiving meal or off their regular menu. I really had my heart set on the turkey dinner but it wasn’t offered al la carte. When our waiter came to take our order I asked if it could be ordered separately and explained I had just gotten over being sick and I didn’t think I could handle the four course meal, but was hoping I could order just the main entrée separately. He was so nice! He said most certainly that he could arrange that. When he came back, he not only verified that we would get the turkey dinner, but that he had requested that my daughter and I be served the children’s portion since he didn’t think we would be able to handle the full sized meal. He wanted to know if that was okay, or if I minded. If I minded? I thought it was incredibly sweet of him to take the extra effort! When the entrée arrived my daughter and I looked at the portion and then looked at each other. This is a child’s plate? Neither one of us even got half way through all the food. The portions were enormous! We had ham, turkey, mashed potatos, stuffing, and a baked apple with cranberry sauce. Not to mention dessert! Oh, so yummy! After lunch we walked around the park. We used the fast passes we had collected that morning, and it was a good thing we did, because the park was PACKED! At about 8 or 8:30 that night we started wanting “seconds†but none of us were hungry for a full meal so we decided to head into the Plaza Inn for a second helping of turkey. We ordered one turkey dinner and split it between the three of us. It was the perfect portion to nip that “second helping†craving! I was really surprised how thinned out the crowds became in the evening. It was once again quiet in the park (in relation to how busy it was earlier in the day) and we managed to walk onto several rides without lines. We were starting to get tired since we had been at the park since 7:30 and it was fast approaching midnight. Our group decided to split up a little bit and do our last minute shopping. We then met up again and took in a more rides. We took our final walk through the castle and stopped at the hub to personally “thank†Walt and Mickey for another great family vacation and bonding time. It is a tradition we always do. We then proceeded down main street, picked a bench, and sat and listened to Christmas carols. It was the perfect ending to a very lovely stay at Disneyland. We then finally, well after closing, decided to get up and make the long walk back to Howard Johnsons. Its funny how the first night it doesn’t seem like a long walk at all, until the end of the week, and then it seems like you never reach the end of the tunnel! LOL Now, that I have finally finished typing out my trip report…hope I didn’t bore too many of you… I need to finishing editing my DVD pics/videos to save these precious memories. I have to say this trip I have beaten my record on taking pics. I reached well over 700 pics this trip! Must say, I absolutely love my new Canon SD600 as it is so much easier to carry than my Canon G6! Happy Holidays everyone and may you all have happy memories of Disneyland and enjoy each and every trip as though it was your first! Hugs, Mickeynewe PS. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer stay at Hojos! It was perfect and the service was excellent, the rooms quiet and comfortable. We will definitely be staying there again!
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove What a lovely report. So glad you were able to make it and enjoy precious family time.
Originally Posted By fidoprincess I loved reading your report but so sorry to hear that you started out so rough-eek! I wouldn't have been able to do it but I am glad you managed. Too bad the hotel in Hollywood was not nice. I have to tell you the Renaissance was pretty spectacular so try it next time. HoJos is always reliable but I agree the walk gets really loooong at the end of the trip-lol. Lunch at 33 sounds heavenly! Thanks for posting all the details and it is great that you managed to have such a good trip! We thought each and every cm went out of their way for us and really enjoyed our trip because of the service (well, all except Cafe Orleans!) We did the photo overload too-lol. The kids each had their cameras and snapped away. I probably have more pictures of the holiday parade than Disney does! When we got to Hollywood, we took a lot of pictures along the walk of fame and then DH left the camera on a table inside the mall-grrr. We were eating lunch before the show when I realized he did not have it and he went back and it was there! A minor miracle-lol. DD was so happy because she did not want to lose her picture taken at the Olsen twins star on the walk of fame-lol!
Originally Posted By mickeynewe I am definitely up for another Hollywood option next time in regards to hotels! I had good hopes after reading some of the reviews, but found myself siding with the few negative ones. I really don't define myself as "picky", but I do require cleanliness and I think a better effort could have been made. Oh, and I forgot to mention that besides the shower, the toilet was working properly either. I believe my hubby plans on joining the Magic Castle so in the future, which hotel we stay at won't matter! Thanks for the positive feedback on the Renaissance! So glad you got your camera back safe and sound!!
Originally Posted By atinkfan mickeynewe, Awesome trip report! I've been checking back to see if you and fidoprincess had posted yet! What a bummer you were sick. But you have such a good attitude about it....what a way to "make lemonade when life hands you lemons"! How fun to have Thanksgiving dinner at Club 33!!!! That's something in itself to be thankful for!
Originally Posted By mickeynewe Thanks atinkfan! I'm glad you took it as humorous (as my intent) and not as a complaint. If you can't laugh at misfortune after all the months of planning, then it will really get you down. Instead, like you said, it is best to make lemonade! I was extremely happy just to be able to get into the parks each day instead of being stuck back at the hotel room. AND my family and extended family were absolutely awesome about taking things slow and at a speed I could handle! Club 33 was so awesome! It was the perfect ending to a rocky start. It just amazes me that this is the second year we were able to go just by the chance of meeting a very gracious woman two years ago. I am very happy to have befriended her, not because she can get us into Club 33, but because of her kind heart and the spirit of generosity she showed 3 strangers. It is just one of those moments that makes you smile and remember that random acts of kindness can and do greatly impact people by bringing a smile to their souls. It also makes you want to spread those acts of kindness to others and reminds you to do something nice for others as well. Thanks for reading my trip report!
Originally Posted By nk28 your trip report was enjoyable to read I'm glad you were able to still go on your trip and it sounds like you had a good time all things considering
Originally Posted By Pollyana I enjoyed reading every word of your trip. Makes me feel like I was with you. And you did it in spite of being sick! What a trooper. And Club 33. This has to be a trip to remember forever!
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I'm so glad that you were able to hang in there and have a fun time on your trip, YAY! >>>>>>going to write down airborne, purell, etc. on her grocery list in anticipation of our trip in 2 weeks
Originally Posted By MOLLYSMOM Ya, whatever...so you had a good time. WHAT DID YOU BRING ME?????????????
Originally Posted By mickeynewe >>> Ya, whatever...so you had a good time. WHAT DID YOU BRING ME????????????? <<< ROTFLM[bleep]O .....nada, but you sure brought me a smile and a chuckle! Just what I needed! Thanks everyone for your nice comments. I am already planning our Thanksgiving trip for next year AND trying to see where I can squeeze in even some 1 day trips!
Originally Posted By MOLLYSMOM Nada??????? That must be something imported and very expensive, right?????????
Originally Posted By ilvdland Awesome trip report! It's weird to read a report from someone who is at DL the exact same time as you, staying in the exact same hotel as you, and you have no idea who they are!! Who knows how many times we passed each other!!!
Originally Posted By MOLLYSMOM You know, I wasn't just asking for me...wonderingalice was wondering, too.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe Mollysmom~ Hmmm....I did tell Tinkerbell to visit both of you and bring you surprises, but perhaps you two were being just a little too mischievious and she got jealous that you didn't include her in the fun! hehehe ilvdland~ Hey, you weren't the noisy one in the room next to us coming in late at night were you? hehehe, I thought we were getting in late around 1 am, but our neighbor had us beat! Which building were you in? There were 3 of us; we had the cute perky teenage girl!
Originally Posted By quincytoo That was one of the best trip reports EVER!!! I am so sorry you were sick!!! We were at Hojo's from Oct 29 - Nov 4 (first time there usually we stat at CCI) Did you like Hojo's ?? great report! I was just telling someone I LOVE long detailed reports. <---feels ashamed as I wrote my cruise report but not my Disneyland report.
Originally Posted By ilvdland No, that wasn't me! I was in Building 2, and I never got home that late. Quincytoo, I can't believe I missed you at Halloween!! I am terrible at meets, planned or not......
