Tomorrow is the day!

Liner friends!! Tomorrow I’m leaving the rainy and cold Northeast for sunny Anaheim! This is only my second trip to DLR/The Sunshine State, and it’ll be a quickie: Friday through Monday. Agenda highlights:

Friday: DLH, Blue Bayou, and Haunted Mansion Holiday (2 of 3 bucket list items on this trip!)
Saturday: The D23 Walt Disney Studios Tour (3rd and biggest bucket list item!) and Napa Rose
Sunday: DCA, Carthay Circle Restaurant, and WoC
Monday: Flying…all day :frowning:

I’ll let you know if anything particularly exciting happens, but feel free to bestow your random DLR wisdom on me- I could sure use it!

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I don’t have any wisdom at all lol, but I look forward to hearing about your trip. It sounds like it’s going to be wonderful!

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Thanks @Outer1 ! I’m counting on it!

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Looks like an awesome plan. Also, don’t miss the iasw Christmas overlay. the DL iasw is infinately better than WDW during “normal” times; at Christmas it’s amazing!

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The weather here has been beautiful! Actually in the 80s today. Your plans sound awesome!! You will love Blue Bayou and the HM Gingerbread house this year is so cool! Keep us posted!!

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Wow! That’s got to be “The Best of the Best Tour”!! The weather is beautiful here and it sounds like a great plan! Welcome to Cali and have a wonderful time.

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http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/11/get-a-taste-of-disneys-big-hero-6-at-disneyland-resort/ Something new at DCA

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First trip to DLR -- need advice another good one for tips

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Yes! So excited for this!

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Awesome- thanks @93111tink !

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thank you @paradisefalls :blush:

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Thanks, @Nana2011 ! No DD, or Danything for that matter- (perhaps I mixed up my many acronyms in op! :blush: ) Still, thanks so much for the great advice, and I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted!

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hahaha no worries, and thanks again! Can’t wait for some CA sunshine and a premium Mickey bar!

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I second the Carthay Circle/WOC package. The food and service was amonst the BEST I’ve had in ANY Disney park, and the benefit of the dining package for WOC is even better than the WDW F! package. Very jealous…

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That’s exactly what I’m doing! I wanted to try Wine Country Trattoria, but I loved Carthay Circle so much last year- couldn’t help myself!

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The Trattoria is one of my go-to places for lunch. It’s not “great” food, but it’s tasty and plentiful, and it’s nice to sit back with a glass of wine and watch the people go by.

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Hey all- thanks so much for the advice and good cheer! :slight_smile: Back in NJ, missing the California sunshine already. It was a bit cloudy yesterday- I’m assuming it was because I was leaving and the sky was mirroring my emotions. Nevertheless, I had an awesome weekend! Some highlights/interesting points:

  • Friday: Picked up my Alamo car (super easy), and checked in to the beautiful Disneyland Hotel, Adventure Tower! I really love this tower- the proximity to DD entrance, Trader Sam’s is awesome, plus the common area music is so much fun. The CM was helpful but told me that I should plan 3 hours travel time to get from Anaheim to Burbank on a Saturday. I was planning on two hours for sure (to be safe), but three seemed a bit much. In any case, I chucked my suitcase upstairs and ran to Disneyland! I didn’t even make it halfway through Downtown Disney without buying my first pin (My name is Kristen, and I’m addicted to Disney pin collecting). Back on track, I entered the park just as they were finishing the Christmas parade (gorgeous), and hopped it to my favorite attraction, Indiana Jones Adventure! SR was closed, but the wait was a really quick 15 minutes. And soooo worth it! Followed by HMH (2x), SM (SR), PotC, and dinner at the incredible Blue Bayou. I planned on staying for F!, but by 6:30 post-dinner the crowds were already staking out space and I was exhausted. I resolved to get a great night’s sleep and continue commando touring post- Studios tour.
  • Saturday: What I’ve been waiting for for months (and really, I guess, my whole life)! Woke up bright and early, and left for Burbank 2.5 hours early instead of 3. Thank God, because I ended up getting there a whole hour before check-in time. Security was so nice, but couldn’t let me in before 9:30 check-in, so they directed me to the nearest Starbucks. I waited until 9:25 and sped down the street to check-in. FYI- for those of you who aren’t D23 members, you really should be. They hold events on the Studio lot frequently (screenings, meet and greets, lunches, etc.), and anyone in the area should definitely take advantage of these offerings. The tour was groups of 25 every half hour, and lasted for about 2 1/2 hours. Our tour guide was hilarious and knowledgable, and made the tour more interactive and fun. We were allowed to take pictures anywhere outside, and only inside the Archives building. Archives was probably the best part of the tour- not only were we able to see real props from movies/TV/disneyana, but we were actually allowed to hold one of Walt’s real (and many) Oscars! And those suckers are heavy! Post-tour I blew some cash at the Studio Store, which was mostly Disney Store merch with very few Studio-specific items. Back in Anaheim, I finished my Disneyland task list, had a delicious dinner at Napa Rose, and finished the day at DCA (RSR and a Ghirardelli sundae were certainly the highlights). I tried to use my SM FP, but Space was down at night again, and I was too exhausted to wait. Onto the next day!
  • Sunday: DCA Early Morning, so I hit up RSR again, plus all other attractions (God, I love EMH). I did Animation Academy twice- Minnie and Baymax!- and had the most delicious cinnamon bun I’ve ever eaten at FF&P Cafe. I was fighting a cold all weekend- my stubborn refusal to be sick probably caused me to get sicker- so I headed back to the room and napped during Wall-E and Up. I was back at DCA before nightfall, enjoying the Pixar Play Parade on the Carthay Circle balcony for dinner. I trudged around Paradise Pier post-meal (trudged because it was delicious and I was happily stuffed), and settled in for the awesome WOC view. My only complaint about the Carthay viewing area is that one of the light structures is smack in the middle of the viewing fountain, which makes pictures look awkward. Otherwise, awesome night.
  • Monday: Nothing to report, other than my Virgin America seatmate who concocted and ingested some questionable over the counter meds and fell asleep on me. He wouldn’t wake up, so I ultimately had to be moved. The flight attendants were amazing and superprofessional, and I’m sorry they don’t fly from EWR to MCO!

…and that’s it! I’ll be lurking the Disneyland forums until we meet again in August for the Expo :smile:

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Sounds like a great trip! When you get a chance can you post some pictures for those of us that can’t seem to get out that way because we always end up going the other way? lol

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Sounds like an awesome trip!! Burbank studios is on my list! Disney Movie rewards has a VIP tour for 4 that I have been saving for. I have heard it is the Bomb! :wink:

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Thanks all! @Outer1 pictures on the way, as soon as I get out of work! @93111tink hope you’re able to go- VIP sounds absolutely AMAZING! And @Nana2011 I had the delicious duck @ NR with orichette truffle butter mac & cheese (wow. just wow) and the Lamb/Porterhouse combo @ CC, with the chocolate creme brulee tart and the awesome apple/duck autumn soup. Lots of duck- sorry, Donald!

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