July 17th, 2010

Saturday July 17th, 2010 ended up being an extremely exciting day for my mom and I! Saturday July 17th, was Disneylands 55th birthday. We knew they were coming out with special released Disney Dooney and Burke purses, and at 3:00pm on Friday July 16th, decided we'd be driving out early Saturday morning to get ours!

Mom drove down Friday night, and early Saturday morning (4:00am) we hit the road for Disneyland! We made great time and actually ended up parking in the large parking structure at about 10:30am.

We immediately got in line for the purses, and since we were probably 20-25 people deep, I ran down to pin traders and picked up the 2 pins that came out for their 55th birthday (one scheduled, one surprise release). When I got back, mom had moved maybe 15 ft. After about an hour, it was finally our turn to head into Vault 28, and we picked out our purses!

Having over $500 worth of purses to cary around, we decided to head back to the hotel to drop off our "loot" and freshen up. We had to be back between 2pm-4pm to pick up our "gift with purchase" items, and of course wanted to enjoy Disneyland on its 55th birthday. We used my left over Marriott points, and stayed at the Fairfield Inn located right across the street- which worked out AWESOME! Once we got back to the hotel, mom jumped in the shower, and I tried to work some Disney magic of my own- and it worked! I called day of to see if by chance they had any World of Color dinner packages available for that evening and they had just had a cancellation for Ariels Grotto for the 2nd showing! We got SO lucky, and of course snatched these up! Knowing we were seeing World of Color on this trip ON Disneylands 55th Birthday gave us a 2nd wind, as neither of us ended up taking a nap (I maybe dozed for 15-20 minutes while mom showered). So we got dressed and hurried on our way up to pick up our gift with purchase item for spending $150 in Vault 28 on Dooney's! (This ended up being a D&B cosmetic bag with the same print! So cool!)

After picking up our gifts, we took the monorail into Disneyland and hung around... We also stopped for the only photo we got of the two of us the entire trip!

Mom decided to head back to the hotel to drop off some of our shopping purchases as well as change her shoes- my knee was starting to bother me so I stayed at Disneyland, and eventually headed over to first aid to ice my knee- I just pushed it to hard.

After icing my knee, it was pretty much time for our reservation at Ariels Grotto for World of color- after dinner we watched World of Color which was pretty much the most awesome Disney night time spectacular EVER!

After World of Color, we got on our first (and only attraction) of the day, Soaring over California. We had fast passes for Splash Mountain, but were just so dang tired we decided to call it a night since we knew we would be back in August. We made our way back to the hotel, and crashed pretty hard.

Sunday morning we woke up, and headed home. All in all, it was a quick trip, but honestly it was so awesome just being there on such a special day, and having our own special Disney magic!

Because being a *fairy* Godmother means believing in the power of a shoe

Because Dreams Really Do Come True...

Because My Dad has ALWAYS Been My Best Disneyland Buddy

We're Going to Disneyland!!

Are you surprised?

Aaron and I are heading to Disneyland on Saturday October 24th! We got a killer deal on airfare (I was booking travel for work and noticed Southwest had $39 each way fares, so we jumped on it!) We're flying out early Saturday morning, and back late Sunday afternoon. I'm very excited because we get to experience Disneyland at Halloween Time, my second favorite holiday theme for Disneyland. While we're there we don't have to much on our agenda (getting Aaron his annual passport will be our first item of business) but we are hoping to take our Christmas Card photo AND I just booked the Happiest Haunts Tour today!! I am so excited- when I first called they said that it was sold out- which made no sense to me as you could only start booking the 24th 3 days ago. I called back to confirm it was sold out, and sure enough the 4:30 was sold out, but not the 4:45!!! So what all does the Happiest Haunts Tour include might you ask?

• Hear the truth (or is it?) about some of the most spellbinding attractions at the Disneyland Resort.
• Listen to sympathetic stories about the often misunderstood Disney Villains
• Learn the history behind our (Disneyland) favorite holiday
• Experience attractions in both parks: The all new Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the Haunted Mansion Holiday
• Enjoy access to an exclusive viewing area for the never seen before Halloween Screams fireworks show
• Collect a memorable keepsake on your tour as well as a tasty treat

We are SO excited!!! I did the Happiest Haunts Tour two years ago with my family, and we just loved it! Can't wait to see all the new things this year- including Space Mountain!

Dad's Special Disneyland Trip!

Growing up, both of my parents were always sacrificing anything they had and/or wanted to not only provide my sister and I with what we needed, but with what we wanted. They always made sure that vacations were everything my sister and I could imagine and hope for. So when my mom told me we could either go to Disneyland for my birthday or for my Dad's 50th Birthday, the choice was easy.

This trip was probably one of the best ever. The only thing that I would change is that Aaron wasn't with us (he had to work). This honestly may have been the best trip that Mom, Dad, Andie and I have ever taken.

We drove out Sunday morning, and headed to the hotel first where we all showered and got ready. From there we headed to California Adventure. We did Soarin, Toy Story Mania, and of course- ate (Chili dogs- yum)!
We really tried not to wear ourselves out Sunday, we knew we'd be there for a good chunk of the day Monday and well- it was hot! After spending a few hours in California Adventure, Mom and Andie weren't feeling well, so they headed back to the hotel. Dad and I headed into Disneyland and of course road the train for a "Grand Circle Tour" of Disneyland!

Monday- Dad's Birthday- Dad and I got up early and headed to the park (we had some pin trading to do)! Our first stop was to get Dad's Birthday Button and Fun Card! After we accomplished our mission, we spent some time in California Adventure, and well took a lot of photo's of the two of us.

While walking around, we happened to find Goofy (dad's favorite character) dancing with a quartet, Dad jumped right in (see- it's genetic, this is why I'm always willing to show my hip hop routine!).
After we finished in Hollywood Back lot we ran into an old friend- Stitch! Stitch is Aaron's favorite character so I HAD to get my photo with him, especially because Aaron wasn't with us.

A little while later, we met up with Mom and Andie. The first thing we did was Grizzly Rapids- it was H-O-T! We spent some time in the park, but decided to head back to the hotel so we could change and get ready for the evening. Mom and I went back first, and did some shopping until we met up with Dad and Andie at the Blue Bayou for dinner! For those of you who don't know, this is the restaurant that's inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction!
We had a wonderful meal at a lakeside table. I even tried Jambalaya for the first time (I'm allergic to seafood, so often don't get to eat it, but there's is made from chicken!). Afterwards they brought out a special "treasure" in honor of dad's birthday.
I realized that when Aaron doesn't come with us, not nearly as many photo's are taken! After dinner, we had a nice relaxing evening in the park- Andie and I even ventured out for a bit just the two of us. It was really nice spending some time with her in the park, it brought back some very fond childhood memories.

On a side note- shopping was awesome this trip, there were several sale racks (this is new for Disney) that had all the merchandise I had seen on our honeymoon for 40% off! Plus I found a few new prints that I purchased for um..."a room to be used for later family members" :) There's only one last painting I want... but it's a little more then I'm willing to spend, but isn't it pretty:
We have several more Disneyland trips scheduled. Aaron and I are going for a romantic get-a-way in October, then again in December with David and Abby for his graduation, and again in February (our awesome trip, booked at the Grand Californian Villas!) with the whole family to celebrate Isabella, my Goddaughter's, first trip to Disneyland!