Disneyland - Do Your Research

I've updated this post and have it featured on my new blog SAVING UP FOR DISNEY.

So you've decided to go... You're going to Disneyland!


The Boy meeting Mickey for the first time!

Now it's time to do your research.

What is the best time of year to go? How are we going to get there? Where should we stay? How do we get tickets? What time is the park open? What rides and attractions are can't miss? What do we eat there? And the all-important question...How busy will it be and how long can we expect to stand in line?


In Toontown

Fortunately the Web is a wealth of Disney information and it's not terribly difficult to find out the answers to any questions you'll come up with. With some quick searches online you can learn everything from how to get autographs from your favorite characters, how to rent a stroller, how to avoid getting caught in a parade route or how to eat gluten-free in the park. I'll discuss many of these tops in separate posts, but here is a good list of places to start where you can research on your own.


Year of a Million Dreams "Souven-ears"

Your first stop should be Disneyland's Official website. They have really upgraded this site in the last few years to include park hours, calendars, interactive maps, height requirements, information for disabled guests, and of course details on rides and attractions.

First thing you should do is create a free Disney account. The nice thing about having an account is that whatever other official Disney sites you log into (online games, ordering tickets, etc) you'll have the same membership name & password to sign in. Makes it so much easier to keep track.

Once you have a membership, you'll have a personal My Disneyland section on this website that will offer travel tips and suggestions and hold any Disneyland hotel reservations you make.


My Goofy kid

I find that planning a vacation is (almost) as fun as being on it! Kids love to be involved in planning too and the Disney site now has a lot of pictures and videos on their site that highlight each of the rides and attractions. You can order a free Disney Travel DVD and it's something that they'll probably want to watch over and over in anticipation of being able to be there themselves!

Walt Disney World has a wonderful Disney World Mom's Panel forum. I wish that Disneyland had something like this but they don't. There is a FAQ page on the Disneyland website though and a great many questions are answered on a wide range of topics.


My brother & nephew in front of the castle

Disney Family's Website has a travel page as well. They break down the Family Vacation with ratings per age group of your vacationers along with pre-trip fun that builds up the excitement Disney-style!

Another site I love to review is Mousesavers, the place to visit for tips to budget your trip.

A few more links to check out. Some have daily/weekly updates in regards to the park including photos of any construction areas, information about current ride closures, and chat forums.

Mouse Planet

All Ears

DIS Boards

Laughing Place

Disney Family forum

Disneyland - The Memories You'll Make

Ariel's Grotto for lunch

I took my first Disneyland trip when I was one year old. There are pictures of little me, blonde (yes, blonde!) and curly-haired (yes, curly-haired!) in the arms of my grandpa. He was wearing a suit and tie! There is also a picture with my aunts and uncles in front of It's a Small World and they are in varying 1970s attire, including my aunt in short-shorts, wedge sandals and a patchwork blouse tied up around her mid-drift. Ahh, you can't beat the 70s!

My parents bought me a little Winnie the Pooh bear on that trip, which was my snuggle-buddy for many many years. I still have him, though he's long lost his signature red t-shirt (and part of his fluffy nose too, after mom threw him in the washer and dryer thirty years ago!).


The Boy with Mickey

Once my brother & I were in elementary school, a day trip to Disneyland with our parents became a yearly-tradition. It usually came after or around Labor Day because this was a birthday present to my brother and I (we have Sept & Oct birthdays). Disneyland is only about 90 minutes north of where we live so it's not a very far drive, but we would often stay over night after a long day in the park, either in a hotel or with an aunt that lived nearby.


My family at dinner, Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel

So many of my happy childhood memories include those Disneyland vacations.

I recall one school day when my parents were taking us to school and drove past the street we were to turn down. "Ooops!", my dad said (from the driver's seat of our van!), "I missed the turn...I guess we'll have to go somewhere else today! Where do you guys want to go?" Of course my brother & I looked at each other and burst out with, "DISNEYLAND!". My mom turned around and said, "I've got the tickets!", holding up a bunch of E-Tickets that she'd been concealing on her lap and we were off for the day. What a wonderful surprise!


Surprised The Boy with a birthday trip to Disneyland

When I was in college, I surprised my brother on his birthday by giving him a card while we were driving to a fake doctor's appointment that said, "You're going to Disneyland". I'm sure he was much happier going with me to Disneyland rather than the doctor!


My cousin's daughter in Minnie's house, wearing an outfit I made her

I remember on my 12th birthday we all went to Disneyland and after a rough spin on the teacups, I developed a nasty migrane headache and started throwing up. My dad took me to the Disneyland Hospital inside the park. Back then the nurses dressed up "old school" in bonnets and long black dresses with white aprons (think Mary Poppins). They were able to give me medicine and I took a nap. I felt so much better and was able to enjoy the rest of the day after that. I found out later that shortly after I'd thrown up in the flower bed, one of those diligent park attendents came over and literally vacuumed it up with a hose till it was gone!


Eating lunch, Princess-style at Ariel's Grotto

I've been to Disneyland with many friends over the years, including a day when we skipped school in junior high and then ran into our teacher who was there with his kids for the day. He said to us, "I won't tell if you won't!" and we never mentioned it!


My stepson, posing with Donald

I've been to Disneyland when it was nearing 110 degrees and also when it was in the 40s, pouring rain and icy cold.

I went to Disneyland during the 25th Anniversary party (when they were giving away cars) and during the 50th celebration, aka: Year of a Million Dreams and won FastPass lanyards and special edition Mouse Ears.

I've seen Disneyland rides come and go, including the Adventure through Inner Space (when my brother really believed he was shrinking and cried!), the People Mover, Sky Buckets, Carousel of Progress, CircleVision (blech, that made me nauseous!), and one of my most missed, Country Bear Jamboree.


The Boy gears up to row one of the Davy Crockett Canoes

My dad remembers going to Disneyland the year it opened in 1955. His love for the park and memories had there as a child really spread into my brother and I, and thus into our children. Dad remembers quite a bit about the rides and attractions that were there when he was a kid, all of which are logged and photographed on this great site for Disney memories, Yesterland.

As a SoCal native who has spent countless hours roaming Main Street and as someone who really does still get goosebumps when she passes through the tunnel at the front of the park, I'd like to share that Disneyland love with anyone who is planning a trip. Over the years I've learned a few ins and outs that come naturally to me but perhaps not to the casual trip-goer. Over the course of the next few weeks, I'll share some ideas & tips about planning your trip, where to stay, what to do and where to eat. I'll also pass on some web links as the web is a great Disney resource!

If you're like me, as you're walking out the gates at the end of a day in the park you are already plotting about when you'll be able to plan the next trip!


Ariel's Grotto for lunch

FIVE FOR FRIDAY - Mouse Mania

Until I was about thirty, the only watch I'd ever owned had Mickey Mouse on the face. We were a Disney kind of family and I owned plenty of Mouse-themed clothing and household items. I slept on Disney sheets (with Mickey & Minnie in medieval garb in front of a castle), drank from glittery 101 Dalmatian cups and countless Disney character stuffed animals lined my bed.

Starting next Tuesday I'll be starting up a regular Disneyland thread with ideas on planning and creating your own memories at the original theme park. Wish I could include Walt Disney World memories into this, but alas, I've yet to visit Florida (someday...I wish upon a star!).

To get you in the mood for the Mouse, here is my FIVE FOR FRIDAY, inspired by Mickey!



MAGIC DESIGN USA

First up, these whimsical party invites, themed for your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse party (there are a considerable amount of other invites here in other themes as well). You simply print these yourself at home. I LOVE the ticket look, it just makes getting invited just that much cooler.




PAINTED BUTTERFLY

This personalized tee is from my own shop, designed in your choice of names in Minnie's signature colors and polka dots. Great for a trip to the park or for a party (and from my experience, kids love having their name emblazoned across their chest!). I have many other personalized tees here, including for St Patrick's Day and Easter.




DIY MOLD

You'll have to use your imagination on this one, but this listing is for a simple Mouse silhouette cookie cutter/mold. But picture these ideas: Sugar cookies done up super-fancy with Mickey's full face in icing! (Yeah, that wouldn't be time consuming or anything, right?!) How about, more practical, all in an array of solid icing colors like red and white and yellow? What about sandwiches cut out in Mickey's form? Or a jiggly-Jello Mickey? Or molded Rice Krispy Treats? I'd have a lot of fun with this one!




KIWI AND KIKI TOO

In my opinion, no little girl's outfit is complete without a bow or two! These are classic in a combination of red, white and black. I love the look of the mix of polka dots, silhouettes and hearts! There are quite a few other Disney-inspired accessories here, including headbands and clippies.




IXHOP

And if you happen to be crafty with ribbons yourself, pick up this adorable pink grosgrain that is so sweet for spring and Easter!

Tutorial Tuesday - Free Photoshop Actions

I'm diligently not using my built-in camera flash but sometimes in my attempt to be completely in manual and still try to capture images in low light indoors, either it comes out too yellowish, dark, grainy and slighty blurry (or a nasty combination of all four!).


Before


After

I've found that by just doing a few preprogrammed Photoshop Actions, you can transform the image into something that looks like it was totally intended to be that way all along (instead of looking like you are trying to fix a mistake...which you are, but that's okay, nobody has to know!).

I'm just going to note today about how changing photos over to a simple Black & White can really make a huge difference in the feel of your image. I think that just by removing the color and transferring images over to black and white can really put the focus on what you want and slight blurriness and grain tends to fade away.


Before

I tend to hit "Slight Lighten" once or twice and then use "Black and White". Often times I also add on "Define & Sharpen".


After

Try a bunch of actions out and see what works for your particular image. Before you save the image, you can always hit F12 to erase every action and start over.

I "flatten" the image in between each action as I'm going along and layer actions on top of each other to capture just the right look.


Our Wedding Day

This original image was taken inside at our wedding. My brother took it in automatic but the lighting was low and it was an action shot...two strikes! By lightening and changing over to black and white, it really creates a lovely vintage mood. And it's one of my most cherished photos from the wedding because I love how Danny is looking directly at the camera with that bemused look on his face and I'm blissfully skipping down the aisle!

Same thing, lightened once or twice then changed to black & white and voila, a nice transformation.


Before


After

I found these actions through Pioneer Woman's site and then found MCP Actions, which also has some for free and many more gorgeous looking ones for purchase. Want to add a little sparkle to the eyes? You can do that with a few mouse clicks! Want to punch up the color, add a vintage wash, sepia-tones or even just lighten or darken an image? Read up a bit on Actions and how they can transform ordinary images into something really professional looking. Once you start researching Actions, you'll see how much "after the shot" work goes into those professional photos you see online!

The Weekend that Was - Be My Valentine

The Boy spent the night with Grandma & Grandpa on Friday, so Saturday was an open book for Danny & I. Not that we did anything particularly "grown up" but it was sure nice having uninterrupted conversations! We just ate dinner at home, watched The Town from RedBox, and went to bed early.


Flowers would look really pretty here, hint, hint!

The evening before I'd decorated our buffet in the mood for love. I used the polka dotted picture frames (available on Etsy) and some beloved pictures of the kids. I made this simple heart garland with red and blue scrapbook paper to match the frames by hot gluing them onto sheer ribbon and sticking them up at the corners with straight pins. The light blue square plate is from Ikea and the polka dot red plate is from Target. A heart-shaped candle would look really cute here. The jar is filled with candy leftover from the two birthday parties we attended last weekend.





We woke early, ate a light breakfast and headed to the gym. Afterwards we both got haircuts, home to shower, to the bank and then out for lunch.

Yes, he bought us lunch! We didn't just have leftovers or cold sandwiches at home, we actually went to lunch at Bob's Big Boy (funny if you know what our last name is) and shared a turkey club with fries (fries, can you believe it?!).

Then we roamed around the mall and a local shopping center, making a few returns (pants that had shrunk after washing and a gifted sweater that was too small) and also made a few purchases (Clinique make-up remover and new shirts for Danny at Old Navy).



We even went to the Toyota dealer and test drove a few pre-owned Tundras. A truck purchase will be in our future as he'll soon need something larger to tote around work tools & equipment. We discovered that the newer model has a wider backseat and that the person sitting in the center back can actually put their feet down flat instead of having the straddle the "hump" on the floor.

Why do they put those humps there? You can't always assume you'll have a child in the back seat, what if it's a 6' tall man who has to straddle his legs over the hump or put his feet there and then have his knees up around his chin? Ridiculous!



I made these large heart-shaped sugar cookies and then decorated them Sunday evening. The boy is taking them to school Monday for his class party. I'd thought that personalizing each one with his classmate's names was a sweet touch and The Boy was tickled to see them.



Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Valentine Ninjas

The Boy's grandma in Utah sent him a Valentine's card with a 10 spot inside. Wow, was he excited! He's been eyeing these new Lego Ninjago thingys in the store so he knew exactly what he wanted to buy.

I have to say "thingys" because I have no idea what exactly they are. Sort of a blend of Beyblades and Legos with Pokemon thrown in, I guess?

All that matters it that The Boy knows exactly what to do with them!


Reading the directions

There is this figure that stands on top of the spinning thingy and you battle with a friend to see who can knock the other person's figure off.


Such a boy...dirty fingernails!

It came with trading cards as well, which is why they remind me of Pokemon. Not that I know anything about Pokemon either, I just remember seeing all the trading cards scattered all over the house!





Little things make them so happy. What are you doing to make someone happy this Valentine's weekend?

FIVE FOR FRIDAY - Warm it up in the kitchen

It's a little too late to get Valentine's gifts ordered, but I'm still drawn to these basic black, white and red colors to celebrate the month of love.

Done up in polka dots and damask with cherries tossed into the mix, this is a rich, fun, whimsical yet sophisticated look. A little goes a long way or you risk looking too retro but a splash or two in the kitchen can be a lot of fun.

Check out this week's FIVE FOR FRIDAY -

APRON QUEEN



Hey, why not elevate dull kitchen tasks like washing dishes (blah) or scrubbing out the fridge (ewww) with gloves that make it (sort of) fun!


LITTLE BIRDS BOUTIQUE



Happy, bright towels hanging in the kitchen make me more...well, happy & bright! I always seem to have a dishtowel laying on the counter to dry hand washed pots and pans, why not have something pretty? I love this mix of pink with brown and the surprise red and white polka dots. These are simply fun.


TIFFINY DESIGNS



Too elegant to be relegated to a kitchen drawer, set these out for all to see. There is a good selection here, including some made for larger hands and in prints that are man-appropriate.


BOOJIBOO



Come on, do you think I could get away with wearing one of these retro-styled aprons over a dress this summer? Seriously, they are all so precious they must escape the kitchen sometime, don't you think? So...maybe not to be worn out and about, but they are so dress-like, just picture a dinner party or barbeque; you'd look so cute in this!



2 PEARS POTTERY



And some pink for good measure! This sweet dish is food-safe, microwavable and dishwasher safe. I love the free-form look of the cherries, they look good enough to eat!

Random Wednesday

1. Every time I sit down with the kids to do homework, it's a struggle to find a pencil that is sharpened enough for them to work with. We have pencils, we just don't have a pencil sharpener. So that went on the shopping list for Target today.

Living in a new place, I'm constantly finding that we just don't have stuff around!

The Girl was running a fever. I had to go buy Tylenol because we didn't have any medicine for the kids.

One of the kitchen knobs broke. Normally I'd reach for a tube of Crazy Glue, but we don't have any.

Danny asked me if we had a blank sheet of paper so he could write a letter. I returned to him a blank stare because, "No, we don't have any blank sheets of paper".

Danny's grandpa came over and ate dinner the other night and noted that the stew we'd made in the crock pot needed some spices and seasonings. I agreed, the stew could have used something...however, I just didn't have anything! I don't have oregano, or tarragon, or paprika. I have Lawry's Seasoned Salt, ground pepper and dry mustard and that's IT! I'll buy spices and seasonings eventually but they are so expensive, I don't want to go out and buy them until I need them for a recipe, I guess.

It's nice to have the cupboard & drawer space because we don't have a lot of stuff but on the other hand, it would be nice to know that we have the stuff there when we need it. My kingdom for a pencil sharpener!



2. My brother bought me a new purse for Christmas. It's a beautiful caramel-colored leather bag with a bunch of sections and pouches. It's always a mystery to find my sunglasses because I can never remember which section I slid them into!

My dad picked up my bag and handed it to me the other day and joked about the weight of it. And he's right, it weighs a ton.

Why?

Because now that I have the bigger purse, that gives me free reign to stuff it full of things that I wouldn't have normally carried, of course! I know I'm not the only woman who does this, right? The bigger the bag, the more things you stuff in there!




3. I want to plan a vacation. And then I actually want to go on that vacation! I've been daydreaming online again, planning faux trips on Disney Cruises to Vancouver and weekend flights to San Francisco. My honey & I need to go on our Honeymoon!

4. I started back up at the gym again. My husband is a die-hard gym rat and always encourages (or should that be nags?) about all of us getting exercise and eating the best food.

I agree, eating healthy does make me feel better...though cheeseburgers will always have a special place in my life. Along with pepperoni pizza. And breadsticks. And chocolate cake.

My husband doesn't go to the gym every day because he's working on a construction site 8 hours a day and then going to school twice a week but he usually makes a point of going on the weekends. I however, sit on my backside 8 hours a day in front of a computer (I have the trimmest fingers with all the typing, though, does that count?!) so going to the gym and working out for an hour a few times a week is certainly something my body needs. Maybe not what my body WANTS to do, but it certainly needs it.

I've been doing much better with the eating since I got married last November. Fast food eating is down considerably and I pack a healthy lunch at least 4 out of 5 days a week. Fortunately I have pretty good muscle memory from being athletic when I was younger so I'm hoping that the extra 25 lbs I've been carrying around will come off once I get serious with the exercise. Not so sure about the squish around the tummy though, I don't ever recall having a flat stomach in my life!



5. We went to a birthday party this past weekend and when the host asked The Boy if he wanted a piece of cake his response was, "No thank you, I'm trying to be healthy".

You think the health kick is rubbing off on The Boy?

Tutorial Tuesday - Flower Power

I love fresh flowers! Honestly, I'm not sure there are many who would disagree, right? I'd love to have a bouquet in each room, rotated every week if I could. Because of their price, I very rarely buy flowers but this time I sort of had an excuse.

My son's class was putting together a bouquet for Teacher Appreciation Day and each child needed to bring in a few flowers. Unfortunately we had a problem: #1 - We live in an apartment and don't have anything growing in the complex around us that was "pickable". #2 - It's winter and there isn't really anything to choose from in Grandma's yard either!

So we headed off to the grocery store, where they sell three small bunches at a discounted price. He picked one bunch for his teacher and I took the other two bunches home to finally fill up the lonely, empty milk glass vases on my buffet.



I brought them home and spread everything out on the table.



I removed all leaves that would be inside the vase, touching the water.



I dissolved the packet of preservative that came with the bouquet into a pitcher of water. I have an extra packet that I will save until next week. At that time I'll drain all the vases and refill with fresh water to give the flowers more staying power.



I counted the vases, counted the flowers, and figured out which stems were going into which vase.



Once I'd decided which flower was going into which vase, I set the vase close to the edge of the table and lined up the stem with the side of the vase. I was able to raise or lower the stem next to the vase to approximate how long I should cut the stem. I always err on the longer side because you can always cut off more but you can't add more if you cut off too much!






Cut the stem on an angle with sharp scissors and set the stem inside the vase.





Cut more off if needed. The flower shouldn't hover too far over the top edge of the vase, especially if you are using a small vase. If you are just using one flower per vase, a small amount of space between vase and flower looks desirable (rather than having the bud sitting directly on the vase itself).



The larger vases got the lilies. You can remove the dark stamens inside the lilies if you are placing the vase on a cloth that might stain if the powder drops on it.











This is an easy arrangement, pretty much just one flower per vase. But they are so bright and full, I didn't require anything much more fancy. This arrangement has been going strong for over a week now and cost just around $8, a lot cheaper than purchasing from a florist!

Need flower arranging tips?

Visit the following sites -

Martha Stewart

Perfect Entertaining

Better Homes & Gardens