Bring It On, West Coast! East Coast Prepares For An LA & Disneyland Encounter (COMPLETE: TR POSTED)

PlutosRHM55

Currently: No HHN Depression
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
"EAST COAST
WEST COAST
EAST COAST
WEST COAST"

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(Basically how I imagine myself arriving in California)

Forewarning: This PTR will contain many references to the only other iconic East Meets West event aka Bring It On: In It To Win It starring Ashley Benson & Cassie Scerbo with a soundtrack by Ashley Tisdale.

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Like Queen Ashley said, enough pop culture references, let's get to the PTR thing!

:wave: HIIIIIEEEEEE!!!! :wave:
I'm sure you all don't know me since most of my time has been spent on the East coast side of these boards so-to-speak due to a few trips to Disney World, but now I'm taking my first venture over to the West Coast to see the OG park, Disneyland, as well as a bit of LA because why not? So here I am, introducing myself. A photograph or two for reference...







To begin, my name is Timmy. I will be your princess hugging, lost boy chasing, happy haunt spooking, dancing, singing and everything in between guide to the magical world of PTRs. Prior to this first trip to Disneyland, I have been to Disney World three times. My first time was in April 2010, my second time in February 2011 and my third time in June 2014. All have their respective Trip Reports linked.

I was also able to take on the ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME when I was accepted to the Walt Disney World College Program for Fall 2016 and worked in Magic Kingdom as a Custodial Cast Member. It doesn't sound all that glamorous, but it was magical and I loved every second of it. Leaving was probably one of the hardest and most emotional things I've ever had to do. I'm hoping to return as a Cast Member again soon, but for now I'll have all my amazing memories of those amazing six months. Here's a pic of me in costume on my last day in front of my CP home, Tomorrowland:



I also am in the process of writing a trip report about a little staycation I had with my family during the week of Christmas. It was NUTZO CRAZY with all the crowds, but my mom, my sisters and I still managed to have a magical time. Here's a link to transport you back to December 2016.

Aside from Disney, I am about to enter into my Senior year (won't be graduating until the fall though) at Skidmore College where I am working on a degree in Management & Business with a minor in Theater. Theater, particularly musical theater, is my passion in life and I hope that whatever I do for a career will be in the entertainment industry, preferably with Disney because I love the company so so much. I primarily act and direct, having been involved in over 20 productions by now. My most recent was directing a Sex-themed Cabaret at my school, a stressful endeavor to say the least, but by far my most fulfilling project. Here's a pic of me in the outfit I wore just to fit in with the aesthetic of my cast hehe



My academic career and major passions aside, I originally hail from New Hampshire, which has no reflection on my personality whatsoever. I hate the cold and just want summer 365 days a year, hence why I hope to be working at Disney once more. In terms of my other interests, I'm also a huge movie buff, pop diva worshipper, closeted TV nerd, social media fiend (follow me anywhere @thatdisneykween) and anything else that will round out the stereotype I've got going on. Don't worry I'm embracing this all so you can to.

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Now enough of my awful narcissism, let's talk about this trip...

*Barbara Walters voice*


Sooooooo are you the only one attending this shindig?

The answer is no. The reason I'm going on this trip is because my friend Raven, a fellow DCPer who I will talk more about later, offered to let me stay with her. She's been going to Disneyland since she was a wee babe so she's going to be guiding me through it all and is almost as if not more excited for this. I also might be meeting up with a fellow DISer or a few... :ssst:

Wonderful, now when is this shindig happening?

I will be flying out of Logan airport in Boston, at the crack of dawn on January 9th, into LAX and will be leaving late in the morning on the 13th from LAX and back to Logan so five days in SoCal, three being dedicated exclusively to Disneyland.

That sounds lovely. Why have you decided to do this now though?

I mean, I've always wanted to go to Disneyland. It's Walt's park and is a rite of passage for any Disney fan. I'm also taking advantage of the fact I won't have to pay for room & board and having someone who will definitely be going with me. I couldn't resist.

Fascinating. So how now did all that come to be?

Well, that you will have to wait a little bit longer to find out about hehe

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I hope that's all enticing enough to get you to stick around. We have quite a few months to go (basically the length of my CP last year lol) to plan the perfect first trip to Disneyland. I know that might seem a lot, but it will be pretty sporadic how things update and change themselves. I promise to keep it entertaining, fun, engaging and friendly always. So let's hop on this grand circle tour through the planning of a first timer's trip to Disneyland!

Are you ready?

*EVERYONE RESPONDS IN UNISON*

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FIRST.

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Timmy.

I'm obsessdt with this PTR already and I can't wait to follow your journey. It's been a hot minute since you played host to a PTR and I'm really eager to see the planning process come to life with you for this fabulous outing.

I seriously CAN NOT believe that our first trips to DLR are happening at the same time. We're going to need to #DISCUSS that as the plans start materializing further and we get closer to our dates.

As always, subscribed and waiting for more. Now back to your current TR!
 


FIRST.

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Timmy.

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:welcome:

I'm obsessdt with this PTR already and I can't wait to follow your journey. It's been a hot minute since you played host to a PTR and I'm really eager to see the planning process come to life with you for this fabulous outing.

This'll only be my second TR that something actually comes of it so I'm so pumped for this! And for a place I've never been too. Gurl, this will be I C O N I C.

I seriously CAN NOT believe that our first trips to DLR are happening at the same time. We're going to need to #DISCUSS that as the plans start materializing further and we get closer to our dates.

I mean, OBVIOUSLY. How could I not make plans for a DLR trip post your plans and not try to line up? That'd be blasphemy. And we are. We SO are.

As always, subscribed and waiting for more. Now back to your current TR!

YAAAAAASSSS SO MUCH TR GLORIOUSNESS UP IN HERE

Completely jealous and following along!

:welcome: Glad to have you here!
 


If There's A Will, There's A Way... And a How!

I apologize for not giving a second update to not leave you in suspense for too too long. Plans are best made at a fast pace and well... not exactly what's happening initially. Primarily because my sister's graduation party was yesterday right after I started this PTR soooo yeah. Things happen and now let's get back to it.

I left off by not explaining how a trip that seemed to evade me FINALLY came to be.


To do that, I think I need to introduce my aforementioned friend, Raven, and the only other OFFICIAL member of the cast.

Here is a pic of us on one of my last nights cleaning up Tomorrowland. So sad. :'(



To reiterate/confirm, Raven and I became friends during our Disney College Program last fall. We met during our Traditions class, which is basically your first official day of training when you get introduced to what it means to be a Cast Member. It's also the day where you get your Disney name tag and Cast Member Blue ID. We initially sat at the same table where we managed to exchange snapchats before she ditched that table for other friends. :sad2: No matter, we ended up running into each other a few times since. She worked in Merchandise at the Grand Floridian resort while I worked at Magic Kingdom, which use the same bus route on occasion so we crossed paths a few times and became pretty good friends. We also ran into each other on our last day in the parks, right in the midst of the Kiss Goodnight, tear-stained and emotional messes. It was a rough night. Ever since our programs ended and we headed back to our respective coasts, me on the East in NH and her on the West in SoCal where she goes to Disneyland basically everyday, which is where our story begins.

Around a week ago, she posted on her Instagram story a video of her in the car on the way to Disneyland, no surprise, listening to Tangled and being annoyed. I don't stand for any of that I-Hate-Tangled-It's-Not-Better-Than-Frozen nonsense so I called her out. She was like all "Noooooo I love you please don't hate me" and said that she just has heard it too much, but still loves Tangled. I guess I could forgive her. Then she asked the fated question:

:smickey: WHEN YOU COMING TO VISIT ME @ DISNEYLAND??? :smickey:

My initial response was, of course, "I don't know."

Then she said, these other fated words:

OK. BUT IF YOU DO...
:earsboy: YOU CAN STAY AT MY PLACE! :earsboy:

My issues with going to Disneyland have always been based upon the fact I'd have to pay for a hotel and transportation and such. She literally just eliminated those costs in one fell swoop. I decided to go for it, especially since I've managed to save my money well this summer, and grill her more on when this could happen. Of course, she was in Disneyland so it wasn't until later, but we were up pretty late just figuring out how to do this. Long story short, we figured out our winter breaks for school lined up, optimized the dates and VOILA, here I am with round trip plane tickets into Los Angeles for a super magical weekend. It literally happened in a matter of days and I'm still shook that it's happening. Tickets for the park and official park plans are in the works, hence why I have this, but here's the rough idea Raven and I came up with.

January 9th, 2018: Arrival Day
It's an early flying day for this, but I might be a little jet-lagged so we decided to take it slow. We were probably just going to go visit around LA, have brunch in WeHo, walk on Hollywood Boulevard and let me an obnoxious tourist. Cute pics to come.

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(Credit: Google Images)

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(Credit: Google Images)

January 10th, 2018

This will be our first day at Disneyland, bright and early.

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We're hoping to possibly make it for a Magical Morning if the situation with passes works out. Raven says we should try to do that along with the Max Pass, which is basically a new Fast Pass add-on they are doing over in Disneyland. It's $30 extra to get it so I have to toy with that a bit. Raven also says we should split our Disneyland time in two with one day for attractions and another day for rides and shows. Our first day will be our attractions day then and we'll probably watch one of the nighttime shows, either THE ALL NEW Fantasmic! or Remember...

January 11th, 2018
At the moment, this will be our second and last day at Disneyland.

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Like I mentioned before, this will be our shows and characters day. We'll be meeting all the characters that we can, seeing everything from Mickey and the Magical Map to Soundsational. We'll also end off the night with one of the two nighttime spectaculars at Disneyland.


January 12th, 2018

Raven says DCA is very much a one day park so we will be doing everything from conquering Cars Land to Paint The Night to California Screamin' to World of Color. I hope. Again, these are rough plans. This will be my last night so I'm hoping to close it off with Paint The Night, MY NUMBER ONE NIGHTTIME SHOW THAT I NEED TO SEE.

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January 13th, 2018: Departure Day

My flight out of LAX is fairly early in the morning so today will be up and out type of day. I'll say my goodbyes to Raven, her fam and whomever else joined us then I'll be heading back through the time change and ready for more jet-lag as well as sadness because another Disney trip has ended.

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And that's basically what is going down so far. This is all subject to change, correction and the works. I'm a first timer. All my know-how is pretty much dedicated to Disney World. Disneyland is a whole new frontier as well as LA so any and all recommendations are appreciated. I'll be going in more depth on each day's plans as well as my top attractions I would like to do, top shows I want to see, snacks I need to try, any restaurants I might be going to, top sightseeing spots, etc. etc.

I have around five months to go so we have a lot of time for this. However I do go back to school post-labor day so I will try to cover most plans before then when I'll be quite characteristically uber busy. Don't expect as many updates once school hits is what I'm saying. Until then, we'll get through what we can. Again, hope you stick around!

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More Planning
 
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Joining in!! This is so exciting!! Having a friend to stay with and show you around is so perfect! Can't wait to hear more as your plans progress! :)
 
Ugh these plans are FOOL. PROOF. Two days at Disneyland and one day at DCA PLUS a little time to walk around LA? This is going to be the CUTEST trip in the history of ever.
 
Joining in!! This is so exciting!! Having a friend to stay with and show you around is so perfect! Can't wait to hear more as your plans progress! :)

Yay!! :welcome:

I'm so excited and yeah, that whole aspect basically sealed the deal. I'll be trying to update with plans as quickly as I can. Stay tuned!

Ugh these plans are FOOL. PROOF. Two days at Disneyland and one day at DCA PLUS a little time to walk around LA? This is going to be the CUTEST trip in the history of ever.

I KNOW RIGHT?! (fyi my plans are always fool proof js)

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Primarily because my sister's graduation party was yesterday right after I started this PTR soooo yeah.

Aw, congrats to her! :)

We also ran into each other on our last day in the parks, right in the midst of the Kiss Goodnight, tear-stained and emotional messes. It was a rough night.

The Kiss Goodnight is emotional anyway (at least for me)...I can imagine that it's more so on the last night of your DCP...

Long story short, we figured out our winter breaks for school lined up, optimized the dates and VOILA, here I am with round trip plane tickets into Los Angeles for a super magical weekend.

How exciting!!

We were probably just going to go visit around LA, have brunch in WeHo, walk on Hollywood Boulevard and let me an obnoxious tourist. Cute pics to come.

You can't go to LA and not be an obnoxious tourist:rotfl:
 
Aw, congrats to her! :)

Thank you, on her behalf! :teeth:

The Kiss Goodnight is emotional anyway (at least for me)...I can imagine that it's more so on the last night of your DCP...

Oh it was something. I however used the opportunity to get Photopass to take a photo of me with it going on because they only took photos when the Dreamlights were still on and I wanted a normal Castle photo on my last day. Great way to skip the line if you ask me.

How exciting!!

I still can't believe it. I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

You can't go to LA and not be an obnoxious tourist:rotfl:

Very very true, but I'm obnoxious as is sooooooo
 
Hollywood Infected My Brain
Things to do in Los Angeles

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As I mentioned in my rough draft of my plans, our first day will be dedicated exclusively to the City of Angels: LOS ANGELES!!!

Aside from Disney, Los Angeles/Hollywood is the only other place I've wanted to go since I was a kid. Growing up and even today, I've always had an obsession with the idea of celebrity, stars, starlets, etc. and Hollywood is that mythic yet real place where they apparently exist. Obviously, as someone who's going to be flying into there, why not give it a visit? I'm not sure if we're going to spend the entire day here, but as far as it looks, I will so might as well figure out what to do!

First, Raven and I talked and we're definitely going to do the OBVIOUS thing for moi and visit

WeHo
!!!!!!!

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I'm guessing many on this side of the Boards know what WeHo is, but for those who don't, it's short for "West Hollywood" and it's basically akin to what PTown (short for "Provincetown") is to the West Coast. It's basically gay central, which is perfect for me, and for someone who has yet to have a proper gay brunch, Raven and I thought this would be a perfect start to our trip. Probably not at The Abbey since that's more of a nightclub, but Raven knows the area fairly well so we'll find something. We'll also probably go around and take some cute gay pics. Boystown for the night? Maybe I'll bring my rainbow flag along and get some use out of it. I don't know. C'est la vie!

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After our brunch in WeHo, I think we'll head right into the heart of LA and do the most touristy thing ever and go to...

popcorn:: THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAMEpopcorn::

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I couldn't NOT do this, being the celebrity fiend I am. I'm going to take ALL the typical touristy pics of me with the stars and handprints of my favorite celebs. I also really want to revive this meme phenom.

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I do not endorse @kalesalad, nor do I know who that is.

Obviously, I'm recreating the Britney one. Maybe Julie Andrews? Maybe Walt Disney? Maybe Bette Midler? Maybe Mickey Mouse? Maybe Angela Lansbury? Maybe Bryan Cranston? Maybe Bette Davis?

I'm going to compile a more concise list for this, but that will be a TOTAL must because social media's also the name of the game for me.

We'll also of course visit the Chinese Theater. The tours sound pretty cheap so I might have to do that or at least be around for their special projection show at night that they recently premiered. I just need at least something to remind me that The Great Movie Ride existed and wasn't torn down due to reasons that I will never understand but have to do with money and ignoring the real Disney fans. :surfweb:

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Other locales I might want to check out are...

Rodeo Drive
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Let me live my Julia Roberts fantasy, ok?

The Griffith Observatory
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Yes, we are here so I can recreate the La La Land tap scene. Don't judge.

The Hollywood Sign
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I feel redundant about this one but YES.

And a bajillion others. Mostly taking pics for my very lively and hot Instagram (@thatdisneykween). After all is said and done, we will be off to bed, getting ready to sleep for my first day in Disneyland!!!

That'll be for next time though. Until then, if you have any suggestions about things to do around LA, I'd love to hear them. I mostly just perused some travel sites. I know Raven has some ideas, but we have some time to discuss that and chances are it's going to be a "go with the flow" type day. Seriously I want to hear your opinion!

As always though, have a magical day!

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More Planning
 
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Have fun. be prepared for mad crowds on Hollywood walk of fame and the theater. It's a must see, but just good to know going in! I love LA, have a great time.
 
Have fun. be prepared for mad crowds on Hollywood walk of fame and the theater. It's a must see, but just good to know going in! I love LA, have a great time.

Haha, I had a feeling, BIG tourist spot, but I've dealt with NYC so I'm ready for it. And thank you, I will. :)

Also, consider going on a tour of the stars homes in Hollywood/Beverly Hills. Tons of fun.

I was thinking about that. We'll have to see how the money is. Thanks for the tip tho!
 
IMG_1634.GIF Following! I lurked on your Florida tr with your mom and your sister found you here. May I say anyone who opens with momma Ru is great in my book! (Ru Paul is my guilty pleasure! Love love love that show almost as much as Disney lol)
 
You're going to have so much fun visiting all the touristy parts of LA! I loved walking the hall of fame and getting my pic with Brit's star was a MUST! :goodvibes

I feel like eating at In n Out is also a west coast must!
 
View attachment 262125 Following! I lurked on your Florida tr with your mom and your sister found you here. May I say anyone who opens with momma Ru is great in my book! (Ru Paul is my guilty pleasure! Love love love that show almost as much as Disney lol)

:welcome:

A lurker on my Christmas TR? NONSENSE! You should say hi over there!

Omg so happy someone else can appreciate my Mama Ru love. It's basically my favorite show on TV atm.

You're going to have so much fun visiting all the touristy parts of LA! I loved walking the hall of fame and getting my pic with Brit's star was a MUST! :goodvibes

I feel like eating at In n Out is also a west coast must!

Oh I'm so excited and Brit's star will be my first line of business. Britney stan 5ever :cutie:

Oh yeah, of course! We'll probably end up doing that after the parks close maybe to save money on the foods.
 

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