justkeepswimmin
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2006
Trip Dates: Saturday May 31- Weds. June 4th
Hotel: Disneyland Hotel (1st 3 Nights), Camelot Inn & Suites (XTRA unplanned night
)
Our Dream Cast:
Me(Nicole) - Mom and Disney fanatic
Jon- Devoted husband, who puts up with my Disney obsession even though I think he is starting to become a little obsessed himself
.
Makenna- Daughter, age 8, Drinks the Disney Koolaid too, Every trip she is as excited as if it were her very 1st time.
Sophie-Daughter, age 3. Just measured 40.25 inches at Dr. Office wearing her "big girl" shoes so she excited about new ride possibilites this trip (that excitement turns out to be short lived, unfortunately)
Molly-Daughter, age 11 months. 3rd trip and not even a year old. Not so great about hanging out in her stroller so we were a little nervous.
Grandma Barb-My mom, recently diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a complex disease affecting her heart/ lungs that is generally terminal. This will likely be her last trip to DL so I wanted to make it great.
Grandpa Rick-My Dad. Has not been to DLR area in OVER 20 years. Not exactly a people person and it is no coincidence his favorite character is Grumpy. Because of my mom's health and his love of his grandchildren, he was being a good sport about this trip.
Supporting Dream Cast:
Our Friends, Craig, Michelle, Marina(age 4) and Lorenzo (age 1): Another family we knew who was also travelling from AZ to the resort and who joined us at several times during our stay.
PRE TRIP INFO:
So, after talking DH into annual passes last September so we could take advantage of AP Nights at the Disneyland Hotel, we were now planning our 3rd trip back and this time decide to invite my parents.
I posted on the DIS boards a lot and got great advice about getting my mom an ECV from Deckerts and despite her intial resistance, got her to agree to use it for our stay. Whew!
About a month before our trip, I got it in my head that since this was likely my mom's last trip and she has NEVER stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, I wanted to make that happen any way I could. I called and tried for AP nights but no luck. I decide to take the plunge and just book 2 rooms on the regular AP 10% off rate and then NOT tell my mom how much the rooms actually cost because my dad would flip
! I told my DH my plan and that we would be covering a good portion of my parent's room as well and that if he loved me and knew how important this was to me, he would be okay with this. He was!
I arranged autographed pics with Brad at vacation planning and also arranged to have a balloon bouquet delivered to my Mom and Dad's room upon arrival. I also put together welcome baskets at home for everyone that I planned to sneak into our rooms and joined a photopass share so we could get a few group pictures.
And then, Bonus! About a week before our trip, I was on the DL website and noticed they had a special offer of $195 per night for 2 of the nights we would be at the DL hotel. I called the reservation office and they adjusted the rate on the 1st 2 nights for BOTH rooms. This was going to save us about $200 and seemed like such a magical coincidence to me as they NEVER do these kind of general public promos in the summertime! I was truly already feeling the magic 400 miles away
!
Everything was all set for an amazing trip.
Hotel: Disneyland Hotel (1st 3 Nights), Camelot Inn & Suites (XTRA unplanned night
)Our Dream Cast:
Me(Nicole) - Mom and Disney fanatic
Jon- Devoted husband, who puts up with my Disney obsession even though I think he is starting to become a little obsessed himself
.Makenna- Daughter, age 8, Drinks the Disney Koolaid too, Every trip she is as excited as if it were her very 1st time.
Sophie-Daughter, age 3. Just measured 40.25 inches at Dr. Office wearing her "big girl" shoes so she excited about new ride possibilites this trip (that excitement turns out to be short lived, unfortunately)
Molly-Daughter, age 11 months. 3rd trip and not even a year old. Not so great about hanging out in her stroller so we were a little nervous.
Grandma Barb-My mom, recently diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a complex disease affecting her heart/ lungs that is generally terminal. This will likely be her last trip to DL so I wanted to make it great.
Grandpa Rick-My Dad. Has not been to DLR area in OVER 20 years. Not exactly a people person and it is no coincidence his favorite character is Grumpy. Because of my mom's health and his love of his grandchildren, he was being a good sport about this trip.
Supporting Dream Cast:
Our Friends, Craig, Michelle, Marina(age 4) and Lorenzo (age 1): Another family we knew who was also travelling from AZ to the resort and who joined us at several times during our stay.
PRE TRIP INFO:
So, after talking DH into annual passes last September so we could take advantage of AP Nights at the Disneyland Hotel, we were now planning our 3rd trip back and this time decide to invite my parents.
I posted on the DIS boards a lot and got great advice about getting my mom an ECV from Deckerts and despite her intial resistance, got her to agree to use it for our stay. Whew!
About a month before our trip, I got it in my head that since this was likely my mom's last trip and she has NEVER stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, I wanted to make that happen any way I could. I called and tried for AP nights but no luck. I decide to take the plunge and just book 2 rooms on the regular AP 10% off rate and then NOT tell my mom how much the rooms actually cost because my dad would flip
! I told my DH my plan and that we would be covering a good portion of my parent's room as well and that if he loved me and knew how important this was to me, he would be okay with this. He was! I arranged autographed pics with Brad at vacation planning and also arranged to have a balloon bouquet delivered to my Mom and Dad's room upon arrival. I also put together welcome baskets at home for everyone that I planned to sneak into our rooms and joined a photopass share so we could get a few group pictures.
And then, Bonus! About a week before our trip, I was on the DL website and noticed they had a special offer of $195 per night for 2 of the nights we would be at the DL hotel. I called the reservation office and they adjusted the rate on the 1st 2 nights for BOTH rooms. This was going to save us about $200 and seemed like such a magical coincidence to me as they NEVER do these kind of general public promos in the summertime! I was truly already feeling the magic 400 miles away
!Everything was all set for an amazing trip.
How nice that you planned such a trip for your folks! 
