20 Days in Hawaii and Disneyland - Yes, we are Lucky Nuts (Updated 9/19)

[franandaj]

Originally Posted by ajf1007

I think a studio in DL still be awesome!!! I just love that resort and I will say that FRANANDAJ (forgive me, but I do believe it was Alison) was a HUGE HUGE help to me when I planned the trip. Not only was it my first trip to DL, it was my first trip to Cali and she gave me great advice!!

HAHAHA! I'll try to stay on point here on your TR, it's tough though, I have been known to babble and babble about insignificant things. So, be careful what you allow me to say! Hey did you see the sparkly lights?

My pleasure to help out!

BTW if you haven't requested a view I suggest "Paradise Pier, high floor". We are here now and we always seem to get a view of the Redwood Creek Challenge, which isn't bad, but I'd rather see the roller coaster.

[bzzelady]

Happy Graduation to A!
You must be a proud papa tonight

[cj9200]

Well, the kid did it. She is now a high school graduate.

The Proof


And bring in the balloons

[kid-at-heart]

Look out world, here she comes! Not only beautiful but smart also. Thanks for posting the photos and letting us share in your joy.

kate

[lisaviolet]

Originally Posted by kid-at-heart

Look out world, here she comes! Not only beautiful but smart also. Thanks for posting the photos and letting us share in your joy.

kate

Perfectly said.

Lovely, CJ.

[jekjones1558]

Congrats to the Princess and her Proud Papa!

[franandaj]

Originally Posted by lisaviolet

Perfectly said.

Lovely, CJ.

I agree!

[cj9200]

Originally Posted by Tinks "SS"

Congrats on her graduation. Hate that we won't have an update til later but totally understand. Can't wait for this trip report as well as the other ones.

Thanks. It was really a nice ceremony. A proud time for 600+ seniors and their parents.

Originally Posted by lisaviolet

Blowing kisses to Bosh as I type.

Have a wonderful time CJ. It must seem like yesterday. Exciting time in her life.

Heat are still alive. We shall se what happens in game 7.

It does seem like yesterday when we did Freshman orientation for her high school. Her Principal came on the stage and the first thing she said was that these four years are going to fly by. They did.

Originally Posted by ajf1007

I think a studio in DL still be awesome!!! I just love that resort and I will say that FRANANDAJ (forgive me, but I do believe it was Alison) was a HUGE HUGE help to me when I planned the trip. Not only was it my first trip to DL, it was my first trip to Cali and she gave me great advice!!

HAHAHA! I'll try to stay on point here on your TR, it's tough though, I have been known to babble and babble about insignificant things. So, be careful what you allow me to say! Hey did you see the sparkly lights?

You are allowed to babble away. After all, that is really what my trip reports are all about.

Originally Posted by ajf1007

WOW! Congratulations on DD graduation!! I'm even proud and I've never met her!

Thank you. Also proud of her. Before they handed out the diplomas, her International Baccalaureate (IB) Lead Teacher talked about what her kids did. One of the things that hit me is they spent 30 hours taking their final exams. Not to mention all the projects and papers they had to do. The other kids in the school spent 8-10 hours on their finals.

Originally Posted by franandaj

My pleasure to help out!

BTW if you haven't requested a view I suggest "Paradise Pier, high floor". We are here now and we always seem to get a view of the Redwood Creek Challenge, which isn't bad, but I'd rather see the roller coaster.

Thanks for the tip. will call Member Services to ask for that location on Monday. Tried to get a cabana at Aluani but they are all reserved for the week. The CM suggested I check at the resort when I am there because one might open up. It does not cost anything to reserve one and some people cancel instead of ponying up for the $ needed to rent them.

Originally Posted by bzzelady

Happy Graduation to A!
You must be a proud papa tonight

Thank you. Spent the other night going through past trip reports and seeing how she has grown up. They are a pain to write but glad I did them.

Originally Posted by kid-at-heart

Look out world, here she comes! Not only beautiful but smart also. Thanks for posting the photos and letting us share in your joy.

kate

That is very sweet Kate. She is excited about the challenges that lie ahead. Enjoy it when it yours graduates. BTW, is the trip organized for all her friends to go to Disney with you?

Originally Posted by lisaviolet

Perfectly said.

Lovely, CJ.

Thanks Lisa.

Originally Posted by jekjones1558

Congrats to the Princess and her Proud Papa!

Proud and soon to be broke Papa.

Originally Posted by franandaj

I agree!

Thanks Allison.

[Shazzasmd]

Spent the other night going through past trip reports and seeing how she has grown up. They are a pain to write but glad I did them.

Very true! Much, much better than digging through shoe boxes of old photos.

Congratulations to your beautiful daughter. You deserve to be a Proud Papa.

[cj9200]

Originally Posted by Shazzasmd

Very true! Much, much better than digging through shoe boxes of old photos.

Congratulations to your beautiful daughter. You deserve to be a Proud Papa.

How true.

SIL is on the way home and A will be at a sleep over at a friend's house. Nice to have the place for myself. Looked at the calendar and it is only 15 days until we board the plane to Hawaii!

Lots of things to do including finishing the other TR.

[lisaviolet]

Originally Posted by cj9200

Heat are still alive. We shall se what happens in game 7.

It might surprise you that I am F.I.N.E. to see the Heat win game 7. So I can thoroughly enjoy watching them get destroyed by OKC.

__________________________________________________ ___

Actually, I am not a Miami hater. At all. Last year I wanted Dallas for Carlisle because I thought he never ever got enough respect over the years. And it was fun to bug you.

I like Lebron. I LOVE Wade. ADORE. That never changed with all the antics over the signing.

And I was happy for Bosh when he left T.O. BUT he ran his mouth about here for no apparent reason - most were happy for his opportunity. Weird but true.

So this series - I'm not a Celtics lover. Although I find myself totally in love with Rondo these days - transfixed - an absolute assassin at times.

Wow, I can actually hear something from the Miami crowd. Something. Hmmm.

Originally Posted by cj9200

Looked at the calendar and it is only 15 days until we board the plane to Hawaii!

Wow. My goodness - that came quickly. Exciting. Can't wait to hear.

[ajf1007]

Hi Proud Pappa!! It's really amazing the amount of work she had to do and the fact that she did it understanding what the benefits will be down the road! When I was her age, sadly, I just wanted to graduate, period. I just admire how much time and hard work she did to not settle for "just graduating"!!

OMG, 15 days - that is exciting!! I'm excited cause I just hit the 98 day mark, I can't imagine what I'll be like at the 15 day mark! You really have planned an amazing trip and I can't wait for your TR to officially start with pics and stuff! We really had a good time at DL and just loved the GCV's. Its such a beautiful resort. We didn't get a cabana either, they were booked while we were there but even if you don't get one, the pool is just so pretty.

[franandaj]

I just wanted to give you a couple pointers that I learned yesterday. Disney had a Carsland preview, plus we stayed a couple nights midweek and got the low down from the Bellman. Now with the opening this Friday, DCA is going to be packed for the rest of the Summer. At least you don't have to worry about the So Cal pass holders, they are blocked out the entire month of July, but the Premium APs and Deluxes will be able to get in, plus it's the high tourist season.

First off, don't spend your time in the Standby line for Radiator Springs Racers, especially while you are at the Hojo. One of the perks for the Summer DLR guests will be early access to RSR. If it's like the Little Mermaid last year, you'll be able to ride it from 9AM to 10AM before the non Disney Resort guests are let into the park.

Also last year they were giving out anytime FPs, one for each guest each day. If they don't do this, try to get a FP for RSR so that you also get a ride in after dark. The CM said that these two different times were like Night and Day. But seriously, I didn't get to ride it after dark, but from the way the CM described it, the whole experience sounded really cool.

Luigi's Flying Tires, don't wait more than 20 minutes for this one. If the line extends to the room with the tires in the show room, do it some other time. We waited 30 minutes yesterday and it wasn't worth the short time we got on the ride. I've put this on my 15 minutes or less list.

Mader's Ride is fun, and a lot of people have said it's like the tea cups. Not having been on the Tea Cups, I couldn't tell you. However, I wouldn't wait more than 15-20 to do this one either.

Don't get your hopes up about eating at the Cozy Cones. They are going to have real problem with these as the lines were just awful and this was on a Preview day with limited admission. You've got lots of great dining plans and don't need to wait for snacks (which is pretty much what they serve at the cones). However, if you're like me and HAD to have a souvenir "sipper cone" than you might end up investing some time waiting. Took me 20 minutes in line for the stupid thing.

Flo's cafe looks OK as a eatery, they made it a point to make some of the choices that might often contain meat vegetarian and have it clearly labeled on the menu as well. If you're looking for CS meals n DCA, I wouldn't venture to Carsland, but instead to the newer offerings in Paradise Pier, Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta or Garden Grill. They have quite a few non meat options at those as well as hearty meat choices.

I think you mentioned that you're having lunch at the Carthay Circle Restaurant. The menu looks nice. I'm waiting to see pictures from the folks who dined there last night at $500 a head. We'll have to wait until it opens to have the $25 cheeseburger! I wasn't paying those prices, for a three course meal none the less, even if it did go to a charitable cause.

Your trip is getting so close! That's good, I need another TR to follow as most of the folks I've been following are almost done with theirs! Have fun!

[bzzelady]

Originally Posted by cj9200

Thank you. Spent the other night going through past trip reports and seeing how she has grown up. They are a pain to write but glad I did them.

You are correct...it is time consuming but so rewarding when they are completed. We have spent the last week going through pictures of my dad in preparation for his memorial service and the travel through time is a great remembrance. All of us grow up too quickly

[cj9200]

Alison, thanks for the continued tips and help. How cool to get a preview. We are prepared for crowds and need a plan for that. Intend to buy the other site that gives you "plans to tour by" for your trip. Have multiple day park hoppers and staying on site so we will take advantage of those perks. We will be there early at both DL and CA when we can and get as much done as early as possible.

Never thought about riding RSR at night but now it is on the list. Have to ride Luigi's (I love bumper car rides) but if Mater's is like Tea Cups I will have to skip it (hate spinning). Cozy Cones looks cool but with the meals we have already planned, we can skip that if the line is too long. Will take pictures though. There seems to be good CS possibilities on Paradise Pier. It would be neat to eat at Flo's but not a must do.

Carthay was an afterthought. While I was hold to get a Napa Rose reservation (for everyone else, you have to call the restaurant directly) they said that they were taking reservations for the restaurant. Knew nothing about it but made one anyway. Glad I did. Looks like an interesting place. You also get preferred viewing for World of Color if you order enough food. I agree with you and would pass on having a $500 dinner there.

Getting excited. Now 13 days from when we will be on a plane to Hawaii. Lots to do before then but can't wait for the adventure to begin.