Disneyland for Seniors

[DizMe]

I hope your flu is all gone! I'm just starting to feel normal again after having it for over 2 weeks. I love the idea of a meet up! I don't usually go to the park alone so I'd have to somehow fit it in during a family trip.

Think you'll be there for the 17th, DizMe?

That's my plan! Well, I should say that's my goal

 

[LKing]

Are we talking about trying for Disneyland's 70th? I have a staycation hotel booked for those dates. Maybe it would be easier to meet the evening of July 16 and somewhere in one of the DL hotels or DTD. That way it is after work for locals and MK holders don't need to use up a park reservation just for the meet up.

 

[Tinkaboo]

Well, so far I have two trips planned...April 8-11 for Star Wars nite and June 16 -19 for Pride Night. I'm thinking about Dapper Day in fall(?) , I think they do one in fall. AND...I might try OBB....I know, its crazy busy and everyone already knows I dont
Iike Halloween but the Headless Horseman has kinda become a bucket list thing for me and thats the only time you can see him is at the OBB PARADE? So i may do that. And of course, my annualChristmas trip, which I will be making alone this year after all the havoc my friend created last year.

So, anyone who is local that can pop in anytime who would like to meet up for a coffee and chat, lemme know. And DizMe, you and I have got to meet up sometime! Our minds are too much alike, LOL.

 

[KPeterso]

Are we talking about trying for Disneyland's 70th? I have a staycation hotel booked for those dates. Maybe it would be easier to meet the evening of July 16 and somewhere in one of the DL hotels or DTD. That way it is after work for locals and MK holders don't need to use up a park reservation just for the meet up.

We are also going to be doing a VGC staycation for the 70th. We stay there for the anniversary every year! We can do in park or somewhere else on the 16th.

 

[DizMe]

Well, so far I have two trips planned...April 8-11 for Star Wars nite and June 16 -19 for Pride Night. I'm thinking about Dapper Day in fall(?) , I think they do one in fall. AND...I might try OBB....I know, its crazy busy and everyone already knows I dont
Iike Halloween but the Headless Horseman has kinda become a bucket list thing for me and thats the only time you can see him is at the OBB PARADE? So i may do that. And of course, my annualChristmas trip, which I will be making alone this year after all the havoc my friend created last year.

So, anyone who is local that can pop in anytime who would like to meet up for a coffee and chat, lemme know. And DizMe, you and I have got to meet up sometime! Our minds are too much alike, LOL.

I went to SW night last year and had a blast!! And I'm not even a SW fan, but we had so much fun and every day we dressed in something "themed" (not all SW).

I've never been to OBB because I've been scared off by the crowd reports. I think it would be a lot of fun, though! The nice thing about being older is that you can just go with the flow and not fixate so much on getting on rides etc. However, I really don't like huge crowds. I often feel like I'm invisible to others!

The Headless Horseman is awesome!!! Haven't seen him in some years, though. I tend to avoid actual Halloween time but I like to go to the fall Dapper Day.

I'm trying to plan for next Dec for the sister trip, and I keep asking my DD if she can book it this early. She's likely moving soon and I would love to get her CM discount if possible but I don't know what the timeframe is for booking ahead.

But anyway, I have an Inspire pass, SW points, and I'm willing to use 'em.

 

[2tinkerbell]

Hi all! I decided after this last trip that I am officially old. Wow! My DD ran me ragged. I guess having a total knee replacement 12 weeks prior to our trip didn’t help much.

We arrived about 1pm on Friday Jan 31st. We flew into Long Beach on a direct flight. We used Lansky to get to the Candy Cane. Lansky is my go to, I love them. The Candy Cane Inn is also our go to. We know a lot of the staff and they really take care of us. We checked right in when we arrived. The only big issue we had is Southwest banged up my DD’s luggage pretty bad. The poster I made for her race was ripped and had big holes in it.

We got organized and headed off to the Disneyland Hotel to pick up her bib and race shirt. That went smoothly and we signed her up with Athletes With Disabilities. I was extremely worried that she would get overwhelmed in the corrals with the crowd, dark, noise, etc. I could just picture her walking out of the corral before the race even started. Also picked up a pin at the Expo. My DD thought she wanted the Pandora charm for her race (Ahsoka Tano) but when she saw it in person, she decided against it.

Had our traditional dinner at Black Tap in Downtown Disney. Let me just say never again. Nothing bad and the food was good. I just don’t need to do it again.

It was an early night. The wake-up was 2:30am. We heard the fireworks so we opened the door and stood out on the balcony and watched them. Then went back to sleep.

 

[2tinkerbell]

Like I said, it was an early night and morning. We picked up a nutrition bag and water in the lobby of the Candy Cane and walked over to the race. The 10k started on Disney Way but we went to the Reunion Area to wait in the AWD tent. It would have been less walking had we walked further down Harbor and come back that way but we didn’t know.

My DD did great in her race. When they took her over to start with her corral, I left and went to Harbor Blvd where it turned off of Disney Way. I waited but never saw her. I then walked up to see her between the parks. I was the 1st person as they left the gates at DCA and headed to Disneyland. I waited until the balloon ladies came, the bicycle pacer guys came and the extended golf carts came. Never saw my DD. I saw my coworker, but not my DD. They had swept so I thought she was swept. I then headed to the Reunion Area to the AWD tent. My sister called me as I was walking and I recounted what had happened and that I thought she was swept. I didn’t get a text or a call. At the tent a sweet runDisney staff person tracked her and she was estimated to finish in 10 minutes. I went over to the curve where they turn off of Disney Way and into the Finish Line area. The runDisney person came over and told me they had a person at the Finish Line watching for her. The next thing I knew, once again, a runDisney staff person came up to me and told me she was in the tent. I missed her 3 times in 3 different places!!! We got pictures and hugs and headed to the Candy Cane.

We had a nice nap and showers and we’re headed to Disneyland at noon.

We stopped at the Carnation Cafe’ to see if we could do a walk up for later and they told us to check when we wanted to eat. We went to Galaxy’s Edge to get Photo Pass pictures. I made a DAS return time for Rise of the Resistance. My DD rode Smugglers Run. Rise was down when we went there. Carnation Cafe’ showed they were taking walking ins but we were too far away to make reservations. We went to the cafe’ and they could seat us in 45 minutes. Great time for some shopping! Had a nice meal at Carnation Cafe’.

We went back and rode Rise of the Resistance. By this time the early morning, the race and the excitement had caught up to me. My knee was swollen and I had walked almost 9 miles. This 71 year old was tired. We went back to the hotel and went to bed. We didn’t hear the fireworks.

 

[2tinkerbell]

I had made a character breakfast reservation for 9am on Sunday at Plaza Inn. Disneyland opened at 9am that day because of the 1/2 Marathon. Harbor was closed so we walked to the park. It isn’t far and I was okay. My DD never once complained of soreness or anything. But neither did I when I was running at 35 years old.

I made a Lightning Lane ride and a DAS return ride. Indiana Jones was down and we got an anytime pass thingy. We did really well between the 2 - Lightning Lane and DAS. We did some shopping. We went over to DCA and again did well using both the DAS and Lightning Lane. We had dinner at the Craftsman Grill. The only 2 rides on my DD’s list that I did not do were the Matterhorn Bobsleds (didn’t think I could bend my 6’2” body that much, especially with a swollen knee) and the IncrediCoaster.

The parks were crowded being a race weekend but they were manageable. We did everything we wanted to do. Since it was a quick trip with the race being the priority, I had told my DD that things were different than when we go for 5 days.

We went back to Disneyland and to Galaxy’s Edge to watch the fireworks. That was the best ever. I think we should have gotten there earlier so we could have a place to sit before they started. I was not in good shape and was hurting.

After the fireworks, we called it a night. A couple of positives: love Lightning Lane and Mobile Ordering.

I remember taking my mother to DLR when she was the age I am now and my mother did a few rides but mainly she sat on the benches. I did much better than she did.

We flew home on Monday. I was to go to work on Tuesday but I was too tired, sore and my knee was swollen. I didn’t go to work. It took me until at least Friday to feel somewhat okay again. My DD totaled up the rides we did on Sunday and it totaled 14 rides!!! Add to that a character breakfast and fireworks, it was a full day!!! Neither one of us felt like we were rushing and we did what we wanted to do. Overall it was a successful trip.

 

[Tinkaboo]

Sounds like a fantastic time was had by both of you! And I, too, have noticed my post-Disney trip recuperation taking a bit longer each time CCI folks are the best, I agree. Love my James!

 

[LKing]

Just booked my reservation for May 16 to see Paint the Night. Anyone else going that day?

 

[cruisehopeful]

Just booked my reservation for May 16 to see Paint the Night. Anyone else going that day?

I didn't even know that Paint the Night was coming back. I might decide to drive up for a few hours. I'll let you know.

 

[DizMe]

2tinkerbell, I really loved your trip report! That sounds like a great trip in spite of the blips. I guess we have to learn to deal with more physical limitations than when we were in our 30s, but it still sounds like you really got around the parks!

I'll look into May 16. I don't have anything on my calendar that can't be changed

 

[LKing]

I didn't even know that Paint the Night was coming back. I might decide to drive up for a few hours. I'll let you know.

Disneyland MK reservations are fully booked for May 16. DCA is still available, although I don't think they will be available for long.

Since PTN is an evening parade, it doesn't matter what park you start at. We were there on the first day the Electric Parade came back and people were claiming spots along the parace route very early. CM kept walking by telling guests that they couldn't line up more than 2 hours in advance. No one listed or moved. Eventually the parade route got so crowded that they closed Disneyland to park hoppers. I think that was around 3 pm.

 

[RickNJane]

Nope! Anyone can join who is old at heart

Hey I'm Old but Young at Heart! Just trying to convince the rest of me to be young as well. Things just don't work as well as they used to!

 

[DizMe]

Hey I'm Old but Young at Heart! Just trying to convince the rest of me to be young as well. Things just don't work as well as they used to!

Good point...I suppose we're all young at heart or we wouldn't be regulars on a Disneyland board, LOL!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Disneyland MK reservations are fully booked for May 16. DCA is still available, although I don't think they will be available for long.

Since PTN is an evening parade, it doesn't matter what park you start at. We were there on the first day the Electric Parade came back and people were claiming spots along the parace route very early. CM kept walking by telling guests that they couldn't line up more than 2 hours in advance. No one listed or moved. Eventually the parade route got so crowded that they closed Disneyland to park hoppers. I think that was around 3 pm.

I grabbed a reservation just in case. I got Disneyland as the starting park. I wouldn't be able to get there until the afternoon at any rate.

 

[RickNJane]

We are just winding up our DLR trip. We have 1 more park day then back to the drizzle in the PNW. Couple of things. We stayed at the VDH. Great accommodations. The monorail was down for refurb so we had to walk to the parks. The DL gate is 0.62 miles from the VDH tower lobby. That is not too bad in the morning, but killer in the afternoon. Be sure to leave some in the tank to make it back! The parks were totally sold out. That caught us by surprise. Several trusted resources had predicted the crowd level at or below average. They were completely wrong! So much for predictions. Early entry is your best friend. We rode everything we wanted and made it back to the room by 2PM every day. We did not buy Lightning Lane. Nice to have multiple park days! I enjoyed the stroll through Downtown Disney the first couple of times, but it did get very old by this point.