Hello all! It's that time again where Disneyland has been on my mind. I'm not sure if i'm ever going to get enough of a fix that I wouldn't want to try and go at least once a year, but we will see what next year holds!
For now, we decided that this year we would make our way to Disneyland in September. I purposefully picked a time when I knew the decorations would already be up, as my husband hasn't been during any holiday season before, and I haven't seen it during Halloween time (my favorite season and holiday) While we now have to wait 6 months until the trip, it will be worth it!
Since I have been booking these trips on my own, I have always booked through Disneyland's website. I find it the easiest to get the full trip booked through them and not have to worry that I might have missed something. Another added benefit to booking through Disneyland directly is that you only need to put down a deposit at the time of booking and then you are allowed to continue making payments up until 30 days before your travel date! You also receive a pin, lanyard, and luggage tag for each person in your party (last time we went, we got cars themed merch as Cars land had just opened.) as well as some coupons and discount cards, such as a discount card for the parks, voucher for one free 5x7 memory photo (which can be a ride photo if you wish!) and an ESPN Zone game card.
We thought about staying in one of the three Disney hotels again, but I decided if I could find a good hotel very close to Disney that we would save our money and stay elsewhere. I decided to stay at Best Western Park Plus Inn. It was well over 1,000 cheaper and with breakfast and free wifi, I couldn't pass up the deal. It is an extremely short walk to the park as it is THE hotel that is LITERALLY right across from the gates. The room doesn't matter to me so much, as I'm there for the time in the parks!
This time our trip is going to special, however, as we have family coming with us! I'm very excited to get the chance to share this special place with my husband's family. We booked our package, however, and an hour later his mother decided she wanted to join and share a room with us! That presented a little problem, as she couldn't book through Disney as she would then have to pay for a separate room! So, with a little sleuthing, I found out how you can add another member to your party, and this is how we did so. (My husband's sister and her partner will be booking their own room, so they will still be able to book their own package on the Disneyland website.)
First, have them book the same flight through the flight provider's website or a third party website if you prefer. Of course this step only applies if they are travelling from the same place or want to travel at the same time. Next, you can order Disneyland Express tickets online at graylineanaheim.com as they are the ones that provide the service to disney and good neighbor hotels! It is $48.00 for a round trip for one person, which is reasonable. Of course, you will only need this step if you weren't planning on renting a car.
And finally, up to that person's discretion, they can order Disneyland tickets online or purchase them from the hotel once they arrive. Most good neighbor hotels sell park tickets at their front desk. I only recommend ordering directly from DISNEYLAND'S website or from a good neighbor hotel in person. Never trust places like ebay or craigslist or someone on the street in Anaheim. You never know if those tickets will actually be valid or previously used.
Once their flight is confirmed, you can either contact Disney or the hotel itself to let them know that you're adding one person to your room. Some additional fees might apply, but I believe that will be up to the hotel to say. Our room already included enough sleeping space for up to 4 people, so it didn't need to be upgraded or changed.
This year is also going to be different because beginning in May is the 60th anniversary celebration of Disneyland Park! I was there for the 50th and I have to say it was very special. They had signage all over the parks saying '50' and I imagine it will be similar for the 60th. I don't recommend visiting before may, because currently the closed ride and experience list is quite long while they prepare for the 60th celebration. There will also be three new shows during this time.
Decor: The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Sleeping beauty castle will 'glisten and gleam' with it's own diamond medallion featuring the letter D." The entire resort will sparkle with Diamond celebration decor and banners in blue.
1. World of Color will re-open with a special new show for the Diamond Celebration. (I will probably cry, as world of color made me cry last time too) Called World Of Color- Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney.
2. In Disneyland park, there will be a new parade called "Paint the Night" A state of the art parade featuring over 1.5 million LED lights! The photos featured Tink, Sulley, and Mack from Cars.
3. At Disneyland park, there will also be a speical fireworks show for the occasion coined 'Disneyland Forever' (hello, Disneyland and fireworks go together, there is no way they would miss the chance to make a crazy cool fireworks show to celebrate!) It will feature pyrotechnics, projections, and 'other effects'. But they do say it will be using the largest projection mapping technology. The photo features concept art of projections on main street buildings, so I imagine the best place to view will be from somewhere on main st.!
The Disney Parks Blog also promises that there will plenty of specialty foods and merchandise during this celebration. I would say if you are debating when to take a trip to Disneyland, it should be between now and this time next year!
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