2009 Laura's Birthday at Disneyland

2009 Laura's Birthday at Disneyland - Page Text Content

S: 2009 Laura's Birthday at Disneyland

BC: Bye Disneyland. Until next time. :)

FC: May-June 2009

1: May 30 - June 4, 2009 Laura's Birthday Disneyland Resort Disney Resorts had a special promotion this year where you received free admission on your birthday. Disney also had a buy 3 days and nights at the parks and hotels get 2 days and nights free. Well, we couldn't resist either of those deals. So, we dropped the dogs off at our vet's boarding and drove our little Prius across the hot desert to the cool ocean breezes in Anaheim. We stayed at the Paradise Pier since we had never stayed there before and went to the parks for 5 days. We had so much fun even with all of the construction going on in Disney's California Adventure (DCA) and on the Grand Californian Hotel. There was even a Food and Wine Festival in DCA. This book shows a picture story of our great trip and one of the best birthdays I have ever had. Enjoy, Laura & Mike

2: Garlic trucks.!

3: The temps dropped from 100 to 75 degrees as we passed Palm Springs | Lots of traffic once we entered the LA area.

5: Here's our hotel, the Paradise Pier. Very nice and quiet, nice views, beautiful landscaping!

6: Fun carpeting and other details in our hotel. Loved the shampoo and lotion bottles in our bathroom. :)

8: Great artwork in our hotel room. The hotel gave me all kinds of treats for my birthday. Yummy Mickey crispy treats, little chocolates, autographed picture of Mickey & Minnie and a cake made from wash cloths.

10: We had an awesome view from our hotel room. The next page shows the view at night.

14: Love the clock in the Grand Californian Hotel. Do you see the Hidden Mickey on the face?

15: Celebrate sign at the entrance of the Grand Californian Hotel. | The offical rose of Disneyland. The top photo is from my yard, another Hidden Mickey. :)

16: We have our tickets, schedules and maps, we're ready to go have some fun First, we headed over to Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel for a character breakfast. This was really fun and not as chaotic as we thought it would be. :)

17: Have a Magical Day!

18: Mike and Laura with Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Belle.

19: They gave me a birthday button to wear and everyone said Happy Birthday. I also received a little birthday cupcake.

20: After breakfast, we walked around the gardens of the Disneyland Hotel.

21: Jacarandas in Phoenix never look this nice.

22: They had a beautiful rose garden and many other tropical plants.

24: Laura in front of topiaries of Pluto, Mickey and Minnie.

26: Celebration Mickey flower design at the front entrance to Disneyland. We took another picture of it on the next morning, but Mickey lost some of his color.

29: Instead of getting a free entrance pass, I decided to get a special Birthday FastPass for 6 rides, Mike got one too. We had so much fun reriding rides and not having to stand in line. Cute Celebration bouquets lined Main Street.

31: We love riding the Sailing Ship Columbia since it doesn't run all the time. Don't touch the canon up front. :)

33: The park was very busy on this Sunday, so all of the Main Street cars and trolleys were running. Fun to watch and ride. | Mickey led the Disneyland Band down Main Street and danced in front of the Railroad Station while the band played.

34: We had lunch at my favorite place, the Pacific Wharf Cafe. They have the best sour- dough bread Yum

36: Interesting plants near the Mullholand Madness ride. | Dinosaur Jack will be replaced with new rides and stands.

37: Lots of construction in California Adventure. This map shows the changes.

38: Sunset on the Parks on my birthday. We had a great dinner at the PCH Grill at the Paradise Pier Hotel. They gave me a little birthday treat too. :) Mike enjoys the night view from our room.

40: Monday we watched Diana Phillips make caramel for her fancy chocolates. | We were given 2 yummy samples too. :)

43: The Sun Wheel is now called Mickey's Fun Wheel.

44: In the afternoon, we attended a beer seminar conducted by Ed the Brewmaster. We received a sample of a Kona ale and one of a Stella lager.

45: Ed was very entertaining and taught us a lot about hops, barley, ales and lagers.

46: In the Disney Animation area we learned about a zoetrope and watched Crush interact with the audience.

47: We found Hidden Mickey's in the murals on the walls and on the tippy top of the Animation building.

48: We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Wine Country Trattoria.

50: Tuesday was Magic Morning at Disneyland and also a new weekly schedule. Enjoyed lots of rides before the regular crowds came in.

51: I finally beat Mike on the Astro Blasters ride, twice. :)

52: We had a great time in Fantasyland. Rode Mr. Toad's ride. | And jumped on the carousel before all of the kids arrived.

53: I rode the horse with the golden tooth. :)

54: You can't go to Disneyland without riding Dumbo. :) The cute little critters below spin around when the ride goes around.

55: We then went over to Toontown and rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin.

56: Had a yummy Dole Whip before watching the Tiki Room Show.

57: Had lunch and a show at the Golden Horeshoe in Frontierland. This is a great spot to relax and cool off. | This group, Laughing Stock, Co., did a funny little skit about a small town mayor who has a rather ugly daughter. :)

59: Love Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Interesting bird near the water. Cute little owl statue near the castle. Pretty roses too.

60: Took a ride on the Main Street Omnibus to get around the crowds. | Great views of Main Street from the top of the Omnibus.

63: This map inside of the Main Street train station shows all of the Disneyland trains.

64: We then took a ride on the new monorail. The windows now open and all of the seating faces outward.

67: Wednesday, we had lunch at Rancho del Zocalo. Love the architecture and decor. Great food too. :)

68: Mixology 123, about mixed drinks. We received 2 alcoholic and 2 non-alcoholic samples. | The Farmer's Market will be replaced by Cars Land in a couple of years.

70: This beautiful mural on the Golden Dreams building will be replaced by The Little Mermaid ride.

73: Today was 8th grade day and I caught this group in Mickey grad caps as we waited for the parade.

74: One last sunset on our last day in the parks. We sure had a great vacation. :)

77: On our last night, we were treated with a special preview of the new summer fireworks show, Magic. The music was fantastic, the fireworks were spectacular, and both Tinkerbell and Dumbo flew through the air in front of the castle. A great ending to a great vacation.

78: Souvenirs | Can't seem to leave empty handed, though a few items are gifts for others. :)

80: First edition, First printing June MMIX (2009) Photos and Layout by Laura Simms Funding partially provided by Mike Simms Thank you to Disneyland Resorts for making Laura's birthday so special. Many apologies once again to our beagle dogs, Charlie & Lucy who had to stay at Palm Glen Animal Hospital boarding for 6 nights.