Disneyland: The plotting continues

I am no Disney Pro. I've been to Disney World once and Disneyland once. Both as a teenager. And both times I thoroughly enjoyed myself and have nothing but magical memories. But as the above mentioned teenager status would imply, I was not in charge of the planning. I was "along for the ride' so to speak and as our upcoming vacation is now 50 days away (I am so excited!!!), I'm a little overwhelmed (in a good way, if that's possible) with all of the research.

Disney can be expensive, especially Disneyland. There is blog after blog detailing how to save money, what to do, what to skip, where to stay, how to travel. And I can pretty much promise you I have read them all. They were definitely helpful and I've kept some of those tips in mind. But... this is our first family trip, we are doing it up right. I fully recognize that not every Disney vacation can be this way but this first one with my little men (and the bigger man, of course!) will be something to remember forever. In my last post, I talked a bit about the Disneyland Hotel and why we've chosen to stay there. I've scoured YouTube video tours and Disney sites trying to find as much information as possible and here is what I've gleamed: 

There are 3 towers; the Adventure, the Fantasy and the Frontier. These are listed in preferential order as well. The Adventure tower is closest to the park, houses the most suites and if you are paying for a park view, has the best ones. It is also home to the crazy awesome, magical, signature suites! And while we are not staying in one of those (it would be amazing, though!) we have booked a 1 Bedroom suite and have requested the Adventure tower. Which is the best you can do. Request. And hope... you better believe I am praying about it too!

We believe in the power of the suite! Always. When we travel. I believe it is always worth the extra money. Why? Well because I don't go to bed as early as my children. The hubby and I like to talk or watch a movie, have a glass of wine or a beer, and decompress. And if you are sharing a room with a 5 year old and a 3 year old, well that is just next to impossible. So, suites.

The Fantasy tower is the main tower where you check in. You can also upgrade any room to the Club Level (Concierge Service) which allows you access to the "Club" which has amenities such as: a continental breakfast, snacks including fresh fruit and drinks all day, wine and appetizers in the evening and a special fireworks view. The actual location is in the Adventure tower so I can see how if your room is located in one of the other towers it wouldn't be very convenient. But it is pricey. Really pricey. And since we upgraded to a suite with plenty of room for our own snacks and breakfast food, I just couldn't justify the expense.

And what's almost as important as where we are staying? What we are wearing!!! You better believe every single day is planned out. Etsy and the Disney Store are constantly open on my computer screen. And while my gut reaction was matching shirts for every single day, the likelihood of my hubby actually doing that and not teasing me incessantly is zilch so I had to get a bit more creative. You know what helped? Disney purchased Star Wars.

So for our last day we are wearing matching shirts with the help of the awesome Etsy artist, Mr. Joes Printables. I'm making these myself.You simply purchase the image and then print it onto whatever you'd like to use it for, in my case, iron-on transfer paper. And I love this option because it means I get to use my favorite Old Navy Vintage T-Shirt in white. Oh how I love these T's!!! Another post for another time. Trust me, when I'm finished you will get to see the final product.

And my hubby found this awesome mash-up of Monsters Inc. and Star Wars on Society 6. Go hubby!

Note: The above picture is NOT my husband but I seriously thought it was. As in somewhere out there my hubby has a doppleganger who not only looks so much like him, his own wife thought he had some website she'd never heard of, but said doppleganger is also into Star Wars! It's a small world people, seriously.

After our trip I'll detail all the awesome Etsy artists and websites who helped make our trip wardrobe perfect in my trip report.

So my endless lists and outlines and Excel spreadsheets continue. Stay tuned for my Disneyland Dining Guide and my Packing Lists (which will include all of the websites that have been invaluable to me). Also look for my Road Trip Survival guide to be posted soon, as those summer family road trip months are quickly approaching!