Taking A Year To Plan our 2005 Disney Vacation - July 2004

Leanne loves to plan Disneyland Vacations: almost as much as she enjoys visiting Disneyland itself. She is also very good at it. It helps that she spent 15 years as a Travel Agent. This article is an in-depth, personal look of how she planned our June 2005 Disneyland vacation… which started the day after returning from our July 2004 Disneyland vacation. This article is very long and will be updated continually until we take our trip. A more condensed version can be found at: Planning your Disney Vacation - Our 2005 Planning A general Disneyland Planning Guide can be found at: Planning your Disney Vacation

Table of Contents

July 2004
November 2004
January 2005
February 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
June 2005 - Part 2
June 2005 - Part 3


The Vacation is Over - Trip Report


Our 2005 Disney Vacation Itinerary

July 2004

If you are obsessive/compulsive about Disney Vacation, you are not alone! While I can be obsessive in other areas of my life, this OCD problem is at its worst when planning a Disney Vacation, or when I see a Disney product that I MUST have. Read on, laugh, cry, and understand that I really am a normal person. Except for Disney.

We had not even been back from our 2004 Disney trip, including San Diego, when I started preparations for our 2005 trip.

The 2005 trip is one I had planned in my mind for years, being a serious Disney Freak, there was no way I was going to miss the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland. Having a child in 2002 did not even dim the need to be at Disneyland in 2005. Lucky for me, my son also loves Disney.

In 2004, knowing we would be going in 2005, and doing the 'deluxe' route, we wanted to keep this trip on the inexpensive side. We stayed at Howard Johnson Anaheim, which I highly recommend. The room was large, great view of Disneyland's Matterhorn, the hotel staff was absolutely wonderful. It was clean, and perfect for a nice, inexpensive hotel. It was also walking distance to Disneyland. About 10 minutes, even with the stroller, which is the same time it takes to get from the Disneyland Entrance to the Disney Hotel (trust me, I did time the walk both directions).

Normally, we stay at the Disney Hotels, but once again, we were trying to save for the big trip in 2005. So, after arriving home on June 27th 2004, I immediately started thinking about 2005.

I really wanted to be at Disneyland on the 17th of July, but the crowds had me worried, so we decided on late June again, which is perfect timing for us. Summer hours are in effect, so all the entertainment is up and running, and the parks are opened late.

On July 12, 2005, Disney began a promotion, available online only for the 50th Anniversary package. This package was very restrictive. Only 3 nights at one of the resort hotels, no additions could be made. A Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour, and for me, the one thing I had to have: a 50th Anniversary Commemorative Clock. So, after checking with my husband on the dates of the LPGA US Open, to be held in Denver in 2005, I settled on my dates. That very day, I booked our reservation for 2005. We would be at the Grand Californian for 3 nights, and more importantly, I would get my clock. I then added a 4th night by calling the Grand Californian directly, and we were set.

Oh no. One tiny little problem with the reservation I had settled on. We only had 3-day park hoppers. Well, that was just unacceptable, so here begins my research into getting an Annual Pass, and the pro's and con's of that versus just purchasing a one-day ticket. Knowing that I had several months to decide, I checked with friends on laughingplace.com and got their advice, and decided to wait until January before doing anything, knowing that if we DID go to Disneyland twice in 2005, the second time would be in November or December, so if we did get Annual Passes, we didn't want to get them before then. Oh, and of course there was the little problem with activating them, since you have to be at Disneyland to do it!

So, armed with this information, and with the knowledge that we were going to drive this time after the fiasco we just went through with flying, I knew I had done everything I could do for now.

Next >>


July 2004
November 2004
January 2005
February 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
June 2005 - Part 2
June 2005 - Part 3


The Vacation is Over - Trip Report


Our 2005 Disney Vacation Itinerary

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