There are certain marks that you know make you a true Disney freak fan… hopefully some of you are with me on this one.

I cry when I drive away from the resort at the end of my vacation… back to the airport, back to reality.  I start planning my next Disney vacation the day after I get back from my Disney vacation.  And I am plagued by the post-Disney blues.  Oh goodness, do I ever have the post-Disney blues.

So, in order to beat the blues and hopefully move on to the Disney vacation planning joy… I’m sharing my trip with all of you.  This might be a long one, so sit back and pretend you’re watching the summer vacation slide show with your relatives, but it will be more fun than that, I promise!

One of my favorite traditions on any Disneyland trip is our first stop at the Carnation Cafe for breakfast or lunch.  This trip was no exception and our first meal was wonderful.  There is something very special about the Carnation… I have memories of going there when I was little and watching the parade pass down Main Street from the little wrought iron tables.  The Carnation is one of those things about Disney that is fully immersive.  I know nothing of reality when I am tucked away under a little red and white umbrella, sipping hot cocoa and eating a Mickey Mouse waffle.

I haven’t been to Disneyland since they opened the new Pixie Hollow and I absolutely couldn’t wait for this new experience.  I couldn’t believe that I was going to be able to meet Tinker Bell… honestly this was something on my “Bucket List” of things to do before I die.  Pixie Hollow was amazing.  On our second day in the park, we explored this little piece of Fantasyland at night, after the fairies had gone to sleep.  The special Disney details here were amazing… little fairy homes on the banks of the ponds, homes for all of the main characters in the Tinker Bell Movie, and brilliant twinkling lights sprinkled through the trees like pixie dust.

Day Three was the big day… I met Tinker Bell 🙂  She was just as fabulous as I had hoped… full of spunk, but sweet, and willing to put up with a late-20’s fan who wanted a hug 🙂  I also met Iridessa, who was so beautiful and really sweet as well.  Pixie Hollow was truly a magical place.  Disney has the meet and greet set up really well so that each group has individual time with the fairies and PhotoPass Photographers are on hand to capture the memories as well as character handlers who are happy to take photos with your personal camera as well.  I came out from meeting Tink with a huge smile and such a wonderful happy feeling… the kind that only Disney can create.

We stayed at the Paradise Pier Hotel for the first time on this trip and I was very pleased… I will have a larger review of the hotel in another post.  We also went to the Lilo and Stitch Character Breakfast at the hotel’s PCH Grill for the first time and it was really great.  These characters were really amazing!  Stitch spent the better portion of our breakfast time at our table, begging for a sip of my coffee and promising that it wouldn’t make him wild.  He was a really great character and even brought Lilo in on the fun, trying to tell her that he could be trusted to drink my coffee.  It is truly amazing to me how much emotion the characters can portray without ever saying a word.  I had a great time with Stitch and he made the experience really special for me.  I was a little nervous about the breakfast to be honest… my little puppy that I lost last year, was affectionately nicknamed Stitch because she was such a terror.  Thankfully this Stitch made me forget about being sad at all.

The rest of my trip was a combination of the D23 Expo and spending a little time in the parks.  I will definitely post updates about the expo later, but it was a truly amazing experience.  These were just a few of the highlights from my trip… there is so much more to tell.  It was so wonderful, it’s no wonder that I have such a case of the post-Disney blues.

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