Trip Report: "Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure" Day 1 - Welcome to Disneyland

A lifetime of wishing and dreaming has led to this, Day 1 of the Disney Parks Around The World – A Private Jet Adventure with Adventures by Disney! Check-in days with ABD are usually a little on the calm side, but we already feel like we’ve had quite the adventure and it’s only just begun! Speaking of beginnings, our trip starts with the one that started it all, and to many, still the fairest of them all – Disneyland.

Home for the next 3 nights is Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. We arrived at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport and were greeted by an Adventures by Disney representative, who helped us collect our luggage and delivered us to our private car that would transport us to The Happiest Place on Earth. Upon arrival, we found that not only was our room already available, but we were escorted there by a Cast Member, bypassing the front desk completely.

Our first order of business was checking in with our Adventure Guide team. Our passports were collected for pre-approval (we will get them back before we leave the country), and our Adventure Physician, Dr. Shay, took our COVID rapid tests. While we waited for the results, we got to mingle with some of our fellow travelers and meet the team: Adventure Leader Troy, Assistant Adventure Leaders Julie and Patricio, and Adventure Guides Dean, Michael, and Loz. We also got to spend time with our Adventure Guide, Becky Cline, Director of The Walt Disney Archives.

Our trip includes admission to the theme parks with Lightning Lane access (10 per day per person), so we took a short walk over to Disneyland Park for the afternoon. We will be back in the park with a VIP guide on Tuesday, so we opted for a mix of attractions with short waits in addition to using a few of our Lightning Lane experiences. For those who are curious, this is what we did:

We returned to our room to find a few surprises. Firstly, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Manager Nic Hockman sent a fruit plate, bottled water, and an assortment of sweets.

The trey included macarons, jelly squares, and sugar cookies. One of them had the Adventures by Disney logo, while the other had planet Earth.

From the Adventures by Disney Team, we each received a themed Dual Breeze neck fan, a postcard, and a foldable pin bag for storing our treasures.

Our pin collection is already growing with these two Disneyland Disney100 pins that were also dropped in our room as another surprise.

The first official activity was a Welcome Reception in the convention center, where we were reunited with our guides and got to meet all of our fellow adventurers. Hors d'oeuvres were brought around, as well as glasses of champagne for a toast. We then made our way to Disneyland Park.

Inside the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Theater, Troy gave us an overview of the trip and called out some important milestones within our group, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Adventures by Disney Senior Vice President and General Manager Nancy Schumacher was present to commemorate the occasion. And Becky Cline spoke about the historical significance of the building, which was the first completed at Disneyland and used as the mill for many of the opening day attractions. When The Walt Disney Story was presented in this space, the Walt Disney Archives set up Walt Disney’s office on display in the lobby. Becky shared memories of removing that exhibit, and how special it is that the furniture is now once again back in 3H at The Walt Disney Studios, which we will get to see tomorrow.

Dinner was held in the Opera House lobby, with table settings reflecting the purple and silver color scheme of the Disney100 celebration. An open bar was serving a variety of beverages, including MacMurray Estate Vineyards, founded by the first Disney Legend, Fred MacMurray. The buffet included two salads, couscous, dinner rolls, vegetables, fingerling potatoes, green pea risotto, as well as chicken, beef, and fish.

A trio of desserts featured a chocolate version of the Disney100 medallion found throughout the resort.

As a special unadvertsised surprise, Mickey and Minnie Mouse stopped by in their Disney100 outfits and were available for photos.

As dinner wound down, Dr. Shay celebrated the fact that everybody tested negative for COVID. He mentioned the realities of a 5-day quarantine for anyone who comes down with the virus during the trip and also touched on the possibility of exposure to malaria in India, offering his assistance in procuring an anti-malaria medication before we leave the U.S. for anyone interested.

Dean stood up to share that while most Adventures by Disney tours are mailing pins to Guests, this special trip revives the tradition of giving them out each day. Since there will be 24 of them, so that pin bag will come in handy. This first pin shows Mickey and Minnie checking in at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

Unique to this trip, the back of the pins feature the silhouette of the private jet.

After dinner, we proceeded to the top platform of the Main Street Train Station to enjoy the Disney100 fireworks spectacular Wondrous Journeys. It’s an early day tomorrow, with breakfast starting at 5:30 am before heading to Burbank for a tour of The Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Archives, Marvel Studios, and Walt Disney Animation Studios before returning to the Disneyland Resort for dinner and another nighttime spectacular. If you’re following along on our recaps, I’ll see ya real soon!

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