Day 1 - Friday, July 13, 2001

In celebration of our second wedding anniversary, Kathy and I decided to go back to where our marriage began. So for three fabulous days - July 13, 14 and 15 - we enjoyed the atmosphere and magic of the Disneyland Resort.

This trip had been planned for nearly a year. We knew that we wanted to come back and stay at the Disneyland Hotel again for our anniversary after having enjoyed a weekend there for our first anniversary. We got married at the Disneyland Hotel on July 10, 1999, through arrangements made with Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings. They invited us back to the hotel for our first anniversary by giving us a special rate on a suite and re-creating our wedding night meal, which was delivered to us by room service. Upon leaving the hotel that weekend, Kathy said let's do it again next year. I agreed.

The new Disneyland Hotel sign - We're here!

I waited to make reservations hoping that maybe Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings would invite us with the special rate once again. We wouldn't re-do our meal again but would take advantage of staying in the suite. Alas, no offer came so I figured that I had better make reservations before summer was completely booked, so in February I called and booked our room. We were set to enjoy the weekend in a deluxe room overlooking Downtown Disney with a big, king-sized bed.

After watching our trip countdown make its way to zero on LaughingPlace.com, we were ready for our adventure. I asked my boss if it would be okay if I ducked out of work early on Friday and she graciously suggested that I take the whole day off to get an earlier jump on the weekend. Because of not having to go in to work, I was able to sleep in and it felt so good. When I finally did wake up, I made breakfast for Kathy and me to enjoy. I fried up some lil' smokey links and toasted some blueberry Eggo waffles. Following breakfast, we packed for the weekend - clothes, camera equipment and snacks. After loading up the car, we made our way to the bank.

Part of my anniversary present to Kathy was having her go around the resort and collect pressed pennies from the various machines around the parks and hotels. She had just started getting into pressing pennies this year and would get one every visit. So our trip to the bank was for quarters and pennies so she could do this. After waiting in line, we asked for our plethora of coins. The pennies that we were given had been rolled by other patrons - not the fresh-from-the-mint pennies that I was hoping for. Instead of saying anything or asking for better ones, we just took what we were given, figuring that there'd be enough shiny pennies in these rolls to work.

Our first glimpse of the Disneyland Hotel.

Coins in hand, we jumped back in the car and headed down to the Happiest Place on Earth. It is great to spend time with Kathy and I love the conversations that we share. That's why I wasn't disappointed that we were sitting in somewhat heavy traffic during the middle of a Friday. I was just happy to be sharing the trip with my wife. With the extra time that I had been given by my boss, I was in no rush, knowing that I would wind up at the resort before check-in time anyway.

It wasn't long before we were able to catch the new carpool lane on the 5 Freeway in Orange County, which let us cruise through traffic a lot better. The best part about taking this carpool lane is the ability to exit from it to get to Disneyland without having to get across a bunch of lanes. Just keep to the left and a bridge takes you up and over the freeway. When we crossed Ball Road, it was weird to veer right to the hotel area rather than staying left and entering the Disneyland parking lot.

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