Hi all! It has been way too long since I have posted. Between taking care of my elderly mother and elderly dog, finishing my Master's degree and applying for doctoral programs plus balancing work and family, time has certainly gotten away from me! We are less than 30 days from our first trip to Disneyland. Coming along with me is DH--who as some people may remember is NOT a Disney fan, but it is a wonderful husband for letting me drag him on all these trips-- and DD, who will be turning 13 in the parks.
August 13th: We have the first flight out of Newark into LAX. LAX was not my first choice but the arrival times coupled with the massive savings pretty much made it a no-brainer. We should get into LA around 10am, so I hope we can get into Anaheim by noon. We decided to use a car service as the shuttles seemed like a giant pain. We are booked at Courtyard Marriott Themepark Entrance, which is basically right across the street from the parks and has a nice waterpark right at the hotel. First day we will head over to the parks; we have a hopper, so we will see where the day takes us. First day I am not planning on purchasing MaxPass, so we will just go with the flow and try to grab FastPasses that are available.
August 14th: We are getting picked up at the hotel for a tour of LA. This was one of my daughter's requests to celebrate her birthday. We will be back around 3pm, so we will grab dinner in the parks.
August 15th: Park day. We do have a Fantasmic dining package booked that night at Blue Bayou. We will be using MaxPass today and on Friday and Saturday as well.
August 16th: We are renting a car today and heading to the beach (either Huntington or Newport). My husband has also requested a stop at In-N-Out Burger. Being from the East Coast, we have never eaten there.
August 17th or the day my daughter officially becomes a teenager 
We will be spending the day in the parks
August 18th: Last day with a 10pm flight out of LAX. Plan on relaxing earlier in the day and then checking out to hit the parks one last time.
Must do's:
PoC
Indiana Jones
Incredicoaster
Guardians of the Galaxy (I will sit that one out)
Radiator Springs Racers
It's a Small World
Monorail
Canal Boats
Snow White
Mr Toad's
AND basically everything else 
I have been struck with how little planning there is when it comes to DL vs. WDW. It actually feels odd to go into the parks with little to no plans and just go where ever we feel.
