Disneyland at Halloween with Friends - October 2024: Day 2

Saturday- 

• Woke up early; got virtual queue for HM; long line for security, through security at 9:00, almost an hour wait
• Haunted Mansion was under construction, but it was open for the Holiday version.  The only way to ride was through a virtual queue.  It opened at 7:00 so we made sure to get up early to get the virtual queue.  We got ours, but the Browne’s were a little later than our number.
• Our plan was to get the park early, but we were a little slow leaving the hotel.  We got to security a little after 8:00 and didn’t get into the park until after 9:00.  We’ve never waited that long in security.  It was a Saturday and I’m not sure we have been on a Saturday before.  
• Churro and Pinocchio- Maeve didn’t like it
• We got in the park and walked toward the castle and stopped at the churro stand for a treat.  
• We headed to Fantasyland and found it was PACKED!!  We started with Pinocchio.  It’s not my favorite, but it’s a slow dark ride with a short line.  It was a good start.  Maeve (the Browne’s oldest, age 5), didn’t like it.
• Carousel - I watched
• Ryan said Fallon (the Browne’s youngest, age 3), wanted to ride the horses.  They all rode the carousel and I watched.  I enjoyed watching and as they were getting off, we saw Peter Pan get on the carousel.
• Haunted Mansion Holiday - so good, a lot of construction. Split from group
• It was time for our Haunted Mansion boarding pass, so we split up from our group.  There were scrims all along the walkway of Haunted Mansion so the line was along the walls and then directly into the Mansion.  It was a pretty short wait.  This is my favorite.  I love Haunted Mansion and the Holiday version with Jack and Sally is done SO well.  This year’s gingerbread house was very impressive.  It was a Frankenstein table where the head rotated and changed.  It was really cool.
• Park is packed!!!
• After HM, we found the park was PACKED.  We decided to stop and eat.
• Red rose taverne - delicious pumpkin cold brew
• We met our group at Red Rose Taverne.  We have found this is a good breakfast stop.  I got a pumpkin cheesecake cold brew with my breakfast sandwich.  The coffee was good, but as it drank it was too sweet and rich.  
• Star Wars land and then Winnie the Pooh
• We walked through Galaxy’s Edge to try and get a cold brew, but they weren’t open yet.  This area was busy as well, but we showed the area to our friends.  Neither of them are Star Wars people, but they throught it was still pretty cool.  After Galaxy’s Edge, we stopped in Critter Country and rode Winnie the Pooh.  It was great for Maeve and Fallon.  It’s a cute fun ride.  The line looked long, but it moved quick.  We saw Santa, Pooh and Tigger meet and greats while we waited in line for the ride.  They were gone by the time we were done.
• We also got to see some of Splash Mountain’s remodel to Tiana.  What we saw looked great.  It was supposed to open around a month after we were there.
• Pirates LL - Browne kids did not like it
• After Winnie the Pooh, we got a Lightning Lane for Pirates of the Caribbean.  We love this ride.  The Browne kids were not sure.  The adults enjoyed it, but the girls did not.  We got a little wet though so that didn’t help.
• HM for Browne’s - no bueno for kids
• Then it was the Browne’s turn to ride Haunted Mansion.  They had told us their girls like the Nightmare Before Christmas, but we found they did not like the ride.  
• Holks - shopping and Mickey bars
• While the Browne’s rode Haunted Mansion, we did some shopping and had Mickey ice cream bars.  We found out they use dry ice to keep them so hard.
• Jungle cruise- not a great skipper, kids did great
• We met up with the rest of our group and went to Adventureland to ride Jungle Cruise.  Ryan and I like dad jokes so this was right up our alley.  I have grown to love this ride and that continued.  This was not our best skipper, but not bad.
• Dole whips
• After Jungle Cruise, we stopped at Tropical Hideaway for a treat.  I was not super hungry but I had a couple bites of Ellie’s Dole Whip.  She got lumpia and baos too.  They did not have souvenir cups and the special sundae was the same from the last trip.
• Corn dogs and baby care stop
• Alli need to go to the baby care center with Fallon so we stopped there next.  The little red wagon corn dogs were next to it and Paula stopped to get corn dogs for the girls and anyone that wanted them.  Fallon destroyed her corn dogs (mainly just the hot dog).
• Popcorn
• We got a Lightning Lane for Runaway Railway so we headed to Toon Town and on the way we stopped for popcorn.  I’m not sure how anyone was still hungry, but the kids were eating constantly.
• Toon Town - play area then Runaway Railway LL - great ride, everyone loved it, Maeve smiled and laughed more than any other time
• The remodeled Toon Town is really cute, but it is VERY busy.  Kids love this area and it’s hard to get them to go to other stuff.  They had a blast at Goofy and Donald’s house play area.
• Meet Mickey- another long experience; said 10 min and took over an hour; got heated because multiple groups cut
• Maeve wanted to meet Mickey and the sign said it was a short wait.  We hesitantly got in line because we had been burned by this line in the past.  The line moved pretty smooth until we got to the room just before the theater and it stopped.  Lisa and I wondered if it was a shift change, but it took a long time.  While we were waiting, quite a few people walked by us to “meet the rest of their group”.  We were pretty annoyed, but the people around us were very annoyed.  At least one family just left.  We probably should have.  The line started moving again and we found there was one cast member at the front of the line directing traffic.  We were the 3-4 family in line when this lady walked past us to talk to the cast member.  She did not speak English so the cast member asked if someone could translate.  The person in front of us translated and we never did understand what she wanted other than to complain about standing in line.  When the door opened for more people to meet Mickey, she took her kid and walked in front of the families she passed to talk to the cast member.  People were pissed.  They started chewing out the cast member, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.  We finally got to meet Mickey and it was classic Mickey outfit. We got some good pictures and the kids enjoyed it.  We ended up waiting close to an hour.  Do not trust this wait time.
• Eat at Plaza Inn - delicious food, good break, everyone enjoyed
• We wanted to eat at the Plaza Inn for dinner.  We went a little early to get in easier and the allow the kids to eat and then go to sleep if they wanted.  The lines were a little confusing, but the food was still delicious.  Their fried chicken dinner is fantastic, especially for a cafeteria style restaurant.  The kids enjoyed it too.  Lisa got the chopped salad as she always does.  The kids like the pasta meal.  Ellie found she could get mashed potatoes as her side for the pasta.  Oh my….
• Shopped on Main Street 
• After dinner, we decided to walk down Main Street and do some shopping.  We found a few things but nothing too exciting.
• Fantasmic and Milenium Falcon
• We stopped in New Orleans square to find a spot to watch Fantasmic, lisa, Alli and Paula stayed to save our spot and Ellie, Grady, Ryan and I rode smuggler’s run - We had a blast; Fantasmic was good but we didn’t have a great spot, They got moved back to the Haunted Mansion store in New Orleans Square, the show was good - Peter Pan instead of Pirates. Maleficent did not turn into the dragon, but she rose up high and shot fireworks; Grady made a comment that he realized they used the sailing ship Columbia for the pirate ship
• Walk back to hotel - headed back to hotel, saw some of the Halloween fireworks - looking forward to seeing them Monday. Full fun day. 
• Don’t touch the bushes, people pee in those! - On the way out of Disneyland walking south, there are bushes on the sides of the sidewalk.  We had heard a mom earlier in the day say “Don’t touch the bushes, people pee in those”.  As we were walking on the sidewalk, we saw a more-than-likely homeless person walk out of some bushes and looked like he had just peed in the bushes.  From then one, we continued to tell the kids to not touch the bushes because we saw someone pee on the bushes.

Fog in the morning and long lines at security

Disneyland fun - Castle and Fantasyland

Haunted Mansion - My favorite!

Star Wars, snacks and more

More fun at Disneyland

Meeting Mickey!

Disneyland at Halloween with Friends - October 2024: Day 1

Friday - 

• Better night sleep; easier getting ready later than 4:00am; forgot a couple things; Grady attitude; made it to the airport; met a very nice guy on bus who is a UMKC recruiter; got to see airport open and in daylight, love the airport; got on plane and saw Michael Lorenzen (Royals pitcher) on plane; good flight, kids did great
• Our flight was at noon, which meant we had time in the morning to finish packing and get ready to go.  I think I am going to look for later flights in the future because I was actually able to sleep soundly and not worry as much about the next day.  We were able to get most of our stuff packed the night before and finish packing in the morning.  I did end up forgetting a couple things, but nothing major.  
• Grady has a little attitude if he doesn’t eat, and this was no exception.  We tried to wait to eat at the airport and that was an issue.  We parked at the Parking Spot with no issues and talked to a very nice college sports recruiter on the bus.  He was a UMKC recruiter, but used to be a recruiter for Texas Tech.  He said he knew Patrick Mahomes from his time at Tech and that they are very nice people.  
• We got to the airport and through security without issues.  We walked toward the gate and stopped to get breakfast food.  We got a couple of coffees and breakfast burritos.  This helped Grady tremendously.  Our group was all there, except Paula, Alli’s mom.  She got to the gate just in time to get on the plane.  Phew!
• When we were waiting to get on the plane, there was a guy and his family who boarded with us in the family boarding.  They sat in front of us.  He looked familiar, but not super familiar.  Lisa asked me if he was a baseball player.  I told her he kind of looked like Michael Lorenzen, who was a pitcher for the Royals.  The Royals had made it to the playoffs and the elimination game was the previous night.  Lisa did some social media digging and found that it was Michael Lorenzen.  We didn’t talk to him, but he was sure in a hurry to get out of KC.
• Flight was great, no issues.  It is so much more enjoyable to travel with older kids who can entertain themselves during the flight.

• Weird Long Beach airport; met the shuttle and had the same driver as last time
• We landed in Long Beach and got to exit the plane from either the front or the back.  Since this airport exits on to ladders and down to the tarmac rather than a stationary walkway.  It was a gorgeous day in sunny California.
• We got through the airport and found the luggage pickup, which is also partially outside.  After we got our bags, we looked for the van to pick us up.  We used Anaheim Town Car service again.  I called for an update and they said the driver would call me.  Almost immediately, I got a call from the driver, who happened to be the same guys from our last trip, Raj.  He was a very nice guy and it looked like we had the same vehicle.  In the Halloween spirit, he had Nightmare Before Christmas playing when we got on.  What a great service!

• Got checked in at hotel. Room is nice but small with no storage
• No issues at check in other than we had to check in a second time later in the trip because we booked part of the stay on points.  No big deal.
• The elevator was kind of a pain, it was slow and small.  Later we found another set of elevators closer to our room, which worked much better.
• The room was nice, but quite small.  I was expecting the rooms to be bigger since it is an older hotel.  It served it’s purpose.

• Paula got a scooter
• Alli’s mom, Paula, has issues walking long distances so we had discussed getting her a scooter for the trip.  Thankfully, they reserved one which was delivered to the hotel.  She picked it up and was able to use it the entire time we were at the hotel.  Worked great both from mobility and logistics.

• Walked through downtown Disney - ate at Jazz Kitchen; delicious, good shrimp and grits, Grady starving and ate steak and shrimp: bananas foster beignets were delicious 
• We walked around the big block to Downtown Disney.  We walked through and found some new additions.  Din Tai Fung was the first new addition we saw (coming from the Disneyland Hotel side).  We tried to eat there, but it was a very long wait.  The Lego store was closed for refurb.  There was a park area open with a bandstand that was nice.  We ended up eating at the new Jazz Kitchen.  It was delicious.  The shrimp and grits were yummy.  Grady got steak, which he ate all of and then ate some of my shrimp.  The portions were huge.  We also got beignets.  One flavor was bananas foster.  They were filled with bananas foster.  So good!

• Shopped at World of Disney and then went back to bed
• After dinner we walked through World of Disney and did some shopping.  Ellie did most of her shopping the first day.  She had the money, found what she wanted and was ready to go.
• It was a good, less stressful travel day.  I think we will do this more often rather than trying to do too much the first day.

Long Beach Airport, Anaheim Town Car Service and flight

Sheraton Park Hotel

Disneyland at Halloween with Friends - October 2024: Planning

 

    We had a great time with all of the Holk’s in January 2024.  One of our best.  We did not plan on going again for a while because we had been so often and we wanted to start going to other places with our kids.  With that said, our good friends said they were planning a trip to Disneyland and the beach in October 2024.  They were asking for help planning their trip and we half jokingly asked if we could go with them and they said yes.  So the planning began.

Time of Year and Hotel

    Our friends wanted to go in October, which worked great for us because that was season we wanted to visit Disneyland.  Our friends had already set their dates, and they were planning on renting a beach house in the San Diego area after going to Disneyland.  We decided we didn’t want to interrupt their entire family vacation and we were short on work time off so we would only going during the Disneyland portion.  We did decide to stay one day longer for an extra park day after they left for the beach.

    We tried to find DVC rental hotels, but there was no availability.  We did find some inexpensive deals on hotels in the area.  One that interested me was the Sheraton Park hotel.  This is one I had wanted to try and we were able to book it for less than $200 per night with Lisa’s HCA discount.

Transportation and Length of Stay

    When we were talking to our friends about the trip, we looked at airfare and Southwest HAPPENED to have a sale going on.  Airafare was not only a great deal, but we were able to use points for about half of our airfare.  For ground transportation to the airport and back, I booked the same company we used in January, Anaheim Town Car Service.  They were great and had reasonable prices.

    Our friends were planning on going to Disneyland for 3 park days.  We had originally thought that would be ok, but then we found we could add a hotel night for free with Marriott points so we decided to stay an extra night for an extra day in the parks.  Our plan was to go to the Halloween party one day so we wanted 3 additional regular park days.   

Park Tickets and Entertainment

   Park tickets were a little different this trip.  We were not sure how many days we were going to the parks because our plan was to go to Oogie Boogie Bash one night.  This was not guaranteed because we needed to get tickets the day they went on sale.  Thankfully we were able to get tickets for the Halloween party.  That was a story in itself because Lisa, Ryan and I were all online when tickets went on sale, but for whatever reason, I was the only one that could get in to buy the tickets.  Thankfully I was able to buy them for our entire group.  Our friends decided to do 2 additional park days and we did 3 (we had a couple of planning gatherings to figure out what we wanted to do).  They had used Genie+ in Disney World and really enjoyed it so we added Lightning Lane Multi Pass for all of our days.  We also added Park Hopper to maximize our time in the parks since we would only have 3 full regular park days and our friends would only have 2.  We were able to find slightly discounted tickets through Lisa’s work so we saved a little to offset some of the additional cost.

    We found out before we left for the trip that several rides might be closed on our trip.  Thankfully Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones and Haunted Mansion will all be open.  Unfortunately, Small World and World of Color will be closed.  We were pretty bummed to hear about Small World because we love it and our friends have small kids so it would have been a good one for them.

Dining

With this being a different group, we weren’t sure how to attack dining.  We were still in the planning process when we got to 60 days out so we made a couple of reservations for just the 4 of us.  We got a Lamplight lunch and a Cafe Orleans dinner.  There are so may fantastic quick serve dining options we don’t really need the fancy dining at Disneyland.  We have found that it is a nice forced break, but it is significantly more expensive.  

Final Thoughts

Planning this trip was a little different because we had not traveled with another family to Disneyland.  They had not been before so we had to rethink how to plan and how to tour.  Normally we plan trips to Disneyland with my family and we are all Disney people.  This was a little different.  We were very excited for the trip and excited to have fun and share the experience with our friends and their kids.  We’re going to Disneyland!!

Disneyland and Southern California - January 2024: Day 7 and Thoughts

Sunday February 4

Slept in til 7:00; got up and packed - We ‘slept in’ a little and packed up.  We met our group downstairs to go to breakfast.

Walked to Pixar place, cute hotel - We all walked to the newly-renovated Pixar Place Hotel.  It used to be Paradise Pier Hotel and shortly before our trip it was reopened as the Pixar Place Hotel.  It was really cute with Pixar theming and a Pixar soundtrack.  We all enjoyed the refreshed look of the hotel and agreed we would like to stay some time.

Breakfast at Great Maple American Eatery; delicious! - We had reservations at the Great Maple American Eatery for breakfast.  It was a nice restaurant, very modern farmhouse.  We were walking through the tables to our spot and noticed the portions were HUGE!  The menu looked delicious.  There were several items I wanted and I decided to get nothing.  Lisa ordered an entree and Ellie ordered an adult entree so I figured there would be enough to share.  My plan worked out great because I got to try almost everyone’s food.  I got to try the ribeye hash, the chilaquiles, the Cajun shrimp biscuit benedict, and they were all delicious.

Walked to World of Disney one last time; Grady got a skin for the spider-bot (black panther)

Anaheim Town Car Service picked us up early; Great service, wonderful vehicle, comfortable seats, even had Disney+ for the kids to watch shows; short drive

Flight delayed - Easy through security - Setup Spider Bot, pretty cool toy

Pixar Pier Hotel

Anaheim Town Car service - Great ride to airport

Flight home

Trip Review and Final Thoughts:

Grand Californian is the best - We have now stayed at the Grand Californian twice and have determined it is the best hotel to stay when going to Disneyland.  It is the most convenient and most comfortable.  We were able to pop in and change clothes if needed or easily take a break or go to the pool without losing more time than it’s worth.  The rooms could use a refresher, but overall, this hotel is the undisputed champion.

Parents on trip - Seemed better with Grand Cal convenience. We were slightly worried about my parents going on the trip because they struggled a little on the last one.  My dad had some issues with speed and stamina, but they seemed to have a better time and were able to keep up better.  I actually think the hotel helped a lot, less extra steps at the beginning and end of the day and more time to rest.  I think it helped all of us, but I think it helped my parents the most.

Worst rental car experience ever - We’ve had some questionable rental car experiences, but this one took the cake.  We couldn’t believe how terrible it was.  From the beginning of not having a van due to a “recall” even though we saw them, to the end of no late drop off, we were not destined for a good rental car experience.  Thankfully, our transportation back to the airport was great.  The craziest part was I contacted Avis after our trip and explained what happened.  The response I received was, sorry for your experience.  They gave zero retribution or sympathy for our experience.  I continue to think of the Seinfeld episode with the rental car reservation, “You know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to HOLD the reservation.”

Club 33 - I still can’t believe we were able to go to Club 33.  To say it was a bucket list experience is an understatement.  Everything about Club 33 exceeded expectations.  The food, the drinks, the service, the atmosphere, the ambiance, the merch, the history, everything was amazing.  And to be in the presence of greatness was an honor.  Spence and I are both aware of Tony Baxter’s resume and know the impact he has had on Disneyland and the Disney parks.  To be in this vaulted setting and sit close to a Disney legend is an honor and a privilege. Thank you so much to the member and friend who were able to make this happen for us.

Tiki drinks and Bengal BBQ - Lisa and I had been to Trader Sam’s in Florida, and it was fine. When we went this time, we had a blast. I don’t know if it was the Disneyland difference or the high we were on after Club 33, but we loved it. The drinks were fun and delicious and the atmosphere was so much fun. We also found Ellie loves Bengal BBQ. She loved it so much that we made a version at home for her birthday. I enjoyed Trader Sam’s so much that I have my own tiki bar setup at home and at the lake. We found some recipes online and they are quite delicious. We’ve had some fun making them this summer.

Genie+ - In DIsneyland, Genie+ is basically the same as MaxPass, which we loved.  It is significantly more expensive than MaxPass and that is the big detractor.  We have found we are able to do more with Genie+, review our last day in the parks from this trip.  But, one drawback is it will drive you to hike across the park more frequently rather than just tour the parks.  When using Genie+ you generally look for the earlies return time, which may not be the closest attraction to your current location.  This is not always a big issue, but it could be.

Kids more accustomed to travel and Disney parks - Overall, the kids we great.  There was a Grady meltdown (we’ll never eat at Carnation Cafe with him again), but they did great.  They are really becoming experienced travelers and they love and understand the Disney parks.  Ellie has certain snacks and rides she want to do and she had really taken to shopping.  Grady loves his rides and snacks and want to look at droids, lightsabers and Spider-bots.  Grady still likes the character meetings, but Ellie has pretty much grown out of them.  They are fun to travel and go to Disneyland with.

Nice to go with family group - I enjoy going on trips with the four of us, but it is also fun to go with others.  My family is a Disney family, we grew up going to Disney World every year.  Now we take our family.  We all have a love and passion for Disney so it makes it fun to travel there together.  We also enjoy having others as a buffer and the option to separate.  We all travel together very well.  We have heard stories about families traveling and not getting along, but thankfully we do not have that problem.

Overall, this was a great trip.  We had a wonderful time and enjoyed our time together in an amazing location.  We will be back, I’m sure, and that is a good thing.

Disneyland and Southern California - January 2024: Day 6

Saturday February 3

Up early, coffee at Starbucks - On our last day, we got it down.  We were all down stairs, at the security stand and we were second in line to go through security.  We got through quickly and decided to stop at Starbucks for coffee in Downtown Disney.  We got through the entry gates pretty easily too.

Walk on Snow White and Pinocchio - We made it down Main Street and were near the front of rope drop for the early entry group.  We were able to walk on to Snow White and Pinocchio.  Snow White is one of the best dark rides in the park and shows what they could do with Pinocchio, it is really showing it’s age.

Peter Pan was down, but we saw it open when we walked out of Pinocchio- short wait before rope drop - Before we got on Pinocchio, we saw that Peter Pan was down.  When we got off the ride, we found Peter Pan was just reopening, so we hoped in line.  It was a relatively short wait.  Good timing!!

Genie+ - We decided to add Genie+ to our day to allow us to get as many rides done as possible.

Matterhorn LL - Our first lightning lane with Genie+ was the Matterhorn.  This is a fun ride and the fast pass wait makes it much more tolerable.

Big Thunder LL - After the Matterhorn, we got a lightning lane pass for Big Thunder Mountain.  So much fun with the kids.  Ellie has always loved it and it is growing on Grady.

Progressive breakfast - started with chimichangas; mom, dad, Spence and Crosby had Jolly Holiday; then we had waffle Cristo and beignets from Royal Street Veranda - Since it was the last day, several of us had food option to check off of their list.  I tried to not over order because I never knew how the kids would eat, but they LOVED the breakfast chimichangas.  Lisa wanted the Waffle Cristo and beignets, which were good too.

Pirates - got really wet - After breakfast, we found Pirates had a relatively short wait.  For some reason, we got really wet on this ride.  We got done and our pants were really wet and shirts were a little wet.

Dole Whips and Tiki Room - We then went to see the Tiki birds for Josie.  She loves this show and dances through it.  We got Dole Whips before so we could eat them durning the show.  So good!

Jungle Cruise - same skipper - We then did the Jungle Cruise and had the same skipper from the previous day.  She was really good.  So funny!

Star Tours LL - We got another lightning lane pass for Star Tours

Indy LL - Then got a lightning lane pass for Indiana Jones.

Split off from group - We had different plans for the day, so we split up from the group.  We were ready for lunch so we decided on Tiana’s Palace.

Tiana’s Palace for lunch - shrimp and grits, muffuletta and Mac & cheese - yummy, we met Tiana too - We wanted to eat at Tiana’s because it was new to this trip.  Lisa got shrimp and grits, I got a muffuletta sandwich and Grady got Mac & cheese.  Ellie wanted something else.  It was really good.  They did a good job updating it from the French Market.  And we got to meet Tiana, she was walking around greeting everyone and making sure her food was up to par.  

Ellie had Bengal BBQ again - her new favorite - Ellie wanted Bengal BBQ.  She found she loves this place.  We stopped and got her food after we were done at Tiana’s.

Walk to DCA - After lunch, we decided to California Adventure

Guardians LL - Ellie and Grady did it, Grady did not like it, it gave Ellie a bellyache - We got a lightning lane pass for Guardians.  Lisa and I love this ride, but the kids don’t.  They decided to go on it with us and neither of them liked it.  Dang.

Avengers Campus and Spider-Man show - We walked through Avenger Campus and watched the Spider-Man show. It is so cool.

Soarin’ LL - Josie had wrong shoes - We got a lightning lane pass for Soarin’ and Josie was very excited because she got to ride it before.  This time she was too short to ride.  My brother realized she had different shoes on the previous day and now was shorter.  She was really upset.  We all still went on it and had a good time.

Churros and parade - After Soarin’, we went back to Disneyland to see the parade.  We got there in time to find a spot in Town Square, close to the churro cart.  This worked out great because we had a good place to watch the parade and we got churros.  Such a good parade.  Josie loved it, she danced and waved the whole time.

Pictures at Castle - We hadn’t done family pictures so with Genie+ we got PhotoPass included.  We found a spot close to the castle and got some good pictures of the group.

Castle Walkthrough - We decided to go to Galaxy’s Edge for a lightning lane and stopped at the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.  We all enjoy this and are glad it’s in the castle.

Smuggler’s run LL - Next was our lightning lane pass for Smuggler’s Run.  We were glad to ride, but realized it was a long walk from where we were.

Dinner at Plaza Inn - delicious - We walked back to the hub and ate at the Plaza Inn.  We really enjoy this restaurant and try to eat here every trip.  The fried chicken is amazing.  Lisa like the chop salad.  The kids get pasta.

Started to sprinkle and radar looked bad; decided to head back to hotel; fireworks still went but we were done. Legs and feet were toast. - After dinner, it started to sprinkle.  We didn’t want to leave, but we were done.  So tired and our legs and feet were done.

Walked through Downtown Disney a little. - We walked through a couple stores in Downtown Disney, but I was done.  I waited for them close to the hotel entrance.

Bedtime before 10:00; saw fireworks from room - We got back to the room and got ready for bed.  We heard some loud booms and found we could see the tops of the fireworks from our room.  Pretty cool ending.

Disneyland Fun!!

Avengers Campus and Disneyland fun

Magic Happens!!

Family pictures and Castle Walkthrough

Disneyland and Southern California - January 2024: Day 5

Friday February 2

Another early morning; kids were really slow moving; 2nd group in line at security - Even though we were slow moving, we were near the front of the line at security for the California Adventure entrance.  We were pretty excited to be that close to the front.

Got in to park and walked through empty park to Avenger’s Campus - After security, we were standing at the rope before opening.  Once the park opened, we went to Avenger’s Campus.  It was really cool to see the park with no one in it.  We got to Avenger’s Campus and I took a picture of my mom walking by the Spider-Man show area and she was the only person there.

Webslingers - We walked on to Webslingers with no wait.  This is such a fun ride and it gets better the older the kids get.  Grady loves this one!

Radiator Springs Racers - won again; Grady loved it - Next we went to Carsland because the park hadn’t opened yet and we wanted to get on Radiator Springs Racers before the crowd got there.  Such a fun ride.  We all love it and now that Grady is big enough, he loves it too.

Incredicoaster- Grady just barely big enough; he didn’t like it; a lot of fun though - Next we did the Incredicoaster with a very short wait.  Grady wanted to try it because he was just barely tall enough.  He did not like it; it was a little too much for him.  The rest of us loved it and we hyped it up for Grady so he would still have a good experience.

Cookie Nom Nom’s and Carousel - begrudgingly got kids to go on carousel - The cousins were getting cookie nom nom’s and churros so I went to ride Jessi’s Critter Carousel.  The kids didn’t want to do it, but I wanted to ride it with them.

Group waiting for Toy Story Midway Mania to reopen - Ellie and Zack go on Incredicoaster - so much fun - Toy Story Mania was closed, but we heard it was about to reopen so the group wanted to ride it.  Ellie wanted to ride the Incredicoaster so I told her I would ride with her.  She loves that ride so much and she is a blast to ride with.  We had a great time!

Brunch at Lamplight - delicious but took a long time - We took a little longer than expected to ride the Incredicoaster so we ended up meeting our group at the table to eat at Lamplight for lunch.  We had a little trouble getting seated together (we were told to ask early, but it didn’t make a difference).  We also found the service was very slow, nice and friendly, but slow.  The food and drinks were delicious, but the service was slow.

Family pictures, walked around DCA and then rest time at hotel - After brunch, we took some pictures in front of the fun wheel then went back to the hotel to rest a little.  The kids were getting a little rowdy.

Back to Disneyland for Magic Happens parade - great parade! - We got ready and made it to Disneyland in time to see the Magic Happens parade.  I had heard good things about this parade and it exceeded the expectations.  This was a really cool parade with the floats, characters and great music.

Shopped Main Street - We walked through the shops on Main Street before heading to Adventureland.

Jungle cruise - great skipper! Scare away hippos like last 5 relationships, I love you, let’s get married, let’s open a joint checking account! - We decided to ride the Jungle Cruise.  We have had fantastic skippers in California, and this one did not disappoint.  She was amazing.  She was very sarcastic and dry and had some great jokes.  I little like Amy Schumer in delivery.

Treehouse - After the Jungle Cruise, we want to go through the newly updated Adventureland Treehouse.  It is based on Swiss Family Robinson, but it is not exactly the same.  It is a really cool treehouse, but not a make or break for a Disney trip.

Parade while waiting for dinner - better closer and at night - We went to check in at Carnation Cafe for dinner and got to watch the parade go by while waiting.  It was cool to see the parade transition to a nighttime parade with lights and effects added.

Dinner at Carnation cafe - good dinner, not great, sandwiches and salad - We ate at Carnation Cafe.  We were hoping to sit inside, but we sat out.  We ate with the 4 of us and my parents.  The others wanted to eat somewhere else.  Grady was starting to meltdown and wouldn’t just calm down.  Dinner was fine, but I was not in a great mood because of Grady’s behavior (reminded me of one of our trips where we bailed on this restaurant because of him).  He was better at dinner, but back at it after.  The food was fine, but not exciting.

Grady asleep in stroller; hung out in Star Wars land - We got Grady to calm down and lay down in the stroller.  Our plan was to meet my brother’s family in Galaxy’s Edge so we had a long walk to get him to sleep.  It worked!  Thank goodness.  We got to Galaxy’s Edge and walked around and hung out.

Watched Mix Magic fireworks - SO good!! - We wanted to see fireworks with Mickey’s Mix Magic show and it did not disappoint.  We love this show and the fireworks are an added bonus.  It was more fun because the kids got into it, dancing and singing along.

World of Disney and bedtime - After fireworks, we headed back to the hotel, stopping in the World of Disney (Ellie wanted to shop).

Morning fun at DCA

Toy Story Mania and Lamplight Lounge

Family pictures!!

Ironman and Ears!

Magic Happens parade!  So good!

Jungle Cruise and Adventureland Treehouse

Grady finally took a nap!

Disneyland and Southern California - January 2024: Day 4

Thursday February 1

Rainy day, slept in a little, G-“the parks should have been closed today” - We woke up the next morning to find it was raining.  We slept in a little because people to not rush into the parks in the rain..  At one point Grady said, “the parks should have closed today”.

Bundled up and headed for parks. Grady got wet, raincoat not great; kids wanted to go back to hotel; Galactic Grill - dry but not great food - When we reached the security entrance to Downtown Disney, we found it was pouring rain.  We all got our rain gear out and bundled up.  Some worked better than others.  It rained so much that it started seeping through rain coats.  We found that Ellie and Grady’s gear was not good enough.  Grady was soaked.  He stayed under the stroller cover to stay dry, which it didn’t fit the stroller very well.  We got into the park and went to Galactic Grill for breakfast.  We were out of the rain, but the food wasn’t very good.  The kids were done.  They were cold and wet and wanted to go back to the hotel.  There were no lines for rides so we talked the kids into staying.  

Star Tours - We started with Star Tours because it was close and inside.  Surprisingly, it was not super warm, but it was dry.  We had a good time on this ride.  And to make it better, Grady was the spy!!

Buzz - Next we rode Buzz Lightyear.  It was also inside, but there was no line so it didn’t take long.

Runaway Railway - so cute, great queue - We found there was no line at Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Toon Town, so we headed that way.  We got a little wet on the way, but the rain started to let up when we got there.  We had ridden this ride at Walt Disney World, but the facade and queue were completely different.  It was the El Capitoon Theater and there were “props” from Mickey cartoons.  It was sooo cute.  We enjoyed the ride.  I would have liked to have seen more of the queue, but there was no line. After the ride, we got Ellie a really cute raincoat because she was wet and freezing.

Star Wars - cold brew and Rise of the Resistance; Grady was mesmerized  - After Toon Town, we found Rise of the Resistance did not have a very long line so we headed to Galaxy’s Edge.  We mobile ordered a cold brew and got in line.  I went with the boys and they loved it.  Grady was in awe and looked like he was in a trance.  He loved it.

Winnie the Pooh and candy - dark chocolate marshmallow like old Tigger Tail - Next we rode Winnie the Pooh, Josie couldn’t ride Rise of the Resistance so she was looking forward to Winnie the Pooh.  It is really cute.  We then went into Pooh’s Corner and I found a dark chocolate marshmallow wand.  It was delicious, very similar to the old style Tigger Tails.  Ellie got a Rice Krispie Treat.

Snack at Bengal BBQ - Ellie loved it! - We were still hungry and we were walking through Adventureland so we got a snack at Bengal BBQ.  Ellie was obsessed.  I had to go back and get more for her.  We found a new favorite snack for her.

Tropical Hideaway - pork Bao, lumpia and chili-mango dole whip - Delicious!! - I was still hungry after our Bengal BBQ snack so we stopped at Tropical Hideaway for a snack.  The bao was delicious.  Lisa loved the pineapple lumpia and I tried the chili-mango dole whip.  It was good, but a little weird.  It was also huge.

Indiana Jones - Grady so excited; he was unsure most of the way and then at the end had a hesitant thumbs up. Then we asked him and he said ‘ten million thumbs up!’ - Before our trip, Grady found he really liked the Indiana Jones movies.  He has watched all (except Temple of Doom) and at one point wanted to be Indy for Halloween.  He was very excited to go on the ride.  There were serval spots he looked scared, but in the end, he loved it!

Shopping, flag retreat and walk back to hotel - After Indy, we decided to walk back to the hotel.  We needed to get ready for dinner and World of Color at DCA.  We walked through the shops on Main Street and happened to be at the hub in time to see the flag retreat.  This is a treat to see anytime you are at Disneyland.  My parents were very impressed, especially since dad is a veteran.  After the flag retreat, we walked back to the hotel.

Dropped off rain gear; changed in to warm gear - We had dried out, but it was supposed to be chilly.  Lisa really bundled up.  

Dinner at Wine Country Trattoria- good not great, got WoC package - We had booked dinner at Wine Country Trattoria to get reserved tickets for World of Color.  Dinner was ok.  The options were not great.  We were also outside so most of us were freezing.  

Part of group shopped; part rode Mater - After dinner, we split up.  Some of us went to ride Mater, others went shopping.  I was with the shopping group.  We didn’t have a lot of time before World of Color.

Rode Ariel, Ellie asked to ride with me; I sang some; we had fun - We had a little extra time after we were done shopping and decided to ride the Little Mermaid.  I got to ride with Ellie.  She “loves” this because I get to sing all of the songs to her.  She loves and hates it; I love it!

World of Color - found our area for the dining package tickets; great spot/view; like the show, don’t love it; Ellie almost fell asleep, Grady almost fell asleep but the Star Wars part brought him back - World of Color is one of my favorite things at Disneyland.  I was very excited to see the new version of the show titled “World of Color ONE”.  Overall, it was good.  It did not have the emotional strings of the previous version, but it was good.  It had sections with Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars.  I understand they tried to include more IP’s, but it wasn’t quite the same.

Short walk back to hotel; lobby gift shop; bedtime (took kids a long time to go to sleep) - Such a great feeling to know that after World of Color it is only a 5 minute walk back to the hotel when staying at the Grand Californian.  We stopped in the lobby gift shop (I got a Tervis cup) and then went back to the room for bed.

A very wet morning at Disneyland

More rain at Disneyland

Sweets after the rain went away!

World of Color!!