Southern California January 2017 - Day 6: Disneyland & Napa Rose

Wednesday night was rough.  Ellie woke up 2-3 times between 1:00am and 2:00am.  After going back to sleep, my alarm was set for 6:50am and she woke up at 6:45am.  Darn.  We got up, got ready and went straight to Disneyland.  We decided to use our Magic Morning (early entry into 1 park with a multi-day ticket) for Disneyland.  The park opened an hour early so we got there around 8:30 for the 9:00 rope drop.  We had to wait a little for the turnstiles to open and then wait a little bit for the rope drop.  Only parts of the park are open early for the Magic Morning, including Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.  Our goal was to do as many rides in Fantasyland as we could before the crowd showed up.  

We started with taking a couple pictures in front of the castle and then going to Fantasyland.  We rode Dumbo first, which Ellie loved.  While we were waiting for Dumbo, Ellie was pretty excited.  She told us, "I want to ride Dumbo.  People get off."  It was cute.  She loved riding Dumbo.  When you ask her what rides she like, Dumbo always comes up.  The crowd started to fill in by the time we were done with Dumbo.  We rode Snow White’s Scary Adventures, which Ellie said was too dark.  At the end of Snow White she told us, "I like Snow White.  No like witches."  Then we waited 45 minutes for Peter Pan.  The line moved which was good, but it was a long time.  This was the longest wait we had the entire trip.  Ellie did surprisingly well in the line too.  She liked Peter Pan.  After Peter Pan, we asked her if she liked it and she said yes, but "Peter Pan need to turn the light on."  By this time, the park had officially opened and the crowd had showed up.  Mr. Toad and Alice were very long waits so we decided to leave Fantasyland

We went to see which Princesses were at Fantasy Faire and the line was an hour so we skipped it.  We then went by Rancho Zocala and had breakfast.  It was ok.  Lisa had a breakfast burrito, which was pretty good and I got a Mickey pancake to split with Ellie (and of course she didn't eat any of it, just my bacon).  After that, we walked to New Orleans Square and rode Haunted Mansion, which Ellie was ok with.  She liked Halloween so we prepped her by telling her it was a Halloween type ride, and she was ok with that.  Then we rode Pooh in Critter Country, which she loved.  She really liked Tigger and Pooh.  We then went back to New Orleans Square to get Mickey Beignets and a Mint Julep.  The beignets were good, not great, and I wasn't a huge fan of the julep.  Lisa liked it though.  We then went back to Fantasy Faire to check on the princesses.

The line was only 30 minutes, so we waited.  Ellie got to see Snow White, Ariel, and Cinderella.  She had a blast.  She walked right up to each of them.  Snow White and Cinderella walked with her.  Snow White was first and after her turn was done, she walked Ellie to see Ariel and she wouldn’t let go of Snow White’s hand.  It was so cute.  She wanted to walk with the characters and go to do it here.

After the princesses, we went through the Sleeping Beauty Cast walk through.  This was pretty cool  There are dioramas in the castle of the story of Sleeping Beauty.  Lisa really liked it because Sleeping Beauty is her favorite.  We also went to the Christmas shop, which was right next to it.  We found a couple ornaments and they had some cool Sleeping Beauty decor in the store.

Then we tried to go to Nemo, but we started to have a meltdown.  We got her down in the stroller and soon she was asleep.  Lisa and I walked down Main Street and did some shopping while she napped.  We also went to Adventureland and got Bengal BBQ skewers and a Dole Whip float.  Yummy.  Ellie woke up soon and we headed out of the park.  We stopped at DCA so I could buy a shirt and then went to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Napa Rose.

We fed Ellie while we were getting ready because we knew she wouldn’t eat.  We walked to the restaurant, which Ellie walked all the way.  Napa Rose was one of our goals for the trip.  This is the premiere restaurant at Disneyland and Lisa and I really wanted to eat there.  We had both read wonderful things about the restaurant.  Napa Rose is in the Grand Californian hotel so we got to walk around the hotel a little more too.  The food and service was amazing and Ellie did great.  We didn’t order her anything, but she entertained herself and had dessert with us.  She even tried the truffle mac and cheese, but didn’t like it.
 

Here is what we ordered:

Zack – Mushroom Bisque, Short Ribs and Truffle Mac N Cheese

Lisa – Butternut Squash Soup, Monkfish, and Best Ever Hot Chocolate

Ellie – Vanilla Ice Cream

After dinner, we walked through a couple of shops in Downtown Disney to finalize our shopping.  Then we headed back to the room.  It was overall a pretty darn good day.

Southern California January 2017 - Day 5: California Adventure

The next morning, Ellie woke us up at 6:00.  She didn't sleep very well the night before.  Lisa was up with her at 2:00.  We got up around 7:00 and got ready.  Breakfast was in the hotel again (started to get old at this point).  Our destination today was California Adventure.

Ellie was done before we got to the park.

We headed to the park around 9:30 making it to DCA around 9:45.  Since she hadn't slept well the night before and got up early, Ellie fell asleep in the stroller on the walk to the park.  She slept until around 11:00.  In the meantime, we tried to get a Fast Pass for Radiator Springs Racers and the ride was shutdown.  It ended up being shutdown for the whole day.  So we went to get a Fast Pass for Soarin’, but not until 11:15.  Soarin' was packed (probably because Radiator Springs was closed).  Soarin' actually shutdown for part of the day as well.  We walked around to find the Olaf Meet N Greet (which was next to the Monsters Inc rice) and then headed back to Soarin’ to get ready for our Fast Pass.  Just as we got there, Ellie woke up.  We had found Olaf would be at his spot around 11:00 so we walked back there.  We met Olaf and also Nick Wylde from Zootopia.  Ellie loved seeing both of them, especially Olaf.  After that, Lisa went to use her Fast Pass for Soarin’ and Ellie and I rode Monsters Inc.  Our plan was for Lisa to use her Fast Pass and I would ride something with Ellie and then we would switch (hopefully before lunch at noon).  Ellie did so great on the Monsters Inc ride.  Lisa said Soarin’ was the same as Disney World.  It took us a little longer than we thought so we instead met at the restaurant for lunch.

Nick Wylde from Zootopia

She was so excited to see Olaf

Lunch was at Carthay Circle.  The restaurant was really cool.  It looked very similar to the Brown Derby in Disney World.  It is based on the Carthay Circle Theater, which is where Snow White premiered.  The food was delicious, and they had Lasseter wine by the glass, so I had to have that (so good).  Lisa had steak, truffle, and mushroom ravioli and I had beef tri tip with blue cheese risotto.  They were great.  Ellie was not.  She did great until the food got there and then made a hell of a mess and was a pain in the butt.  There was butter and ketchup everywhere.  The waitress actually told Ellie she would bring her a dessert if she ate her food, and of course Ellie listened to her and ate a little bit.  She brought an Olaf treat for Ellie, which she liked (but didn't eat much of it).  We also got the World of Color package which gave us a better spot to see World of Color (more on that later).  Another thing about this restaurant is the portions were huge, especially for lunch.  The World of Color package is a fixed price 3 course meal.  Lisa and I could have split 1, but we each had to order it to get the package.  We also ordered food for Ellie.  She got grilled chicken with broccoli and fruit.  It was huge.  There was enough food for several meals for her.  It would have been too much food for me (and I'm a good eater).

Steak, truffle, and mushroom raviolis

Tri-tip steak with blue cheese risotto

Ellie's Olaf Treat

After lunch we tried to go see Anna and Elsa, but the line was crazy and the bear was back so instead we went back to the hotel to take a nap.  Guess who wouldn’t go to sleep?  Yep, the bear.  We gave it a good hour to hour and a half and gave up.  Ellie had a snack of hot dog, fruit snack and popcorn (she finished the tub today).  We decided to head back to the park and try to see the Frozen show at DCA.

The show was at 5:30 and we left the hotel around 5:00.  We made it in time, but sat at the very top.  This theater was huge.  It was probably similar to the Music Hall in Kansas City.  Ellie loved it.  She was singing along and constantly asking about Anna and Elsa and Olaf.  Every time one of them would leave the stage, she would ask where they went.  She had her tub of popcorn next to her for half the show.  Ellie started to get antsy at the end, so we left just before the end of the show because Ellie had to pee pee.  When we left, we realized the show was over an hour long.  That is a long show and a really long time for Ellie to stay in one place.  She and I went to the restroom and Lisa went to get in line for Anna & Elsa.  We found Lisa close to the front of the line and we waited maybe 15 min (the line after lunch would have been over an hour).  The closer we got, the more excited Ellie got.  We were next to see them, I was holding her back and when they told her she was next, she took off and immediately hugged both of them.  It was awesome and they were great with her.  They knelt down to her level, talked to her about her hair and how cute she was.  It was great.  Ellie loved it.  After that we did Turtle Talk with Crush, which was fine (too advanced for Ellie) and the Socerer’s Workshop, which was not too exciting.

So excited to see Anna & Elsa

Ellie in awe

Beast's Library

Next we headed to see World of Color.  We had seen it the night before from an ok view and thought it was really cool, so we were pretty excited to see it from a reserved area.  We found spots and they were great:  Mid-level, center right.  Perfect.  Not many people around us either.  Ellie made a friend with a kid similar age to her who had a Mickey bubble wand.  They had fun.  Lisa and I ate corn dogs from Corn Dog Castle (Lisa's was a regular corn dog, and mine was a hot link corn dog.  They were yummy).  Ellie had to go to the bathroom twice, which caused she and Lisa to miss the first couple minutes.  We waited about 45 minutes for the show to start.  It was fantastic.  Ellie liked it too.  It took her a while to get into it, but when she did, she liked it.  It is probably the best show at a Disney park in North America.  Last stop, bedtime.  Ellie fell asleep in the stroller and didn’t wake up while we changed her into her pj’s.  Tomorrow, back to Disneyland.

Daddy and Ellie watching World of Color

Flames during the Pirates section of World of Color

Mickey in World of Color

Done

Southern California January 2017 - Day 4: Disneyland / California Adventure

The next morning we got up around 7:30am.  We didn't sleep well that night.  Ellie woke up several times through the night.  We weren't really sure why though.  We got ready and ate breakfast at the hotel.  After breakfast, we headed to Disneyland.  This was our first full day at the Disney parks so we were pretty excited.  Rope drop was at 10:00am, but we heard they would let people in to Main Street at 9:30.  We got there shortly after 9:30 and first took pictures in front of the train station and Mickey flower arrangement.  Then we went until the train tracks to the square on Main Street.  As we were walking through the square we noticed there were characters just hanging out in the square.  We decided to stop and take pictures with Minnie first.  Ellie loved it.  The other characters around were Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Daisy.  It was crazy because there weren't crazy lines and everyone just orderly lined up to take a picture and they moved on.  It was really cool.  After Minnie, we were gonna see Mickey, but the line was pretty long so we went to Goofy.  After Goofy, the characters left all of sudden.  Someone said they would leave and be back in about 5 minutes, and they were.  They all came back together.  Goofy was skipping through the square holding 2 little kids hands.  Ellie saw that and said she wanted to walk with all of the characters (she actually said that about every character through the trip).  So once they were back, we went to see Donald and then Mickey.  We also got pictures taken at the beginning of Main Street thinking it would be us with Main Street and the castle in the background.  It didn't work because the castle is too small.

First morning in Disneyland

Ready for the park and waiting to see Minnie

Loved seeing Minnie

Donald was fun.  He even quacked.

Looking good with Mickey

Family picture on Main Street.  Where is the castle?

After seeing all of the characters, we had a plan to either do Fast Passes with rider swap so Lisa and I could both ride the bigger rides, or use the single rider lines.  We started with Matterhorn.  Lisa stodd in line and it went pretty quick.  Ellie and I walked around and we got Fast Passes for Space Mountain for after lunch.  Lisa got a rider swap ticket for me.  It worked pretty good.  I presented the ticket after she went and I got to skip the line.  The Matterhorn was pretty cool.  The Yeti in it was a little scary.  It is an older roller coaster that Walt developed.  I thought it was similar to Big Thunder, but through the Matterhorn mountain.  After that, we rode the Tea Cups because it was next to the Matterhorn.  We waited about 20 min to ride it.  Ellie loved the tea cups.  It was a lot of fun with the 3 of us.  Disneyland's tea cups are also uncovered so it feels much more open than Disney World's.  We were gonna ride Alice in Wonderland after the tea cups, but the line was pretty long and we had lunch reservations at Cafe Orleans for noon so we headed to New Orleans Square.

Rider Swap was a nice option for our trip

Legacy Fast Passes (good and bad)

Just couldn't wait to ride the tea cups

Family picture before the Tea Cups

Riding the Tea Cups.  Loved it!

New Orleans Square is really cool.  I have never been to New Orleans, but Lisa said it was similar.  Disney World has Liberty Square instead, but New Orleans Square is bigger with much more to do.  We found Cafe Orleans, checked in and waited a couple minutes for our table.  There was a pirate/bayou band playing not far from the restaurant so we watched them while we waited.  I also found the entrance to Club 33 while we waited (I'm not gonna say where though).  We got our table and were close to the kitchen.  That place was busy.  I got the Monte Cristo (I felt I had to because it is their signature dish and everyone raves about it).  Lisa got a salad and gumbo and Ellie got mac & cheese.  Elle ate some mac & cheese and most of her broccoli that came with it.  Lisa enjoyed her salad and gumbo (it was a lot of food).  The Monte Cristo is a croque monsieur deep fried like a beignet.  It sounds disgusting but was amazing.  It was sooooo good.  The portions were huge at this restaurant though.  None of us finished our food.

The famed Monte Cristo - Yummy!

After lunch we rode Pirate's because it is in New Orleans Square (not Adventureland).  We only waited about 15 minutes.  It was cool.  The queue line was a little different and the ride was longer.  We liked it.  We then went to use our Space Mountain Fast Passes.  Lisa went first and I waited with Ellie.  Lisa loved it and said I had to ride it.  It was Star Wars themed and she is not a Star Wars fan so I was surprised.  By the time she got done, my Fast Pass was expired.  I didn't think much of it, but when I went to turn it in, I was declined.  I was not very happy.  (We found out a couple days later what our mistake was, but I was not happy at the time)

We tried to get Ellie to take a nap so we walked through part of Disneyland and decided to walk to California Adventure since we had not been there and we wanted to see what it was like.  On the way, Ellie was really close to falling asleep except she kept seeing characters walking around and would wake up.  When we got to California Adventure (DCA), the entrance is very similar to Hollywood Studios in Orlando and the first area is very similar to the Studios also.  There was a Trolley show going on when we walked it and Mickey was part of it, so Ellie was wide awake by then.  We watched that and then started to walk around.  The first thing Ellie saw she wanted was popcorn.  We bought her the bucket of popcorn thinking it would last a while.  She loved it.  She held and carried that bucket everywhere.  She ate about half of the bucket that day.  We started off taking a left at the Carthay Circle and found the Monsters Inc ride.  Ellie loves Mike and Sully.  It was only about a 10 minute wait so we got it line.  That ride was so cute and Ellie loved it.  We decided Disney World needs to add it or a version of it.

Ellie and her popcorn bucket

Ellie's favorite ride - Monster's Inc

After Mike and Sully we decided to explore the park.  We walked to Bug's Land and Ellie fell asleep on the walk through there.  We then walked to Cars Land.  This area is really cool.  It looks exactly like the movie.  The main ride is Radiator Springs Racers, which is similar to EPCOT in Orlando.  The line is typically 90 minutes, but when we walked through the single rider line was only 20 minutes so I gave it a shot.  Lisa waited with Ellie.  I waited and waited and there were a couple announcements that said there was some trouble, but the line kep moving.  I was about 10 people from getting on the ride and they shut down the entire ride.  Darn it.  I walked out (along with everyone else) and Ellie was awake eating ice cream with Lisa.  She hadn't napped very long and was pretty crabby.  We walked to Pacific Wharf and then to Paradise Pier.  Lisa and I got Fast Passes for California Screamin' and I went first.  I was told the single rider line was faster than Fast Pass.  So I went to single rider and found there a ride was not guaranteed where a Fast Pass they put you on the ride no matter what.  So I went back to the Fast Pass line.  It ended up being a little faster than the single rider.  While I was in line, I was getting text messages from Lisa saying that she was done with Ellie.  The bear was back.  Great....The roller coaster was funny, but not the greatest.  It does go upside down though.  Ellie and Lisa rode the carousel while I rode California Screamin'.  After that, Lisa went on it and I took Ellie.  She was being a bear.  She wanted to walk, but there were a lot of people there.  We made it passed Toy Story Mania and I let her walk.  We walked all the way around the lagoon.  It is a pretty area with quite a few attractions, most of them Disney versions of carnival rides though.  Lisa met us at the Little Mermaid ride.  We rode that with Ellie.  It was only a 5 minute wait.  It is a cute ride.  The same one in the new part of Fantasyland in Orlando.  Ellie really liked it.

Cars Land at sunset

Cars Land at dusk

DCA at dusk

Riding the carousel with momma

DCA at dark

Riding the Little Mermaid ride

Then it was time for dinner.  We went back to Cars Land and ate at Flo's V8 Cafe.  It was delicious.  Ellie and I split the roasted chicken dinner and Lisa got a roast beef sandwich.  Really good.  After dinner, we were done (mainly done with Ellie).  We headed to Downtown Disney to get a sweet snack.  I got a chocolate covered s'mores sandwich and a Mickey rice krispy treat.  The s'mores treat we ate immediately.  We then headed back toward Harbor blvd to go back to the hotel (we found that way was faster than through all of Downtown Disney and then south).  When we got to the esplanade, I realized I didn't have my phone.  Oh sh$#!!  The last time I remembered having it was setting it on the table at the restaurant during dinner.  We went back there and it was gone.  One of the waitresses asked me if we checked lost and found or Find My iPhone.  I had not checked either.  I used Lisa phone to Find My iPhone and thankfully it was enabled on my phone and it showed my phone was at lost and found.  We went there and on the way, Ellie fell asleep.  Thank god.  I walked in and told them about my phone.  They asked me several questions about the phone, being very thorough (I was impressed).  They had it.  Thank goodness.

Since we were in the park, it was almost time for World of Color and Ellie was asleep so we stayed.  We walked through the shops and then went back to the lagoon to watch the show.  We got there just in time and there wasn't a great place to stand.  We ended up filling in the Fast Pass area because it wasn't full.  We were on the bridge going from the Little Mermaid ride to Ariel's Grotto.  Not too bad of a spot, but not great.  Regardless of the spot, the show was fantastic.  This was probably my highlight of the trip.  It is a water fountain, video projection, laser and fire show.  It was phenomenal.  The way they use lights, colors and lasers with water is incredible.  The best part was we had plans to see it again from a better location (more to come on that).

DCA Post World of Color

After the show, we left and walked back to the hotel.  When we got there, Ellie barely woke up to put her pajamas on.  She went right to bed and back to sleep.