We went to Walt Disney World in Florida this February. It was an impulse buy as we had heard the parks were not super busy and there were good deals. Part of that was true. We had a great rate at the Contemporary and enjoyed our stay there, but the parks were packed and there were parts of the trip that really made us miss Disneyland. The first thing we did when we got home was think about going back to Disneyland. I started looking at hotels right after we got home and I found some great deals because Disneyland was not reopened from their COVID closure. I went ahead and booked the hotel, just in case we decided to go. Marriott has a great cancellation policy.
The furthest out I could look when I booked the hotel was December, and that worked great because we loved being at Disneyland for the holidays. I booked December 5th through 11th. I did have another reservation for the 5th through the 12th, but we decided to not add the extra day. We went back and forth on getting an annual pass, and when the Magic Key was released we decided against it for cost and for number of park reservation days. Because of this, we went with the 5 day park hopper instead of Magic Key
As usual, we will be flying Southwest to California. The airports will be a bit different though. The times and prices were not great for our dates roundtrip through either LAX or John Wayne. We ended up on a morning non-stop to LAX on the way there and then home from Long Beach airport. We have not been to Long Beach, so this will be a little different.
Like previous trips, we have decided to rent a car for the first and last day to explore the area. I was able to book the rental cars before the prices skyrocketed. My parents went to Yellowstone this summer and my dad said he saw week long Suburban rentals for around $1,000 per day.
We are bringing Ellie's car seat since it is a small booster, but we are going to try renting a car seat from Alamo for Grady. We will see how this goes.
In order to save some money and for flexibility, we decided to not rent DVC points for the Grand Californian. When I booked the hotel, Disneyland was not open, and we did not know when they would open. I booked December assuming they would reopen by then, and they opened April 30, 2021. I found a reservation at the Residence Inn next to eh convention center and one at the Courtyard on Harbor. These are both great hotels and we have stayed at both of them. They were both great rates too. After we decided to go, we needed to decide which reservation to use. The Residence Inn is great and their rooms have 2 rooms. There is enough space, but there is 1 bathroom and only a king size bed and a pull out sofa. After our trip to Disney World where Lisa and I had a bed, Ellie had a bed and Grady had a bed, we were concerned if this would be the best setup. The Courtyard room I booked has a king size bed and bunk beds in 2 different ends of the room so we all get our own bed and own space. The bathroom is larger with a shower and a tub shower. This will help us get ready either for bed or in the morning. Both hotels are close, but the Courtyard is closer and there is a good view of Disneyland from the balcony. We decided to keep the Courtyard reservation and cancel the Residence Inn reservation. Hopefully we made the right decision.
Food was one of the biggest problems we had a Disney World. There were not enough restaurants open and the parks closed at dinner time so we ended up eating dinner at the hotel most nights. We waited on food a lot and there was not a large variety like normal. To add another twist to our upcoming trip, we decided to change our eating habits and we are eating mainly plant-based food now. We are looking forward to all of the plant-based options we have seen on the menus at Disneyland. We have a few reservations, but most of the time we are going to eat quick service to maximize our park time.
This is a Christmas time trip, so we are also very much looking forward to the holiday treats at Disneyland. The gingerbread and peppermint inspired treats are delicious. We were VERY disappointed by the treats at Disney World on our last trip, so hopefully they will be back at full strength in Disneyland.
Entertainment:
We have not decided our plan for the first day. Our flight arrives at 9:30am so we have most of the day to do something. The next 5 days we will be at the Disneyland Resort. We purchased park hoppers so we can switch parks after 1:00pm.
One of the big reason I want to get back to Disneyland is for Avengers Campus. I have become a big Marvel fan and our son Grady loves superheros too. We can't wait to take him there to see and meet the superheros. He is going to freak out. I can't wait.
Another big change is MaxPass and FastPass have been cancelled. Disney World has started the new Genie+ as the replacement, but Disneyland has not implemented it yet. If we don't have it, our strategy will change a lot because it will be like the old days of going to the parks without any type of FastPass.
Final Thoughts:
We didn't decide for sure that we were going on this trip until we purchased the park tickets, which was at the end of September. After that we wanted to surprise the kids and tell them in a clever way. We decided to wait until we decorated for Christmas and put packages under the tree that told them they were going. Three of the presents had paper in them that said, "We are", "going to", and "Disneyland". Ellie is old enough that she can read and her reaction was great when she figured it out. We just did it this weekend and they were SO excited. They have not stopped talking about it since we told them. This was the first surprise that worked. We are all now SUPER excited for this trip. The kids are at great ages (Ellie is 7 and Grady is 3). We took Ellie to Disneyland over Christmas in 2017 when she was 3. It was the best trip. We didn't have to deal with the baby stuff as much and she was old enough toe ENJOY it. We leave in 3 weeks and it's gonna be here before we know it.
