Disneyland and Southern California for Christmas 2022 - Planning

Our last trip to Disneyland was last Christmas.  We had a BLAST!  After our trip, my brother started planning his next trip.  We ended up piggybacking on their trip and this is what we ended up with.  As usual, it started with hotel accommodations.

When and Length of Stay:

My brother's original plan was to plan a trip around Halloween.  He wanted to actually start the trip on or around Halloween so he could see Halloween decorations and some of the Christmas decorations.  He got my parents on board and they started looking for hotels.  The more they talked about it, the more we wanted to go, so we jumped on board too.  Due to issues finding a hotel (see Accommodations for details), we ended up changing our time of year from Halloween to December and full Christmas time.

We have found a week is a great amount of time to be in California and enjoy Disneyland.  We will be in LA/Anaheim from Sunday to Saturday.

Transportation: 

We waited until Southwest brought their fares out to look at airline tickets.  I found an option through Southwest, but my dad found another option for a non-stop that was cheaper on Delta.  We ended up booking it for the flight to California.  We stayed with Southwest for the flight home through John Wayne Airport.  We really enjoy this airport and its proximity to Disneyland.  I'm very excited for my dad to experience it.  I think he will enjoy it.  My brother's family is flying home on a different airline.

We weren't exactly sure what to do for ground transportation.  My brother wanted to go straight to Disney property, but I wanted them to experience other parts of southern California (more on this in Entertainment).  We decided to do some sightseeing the first day.  I wasn't sure what to do to get all 11 of us in vehicles.  I decided on 2 minivans.  We are hoping all of us will fit with all of our luggage.  We will have the 2 minivans to drive around LA and then get us to the hotel then drop off the cars at the infamous Alamo rent a car off of Katella Ave.  For the last day, we found a transportation service called Lansky we are going to try.  They had very good reviews and were significantly cheaper than the Worldwide Chauffeur service.  

Accommodations:

This was the driving force of our trip.  The trip started with my brother's family and my parents going to Disneyland for Halloween and they wanted to stay at the Grand Californian.  They had a heck of a time finding a DVC rental for the time of year they wanted at the Grand Californian and never did get a reservation.  I mentioned trying to go for Christmas and I started looking into it.  When I started looking, we were then on board for the trip as well.  I couldn't find a DVC rental option for the Grand Californian for us in the entire month of December.  We were looking 7 months ahead and nothing was available.  At that point, everyone really wanted to go to Disneyland for Christmas so we looked at other options.  The best I could find was the Courtyard Theme Park Entrance that we stayed at last year.  We were excited because we really like this hotel.  The rest of my family is very hesitant because we always stay on Disney property at Disney World and the 2 times we have gone with my brother's family and the 1 time my parents went, we stayed at a Disney hotel.  This is going to be a little different for them, but I think they are still going to enjoy it.

Food:

We love the food at Disneyland.  The snacks are the best.  The food is so much better than our last trip to Disney World.  On this trip, we have a couple reservations, but most meals will be quick service meals.  We are for sure going to get the shawarma from Avenger's Campus.  We missed it last time and are going to make sure we try it this time.  Lisa's can't miss is the Adorable Snow Monster in DCA.  They have a lemon Dole Whip and she keeps missing it.  The Festival of Holidays looks delicious too.

On our last trip, we tried to eat vegetarian as much as we could.  We had no problem finding food to fit our diet and it was all delicious.  We are expecting the same this time.  In some cases the plant-based option was better than the meat option.

Entertainment:

For the most part, we will be at Disneyland.  We have 5 day park hoppers.  We are not sure if we are going to use Genie+, but I'm sure we'll use it at least one day.  On our first day though, Lisa and I wanted to go to the La Brea Tar Pits and the Academy Awards Museum.  I brought these up to the rest of our group and we got a lot of push back.  My dad did not want to do either of them.  My mom really wants to go to the Academy Awards Museum though.  Because of that, my dad started looking into the Tar Pits and found it is not what he remembered from 30+ years ago.  After he looked into it, he was very excited.  We have enjoyed our adventures around LA and this should be another good one.

Final Thoughts:

We are 2 days away from our trip while I'm typing this and we are super excited.  The kids can't wait.  We did do a surprise this time, so they've known since we started planning.  It's been good and not-so-good with them knowing the entire time.  They have started counting down the days for several weeks.  The rest of our group is very excited as well.  My brother and I have been texting a bunch about it.  

I can't wait for my family to see Disneyland at Christmas.  I think my mom is going to love it.  Disneyland does a great job at Christmastime and I think our entire group is going to love it.  I can't wait for my brother to see Haunted Mansion Holiday and Avenger's Campus.  They haven't been to Avenger's Campus either and he and I are huge Marvel fans.  Grady is really in to Star Wars right now (especially The Mandalorian and Grogu) so he is going to love Galaxy's Edge and the Mandalorian is a walk around character carrying Grogu.  He is going to freakout.  He says he wants to try Rise of the Resistance so we will se how it goes.  We are interested to see how Grady does on the bigger rides.  He was hit or miss on our last trip so I hope he enjoys them more this time.  Ellie is ready to go.  She is planning on shopping and riding the big rides.  

It's going to be a great trip and we can't wait.  We leave in 30 hours!!

Ramsey Family Beach Vacation - Spring 2022

For years, we have talked about taking a beach vacation with Lisa's family.  It finally happened.  The whole Ramsey clan rented a beach house and spent most of a week at Navarre beach in Florida.  Lisa's parents drove from Arkansas.  We flew from Kansas City and Lisa’s brother and his girlfriend flew from the Denver area.  We had a blast.  I had reservations about a beach vacation because you don’t “do” anything.  We had so much fun and all of my reservations about a beach vacation are now gone.  Here is what we did on our trip.

 

Day 1 -

Early flight

Tiny fast airport – The Pensacola airport was pretty easy to get in an out of.  We could tell it had been built before 2001 because there were several areas that were adjusted for security issues.

Fancy car – We had rented a full-size car, but I decided to upgrade to a Genesis.  It was pretty nice and fun to drive.

Stopped at military blockade – We drove around Pensacola sightseeing because we were earlier than the rest of our group.  We thought we would check out the military museum and lighthouse.  When we got there, there was a blockade and we were directed to turnaround since we did not have military clearance.  It was kind of funny in hindsight and the MP we talked to was very nice and understanding.

Drove around exploring

Ate at The Reef - pretty good – We explored the island of Navarre beach and found the west side was like Osage Beach at the lake of the Ozarks.  It was a little crazy, but there were a few spots to eat.  Lunch was ok.

Went to Turtle conservation - met Sweet Pea the rescue turtle – The kids loved this.

Dive beach store - lot of junk

Met rest of family at Dollar Tree and grocery store - everyone had a different idea and plan for the food/drink

Finally got to go to house, great space, right on the beach

Walked on beach, kids had a BLAST

Cleaned up and went to dinner - Slippery Mermaid, took a really long time, REALLY delicious

 

Day 2

Woke up early - kids found Easter baskets

Coffee on deck while kids play

Kids went to beach with G&G; Easter bunny came while playing

Had fun finding eggs around house and in the sand

Beach fun - boogie boards and sandcastles

Pizza lunch

Bought fishing supplies - rest time and relaxing fishing

Dinner at Broussards - largest oysters ever; yummy Cajun food, kids destroyed their chicken fingers and were a hoot at dinner

Came back to house - Lisa, Dale, Tyler and Zack played cards - the kids got tired and went to bed on their own / by themselves; stormed last night, tornado warnings but none spotted and wasn’t strong enough for a tornado; terrible coverage

 

Day 3

Slept better and longer

Made breakfast at house

Beach fun - more boogie boards and football fun

Lunch and nap time - Lisa and I went back out after lunch by ourselves, the kids napped

Paddle ball and raft

Searched for shells - Tyler found Sand Fleas, Dale found a crab

Built a sandcastle - someone stopped by and took a picture

Fished - caught a pompano

Dinner at Dewey Destin’s - yummy food and fancy drinks

Uno and bedtime - the kids put themselves to bed again

 

Day 4

Slept even better and even longer

Breakfast at house

Went to pier, fished off pier, saw some fish, a turtle, and a Ray in the water - great people watching

Went to shop for souvenirs

Lunch at house

Beach fun - paddle ball, seashells, raft, tent today, family time

Dinner at East Bay Crab House - felt like going back in time, pretty good seafood

Packing and bedtime

 

Day 5

Didn’t sleep well, got up a little earlier to pack

Drove to Pensacola to see the Blue Angels - they were great, and the kids loved it

Drove to PNS - through some traffic - dropped off car (Lisa fell down, she’s ok) - got to gate with enough time for a bagel snack

Short flight - pretty easy

Looong layover in Atlanta 4.5 hours - ended up having a decent time; explored 3 terminals, the international was the best, I got left at the train station, Grady was a bear now and then (2nd say no nap); ate dinner at Pei Wei and The Varsity

Flight home was good, kids did really well on all flights this trip

Made it home - Grady talked in the car almost all the way home until he stopped talking and was asleep

 

Takeaways

I enjoyed the beach more than I thought. Helped to have a bigger fun group to do stuff with

Dale wanted to do it all and got all of the toys - he goes all out on vacation

The kids LOVED it - they loved all parts of it

I did not like Pensacola and the area around the beach house was ok. Not as much to do around the beach, which allowed us to have more time and fun at the beach

Still mixed on Airbnb

Kids are becoming good travelers - Ellie and I explored the international terminal, and it was fun to talk about places I’ve been and where places are and where she wants to go.

House was great for this trip and this group - the setup/location

Lisa 2 cents - wants to go more often and loved being in a house ON the beach

Food was hit or miss - we really liked sushi at the Slippery Mermaid; the others were ok

Disneyland and Southern California for Christmas 2021 - Day 7 and Thoughts

Grand Californian's Gingerbread House

Day 7

• Slept in a little - good night sleep - We must have all been tired because no one got up early or quickly.  We got up and packed all of our stuff.  We had a lot to pack, but we got it all done.  We had to be creative in a couple cases.
• Packed and walked to downtown Disney / La Brea bakery and world of Disney - After we got packed, we walked to Downtown Disney for breakfast and shopping.  We ate at La Brea Bakery.  It was really good.  Then we went to the World of Disney for some last minute shopping.  We went to a couple other shops and then it was time to go.
• Alamo debacle; Used Uber - We walked the long way around the block to Alamo on the south side of property.  I had made a reservation months ago so I walked up to pick up our SUV.  I went to open the door and it was locked.  I checked the hours on the door and they were normal hours so I didn't understand why the door was locked.  I found the employee door was open so I peeked my head in.  I got the attention of the lady behind the desk and told I had a reservation and needed to pickup our car.  She said they didn't have any cars and had just rented the last car.  I asked what I was supposed to do since I had a reservation.  She said the reservation would be canceled and we would not be charged.  I said that doesn't help me get to the airport.  She said she was sorry.  I asked if there was anything else they could do and she said no.  That was it.  There was no help whatsoever.  She was trying to close the doors as fast as possible to get out of there.  I could not believe it.  I was SO PISSED!!.  I kept it together because I didn't want to set a bad example in front of the kids, but I wanted to scream and cus.  It was the worst customer service experience I've had in a very long time.  We have used Alamo for almost all of our trips, but I'm not sure I'll use them again.  We had to figure out another option so we looked for Ubers and were able to find one.  We walked back to the hotel and met the Uber car there.  This was an experience too.  We didn't have a car seat for Grady, so we put him on Ellie's booster and Ellie rode without one.  Not the best option, but it was fine.  The van we were in felt like it was gonna fall apart and the windows were open all the way.  Not my favorite ride, but we made it.
• Long Beach Airport so weird - The Long Beach airport was only about 20+ minutes away so we didn't have to go too far thankfully.  We got there and it looked like a bunch of office buildings and then all of sudden we were there.  It felt like an old style private airport.  We walked in and it felt like an old bus terminal.  We checked in and dropped our bags off then went to security.  To get to security, you walk outside and then back in.  This building was more modern, but still strange.  After security, we went back outside, but only kind of.  It felt like a modern, contemporary, California park or backyard that could have been a club at night.  Then we went inside to what looked like a typical airport terminal, but it was at ground level.  We walked on the tarmac to the ramp and then walked up on the plane.  This was the strangest airport experience I've ever had.  It went fine and we got through security and on the plane, but it was very strange.
• Good flight - We had a pretty good flight.  The kids were occupied most of the flight.  
• Ate at Moe’s in Dallas - We changed planes in Dallas.  It was late so most places were closing in the airport.  We found a Moe's Mexican restaurant.  It was actually very yummy and the lady making our food was very friendly and personable.  This came in handy because Ellie wanted another taco and since we were friendly with her, she stayed open to make Ellie more food.  It was very nice of her to do.
• Chiefs - Raiders interaction - We were waiting to board at the gate and almost everyone flying to Kansas City was wearing Chiefs apparel.  As people showed up to the gate, several Raiders fans showed up and got the Chiefs fans riled up.  It was all friendly, but kind of funny.  No one got upset and it was friendly sportsman chatter.
• Grady - if we crash into water, we get water chutes- he said while reading the safety packet - We boarded the plane and Grady decided to read the safety packet on the plane.  He was telling us what to do if anything happened.  It was really kind of funny because the 3 year old figured out what it meant and what to do.  We made it home without a problem with one more new experience.  We got our luggage and we were worried the kids would fall asleep in the car without being ready for bed.  Thankfully most of the people had left because the kids started changing clothes in the middle of the baggage claim area.  It was pretty ridiculous.  It worked because they did fall asleep on the way home and we just took them to bed.  Silly kids.

Letters to Santa and Breakfast

Fun at the Grand Californian

Long Beach Airport

Flight to Dallas

Flight to KCI and home sweet home

Final Thoughts:

• Christmas - This was our 2nd trip to Disneyland at Christmas time.  We have found that we love the decorations and the atmosphere during Christmas.  The music, the decorations and even the overlays are wonderful additions to both parks and the entire resort.  My wife and kids think Small World Holiday is worth the trip and I would go just for Haunted Mansion Holiday.  The treats were great as well.  A nice mixture of gingerbread and peppermint versions of our favorite treats and snacks.
• Grady Ups and Downs - Overall, the kids were great and we had a great trip.  Grady was 3.5 years old at the time of our trip and had some toddler moments.  These were expected, but we had trouble feeding him at the right time several days.  We also didn't know what to expect for attractions with him. We found that he didn't handle the big ones as well as Ellie did at his age or as well as we expected.  This made our park touring plans a little less flexible.
• Genie+ - On past trips, we loved using MaxPass.  It was a great system to use FastPass and maximize our park time.  Disney announced a new system called Genie+ before we left.  The system started while we were there.  Disney does not have a good track record for rolling out new technology and this was no different.  We didn't get to use it the first day because it was down.  We did get to use it our last park day and it worked very similar to MaxPass.  The interface is not great and it was a little clunky.  We were able to use it and get on rides as we wanted.  It also included PhotoPass which was a great perk.  Overall the system worked for our needs, but it could use some improvements.
• Crowds - We had hoped crowds would be lower and reports from weeks prior to our trip were low.  Overall crowds were not terrible.  They were a little higher than expected, but we managed them pretty well.  We were able to do almost everything we wanted.  As usual, Friday got busy, but the other days were ok and lines were not super long.  We waited in two lines for an hour, but the other lines were no longer than 30 minutes.
• Alamo Rent A Car - This was our biggest headache of the trip.  As well as it went to get my phone back, it went just as bad to get a car to take to the airport.  We have had some service issues during the pandemic, but nothing like this.  Not only did they not have any cars, they did not help us in any way and they were closing the location.  I couldn't believe it.  Seems from a customer service perspective, they should have stayed open to help customers, even though didn't have cars.  They could have directed people to other locations or contacted other locations to find out if they could get a car.  Nope, nothing like that.  I was so mad.  It was not worth making a scene because they were not going to help.  I also wanted to set an example for the kids and throwing a fit was not the appropriate thing to do.  We found another way to the airport and it worked out.  When we got home, I made sure we were not charged then I contacted Alamo.  They were very apologetic and gave me a free day for a future reservation.  It wasn't much but I wanted them to know how terrible the service was.
• Avengers Campus - This was the biggest surprise of the trip.  I am a HUGE Marvel fan and had some expectations, but tempered them because it is only the first phase of the land.  It was unexpectedly awesome.  The Spider-Man area and ride were great.  Pym's Test Kitchen was one of our favorite restaurants (we ate there twice) and the HQ was hub for fun.  There were always different characters passing through or on missions.  And we had one of our most memorable Disney moments when Grady got to meet and walk with Captain America.  It was amazing.  Grady loved all of it.  I thought it was great.  Ellie surprisingly enjoyed it.  The biggest surprise of all was how much Lisa liked it.  She LOVED this land and wanted to go there ever chance we had.
• Food and Snacks better than WDW and Veggie was no problem - Food was great this trip.  When we were in Florida we were very disappointed by the quality/selection of meals and the treats were average at best.  This trip was great.  We had great food everywhere and the treats and sweets were back to the level we expected.  We also started eating more of a plant-based or vegetarian diet and this was no problem.  We ate GREAT vegetarian and plant-based food.  Lisa and I didn't miss any of the food with meat because the food we at was SO good.  We also had no problem ordering because there were so many places with plant-based options.
• Great Trip - Overall, this was a great trip.  Yes, we had a few headaches, but all trips do.  The kids had a great time and were well behaved.  We loved the hotel, the parks were great and the kids were at great ages to be able to ride more of the rides and experience most of the parks and resort.  Ellie has really taken to shopping (our favorite pastime) and Grady wanted to try everything (even though he didn't like most of the bigger rides).  The kids did great with food and meals (no cold food when we sit down to eat), even having a great meal at Carthay Circle.  Our favoite part (and Lisa just agreed) was Avenger's Campus.  It really stepped up DCA to make it more competetive with Disneyland.  So much fun.  I'm sure we'll do it again.
• After I got home, I thought quite a bit about how this trip compared to our last trip to WDW.  When we got home from WDW, all I wanted to do was go to Disneyland.  When we got home from this trip to Dsneyland, I felt happy and satisfied.  That pretty much tells the story.

Disneyland and Southern California for Christmas 2021 - Day 6

Day 6

• 46 degrees when we woke up - Brrr....it was cold walking to the park this morning.  One of the colder days we've had in California.  
• Easy in to park; RSR open late; Spider-Man really long wait - trying Genie+ again - We didn't have to wait in lines to get in and thought we would be able to get on either WEB Slingers or Radiator Springs Racers, but RSR opened late and WEB Slingers line went back beyond Carthay Circle.  Yikes.  We decided to go to ride Soarin' instead.  We also wanted to try Genie+ again so we buy it once in the park.  It seemed to work no problem, even though we didn't use it on Soarin'.  
• Soarin’ - Grady didn’t like it - We rode Soarin' and everything was fine, but then Grady got a little upset by the end and had a quasi-meltdown.  We got to the stroller and got the kids a snack.  
• Jumping jellyfish - We walked around a little looking for a snack before brunch.  We walked by Jumpin' Jellyfish and the kids really like it so they rode with Lisa.  
• Toy Story Mania - LL - We got a Lightning Lane for Toy Story Mania so we went to use it next.  It worked just like FastPass and worked really well.  We all enjoyed this ride.  
• Grady a bear - Grady did not do well without breakfast and this day was no exception.  He was really hungry by this time and we were trying to hold out until brunch at Lamplight.
• Incredicoaster and carousel - coaster broke when Ellie and I tried to ride it - We tried to ride the Incredicoaster, but it broke down when Ellie and I got close.  They completely evacuated the ride so we didn't get to ride.  Lisa and Grady rode the Critter Carousel.
• Spider-Man show - also saw Iron Man, Ant Man and Cpt Marvel - We had a little extra time before brunch so we walked through Avenger's Campus.  We saw the Spider-Man show and some characters around the land.  Then we headed to brunch.
• Grady a bigger bear - Grady was crashing big time.  He wasn't listening to instructions or following the rules.  It was a mess.  We almost didn't take him in to brunch because he was such a hot mess.
• Brunch at Lamplight - Lisa and I had been looking forward to this meal.  The menu for the brunch at Lamplight Lounge looked amazing, even for vegetarians.  We had eaten brunch here last time (with my brother's family), but Grady was terrible and I ended up leaving with him to go back to the hotel.  I was very much looking forward to it.  Lisa and Ellie got fancy drinks.  I kinda cheated and got the chilaquiles, they had eggs, but they were delicious.  There was also a plant-based chorizo that I added and it was awesome.  Lisa got the potato flautas which were also very good, but the sauce was pretty spicy.  It was almost too much for her, but it was still really good.  This was another great meal.  Our only complaint was we were outside and it was a little chilly.  We were all wearing jackets or sweatshirts.  
• Ariel - Next we rode the Little Mermaid because why not?
• Churro - We stopped and got the peppermint chocolate churro, which was close to Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  We ate it while waiting to see Santa in Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.  It was a really good churro, but super sweet.  This is a great place to meet Santa.  We enjoyed it more than the Pooh meet and greet across the esplanade.
• Avengers Assemble - Next we went back to Avenger's Campus on the way to our Lightning Lane for Monster's.  This was our walkway to everywhere.  We loved it so much.
• Monsters - Next we had a Lightning Lane pass for Monster's Inc.  We love this ride so we wanted to get it in before the end of our time at DCA.  The Lightning Lane was weird because we entered in the exit, which is not how the FastPass used to work.  Really weird, but still a great ride.
• Avengers, nap and walk to other park - We found a couple of shops and things to see around Monster's (Disney characters dressed as Marvel heroes, Marvel stores, ctc), then we walked back through Avenger's Campus on our way out.  We wanted to see it one more time.  We walked across to Disneyland and on the way the kids had rest/nap time.
• Haunted Mansion - LL - Next we got a Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion.  We had to wake Grady up, which is a risky thing to do.  He was ok and ready to go.  Man, I love this ride and wanted to do it one last time.  The Lightning Lane was helpful too.  And we didn't get stuck in the Stretching Room this time.
• Big Thunder - LL - Then we did Big Thunder Mountain with a Lightning Lane.  We weren't sure how Grady would do but he wanted to try it again.  He sat with Lisa and I turned around a few times to check on him.  He wasn't doing well.  He was about to have a meltdown at the end, but Ellie and I turned around and told him how much fun we had and then he enjoyed it.  It left a good memory for him instead of leaving scared and that was great.
• Smuggler’s Run - LL - We went back to Galaxy's Edge and rode Smuggler's Run with a Lightning Lane.  Grady wasn't sure about this ride, but he did it.  At the end he said he didn't like it.  We're not sure.
• Space Mountain - LL - We got a Lightning Lane for Space Mountain so Lisa went with Ellie first, Grady didn't want to ride it.  He and I walked around and went in a couple of shops.  We switched and I rode Space Mountain with Elle and Lisa and Grady rode the Monorail.  They had a great time.  We did too.  I like the Disneyland version of Space Mountain a lot more than the Disney World version.  Also, we went around a turn and Ellie's hand hit my glasses and they almost flew off.  That was scary.  Next time I'll just take them off.
• Dinner at Red Rose Tavern and Royal Street Veranda - We got a hodge-podge for dinner.  The kids wanted chicken nuggets so we got them food at Red Rose Tavern and we got the cauliflower sandwich there as well.  It was yummy.  Then Lisa and I got the vegetable gumbo at Royal Street Veranda.  It was good, but not great.  It was kind of a pain getting food from multiple spots too.
• Decided we were cold, tired and too many people so we went back to the hotel - After we ate we were pretty cold and tired.  We couldn't decide what we wanted to do and the park was pretty busy.  They were also getting ready for fireworks, which makes it hard to get around.  We decided to go see Small World one more time and then leave.  It was a good choice.  We got to see the projection show at Small World and then we snaked our way out of the park.  Once we walked out, we were sad to leave, but Lisa and I immediately realized how tired we were.
• Watched fireworks from hotel - When we got back to the hotel, we realized we made it before fireworks, so we made sure to get ready for bed and then we watched fireworks from the room again.  It was a great way to end our time at Disneyland.

Beginning of the day at DCA

Avengers Campus and Incredicoaster

Brunch at Lamplight and DCA fun

Nap time and walk to Disneyland

Galaxy's Edge and Small World

Disneyland and Southern California for Christmas 2021 - Day 5

Sunset at Carsland

Day 5

• Good night sleep; got ready and made it to the park on time; not as busy of a morning; line for candy canes was nuts - We finally got a good night sleep.  We got up refreshed and got to the park with no issues.  This was the least busy morning and we got in without issues.  The line for DCA was longer so we wondered if people went there first before going to the Christmas party that night.  We had heard we might be able to get the infamous Disneyland Candy Cane this day, but we found the line on Main Street and it was crazy.  We decided to skip it this year.
• Peter Pan after shortcut - quick wait - We got through the hub and went to Fantasyland first.  We found that the line for Peter Pan was almost non-exsistent so we hoped it line.  It was only about a 20 min wait so we lucked out.  This is such a great ride, a must do on every trip.
• Dumbo - shortish wait - Next we wanted to ride Dumbo and it was not too long of a wait.  The kids love this ride so we did it next.  I didn't have to ride by myself this time, I got to ride with Ellie.
• Tea cups - We rode the tea cups next.  There was no line so we hoped on.  This ride is one of my favorites with the whole family in one cup.
• Small World - closed - We tried to ride Small World and it was closed.  Dang it.
• Popcorn/churro/fruit breakfast - Everyone was hungry after that so we had a popcorn, churro and fruit breakfast in Fantasyland.  
• Haunted Mansion - Next we rode Haunted Mansion.  The line was not bad, and we didn't get stuck in the stretching room.  I love this ride so much.
• Winnie the Pooh, Santa, and marshmallow and gingerbread cookie - Next we walked back to Critter Country.  We rode Winnie the Pooh, which I still think is better than the Disney World version and is underrated.  We went to the candy shop next door and got a couple treats.  The gingerbread man cookie was yummy.  Then we took the kids to meet Santa which was in the Winnie the Pooh meet and greet area.  
• Jungle Cruise - Next we went to ride Jungle Cruise.  The sky looked like it was going to rain for quite a while so I was looking for a good covered spot to park and leave the stroller and the stroller parking next to Jungle Cruise was perfect.  The line was a little longer than it looked, but we had a good time.  The skipper was better this time.
• Tiki room - It still looked like it was going to rain, so I talked Lisa into going to the Tiki Room.  I really enjoy it and I like the Disneyland version a LOT better than Disney World, but Lisa does not like any version.  I enjoyed it.
• Carnation Cafe - out of the rain - We made reservations for Carnation Cafe for lunch and we couldn't have timed it any better.  It started raining right as we got to lunch.  We got to sit inside and have a nice relaxing lunch.  It was a great stop.  Lunch was yummy too.  The fried pickles are delicious.
• Ride train in the rain - We wanted to ride the train so we walked up to get in line and it started raining again.  It rained a lot while we waited for the train.  We had a good time on the train.  Lisa and Ellie got off in Fantasyland to have a photo shoot and Grady and I continued on.  We got to talk to one of the train engineers.  He was very enthusiastic about trains; a very interesting guy to talk to.
• Walk to DCA / Rest time - didn’t start well, coffee time - We walked to DCA and tried to get the kids to rest/nap.  It did not go well and we had to pull over a couple of times to discuss (sternly).  We stopped and got a coffee at Ghirardelli.  It was delicious.  They have the best mocha lattes.  The kids didn't rest so we gave up after walking around most of the park.
• Incredicoaster and carousel - We stopped at the Incredicoaster for Ellie and Jessie's Critter Carousel for Grady.  Lisa and I traded and got to ride both with the kids.  Grady was a bear when I went on the carousel with him.  He was so tired.
• Ariel - Next we rode Ariel.  So great.  I love annoying the kids with my singing on this ride.  This has become our go to spot.
• Walk through avengers and back to dinner at Lamplight - After Ariel, we walked through Avenger's Campus and then back to Pixar Pier for dinner.  We ate at Lamplight Lounge again.  I splurged/cheated and got the lobster nachos.  They are SO good.  This is such a great place to relax and eat.  It was pretty chilly as we sat outside.  
• Back to hotel - cold and tired; early night - After dinner, we were full and exhausted.  It was a late dinner (7:45) so there wasn't much time before the park closed.  We decided to head back to the hotel.  I put Grady on my shoulders and walked back with him that way.  My goal was to keep him awake so he wouldn't have a meltdown if we had to wake him up.  He almost fell asleep on my shoulders.  It worked.  We got back to the hotel and everyone got ready for bed and went to sleep.

Dumbo and Peter Pan

Dumbo and Tea Cups

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Winnie the Pooh and Santa

Rainy day and Fantasyland photoshoot

Nighttime at DCA - It was cold (brrrrr..)

Disneyland and Southern California for Christmas 2021 - Day 4

Holiday Small World

Day 4

• A little better sleep - When I woke up, I found Grady in bed and Lisa was missing.  Come to find out, Grady woke up several times and Lisa ended up sleeping in his bed.  She figured out the bunk bed made a lot of noise when Ellie rolled/moved around on the top bunk.  She padded the rails with towels and it seemed to fix it.
• Got into park before rope drop - We started the day at Disneyland and were able to enter the park before rope drop.  It was nice to take our time walking into the park and then getting an idea of where the crowd would go.
• First day for Genie+; bought it; app is pretty slow and some bugs still - We found out on Monday Genie+ would start Wednesday Dec 8.  I had predicted before the trip, it would start after Thanksgiving to give them time to fix issues before the large holiday crowds showed up.  Well, I was right.  We loved MaxPass in the past, so I wanted to try it.  I was able to purchase it and then we scheduled a Lightning Lane for Big Thunder Mountain.
• First stop - lightning lane for big thunder mountain - Grady didn’t like it - We had not done Big Thunder Mountain and Grady wanted to ride it since he was big enough.  We used our Lightning Lane, which worked find and hoped on the ride.  I rode with Ellie and Grady rode with Lisa.  Ellie and I had a great time.  Grady got pretty scared.  He didn't like it very much.
• Pirates walked on - Grady is being a bear - Next we rode Pirates because there was no wait.  Grady was not following the rules nor instruction.  We went ahead and rode the ride, but it was not the best experience.
• Family meltdown - decided we were hungry - After Pirates, none of us were in a good mood nor getting along.  We decided that we were hungry, especially the kids.  We needed to find food.
• Red Rose - no breakfast, had snacks at table - We wanted to eat breakfast at Red Rose Tavern because we had eaten there in the past and it was yummy.  We stopped there and found out they no longer serve breakfast.  I had seen their menu online before we left, but the case member told me it had been stopped a couple weeks.  We decided to give the kids snacks and sit at one of the tables outside of the restaurant.  It did seem to help.
• Casey Jr - Grady liked - Grady wanted to ride the Casey Jr train so we hoped on it.  It is a fun little train ride.  Grady enjoys it.
• Millennium Falcon - Grady did not like - Ellie and I piloted - We headed to Galaxy's Edge because we wanted to eat there and had a surprise for the kids planned.  When we got there, the line for Smuggler's Run was reasonable, so we got in line.  It didn't take long to get to the ride.  Ellie and I got to pilot.  I didn't realize how much I would enjoy piloting.  It really was like being a little kid and pulling the lever for lightspeed was awesome.  Grady did not like it as much as he did last year.  He did ok though.
• Ronto and Docking Bay - Yummy for momma and daddy - Next we got an early lunch at Docking Bay 7 and Ronto Roasters.  Lisa and I split the Felucian Kefta & Hummus Garden Spread (Impossible meatballs with hummus, relish and pita) from Docking Bay 7 and the Ronto-less Garden Wrap from Ronto Roasters.  They were DELICIOUS.  Very different flavors than anywhere else on property.  We also got the Cold Brew Black Caf from Docking Bay 7, which is a cold brew coffee with sweet cream coffee and coco puffs.  It was so good.  This was a great stop, but there wasn't much for the kids.  We then went looking for food for them.
• Hungry Bear - lunch for kids - We have never been to Hungry Bear, but it is the best place to get food for the kids.  They got chicken nuggets and a hot dog.  It was a good meal for them too.  I also thought the seating area was nice, a little crowded, but nice.
• Droid Depot - really cool experience - Our next stop was the surprise for the kids.  At dinner the night before, I had decided to make reservations at the Droid Depot to build a droid.  Droids are the part of Star Wars Grady likes the most.  We got to the Droid Depot and checked in.  We decided to build a BB type droid and picked the pieces we wanted from the conveyor belt.  Grady likes red so he picked the pieces to build a red BB droid.  We took the pieces to the building station, then followed the directions to build it.  Once we were done, the cast member turned it on and set it up.  We got to try it out on at the station, then we checked out.  We ended up buying a second body and found they told us they would take our droid to "daycare" and we could pick it up at the end of the night.  This was a great option so we didn't have to lug around the droid the entire day.  Overall, this was a great experience.  I was hoping for a little better quality pieces, but we had a great time and the kids had a blast.
• Pictures at Castle - After we built the droid, we had back to Fantasyland and stopped to take pictures in front of the castle.  Since we purchased Genie+, PhotoPass was included.  We took advantage of that and used a PhotoPass photographer.  We got some great pics.
• Parade at Small World - After we took pictures, we found out that Disney was filming the Christmas parade to broadcast on TV Christmas Day.  We wanted to see the parade so we tried to find a spot.  We went back by Small World and found a pretty good spot.  The spot got even better after several people left and they put the rope up right in front of us.  It ended up being a great spot and we were right in front to watch the entire parade.  We really enjoyed the evil stepmother and stepsisters.  The girls next to use talked to them and they had a very funny interaction.  Our kids loved seeing all of the characters, Christmas theme-ing and Santa at the end.
• Got gift card for Genie+ - Genie+........well, just like Disney World, it was released with a giant thud.  We used it at Big Thunder Mountain and then it didn't work the rest of the day.  I used the chat function a couple of times through the day and was told they were working on it.  I got a notification in the afternoon that said to go to City Hall for support.  When I got there, they asked me to fill out a form, then check in and show that I had Genie+.  They  then gave me 4 $20 gift cards to cover the cost of Genie+ for 4 people.  It was nice of them to do this, but I thought we should have got a free Lightning Lane ticket or something extra for the headache we dealt with the entire day.  Not a great experience.
• Shopped at World of Disney - It was rest time for the kids so we walked to Downtown Disney and walked through World of Disney.  Grady fell asleep, but Ellie wanted to shop.  It worked out fine and we had a good time shopping.
• Salt and Straw - After shopping, we got an ice cream treat.  We had been wanting to try Salt and Straw because they have very different flavors than your normal ice cream stand.  I tried the pear and blue cheese, it was really weird.  After we tried a bunch of the flavors, Lisa got Salted Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Ellie and I both got the Gingerbread Cookie Dough. They were delicious.  We got cones and it was the perfect amount for me, but too much for Ellie.  Grady woke up while we were eating and he shared Ellie's, which worked out perfect. 
• Walked to DCA - After our Downtown Disney break, we headed to DCA.
• Saw Dora Milaje - We stopped at Avenger's Campus and watched the Dora Milaje show.  We had seened parts of it the previous couple days, but we stopped to watch the entire show this time.  It was really good, but the highlight was the cast members next to us.  They were doing all of the moves and having a great time.  I enjoyed watching them more than the show.  It shows how much more you can enjoy something where there are others having a good time too.
• Carthay Circle - very good - kids tired - I lucked out and found reservations for Carthay Circle very close to our trip.  We had mixed feelings about this reservation before our trip.  It is an expensive restaurant, the only other time we went Ellie was not great, the kids were great at the Brown Derby and a relaxing longer meal would be good for us.  This time it was great.  The kids were well behaved; extremely tired, but well behaved.  I decided to cheat on our new lifestyle and ordered salmon.  I didn't want to spend $40 on a veggie meal.  Lisa ordered the veggie pasta and it was actually better than my salmon.  The meal was delicious.  We even got cocktails with our meal.  It turned out to be exactly what we needed:  a relaxing, delicious break from the frenetic, busy park time.
• Dr Strange show - it was ok; had higher expectations - We wanted to see the Dr Strange show so we headed to Avenger's Campus after dinner.  We got there in time and found spots to watch the show.  It was ok.  I think I had higher expectations.  I was hoping for more magic and it was more of a Disney showy show.  After the show, we walked through Carsland and ended up finding 2 PhotoPass spots so we stopped and got family pictures.
• Walked to Star Wars to get droid; played with droid by the Falcon; watched fireworks in Galaxy’s Edge - After Dr Strange, we decided to head back to Disneyland because we needed to pick up the droid.  When we got there, people were already lined up to watch the fireworks.  The park was packed.  We snaked our way back to Galaxy's Edge.  We picked up the droid and decided to play with it in the land since it was not very busy.  It was a lot of fun.  We played by the Millennium Falcon, and there was another family across from us.  Their kids really liked our droid and didn't realize we were controlling it.  It was cute.  After a while, a cast member came over and informed us that fireworks were about to start and we needed to move.  We found the viewing are in Galaxy's Edge and watched the fireworks from there.  It was GREAT!  This was a wonderful spot to watc the fireworks.  So cool.  After the fireworks, we took pictures with a PhotoPass photographer.  They came out great.  Then we found another spot to play with the droid.  Too much fun.
• Saw lights and projection show at Small World - Lisa wanted to see Small World at night, so we headed that way.  What a sight.  As great as the castle looks with lights, Small World is the pinnacle of the Disneyland Christmas decorations.  We even got to see the projection show, which is really cool.
• Back to the hotel - Grady had major meltdown waking up to go back to bed - The kids fell asleep in the stroller and we were tired so we headed back to the hotel.  When we got there, we got the kids up to get ready for bed and Grady had a major meltdown.  Sometimes he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and this was one of them.  Yikes.  We finally got him calmed down and all to sleep.

Big Thunder Mountain

Galaxy's Edge - Smuggler's Run and lunch

Droid Depot - We built a droid!

Christmas Day Parade

More fun around Disneyland

Family pictures in front of the castle

Avenger's Campus family pictures

Carthay Circle Dinner - Yummy!!

Nighttime Fun at Carsland

Carsland Family Pictures

Galaxy's Edge - Droid play time and fireworks

Galaxy's Edge family pictures