It'll Be Alright: Disneyland and Southern California for Christmas 2022

DCA at Sunset

Day 3

DCA - webslinger first - basically a walk on (religious freak at park entrance) - We got in to the park before rope drop with a plan to go to Radiator Springs Racers first. Once the rope dropped, we noticed everyone going to Carsland and very few going to Avengers' Campus so we went that way to ride Webslingers. It was basically a walk on. This is a fun ride, but it is very similar to Toy Story Mania.
Guardians for part of group - monsters for kids and grandparents - After Webslinger, we found Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout was a short line, so we hoped on there. Not all of us went, but those that did had a blast.
Pym breakfast - butter pecan cold brew - After Guardians, we got breakfast at Pym's Test Kitchen. This is a delicious restaurant for all meals, but breakfast is really good. Lisa got the French toast, which was yummy and I got the impossible breakfast. This was another stop on the Tour de Cold Brews. This was the butter pecan cold brew. It was pretty good. Creamy with pecan pieces on top. It wasn't the best of the trip, but it was tasty.
Walk and the Incredicoaster and carousel - snack time, Mickey bars and cookie nom noms - We left Avengers Campus and walked through Carsland, Pacific Wharf and then on to Pixar Pier. When we got to the Incredicoaster, the line was not bad so we hoped on. This is so much fun. It's amazing how a roller coaster that neither Lisa nor I cared about as California Screamin' has become one of our favorites with the Incredibles theme.Those that couldn't ride the Incredicoaster rode Jessi's Carousel next door. After that, we had a snack. Some had a churro, some had cookie nom noms, but some of us (including me) had Premium Mickey ice cream bars. It was early, but we were on vacation.
Emotional whirlwind - Next the little kids wanted to ride the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind. This is a decent ride for the kids, but it's not great. It does have cute theming though.
Ariel - We walked the rest of the way around the lake until we got to Ariel. We rode it again, but this time I got to ride. It is such a cute ride. I really enjoy riding with my kids because I know all the words to all of the songs and sing directly into their ears. They can't stand it. It's great. This time was Ellie. "Don't sing daddy!"
Redwood creek challenge trail - Chip and dale in the play area - We walked toward Grizzly Peak and stopped in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. We were going to try and see Santa, but the line was really long and we lost the kids almost immediately. They had a blast playing around in the challenge trail. There are so many things to do for the kids. We wished there were more seating, drinks and snacks.
Riley, Ellie and Crosby rode grizzly river run - The kids wanted to ride Grizzly River Run. We did our best to get them ready. It was not warm nor sunny that day so the kids were the only ones that wanted to ride. They were all old enough to go so we let them ride by themselves. They had a blast. Crosby got really wet. Spencer took Crosby back to the hotel to change because he was so wet.
Grand Californian - Next we walked around in the Grand Californian. They have an amazing gingerbread house that looks like the exterior of the hotel. This just an amazing place. We wanted to stay there, but it didn't work out. We wanted my parents to see it and they were very impressed.
Snacks and Marvel store - We used the handy private entrance to and from the Grand Californian back into DCA. We stopped and got popcorn and drinks close to Soarin' and then moved on. We went to the Avengers Super Store. They have a lot of stuff here, but it is just a giant warehouse with merchandise. It feels like a placeholder and it could be a really cool store, but it's not themed at all.
Lamplight - SO good, lobster nachos - Next was dinner. The only reservations we could get for Lamplight Lounge for dinner were at 4:00pm. It ended up working great. We had 3 separate reservations because we couldn't get one for all of us together, but they were nice enough to put us at one table together. It was a great meal. The kids did great and we all had delicious food and drinks and good company. I sat next to Riley and we both got lobster nachos. They are SO good. We probably could have shared one order because there was so much food.
Philharmagic- good update and Coco addition - We were all super full and needed a break so we went to watch Mickey's Philharmagic. We enjoy this show at Walt Disney World, but this was digitalized with a few added scenes. We all enjoyed it.
Boys played with spider bots; Sam and Josie went back to hotel - We were having trouble deciding if we were done for the day or if we wanted to continue. Sam decided to take Josie back to the hotel. We decided to keep going for a little while anyway.
Luigi’s rollicking roadsters - I watched - We were walking around DCA and stopped to ride the dancing cars, as our kids call them. The sign showed around 25 minutes, but it took almost an hour. I enjoyed watching everyone and I got to see Lightning McQueen drive by.
Everyone was tired - called it a night; Grady fell asleep in stroller almost immediately - We were done after that. We headed back to the hotel after the dancing cars. Grady crashed in the stroller. We were pooped. It was another fun full day.