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

Disneyland at rope drop

Day 5

Disneyland - Genie+ day - We were getting close to the end of our trip and we have found later in the week the parks get busier. Because of all of this, we decided to at Genie+ to our ticket for this day. We used it on our last trip and it was very similar to MaxPass (which was the best iteration of FastPass).
Alice - walk on - This morning we started the day with just the four of us because the rest of our group had a character breakfast at Storytellers. We got to the park before rope drop and somehow it was not packed again. We were very close to the rope and got some great unobstructed views of the park. Because we were so close, we had our pick to decide where we wanted to start. We had not ridden Alice in Wonderland so we headed to the right of the castle toward the Matterhorn and on the Alice. There was only 1 group ahead of us and we got right on. All four of us love this ride.
Small World - walk on - Next we walked back to Small World to ride the holiday version. This ride is so great, especially with the Christmas overlay. Lisa can't ride it enough to be satisfied.
Matterhorn - lightning lane - Grady thought the yeti was a little scary but liked the ride - Next we used Genie+ for the Matterhorn. It worked just like FastPass and we got on pretty quickly. Grady had never done this ride and he was worried about the Yeti. We took off and he did really well. When we got done he said he liked it. We had not done this ride for several trips and we all enjoyed it more than we remembered.
Space Mountain - standby posted 35 min - Grady was pretty scared - The standby for Space Mountain was not bad so instead of using Genie+, we waited in line. The pasted time was 35 minutes, but we ended up waiting close to an hour. We enjoy this ride, but it was not worth an hour wait, especially since we should have used Genie+. Grady had never ridden it and he wanted to try it. He was a little nervous. Overall, he did ok, but he said it was too much. Ellie loved it.
Galactic grill breakfast - it was ok - After Space Mountain, we stopped for breakfast. We had eaten at the Galactic Grill for breakfast in the past and really enjoyed it. Not this time. It was not very good and they did not have good non-meat options for us.
Toffee pretzel - On our way out of Tomorrowland, we saw the pretzel cart with the Toffee Pretzel. It was delicious. It was a regualr Disney pretzel with toffee bits stuck to the outside and cream cheese inside. MmmMmmm.......
Attempted Grady nap time - Failed - We then went for a walk and tried to get Grady to take a nap. He was a bear and needed a nap, but would not go to sleep. He just kept getting up or talking or just laying in the stroller with his eyes open.
Found group - About the time Grady started to calm down to possibly fall asleep, we found the rest of our group. Oh well. No nap for Grady.
Rode monorail - One of the things my brother wanted to do was ride the monorail. I'm not sure I have ever done the full loop so we all got on to ride. As we waited to get on, a cover piece of the door fell off. Not a good sign. The inside was pretty worn. It might be time for refurbs of both Florida and California monorails. We had a good trip and I remembered why I didn't remember going the full loop: There's not much to see from Downtown Disney back to Tomorrowland.
Found food (daddy getting cranky) - tropical hideaway - dole whips, baos and lumpia - We started walking around to find the next activity and I was getting cranky, we needed a food stop. We stopped at the Tropical Hideaway for Dole Whips and other snacks. Lisa and I got Dole Whips and found they have the lumpia, which is the pineapple/cream cheese cannoli type snack we loved in Pandora. These were very good too. This was a successful and much needed stop.
Tiki room - Josie rocked it - We had heard that Josie loved the Tiki Room. The rest of our group had gone the day we were napping at the hotel. We all decided to go after our Dole Whip stop. I really enjoy the Disneyland version of the Tiki room. It is comfortable and the air conditioning works. I like the songs and the show as well. Lisa is not a fan. But this time was different. We sat behind the rest of our group and as the songs started, Josie stood up and just danced her heart out. She loved it and we all loved watching her enjoy it. This is something I have told everyone is that you never know which attraction the kids will enjoy, but then the parents enjoy the attraction so much more because of the kids.
Haunted Mansion - LL - Next we used Genie+ to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday. I could go on this as much as Lisa would ride Small World Holiday. This time the ride stopped at the dining room scene and we got to watch/see the gingerbread house much closer. That room is great and we got to see many more details than normal.
Big thunder - LL - Then we used Genie+ to ride Big Thunder Mountain. The kids are all starting to love this ride and I really enjoy them on it. Grady is still a little nervous, but he overall enjoys it.
Splash mountain - LL - Crosby got soaked, Spence took him back to change - We went back and forth about whether we would ride Splash Mountain because it was not super warm or sunny on the trip. We finally decided that since this was our last chance to ride it before it closed to be converted to Tiana's Bayou Adventure so we had to do it. I had never done the Disneyland version before and I found that I liked the Florida version better. The ride looked very aged, almost rundown, and the log layout is different and not as good. We got split up because we couldn't all fit (my parents stayed with Joie and Grady), but when we got off, Lisa and I got lucky and didn't get very wet. The girls did ok (we got lucky and another group passed their ponchos on to us and the girls got ponchos to wear). But Spence and Crosby got wet. Crosby was soaked. He was so cold and wet and did not enjoy his experience. Spence decided to head back to the hotel with Crosby because there was no way to warm him up without getting dry clothes.
River Belle Terrace- add whole group (except Spence and Crosby) - I made a reservation for the four of us to eat at River Belle Terrace because we hadn't eaten there and I wanted to try it. It was also inside and we could sit and rest for a bit. After Splash Mountain and Spence left with Crosby, my parents with Sam and the girls didn't have a dinner option. We talked to the hostess at River Belle Terrace and they were nice enough to not only add the rest of our group to our reservation, but they even sat us inside at the same table. It was great service. Overall we enjoyed the dinner, but the food was just ok. I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to go again. The best parts were the service, setting and company.
Soarin’ - LL - so good - We decided to head across to DCA because we wanted to see World of Color. We found Spence and Crosby and then headed to Soarin'. We love this ride and we love that the kids have started to like it now as well. Grady even hums along to the music in the car when it comes on.
Cocktails - ok - I had seen Micheledas around DCA for several days and found they were coming from the Hollywood Lounge. My brother and I got Micheledas and Lisa got a holiday cocktail. They were ok and the Micheleda gave me some serious indigestion. Probably not the best stop.
Monsters - LL - took a while for some reason - We grabbed a Lightning Lane through Genie+ for Monster's Inc. We got in line and for some reason it took a LONG time to wait in line. We are not sure what happened, but it took a lot longer than it should. I really enjoy this ride. It stems from Ellie's love of Mike and Sully when she was about 3.
World of color - trouble finding a spot, wrong show from virtual queue - kids crashed - In the past, we have done meal packages to get better spots to watch World of Color. We decided to try and get a boarding pass in the virtual queue this time. We got a pass, but it was for the later show. We tried to hang out and get in to the boarding pass section, but we didn't get in. We ended up watching it from the back in a roped area that was opened just before the show started. The Christmas version is not my favorite, but I'll take any version of World of Color I can get. It was not the best spot to watch, but it was still a good show. After the show, we went back to the hotel and crashed. There was a very brief discussion about doing more, but that faded fast. On the way out of DCA, the fireworks at Disneyland started. We stopped in the esplanade and watched the fireworks. It was a pretty cool extra on the way out.