Disneyland and Southern California - January 2024: Day 2

Tuesday Jan 30
Woke up early - 5:45 - The part opened at 8:00, but we could get in 30 minutes early since we were staying at the Grand Californian.  We knew security could take a while, and they did not open the security lines until 7:00, but we wanted to be ready.
Security good - pretty quick, dad argued with lady that ‘cut’ - We got through security pretty easy and then on to the park entrance lines.  The lines were not clearly marked, but we got in a line.  A lady stood between lines and turned around to look for her people.  They showed up right before the gates opened, and she moved into a new line with her group.  My dad wasn’t happy so he argued with her about it.  I wasn’t either, but I didn’t want to make a big deal.  We moved on (Dad didn’t) and got into the park.  We found the entrance for early entry at the rope drop area and headed to Fantasyland.
Started with Peter Pan - We were near the front of the early entry rope drop and got to Peter Pan with the line relatively short.  We only waited 15-20 minutes.  What a great ride and great way to start the day.
Toad - There was no line for Toad, so we did that next.  I went by myself.  There was a lot of discussion on this trip about who would ride together and it started with Toad.  I still can’t believe they have a ride that takes you to hell.
Dumbo - We got in line for Dumbo next as the lines wasn’t busy yet.  Still a great ride.  The kids loved it.
Churro and ronto wraps - Next we were gonna go find breakfast, and the kids wanted churros.  I said no to my kids, but Crosby was told yes by his parents.  Everyone ended up with churros.  We then went to Galaxy’s Edge to get breakfast ronto wraps.  They were delicious.  We were visited by Chewbacca while we ate too.
Take rental cars back - genius shuttle idea - After our transportation debacle the day before, Spence and I had to take the rental cars back.  We took the monorail back to Downtown Disney and found the cars to return.  We left the parking area and were not charged.  We got one break.  Then we drove to Avis and dropped the cars off.  There were no issues with drop off.  Then we had to figure out how to get back.  Spence had the idea to go into the Toy Story parking lot, which was next to the rental car office, and take the bus back to the park.  This was genius.  We walked in, went through security before boarding the bus, and then took a relaxing bus ride to the park.  We were dropped off at the front and did not have to go through security again.  It was great.
Chimney sweep cold brew - On our way to meet with the group, we walked down Main Street and decided to stop for a Chimney Sweep cold brew at Jolly Holiday.  It was delicious.  It did take a little while. 
Popcorn and churros - We met our group in Frontierland and had a popcorn at churro snack.
Pirates - store meltdown Grady - We found Pirates wasn’t a long line and it was close, so we headed over there.  Love this ride.  In the store we found some cute stuff and Grady found a sword he wanted.  This sounded like.a terrible idea, there would have been a lot of fights with a pirate sword.  I said no and he completely melted down.  It was epic.
Wanted toy sword G-“you guys won’t get me what I want. You guys are making me frustrated. You’re the problem, it’s you”
Walk to DCA - Grady rest time. - After the meltdown, we needed a break.  Grady had some rest time and we walked across to DCA.  It took a lot to calm him down.
Ellie lunch at Smokejumpers. Carrot cake churro - We got in to DCA and Ellie was hungry. We stopped at Smokejumpers and got Ellie some chicken fingers.  The churro cart close to Smokejumpers had carrot cake churros.  They were really good.  
Walk through shops,Avengers Campus - We enjoy the shops on Buena Vista street in DCA.  Ellie and Lisa have found they enjoy the jewelry/women’s shop near the end of the row of shops.  They remind me of the shop in MGM/Hollywood studios.
Back to Disneyland - We found DCA was really busy so we decided to go back to Disneyland.
Toontown - kids played, met Mickey (really short wait, Steamboat Willie) - One of the things we were looking forward to seeing was the newly renovated Toon Town.  It was really cool.  We met the rest of our group there.  They had been playing around Goofy and Donald’s houses.  I really liked the updates.  It is much more interactive and more accessible.  Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway fits perfect in Toon Town as well.  We found Mickey’s house had a short line, we went to meet Mickey.  We had a bad experience in the past when the wait time was short, but the line was long.  This was not the case.  It was only 15 minutes or so.  The kids were really excited because we got to meet Steamboat Willie Mickey.  Crosby and Grady really like Steamboat Willie.
Small World - After meeting Mickey, we found Small World had a short line, so we hoped on.  This was the regular version, which we hadn’t seen for a while.  Such a great ride.
Back to DCA - We had dinner reservations at Lamplight Lounge, so we decided to head across to California Adventure.
Walked around before dinner - I have found that I really enjoy just walking around and taking in all of the different atmospheres in DCA.  Walking through Avenger’s Campus, then Carsland, then the new San Fransokyo, on to Pixar Pier and around to Paradise Gardens and the Grizzly Peak area.  Such wonderfully themed areas to explore.
Grady got Spider Bot - On our last trip, Grady ended up getting a lightsaber, but I wanted a Spider-Bot too.  This trip he planned on getting a Spider Bot so we went ahead and got it early in the trip so he could enjoy it.  He got the Black Panther armor to go with it.  It is a pretty cool toy and solid quality compared to most Disney parks toys.
Lamplight was delicious, more lobster nachos - We got to Lamplight and they were nice enough to combine our reservations and put us at one table.  We really enjoy this restaurant.  The food is delicious, the drinks are yummy and the ambience is unmatched.
World of color - Moana part best, Star Wars and Marvel - Wold of Color is one of my favorite parts of going to Disneyland.  I love the regular version of World of Color.  It got me in all of the feels the first time we saw it back in 2017.  Since then, I make sure to see it every trip (unless it’s under refurbishment).  We have even seen the Holiday version several time even though it is not as good.  On this trip, there is a new version called World of Color One, which we heard included all Disney brands, not just Disney/Pixar animation.  We were looking forward to it.  After dinner, the show was about to start and we were gonna stand on the bridge to Pixar Pier to watch it.  We found right before the show, they opened up a large are and we moved down the stairs to a section close to the water and next to the reserved section.  It was a great spot.  The show was good, but not as good as the show from 2017.  The original song at the beginning was not as good and the “story” did not flow as well.  We enjoyed it, but it was not my favorite.
Grady asleep - walk to Downtown Disney to World of Disney to look for blanket - Grady was asleep in the stroller during World of Color so after the show we left the part and walked through Downtown Disney.  Since we were staying at the Grand Californian, it was very convenient to walk through Downtown Disney and then go to our room.
Bedtime - We were beat.  It was a full day.  Time to get rested for another day of Disney fun.

Riding Dumbo!

Tea Cup Time! Always a highlight of my trip.

Big Thunder Mountain

Disneyland and Southern California - January 2024: Day 1

Monday Jan 29

Didn’t sleep - We spent the evening finishing packing and then went to bed at a decent time.  We had to leave our house by 4:45am so it was going to be short night.  The kids went to sleep pretty easily and so did Lisa.  I tossed and turned most of the night.  I might have dozed off a little, but it didn’t last long.  I couldn’t turn my brain off between the excitement and worry of forgetting something.  At 4:00am, I decided to get up and start getting ready.

Flight was good. Love the new airport. Passed mom and dad on the highway. SO much luggage. Wait a little while for rental car shuttle - We left on time and passed my parents; car on the drive.  We parked at the Parking Spot and had no problems.  They are the best.  We got check in and through security with no problem.  Our new KCI is amazing.  Such a great update to our city.  We all got on the plane and sat together.  I sat with Grady and Crosby.  They did pretty good; mainly just played Nintendo and watched movies together.  It was a non-stop flight and arrived early.

Rental process sucked, ended with 2 minivans - We got off the plane and got our luggage no problem.  We actually were late getting luggage and they had moved it to the pickup desk.  We went out to look for our rental car shuttle and had to wait a little while.  We reserved a car with Avis this time.  We all got on the shuttle and had no problems.  It was a little bit of a clown show though because there was 11 of us and all of our luggage.  We got to the rental car office and had to wait at least 30 minutes before talking to someone.  They only had 2 or 3 people working and none were speedy.  We were finally called over to help and we gave our info.  We had reserved a 12 passenger van and were informed they did not have any 12 passenger vans.  They were on “recall”.  While our discussion with this person, we saw multiple vans drive by.  They offered 2 minivans, which was not what I wanted.  We were not happy.  I was at the desk with my dad and brother and we tried all negotiation tactics and couldn’t get what we wanted.  We ended up with 2 minivans and wasted over 2 hours of our vacation at the rental car office.

Drive but short, drove Wilshire, Bedford, coldwater canyon, mulholland, hwy by studios - We started off on our sightseeing adventure and realized we did not have a lot of time before our lunch reservation.  We ended up taking a very different route to the Tam O’Shanter, but it was a cool drive.  We drove through Beverly Hills and then up through the hills of Coldwater Cayon and Mulholland.  We ended up on the north side of Griffith Park and drove by the Disney Studios.  We got a great view of the animation building this time.  I was pretty disappointed because I had some good stops planned on this tour.

Tam was delicious!! Had prime rib; great spot, loved the awstht, ambiance and history - We made it to the Tam O’Shanter a little late for lunch, but we called and they were ok with it.  They were not super busy so that’s probably why it wasn’t a big deal.  We were seated in the main dining room, which seemed small, but it also reminded me of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  It was a very cool, old school Scottish restaurant with ties to most of LA’s history.  We found multiple pictures of Walt Disney and near the end of our meal we were able to see Walt’s preferred table.  The table still has carved images from when the animators were working on Snow White and Fantasia.  The food was great.  Kind of a throwback menu, but very tasty.  There was a variety of items ordered, Lisa got a wedge salad, Ellie shared a salad and fish and chips with Crosby and Grady got Mac and cheese.  I got the Tam O’Shanter cut of their World Famous Prime Rib.  Not only was it HUGE, but it was amazing.  The spinach was not my favorite, but the potatoes and steak were fantastic.  We all really enjoyed this stop, and the service was very good.  This was a highlight of the trip.

Did a quick tour while kids slept - Walt and Roy’s house, Paramount and Henson Studios - After lunch, there were a few spots on my planned tour not too far away.  We drove by Walt and Roy Disney’s houses then went by Paramount and Henson Studios.  Both were in the middle of Hollywood, just south of Hollywood Blvd.  Paramount was pretty large, but Henson was very small.  

Drove to hotel - a lot of traffic, over hour drive from Magic Castle - We were all tired and getting cranky (and since it was Monday, we wanted to avoid rush hour), we decided to head to Anaheim and check into the hotel.
Got checked in - easy - Traffic was ok (never great in LA), and we got to the Grand Californian at a decent time.  We got unloaded and checked in pretty easily and quickly.  The service in this hotel is amazing.  

Love the hotel, pool view room, Lunar New Year decor - We were all so excited to be at the Grand Californian.  Most of our group had stayed there, but it was the first time for my parents.  They loved it.  The lobby is so inviting and comfortable.  They also had some very cool Lunar New Year decor in the lobby including a giant hanging papier-mache Dragon.  Our rooms were close together in the DVC wing.  We got a pool view room and my parents and brother’s family got park view rooms.  All nice; we actually really enjoyed the pool view and could see fireworks from the room one night.

Kids wild. Lisa and kids unpacked. Went to Target with Spence, Bamaw, and Riley. Spence and I tried to take minivans back, no after hours drop off. Parked in self-parking - The kids were pretty wild going from room to room.  We had to explain what we were doing to them and tone it down a little.  I ended up going to Target with Spence, Riley and my mom.  We got some snacks, drinks and things we forgot.  We went back to the hotel and then got both vans to return.  The Avis drop off was not too far away so our plan was to go drop them off and walk to downtown Disney to meet our group for dinner.  Spence and I pulled into the Avis office and there were signs saying no after hours drop off.  This was the rental car day from hell.  We got back in the vans and drove back to the hotel to figure out where to park.  They offered valet parking, but it was $70 so we opted for self-parking.  I’m not sure what it was supposed to cost but no one checked us in or out so we assume it was free.  We a cluster of a day with cars.  Not sure we will rent cars again for a while.

Met family in Downtown Disney. Went to Disneyland Hotel and ate at Tangaroa Terrace. Had a delicious poke bowl. Ellie and I shared a Dole Whip. - Spence and I met the rest of our group at the entrance to Downtown Disney from the Grand Californian.  We went through a couple shops then made our way to the Disneyland Hotel to eat at Tangaroa Terrace.  It was a little slow, but pretty good.  I thought my poke bowl was delicious.  Ellie and I got Dole Whips next door, a great start to our Disneyland tour of snacks.  We went through the shops in the Disneyland hotel (Ellie got a cute jacket) and then walked through the new Disneyland Hotel DVC Villas.  They looked really cool and the lobby had some great art.

Walked back to hotel and crashed - After we were done at the Disneyland Hotel, we walked back to the Grand Californian and crashed.  I was beat.  It was a full day and a good start to our vacation.

Traveling with the family

The Tam O’Shanter - a highlight of our trip

Henson studios and Walt & Roy’s houses

Disneyland and Southern California - January 2024: Planning

    Our Christmas trip to Disneyland in 2022 was great.  We had a wonderful time.  As usual, the next topic of discussion after our trip was;  When is our next trip.  Our biggest concern from the last trip was endurance.  We love the Courtyard, but it is quite a walk after a full day at Disneyland.  We decided we wanted to go again and try to stay at the Grand Californian.

    Our family had some discussion of vacations other than Disneyland.  We talked about going on a Disney cruise, but they are so expensive.  We decided if we were going to spend that much, we would rather go to the parks.  We also love Grady’s age at the parks, Josie (my niece) is 3, which is a great age for Disney parks, and Ellie still loves going to Disneyland.  We thought we would go again before the kids got too old and didn’t want to go.

Time of Year and Hotel

    Our first decision was to determine time of year to go.  We have been at Christmas several times now and we want to maximize the possibility of getting a reservation at the Grand Californian.  We landed on the end of January and beginning of February.  I reached out to David’s Vacation Club Rentals to check on availability of the Grand Californian.  We found the time we wanted to go was full, but we were put on a waitlist.  I asked if we could adjust our days to give us a better shot, and that did the trick.  We moved from a Sunday through Saturday to a Monday through Sunday.  We were SO excited!  My parents are getting older and a full day at Disneyland really takes a lot out of them so a quick walk back to the Grand Californian is going to be great for them (and for everyone).  It is also SO convenient.  We can just pop in if we need a break or something, especially from DCA.

Transportation and Length of Stay

    After we got out hotel reservation, we needed to find airfare.  This was an adventure.  We found great rates on Delta to California and Southwest back home from California.  A month or two after we booked it, we got a message from Delta saying our flight was changed.  They changed us to an afternoon flight, so our first day was shot.  We were on a morning non-stop and they moved us to an afternoon.  We could have changed to a morning flight, but it wasn’t non-stop so half of the day was lost.  My dad told us we could cancel because they changed our flight and get a full refund, if we wanted.  I ended up finding a cheaper, better flight on Southwest.  We were able to cancel the Delta flight and get.a full refund.  We then borough the Southwest flight, which was about half price.  Ended up being a pretty good deal.  Our original plan was to go an extra day and do more around LA.  When the Delta flight change occurred we decided to drop the extra day and only have 6 nights rather than 7.

I had some issues booking ground transportation.  On our arrival, I got lucky and we are going to have a 12 passenger van from Avis.  We will use it the first day to get from the airport, drive around LA and go to Anaheim.  It will be fun to have all of us in one vehicle to explore LA and the area.  Coming home, I was able to find a company to get us all in a sprinter van with car seats for the two little ones.  I wanted to use Lansky, which we used last year and they were great, but they did not have any available vehicles.  I tried multiple others who either didn’t have reservations, were too expensive or didn’t provide car seats.  We ended up booking Anaheim Town Car Services.

Park Tickets and Entertainment

    We had an interesting time getting park tickets as well.  I looked at buying park tickets early, but then decided to wait because there was no urgent need to buy them.  We were going to wait until park reservations opened up.  Because of that, Disney announced a price increase.  Dang it!  Not long after the price increase, they announced a seasonal discount for kids tickets.  It ended up being a great deal for the kids ticket ($50/day), and was cheaper than if we bought tickets early.  We then found that my dad’s AAA account got a decent discount on top of the Disney discount.  Ended up being a pretty good deal, but it was a long journey to get there.

Outside of our Disney park days, we are going to do another driving tour of the LA area and we are going to the Tam O’Shanter for lunch.  We originally wanted to do the Warner Bros Studio Tour because they had the Friends set, Big Bang Theory set, Batman and Harry Potter exhibits and other studio related exhibits, but we decided the kids would be too young and not enjoy it (my 3 year old niece is actually not allowed on the tour).  I have not found an alternative activity.  There are some closures for our Disney parks days.  Fantasmic and fireworks will not be shown.  My favorite ride, the Haunted Mansion, will be closed for a significant refurbishment and expansion.  World of Color, my favorite show, was announced to be closed when we planned the trip.  Disney announced around Christmas that it will be open, so we are very excited to see it.

Dining

Food at Disney parks is always one of our favorite parts.  We have come to love the Disneyland food, even above the Disney World food.  It is consistently high quality, fresh menus including seasonal additions, great plant based options and overall, it’s delicious.  

When laying out our game plan to get reservations 60 days before our vacation, we had a little trouble.  The early park entry for Disney hotel guests was changing, but they had not announced to what.  We had to guess which park to go to each day, but it’s gonna work out.  When reservation dates started opening up, we found the app had been revamped and was much easier to find reservations.  There also seemed to be more avaialbility.  We able to get everything we wanted.  It was great.  We got Lamplight for brunch and dinner, Carthay dinner, Carnation Cafe dinner and an extra Lamplight dinner (as a placeholder).  We even got an Oga’s Cantina reservation, which we are all excited for since we have not been there before.

Back to the placeholder.  Lisa went to her high school reunion this fall with some friends she hadn’t seen in a while.  One of them had been to Disneyland not long ago and mentioned they had been able to go to Club 33.  Lisa asked how.  Well, come to find out, her friends’ friend is a member and got them in.  Lisa asked if the friend could get us in.  After some back and forth, we found out New Year’s Day that we got reservations to go to Club 33 for dinner on our vacation!! We were/are SO EXCITED!  We only got reservations for 4 so we are taking my brother and sister-in-law and my parents are going to watch all of the kids for us.  We told my brother and his wife about it Christmas Eve Eve, when we were at their house and then I called him with the confirmation right after I got it.  They were so excited they teamed up when we told them we were trying and waiting on confirmation.  Club 33 was a pipe dream for me.  I have heard of Adventures by Disney trips that get to go to Club 33 and I thought that would be my only way.  I still can’t believe we got a reservation.  I got the pdf with the rules and restrictions and they are thorough with a very specific dress code.  I can’t wait, but I’m not sure what I’m gonna wear.

After the amazing news of Club 33, we got more amazing news that World of Color would be showing while we are there.  Because of this, we changed one of our Lamplight dinner reservations to Wine Country in anticipation of getting World of Color dining package.

Final Thoughts

This trip has been a roller coaster of planning, but it has come together in amazing fashion.  We got the hotel we wanted.  We lost a favorite ride, but gained a favorite nighttime show and added a parade.  Not only did we get all of the transportation worked out, but we saved money.  We got all of our dining options and the unbelievable icing on top we got a Club 33 reservation.  It should be an amazing trip.  The kids are at great ages, Riley 12, Ellie 9, Crosby 7, Grady 5, and Josie 3.  Grady is going to be tall enough to ride all of the rides, we’ll see how many he does.  Ellie can’t wait to ride the Incredicoaster.  We can’t wait to see the kids love life.  Only 3 weeks now, and then it’s vacation time.  We’re going to Disneyland!!

Disneyland and Southern California for Christmas 2022 - Day 7 and Thoughts

Day 7
Packed up (went pretty well); walked to Downtown Disney
Brunch at Ballast Point - We were looking for somewhere to eat, and found Ballast Point had a brunch menu.  We sat outside and it was actually kind of hot.  It was very good.  I would do it again.  After breakfast, we went back to the hotel to meet our transportation.  They were right on time and very friendly and helpful.  My parents rode with us to John Wayne airport.  We got there pretty early, but it ended up fine.  Overall, the day went fine and we made it back home without any issues.

Ellie’s Favorite part - being here with the whole family and Incredicoaster
Grady’s Favorite part - Rise of the Resistance
Momma’s favorite part - seeing Grady in Star Wars land, seeing Ellie on the Incredicoaster; riding Guardians
Daddy’s favorite part - haunted mansion holiday and Avengers Campus

Sending letters/lists to Santa

Plane ride home

We returned home and found our airport disintegrating. Can’t wait to the new airport.

Trip Report:

Trip Speed and Tone - In the past, the trip speed and tone depended on group.  Generally when my brother we would move much faster and try and do as much as possible.  When he stopped us the first day at Jolly Holiday to slow down and take a more leisurely pace, we were shocked.  It ended up being great, and we still got as much done as we wanted.  It worked great for everyone and we had a wonderful time.

Grady with Characters - Grady has always been great with characters (see Captain America in the prior trip), but this time it went to the next level.  He saw the Mandalorian twice, one time while Grady was wearing his Mando costume.  He LOVED it, and we loved seeing him love it.  Parents talk about the age of their kids going to Disney parks and are they too young?  We have found 3-7 is the sweet spot and Grady has just gotten better and better.  We had the same experience with Ellie and princesses.

Ellie in her element - Ellie has not been to Disney parks now 7 times (she is only 8 years old at the time of this trip), and she has really found her groove when were are there.  She loves the parks and has an idea of what she wants to do, where she wants to go and when she wants to do it.  She remembers previous trips and how they compare.  She has become a very good traveler and very comfortable packing, going through airports and being on vacation.  There are times when she is more herself on vacation than when she is at home.

Momma's keeping up with the Holks - When Lisa and I got married, she had been to Disney World once with her family as a kid and had no affinity for the company or the parks.  She has now been about 10 times and has grown to love it there.  Especially since we have had kids and have been able to experience it with them.  She keeps up with announcements and updates through social media and arguably knows more about the seasonal and current events surrounding Disneyland than I do.  She knows the treats and snacks she wants to find when we are there.  I have enjoyed and been surprised by her Disney evolution.

Hotel - We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott again this time.  We love this hotel and it is amazing at Christmas.  There is a scent they pump in the lobby that is quintessential Christmas.  The rooms are great, with plenty of room.  Our one complaint was the walk to and from seemed longer than past trips and it really affected my parents.