Our Disney Trip!
We recently spent time at the Happy Place.
It was fantastic.
I have boatload of photos to share.
Yikes.
If you want some great Disney tips...
especially on food.
Hang tight.
I'm not kidding when I say we ate our way through Disneyland.
Fun Fact:
The hubs and I have been 17 times together to the DL.
It was our 14th time as a family.
9 of those times we've gone in January.
We've tried February, March, October and November.
January {off season} or October are our preferred months.
We hadn't been to Disney IN JAN in 9 YEARS...
so it was good to be back!
we caravanned it and drove straight through... minus a few quick stops.
However, we had unexpected delays in St. George and Vegas due to rainstorm issues....
so we didn't arrive in Cali until
1:38 AM Utah time.
😬
unless we can leave in the morning.
😂
We stayed at the Staybridge Suites Hotel.
We used the shuttle to get us to the parks.
It was all good,
but I think the next time we go we will forgo the shuttle thing
and pick a hotel where we
are within a 10 min walk to the park.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
are typically the less crowded days.
There is a website called isitpacked.com that we sorta plan our trips around.
There are ghost town days
Hey, it's alright days
Yup, it's packed
and
Forget about it days
Our Day 1 was on a Wednesday which was supposedly a ghost town day
but I was surprised how crowded it still was...
{Honestly, I think Disney is always pretty crowded.}
😕
😕
Emmsie and Hannah secretly packed their ears they wore when they were little kids
and put them on...
just long enough for a picture.
😊
Doing Disney without really little ones is so weird AND kinda nice!
This was the first year in 14 yrs we DID NOT HAVE A STROLLER!
{this is monumental folks!}
Fun Fact: The youngest in the fam to go to Disney was Brie at 3 months old.
Fun fact: For years we matched or color coordinated on our Disney trips.
{cuz I'm weird like that}
This was the first year we didn't color coordinate
everyday on purpose.
😜
Always.
But we strayed from tradition and hit some of the bigger rides like Indiana, Pirates
and Thunder Mtn. first before the lines
got too long.
{I'll talk about Fast Passes
and Max Passes in a sec}
Thunder Mtn. is one of our absolute fav's!
Kate is still iffy about it.
😂
Tomorrowland!
Fun Fact: It's our least favorite landnext to Toon Town-
which we didn't even visit. haha
We do have a few Star Wars fans in the
fam though.
There is now a Star Wars Museum called
Star Wars Launch Bay
with interactive games and exhibits of movie costumes and props.
This is a model of what the new STAR WARS themed land will look like.
It will be completed in 2019.
We were able to get a photo shoot with
Darth Vader!
Darth Vader!
Flipp'in love Space Mtn.
the hubs and I had to take turns as we knew Kate
would not survive that ride!
She cried after our first ride... riding Indiana-{her first time on it}!
😂
to try this galactic burger at the
Galactic Grill.
It's on their secret menu.
It didn't beat In n Out or JCW's for me...
but I did love the caramelized onions.
Tip: If you are going to eat in Tomorrowland
get in line and order your food while everyone is watching the
Jedi Training Academy Show.
😉
{I hear the churro with caramel sauce is 👌 }
She was shocked it cost almost $5!
Yes, Disney food IS EXPENSIVE!!!
No ifs, ands, or buts about that.
So plan accordingly.
Some families pack a lunch or dinner in.
We've never done that cuz we want to
EXPERIENCE the food.
That's one of the reasons we go!
We did share a lot of our meals.
I personally don't think I ate one thing
all to myself.
Just a bunch of sharing and taste testing.
All the kids brought their own money too to buy a few of
their own meals and treats.
BUT we still spent a fortune on food!
We have a bunch of foodies on our hands.
One of my kids didn't even buy a souvenir,
she just spent $100 of her own money on food!
😂
Besides the food....randomly running into characters is always a trip highlight for me.
New Orleans Square down by Pirates is also a favorite area for us.
We discovered that there is a Mint Julep Bar {kinda hidden} towards the back
of the French Market Restaurant.
It has Mickey-shaped Beignets and New Orleans Mint Julep.
Emma said the beignets are amazing!
What???
You can get them at the Refreshment Corner on Main Street
and pretzel stands in FrontierLand and by
It's a Small World.
👍
This ride!
The Matterhorn!
Is a must!
Makes me laugh!
The six of us girls went on it a couple of
times together!
It's been refurbished since we've been last...
the yeti is a little more ferocious and
the ride seems more jerky to me....ouchy!
I rode on the left side track both times.
Brie says the right side track is not as fast.
Maybe a smoother ride???
Maybe I'm just getting old!
😂
Matterhorn Macaroon.
A Macaroon...spelled with 2 o's and pronounced /mack-ah-rune/
consists of lumps of shredded coconut-
a very sweet, chewy type cookie
It is soooo so scrumptious...
but you definitely have to be a coconut fan
to love it, because it's base ingredient is...coconut. 😉
The Disney's Matterhorn Macaroon is topped with white chocolate.
spelled with just one o and pronounced
/mack-ah-rohn/
Macarons are almond, meringue based sandwiches
filled with buttercream or ganache etc...
They come in a variety of colors and flavors.
Macaroons and Macarons..spelled almost identical
are really TWO very different confections!!
Who knew?
The MACAROONS/MACARONS
{found at the Jolly Holiday Bakery}
were a huge hit with our family!!!
Like I'm pretty sure they will be one of the top things that everyone
will remember about this trip.
I can't even tell you how many were consumed.
😳
Chocolate/Salted Caramel Macaron
We like to browse in the shops.
Altho this year I didn't buy a thing.
For years we bought pins as souvenirs.
{we have quite a collection}
This trip no one bought a pin which was quite interesting.
We are pinned out I suppose.
They've turned this shop into an all year round holiday shop.
I would take one of every ornament in there
if I could.
Just darling!
We sit way up top out of sight.
Ten years ago I was sitting on the main level and got dragged up on stage.
It was mortifying.
They have yummy grilled meat and vegetable skewers.
The safari skewer of bacon wrapped asparagus,
the skewered beef in sweet zulu sauce,
and the chicken skewer in Polynesian sauce
were the favorites.
The pork belly...
or belly pork as I like to call it...
😂
GOODNESS!
I will NEVER get that again.
That says A LOT cuz I'll eat anything.
Kyleigh says the Koreans love pork belly.
Yucky!
😝
I loved this new eating area right next to the Bengal BBQ hut...
I'm all about the ambience.
It's just stink'in cute!
Some of us were functioning on 5'ish hours
of sleep.
Me, the hubs, Kate and Emma headed back to the hotel in the 7 o'clock hour.
The others stayed in the park and rode
some more rides.
😀
We went to California Adventure!
Ready to catch the shuttle!
We headed straight to Cars right as it opened.
While in line for that we purchased the MaxPass for the day.
It's $10 per person, but so so worth it.
It's like a fast pass but deluxe style...
With the normal FastPass you have to walk to each ride {that offers a FastPass}
to get your FastPass ticket.... and then you leave...and then you have to walk back
during the allotted time they give you to ride the ride...
{We did that on Wednesday for some rides at Disney and it was fine...
it's just a lot of walking back in forth and all around the park.}
With the MaxPass you can reserve your FastPasses on your phone...
and can even be in another park while doing it!!!
FastPasses in general are wonderful...Cuz who wants to wait in long Disney lines???
Some of the lines were over an hour wait. Which I personally would never wait in.
{If it was a ride I'd never been on.. maybe...but for a ride I've been on a gazillion times..NO.}
We were on most rides within 15 minutes.
Also with the MaxPass you get digital copies of all pictures taken on rides and by the
Disneyland photographers.
We spent some time in Bug's Land...
These are such kiddy rides but they are some of my fav's...
Kate was in tears {again 😂 } about going on the Guardians of the Galaxy.
There was consoling and prodding, but in the end we kept her off it.
Cousin Allie gladly stayed with her.
She hates that ride!
Guardians of the Galaxy used to be the
Tower of Terror.
A little sad that's gone, but they've done a really good job
with the Guardians of the Galaxy Theme
which I know nothing about actually, but I really enjoyed the ride. haha
One of the trip highlights for me.
It was a joy to have my niece Allie join us. She's come with us
9 out of the 14 times we've gone
so it wouldn't be the same without her.
this ride has changed from
Soarin' over California to
Soarin' Around the World
I 💙 THIS RIDE!
I get a little teary over it actually.
You should have seen the lines for the Toy Story Ride.
Our FastPasses saved the day x2!
Kyleigh and Hannah joined in on.
Some of the eats we had at
California Adventure:
The Corn Dogs at Corn Dog Castle.
{You can get them at Little Red Wagon in Disney}
Yummy!
Just wish they served them with honey like the Corn Dog Food Truck does here.
Pacific Wharf Cafe
You can get mac n cheese in a bread bowl...
but their best thing on the menu is the
bread pudding!!!!
Guys, I'm still thinking about this...
IT WAS THAT GOOD!
Probably my favorite eat of the whole trip!
They give out free Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares...
It's a Mango Sherbet-like Dessert sprinkled
with Tajin {a fruit seasoning/spice}
I love Mangos so had to try it.
Not gonna lie.
It was very different.
No one else that dared try it liked it.
I ate it of course! but probably would not get it again.
I'm not quite sure....
This was one of Kate's favorite treats of the trip!
A Mickey S'more!
It's tradish for these two to get pickles.
You can get some fun snacks at the
Cozy Cone Motel!
and chocolate twists!
We rode cars one last time before leaving...
Super fun day!
That night we headed back over to Disneyland!
{where we want to be}
My heart smiled at the sight of
"It's A Small World"
all lit up in Christmas.
A lot of times in January when we've gone, this ride has been closed.
So glad it wasn't.
I flipp'in LOVE THIS RIDE.
I think I'm the only one
😂
Tip: When you go in January during the off season be prepared for rides being closed for refurbishment or maintenance.
In Disney:
Splash Mountain
Haunted Mansion
Dumbo
were closed the week we went.
We were a little bummed about Splash Mtn!
In California Adventure:
The Screamer
Ferris Wheel
Grizzly Rapid Ride were closed.
The latter was a bummer for us too!
But it's the chance you take.
I'd rather go off season, you might miss out on a few rides,
and a parade maybe,
and a parade maybe,
but the weather is cooler and there are typically less crowds.
Enjoying a humungous turkey leg!
Waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the hotel.
Long Day!
👊
Back at it!
Day 3
We hit Fantasy Land right as the park opened!
We didn't even bother with that ride this time.
{but we did see him!}
Instead we hit four of the other Fantasy rides
probably in the time it would have taken to just get on Peter.
The line was out to the Castle bridge.
Nutso!
The only Fantasyland ride with a FastPass option, unfortunately, is Matterhorn.
Unless you count It's A Small World as part of Fantasyland.
The Storybook Canal Boat Ride!!!
we are freaks for miniature stuff...
I used to get pics of the girls at this spot in Fantasyland
when they were little...
awe
😌
He was so in character!
Kyleigh: "your backside!"
The Pirate ride is one of our favorite FAVORITES!!
It should be a FastPass ride.
We only rode it once.
😥
Another mom favorite!
Our river guide was extra great.
😉
AND I love the Enchanted Tiki Room!
I think I'm the only one that enjoys the bird show though..
LOL
I freaking love birds!
There is a Dole Whip Bar
right at the entrance to the Tiki Room area
and Adventureland.
This stuff speaks for itself!
😍
The hubs is not a pineapple fan at all!
He went and got himself a whoopie pie!
and shared!
😂
Saw Mulan for the first time EVER!
New favorite Disney Restaurant
THE RED ROSE TAVERN!
All Beauty and the Beast inspired.
I die.
We ate lunch here on our last day.
The food!
AMAZING FOOD !!!
We tried 5 things off the menu.
The hubs got the Beast's Burger
😉
This is the Beef Poutine
a French Canadian dish...
This is the Enchanted Cauli-Flower Sandwich.
served with garlic POMMES FRITES!!!!
MY GOSH!!!
{still thinking about those too 😂 }
Apple-Mango Punch topped with Passion Fruit Foam
😋
Don't believe me, ask
Later in the day a few of us snuck back for more of it and the fries! hehe
the hubs took Kate to get her favorite Disneyland treat and then to get her portrait done
Hannah was eventually able to get her portrait done too!
While we were down by the French Market.... more of this...
Gosh why not?
Just some pics of my favorite spots
in the park...
Royal Court left of the Castle where you can meet the princesses.
This Mexican Restaurant!
Which we usually eat at in Frontierland, but didn't this trip
because we wanted
to try different places...
We took turns holding the fort down for our riverfront view for 5'ish hours..
Our normal spot we've staked out in years past was at the River Belle Terrace...
{just right of the Pirate ride}
But you now have to have reservations to have a spot there to watch the show...
It's way too expensive!
So we just scooted ourselves down a ways for FREE.
I took a pic of the chicken and fries because of the honey mustard sauce.
Best honey mustard sauce I've had!
I was able to go on the Pooh Ride with one of my little friends from Primary.
It was fabulous and magical!
As always!
{p.c. charactercentral.net}
Our neighbor was in awe over it! LOL
One last stop at the Gibson Girl Old Fashion Ice Cream Shop before we left the park!
It's tradition!
Pretty sure with all the food we ate we could have rolled ourselves out of there!
😂
Good thing we walked a lot!
I love this picture!
Kate sleepy!
😴
We had had a 14 hr day!
🙌
Day 4
We spent some time at Universal Studios!
To check out Harry Potter World.
I was very impressed and I'm not even a Harry Potter fan.
I was surprised how small it was though.
It's like a quaint village.
My three Harry Potter lovers!
Especially my Emmsie!
B is currently reading all the books...she
just finished the 5th.
I loved all the village window shops...
THE Butter Beer!
The frozen is the best!!!
Emmsie got an interactive one...
you can stand on this symbol at
various places..
point your wand at the windows
and make it do stuff...
like turn on and off the music!
The Honeydukes Candy Shop
Trying out some of those beans.
{Kate steals the show!}
We ate lunch at the Three Broomsticks Restaurant
It was so cool! I loved it!
I liked it, but not as much as the Butter Beer!
No No on their lemonade.
😝
Emmsie felt so sick after wards...thus her head on the table.
She couldn't eat.
She and I spent some quality time in the bathroom with Moaning Myrtle.
Not kidding....
😩
Poor Emmsie!
The older girls {minus Emmsie} went off to another part of Universal
to ride the Mummy ride.
Inspired by the Mummy movies which Kyleigh LOVES!
That ride was their favorite.
Even more so than the 3D Harry Potter Forbidden Journey Ride...
The rest of us strolled down French Street...
I quite enjoyed that!
Some store windows had touches of Christmas still.
😌
Kate and I were exploring in the back lot of this French inspired building...
when out came Shrek and Puss & Boots!
Kate had her own private meet and greet. ;)
We also spotted Kung Fu Panda!!
and the guys in Madagascar!!!
Minion Land!
We did not spend all day at Universal.
It does not have the magic like Disney does.
Plus it costs $50 bucks to park!
Ridiculous!
Now that we've seen HP World we all agree we don't need to go back anytime soon.
We strolled the mall outside of Universal...
Came across this cool Doughnut shop!
Hannie was excited because she had heard how good these doughnuts were!
We are content as can be just sitting in Disney, eating and people watching.
Kyleigh ended the trip with a bang!
For some strange reason Kyleigh's ticket did not scan properly the first day....
on a whim, before we headed back to the hotel,
she decided to go see if she could get back into the park.
Even though all of our tickets should have expired.
Guess what?
She made it in!
What did she do in Disney by herself?
She went on a macaron run!
But so grateful for the chance to spend that time together.
We made some amazing memories!
My new saying is "A Family that Disney's Together Stays Together"!
😜
Good times Good times!
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