Disneyland trip report!

[azzeps]

The short version: We had a fantastic time!

Here's the longer version.....

Day 1:
Early AM flight got us to Disneyland Hotel about 11 am. We got checked in and they had a room available for us, so we went up to check it out, even though we had already given our bags to the bell hop, figuring we'd just head straight for the park. The room was nice, but overlooked a big, huge parking lot! Oh well.

We headed for California Adventure for our lunch reservation at Ariel's Grotto. The toddler stopped at every.single.solitary water feature there was in Downtown Disney. When we got in to CA, the kids were starving, so we stopped for a snack. We were thankful to find lots of allergy friendly things for both kids. As we made our way to Ariel's Grotto, we saw Aviator Minnie Mouse, which was cool, and DD got her first autograph. She really enjoyed the autograph book! We also were able to see Donald Duck before it was our turn at Ariel's. Lunch was great, I thought the food was pretty good, given the mixed reviews I had read other places. DD loved seeing all the princesses, and DS did, too, when he was not darting away from the table and running outside onto the deck!!!

After lunch we went to CarsLand, and went on Mater's ride, and Luigi's tires, both of which the kids liked, but DD thought Mater was "too spinny" but I had fun! Then we went to Bug's Land and did Heimlich's choo choo train, the bumper car bugs, and that one that looks like a hot air balloon. The kids cooled off in the water, and we also met Flik and had a photo. Then we hustled over to see the Disney Jr. Show. The kids really enjoyed that. When we came out, I could see that people were sitting on the curb for a parade, so we found a spot, and DH went to find ice cream/frozen lemonade, and we watched the parade. It was fabulous! They both really enjoyed it.

After the parade, we were all hot and tired, and DS had seen the pool on our way out of the hotel, and had been asking for a swim, so we went for a dip, and then back to our room and I got the kids showered and in PJs and then we ate room service in front of the TV and went to sleep. We were all pretty tired from our early start.

Day 2:
We headed back to California Adventure on this day, because there was early admission. We went over to the pier for the Toy Story Midway Mania ride, which I thought was great, and the kids liked, too. We were able to walk right on. YAY. Then the kids rode the Carousel twice, no waiting. Then we went on the Toy Story ride again, and there was maybe a 5 minute wait. Then we walked down to Mickey's Fun Wheel and waited 5 minutes for it to open and went on that - what a view! We could see snorkelers in the bay, I'm guessing doing maintenance, which was kind of cool. Then we walked over to the Golden Zephyr (I think that was the name) and did that one. Then on to The Little Mermaid ride. We asked DD if she wanted to do Goofy's Sky School or the big swings, and she said no to both. Too scared.

We spent some time in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, which both kids enjoyed. It was pretty hot, so DH was disappointed to see that Grizzly River Run was closed, because he says he totally would have done it just to get cooled off! Instead, we went over to do the Monsters Inc ride, and on the way the kids met princess Sofia the first, and we saw Jake walk by, but he was hustling out of the area. The wait for Monsters Inc. was probably the longest, maybe 20 minutes, so not too bad. At this point it was about 11 am ish, and we thought we ought to head out for lunch. We did a quick shop through the big World of Disney store. Then we had lunch at a pizza/pasta place not far from there.... Napoli? I think? There was a woman doing balloon art, so the kids got balloons, which were very cool. Then we went back to the hotel and had some pool time.

In the late afternoon we rode the Monorail from Downtown Disney to Tomorrowland where we waited for the Disneyland train. DS loves trains, so this was cool for him. We rode the train over to New Orleans and looked for somewhere to eat. It was a mob scene!!! We finally found a spot and DH got me a Mint Julep! It was SO good! That was at the French Market Restaurant. After dinner we went on the Winnie the Pooh ride, and then the kids and DH went again while I waited to get DS his mouse ears with his name embroidered on them. Then we walked over to Fantasyland, and DS cashed out in the stroller, so DH took DD on Small World, and then the carousel while DS slept. Then we were tired and so we walked back to the hotel. This was the point at which we were wishing for another stroller, because I had to carry DD while DH pushed DS in the stroller. But we made it! It was probably 9:00 or so when we made it back to the hotel. I was wishing we could have stayed for fireworks but nobody was really up for it!

Day 3:
We started early at Disneyland and headed straight for Fantasyland after rope drop. We did Peter Pan first thing, mostly because I really wanted to, and it was probably a 30 minute wait... not sure. It was SO worth the wait, for me anyhow. Just as good as I remembered it being as a kid. Then we went on Dumbo, which was, oh probably another 15-20 minutes wait. The kids then went on the carousel, and then Casey Jr. Circus train. Then, since there was no line, we did Pinocchio's ride, and saw all the people in line to greet Anna and Elsa. DD was not upset about not seeing them, for which I was thankful. We went over to see Small World, and that was a short wait. Tried to meet Merida but she went on break. It was nice that they told us as we tried to get in line to see her that the line was not accepting more people, though, because we waited to see other characters, and then they'd leave before we got to meet them. Anyway, after Small World, we went to Mickey's Toontown, and met Minnie, Mickey and Goofy at their houses, and the kids played in the Chip N Dale treehouse, Donald's Boat, and Goofy's backyard, and somehow my DH talked my son into going on the little rollercoaster there... DD would have nothing to do with it, but DS wanted to go. By this time it was time for lunch, so we decided to head out like we had the day before and get something to eat. We ended up at Rainforest Cafe, because DD wanted to go in. It was a wait for the table, and the food, but it was nice to cool off and the kids enjoyed it, as they had never been in one before. We went back to our hotel room and DH had a nap, (nope, not DS!!!) while we chilled and the kids watched a little tv.

By late afternoon I was ready to head back to Disneyland, so off we went. When we got through the gates, lo and behold, there was Cinderella!! She was beautiful! We tried to wait, but she left before we got to meet her. We were disappointed, but not for long. As we walked under the railroad tracks, I could hear Frozen music being played. People were lined up for a parade, and I could see the Frozen float coming down the road. I asked a Cast Member if we could stand and watch, and she pulled up the rope for us and let us in so we could stay and see. It was Anna, Olaf and Elsa on what the Cast Member called a "pre-parade" float! I was SO EXCITED! I think I was the most happy of all of us that we had happened upon this! The CM told me that this was their second day doing this float. Anyway, it was SO cool. I was happy to get to see Anna and Elsa without waiting for them! After the float went by, we continued down Main Street to the little theater where there was the Beauty and the Beast show. We watched a little more parade from a distance while DH held our place for the show. We saw Rapunzel and Jasmine and a Lion King float. The kids enjoyed the show, and when it was over we went over to our dinner reservation in New Orleans (we learned from the day before, so we called to get a reservation). The food was yummy, and they were very careful about the allergies and all. It was great. After dinner, we went to the Enchanted Tiki room. We tried to get our Dole Whips beforehand, but the line was so long that they opened the doors for the show before we got them. So DH waited for the Dole Whips and I took the kids in to see the show. That was pretty goofy. DS aaaallllmost fell asleep but woke up when we got up to leave. We stood outside the exit with DH to eat our Dole Whips, which were SO yummy. DS was being pretty cantankerous at this point, so we decided we had to be all done. It was another long walk to the exit! We stopped at City Hall and got DS his "First Time" button. Then it was back to the hotel, tubbies, jammies and a little tv before lights out!

Day 4:
We had an early reservation 8:30 am at Goofy's Kitchen for the character breakfast before checking out of the hotel and flying home. It was a great way to cap off our trip. There wasn't much for DS to eat, and I've learned now that I probably should've asked ahead of time and they may have been able to make something special. He really wanted a Mickey pancake. But he was ok with Fruit Loops and watermelon. There were lots of characters... Goofy, of course, in his chef's whites, Pluto, Rafiki from Lion King, Baloo (he was really tall!), Chip, and the Mad Hatter. We also spotted Wendy and Peter Pan on our way out. DD filled up the rest of her autograph book and DS enjoyed seeing all the characters even though he didn't know them all.


I feel like the trip was a success! We crammed a lot into the time we were there, and while we had our moments of kid meltdowns, etc. we managed pretty well. Thanks for all the tips and recommendations! It was really helpful to have a flexible plan going in, because we were so overwhelmed at first! Hopefully this recap will help others planning trips soon. We hope to return soon, too. My perspective on the things we "missed" is that we'll just have to do it next time!

[TwinFoxes]

I'm so glad you had such a great time. It sounds like your entire family had fun.

Did you tell your server at Goofy's table about the allergies? I'm surprised they couldn't find something more than watermelon and dry cereal.

[azzeps]

We didn't say anything. DS is pretty picky and I didn't want to have them go out of their way to make something he would end up not eating. And it really wouldn't have been a problem except that the lady who seated us was trying to cajole him into cooperating and coming to the table by enticing him with all the food he couldn't eat... he heard her say pancakes and that's what he wanted. I should have just asked, but I didn't figure they'd be able to accommodate, and then there would be more disappointment. I've since learned that had I called/emailed ahead, they may have been able to do better, with a safe kind of pancake mix or something. He was happy with the fruit loops eventually, oh and I think he had some sausage too. So it turned out ok. Next time I'll know I need to call ahead. I learned that from a Facebook group called Disney Chefs Rock Food Allergies.