Disneyland 2015: Round 2

Well folks, I did it. I went back to Disneyland within 6 months of already going this year. It was actually a family trip that my mom earned through her Pampered Chef business this time so it's a little more justified (just like my trip in November is justified ;) ) this time than last. 

The trip that my mom earned was 3 days in the park with a stay at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. Never having stayed in a Disney Resort Hotel (we usually stay at other hotels within walking distance of the gate), we were excited to see what it was all about. 

However, after having stayed there, I can honestly say I'll keep my hotels across the street. The staff is amazing but the Grand Californian is looking a little old and tired and the room wasn't any bigger than the other hotels we normally stay in. 

The Grand Californian has a little waiting area for kids in front of a TV that plays Mickey cartoons on a loop. We saw one of the other guests try and fail to sit in the mini chairs so I decided I had to give it a try, too. Conveniently, my butt still fits in a baby chair and I watched old school Mickey while I waited for my family to finish checking in. 

After that, we headed straight into California Adventure, which is attached to the hotel. The first thing we rode? The Little Mermaid ride, of course! It's one of my favorite rides between either park and I admittedly ride it a handful of times every time I'm there. 

After getting to the hotel and checking in, we got to the park around 9 and we wandered around for a bit before deciding we would rather be in Disneyland proper and headed across the way. 

This trip was actually the first time we're all been as a family since my younger sister started college a couple of years ago, which was nice since I had someone to go on rides with and hang out with while we were in the parks. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Tangled, but I was not happy that my sister and I stood in line for 20 minutes to meet Merida (to recreate my photo from 5 months ago), only to have Rapunzel come out as we got to the front of the line. It was super hot and there was what has to be the crankiest lady I've ever met behind us in line, so I wasn't having it. Plus, I missed the show at The Golden Horseshoe while we were in line and I've never seen it before. 

This is the view from our room. It was actually really cool to be able to see the park (and parts of World of Color) without having to brave the heat and all the maniacs with strollers. 

Day 2

The best part about staying in a Disneyland Resort hotel is Extra

Magic Hours. You get a full hour in the park before it opens to do whatever you want. Uh, way cool!

My dad and I got up early on Friday morning and hit the rides that normally have the longest lines during the day: Midway Mania and Radiator Springs Racers. Both of them we practically walked on to which I loved. 

Ran into Mater on his way to work first thing in the morning ;)

When my mom and sister finally woke up, we headed over to Disneyland to get me a Dole Whip. I have a very specific list of favorite treats that I must have when at Disneyland and Dole Whips are at the top of the list which means standing in a long line and maybe or maybe not hitting the Tiki Room afterward. 

ALL OF THE DOLE WHIPS 😍 The line was sooooooo long but so worth it. And I got to go into the Tiki Room through the hosts entrance because it took so long #besttikiroomvisitever

This was by far the best perk of our trip. If you have the Disney Chase Visa card, you get an exclusive character meet and greet in California Adventure. Shorter lines and a free 5x7 photo are definitely worth it! Plus, I've never seen Daisy in the parks before so this was actually a cool experience and Daisy is an excellent sassy pose coach. 

Day 3

Our last day in the parks was Saturday. It was a really chill day, we had Extra Magic Hours in Disneyland that day and headed over as soon as it opened. We hit the rest of the rides we wanted to see (including Matterhorn, which is still super uncomfortable post redo, FYI) and then had lunch at Cafe Orleans. 

After lunch, we went back to California Adventure because I had heard that Stitch would be at the Chase Meet and Greet area and I wanted to get a picture with him. Full disclosure: I watch Lilo and Stitch when I'm having a bad day and he's by far one of my favorite Disney characters. 

After that we went back to the hotel for naps before the Pampered Chef event that would have us in a very empty California Adventure until 1 am. 

Buuuut I got bored and met my sister in the park to hang out and then leave guest compliments for all the great cast members we had met on our trip. 

Here's the group (sans mom) on our way to the park to start our late night adventure. I grabbed a very nice Pampered Chef staffer and asked her to please take our picture. I think they turned out quite well and this one was my favorite of all the ones she took. 

We met Mike Wazowski and in fact I made a cast member let a shy little girl pose with him first because she had been waiting and our group was supposed to be the last ones to get a photo opp. 

"I just can't control my happiness (or my hair)." Kelly O'Moore

Another round of Radiator Springs Racers and Midway Mania were the highlight of the night and an exclusive showing of World of Color to top it all off. 

Obligatory Flik pic since he was standing all by himself in A Bugs Land on our way over to ride Tower of Terror for the second time that night. Flik needs to work on his posing. 

Overall it was a good trip but I much prefer going during off season. Believe it or not, I'm going back again in November to celebrate my boyfriend finishing his paramedic training course and to see it all decorated for Christmas too. 

That Time I Found My Twin

Greetings, friends! Welcome to 2015 on this blog. Did you miss me? I know, I know, I'm really not good at the whole regular blogging thing still. Consider it a New Years resolution. In the meantime, why don't I tell you a bit about what I've been up to since my last post, shall I? 

The new year so far has started out brilliantly. I was offered my first grown up last job on New Year's Eve, which I enthusiastically accepted. I started this week, in case you were wondering. But before I started life as a real, contributing member of society, I thought I'd have a bit of fun first. 

Which brings me to my trip to Southern California. 

I can't remember if I've told you or not, but my sister is starting the Disney College Program down in Anaheim. She'll be there for the next 8 months or so, working in the parks. And someone had to take her down there and move her in, right? 

We live in Northern California so to get down there it's either take a plane (which isn't really feasible if you're moving your life down there for 8 months) or drive. And it's a loooooong drive. Rather than drive down with my mom and sister and spend 8 plus hours in the car bored out of my head, I thought I would fly down a couple days early to visit some friends I have down here. That way, I could have even more fun before helping to move her in on Sunday and going to Disneyland the next day. 

My visit was really fun, and definitely a recharge opportunity for me after all the stress at my old retail job. Unfortunately though, I definitely was having too much fun to take any pictures, so I have nothing to show for it. However, I did take a picture of my Peanut Butter Stout at the Stadium Tavern when we went for lunch. 

Disneyland on the other hand is a place all about pictures. And I had some very specific goals that day which means I have little more to show for my efforts on that front.

We got to the park when it opened and managed to get into a relatively short, really fast line. Once we were in the park, we booked it to Peter Pan's Magic Flight. Even though it's been around for 60 years, that is consistently the longest line we ever stand in. I have always loved the ride, I mean, there's mermaids for crying out loud! I managed to snap a shot of the mermaid mural at the end of the ride on our way out. 

After Peter Pan, Alice was closed down so we hit It's a Small World. The cool thing was that it was still decorated for Christmas. I love Christmas so a little carryover was definitely appreciated. Plus they sang Christmas carols rather than the It's a Small World song which I appreciated even more.

In case you were wondering where Santa spends his off season, it's right here ;)

Scotland! I swear this lady was like moving on purpose to get into my pictures. 

It was so irritating that I started shooting pictures from the back of the boat instead. 

I think that my taking pictures of Ireland every time I'm on this ride goes without saying.

This picture I had to take because it's a family joke. When I was little, I wasn't 

as adept at Spanish as I am now and I thought the song was saying, "Felice Naughty Dog"

which is how I would sing it. Once my family noticed, that was how we all

started to sing it and that's how it's been ever since.

I took this one for my mom because she wanted it as her phone background

and she still isn't that quick with her phone camera. It turned out surprisingly good.

Right after, I tried to get on Thunder Mountain only to have both tracks shut down right as I was getting to the front of the line. 

After that, we started to head through Fantasyland because I wanted to go to the Fantasy Fun Faire to see if Merida was in the Hall of Princesses...or whatever they call it. She wasn't but she was right outside and we got in line immediately. 

And, one of the girls in front of us in line gave me her "I'm Celebrating" button! I mentioned in passing to my mom that I still wanted to go to City Hall to get one because I was, in fact, celebrating my new job but hadn't wanted to stand in the massive line first thing in the morning. We had been talking on and off with the girls in front of us in line because it was one's birthday, one's first visit, and one of the girls is a diehard Disney lover and was telling us that this Merida was a lot better than most of them. When she heard me mention that I still needed the button, one of the girls reached into her bag and handed hers to me. It was so sweet. 

My mom snapped a bunch of pictures with me and Merida. For some reason, I got really starstruck and was nervous but she was really sweet. I walked up and she immediately said, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like me?" and I said, "No, but thank you for thinking so." She proceeded to tell me that we could be twins and that we should find a third lookalike and dress up to play tricks on her three brothers. I was literally thrilled by the whole thing and got some pretty cute pictures with her as well. 

This was during the "twins" exchange. 

"Say Angus!"

Ignore the size of my hair. It was oddly misty there that day and I actually ended up being freezing. My sister actually brought me a jacket when she picked us up in Downtown Disney because I couldn't take it anymore. 

After leaving Merida, we hopped on Pirates and had one of the bumpiest rides we've ever experienced, even getting stuck for a solid 5 minutes in the treasure trove section. We had lunch at Cafe Orleans which is by far my favorite restaurant in the parks. As usual, I had to have a Mint Julep, so here's the obligatory photo of that. 

Lunch was delicious. I had the gumbo with a side of hot sauce (this is the only way to eat. They make it for kid's pallets and if you don't add some spice to it, it's really boring), and my mom had some salad or other. Obviously you don't go to Cafe Orleans without getting Mickey Mouse Beignets. We were stuffed. However, I thought it was an excellent idea to try my luck on Thunder Mountain right after eating lunch and have to report that the redo on the ride is fantastic. It's so much better than it was! 

At that point, we were due to use our fast passes for Indiana Jones and pretty much walked on which was awesome because that line is nothing to mess around with. After eating a huge lunch and going on two bumpy rides right after, I decided it was time to tone it down a bit and we did a little shopping on Main Street. 

After accidentally discovering the flag retirement ceremony a few years ago, we always make sure that we're at the Main Street Train Station in time to see it. On our way there, I finally was able to get my picture with Minnie who was maybe 5 feet tall, ears and all. 

 By that time, it was time for the Soundsational Parade, and the flag retirement ceremony. Both of which I'd seen before so I wasn't as interested, but my mom loved it. 

Our last ride of the day was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters and I have to say, I outdid myself, as evidenced by the picture. At that point, we were cold and tired and decided to get some treats from the Confectionary on Main Street and meet my sister in Downtown Disney. 

I mean...I don't want to toot my own horn but toot toot, beep beep.

Overall, it was a really fun day. No pressure and no people so that was fantastic. We'll be back in June, but I can honestly say after that, I'm ok with holding off for a while.