Disneyland

This May we took the kids to Disneyland for the first time! The entire thing was a secret and we didn’t tell them until we woke them up at 4:45am the day we left. A friend picked us up and drove us to the airport and unfortunately they didn’t sleep in the car, surprise surprise. After scanning tickets we turned around a corner and my parents were standing there, surprise #2! The look on the kids’ faces, especially Calvin’s was priceless! He was so excited to see them and to find out they were coming to Disneyland with us! And for surprise #3, my sister drove up from San Diego to be my parents “Uber”, to spend the day with us, and then last minute she was able to come into Disneyland for our first day. We had lunch with the whole fam and our “Uber”, my gracious college roomie, Jess! We swam at my parents hotel pool, the Grand Californian, and then went back to our hotel and got McDonald’s chicken nuggets for the kids and we got pizza. It was late and hard to get the kids down but we were glad we hadn’t paid to go into Disneyland for that day which we originally planned to do.

The first day we started with a couple of rides that were complete flops and scared the kids, Mister Toad and the Alice and Wonderland. But then my sister and I took the kids on teacups and they could have stayed there all day! Then we went on It’s a Small World and stopped for an early lunch at Daisy’s Cafe which was great to beat the lunch rush. Next up was the new Mickey and Minnie’s Run Away Railway which was really amazing, even the first part of it before you get on the ride was impressive. Then we took the kids on Chip and Dale’s Gadget Coaster before we left Toontown. Going into the kid’s first rollercoaster we fully expected Calvin to love it and Halle to be scared and it was the total opposite, which surprised all of us! Then we used our Genie+ to walk right to the front of a very long line for Splash Mountain. All of us forgot about the drop in the dark and so the kids were pissed to say the least! Lots of tears were shed during and that ride and so much screaming. We got the kids cotton candy which they had been asking for and then neither of them liked it, so we got churros. Then we calmed down on the Carousel which they both loved and then the Casey Junior Circus Train which surprisingly had a long line and wasn’t worth the time. We hopped over to Autotopia which the kids thought was a blast. Sarah and Halle were together, Corban and Calvin, and my parents and I was riding solo! Corban, my dad, sister, and I waited in line for Hyperspace Mountain while the kids and my mom went on the Monorail, but then Hyperspace Mountain then closed so we ran over to Star Wars land. We waited in a loooong line for Rise of the Resistance but boy was it with it! Then we went back to my parents pool and chilled for a bit, wayyyyyy later than we expected. Tortilla Joe’s for dinner and got delicious food and fresh made guac, my favorite! Decided to make the most of our night and let the kids stay up late so we said goodbye to my sister and used our hopper passes to go into California Adventure. We rode Goofy’s Sky School which was even jerkier than I remembered and Calvin got spooked, probably didn’t help that it was dark. Then we walked right on to the Little Mermaid ride. Caught the last half of the World of Color presentation which the kids thought was magical. Then we hoofed it back to our hotel, Calvin in Corban’s arms, across the street and got to bed-sadly later than I had hoped!

Tuesday we started in California adventure with Soarin’ Around the World which my parents had waited a long time for the night before and then it broke and closed for the night. It was truly shocking how many times this happened to on us this trip, it was at least 6 times. Surprisingly Calvin didn’t like Soarin’ but the rest of us did. We then went to Cars Land and saw some of the characters and the kids got to use birthday money for bubble wands which was a hit! Then we went on the Monster’s Inc ride which again had previously closed when we reserved it, the kids hadn’t seen that movie so it didn’t make a whole lot of sense but it was still fun. Smokejumpers Grill was our early lunch spot, my only complaint was the only vegan option was a double vegan cheeseburger, which was way too much for me to eat before noon. We let the kids play in the treehouse playground area for a bit and then went on the Silly Swings! Hack here, if you go with someone under 48” they have to sit with a parent in the double seat but your whole party gets the yellow card and goes to the front of the line! Jumping Jellyfish was up next which both kids LOVED and then we waited way too long for the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind but the kids had just watch the movie for the first time and were really excited to go on it. Then our Genie+ reservation for the Toy Story Mania got canceled because the ride was down and we used our free pass to anywhere to go on the Pixar Ferris Wheel. Then Corban and I waited only 20 mins for my first time in the Incredicoaster (not a big rollercoaster fan) while my parents and the kids searched for churros. It was better than I expected and I was really glad we didn’t have to wait in a super long line because I was NERVOUS! They had no luck with churros, so we met back up with them and walked to find them churros and then we took family pictures in front of the Cars Land sign. That morning we had paid for the lighting lane on Radiator Springs racers so that was our next stop. It was an amazing ride, and we all got to fit in one car. Again Calvin wasn’t a fan of this I think because it was faster than all of us expected, but it was such a well done ride and the adults all enjoyed it! Next on the list was Grizzly River Run, my mom and I’s favorite ride. The kids absolutely hated it, see a theme here?!, it was not warm and we were fairly wet. My parents took the kids back to the hotel to swim and take a break and Corban and I went on guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout before then we met for dinner. The kids and my parents got dinner at Pym Test Kitchen and we got dinner at the Schawarma Palace. The vegan falafel was great! We had used our Genie+ to reserve Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, so we walked across to Disneyland and went on that, which is one of my favorite rides. Next up was the jungle Cruise in the dark, while eating dole whip in line, thanks Dad for that(cheep cheep)! And then my parents and Corban went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride while the kids and I went on the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Then we sat on a bench and waited for them to be done because Pirates of the Caribbean is a 16 minute long ride! At this point the kids were both laying on my lap on a bench and a nice cast member came up and chatted with us and helped the kids from going stir crazy while incredibly overtired.

Wednesday was our last day in the park and the only day it was just the four of us. We went into downtown Disney to get coffee and meet my parents to get the kids each a T-shirt as a souvenir and to say goodbye. Halle also got a signature book and Calvin got a Mickey Mouse baseball. Calvin was exhausted and Corban carried him everywhere until 4 PM when we switched parks and finally wisened up and rented a stroller. We started the day with the finding Nemo submarines, which I had never been on. It was a little claustrophobic for both Corban and I but the kids liked it. Then we walked next-door and went on Autotopia again because it was Calvin‘s absolute favorite. Halle drove the car with her and I, and Calvin got to steer the car with him and Corban. Corban went in the singles line on Hyperspace Mountain and the kids and I were waiting for Dumbo but then the line was long and we happened upon Princess Aurora. After a picture and signature with Aurora, Halle then wanted to do the princess meet and greet so we walked over and toured the Sleeping Beauty Castle on our way. We waited in a long line which was hard but she’s really proud of the signatures and pictures she got. Corban and Calvin left the line after 20 mins or so and rode the Astro Orbitor together which was a tight fit with Corban’s height but very fun. Then we got Mickey pretzels and then went on the Sailing Ship Columbia on the river. Next we went to Star Wars land which Corban and I had been waiting to explore. We saw storm troopers, went on the Millennium Falcon ride which ended in tears for the kids and me being somewhat motion sick. Then Calvin and I sat on a bench while Corban and Halle went on Thunder Mountain Railroad. She was super nervous about it but absolutely loved it and asked to go again when they got off. We stood and watched the parade while we are some snacks for a little down time and then headed over to California Adventure. We had dinner at Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill which had amazing vegan potato tacos and got the kids hot dogs. Halle got signatures and pictures with a couple of characters and we were so proud of her for walking right up and being brave. Then we finally got to ride Toy Story Mania which had previously kept shutting down every time we tried. I don’t remember ever going on that and even though our car didn’t work super well we all enjoyed it. Then we did the Silly Symphony Swings again. Cars Land was our next stop for Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters, and then our final stop Spiderman’s Webslingers. These last three rides were surprisingly fun even for adults! Spiderman’s Webslingers was so smooth and a really well done ride. And we got a ton of laughs on Luigi’s and Mater’s rides, and doing then during sunset was beautiful! By the time we left at 9pm the kids were falling asleep standing but we checked all the rides off our list that we hadn't yet gotten to and that was great.

Here is some of the vegan food I enjoyed during our trip! I had been really anxious about being vegan in Disneyland but it was surprisingly easy and a lot of the food was really amazing!