7 – 10 March 2017 Anaheim, CA
Waiting for the bus to Disneyland at Anaheim RV Park
We went to Disneyland Paris for Isabella’s fifth birthday back in 2013 during their school’s half-term holiday. We had a very lovely time and stayed at a vacation resort Marriott for part of the time and spent the other half in a Disney property hotel. But . . . it snowed. Like the whole time. The kids were freezing and they had to go to the bathroom every 5.27 minutes and Lucas was terrified of all the characters and anything that resembled a living thing, which of course included nearly every ride with a diorama sort of arrangement. So I would say it was a mixed success! The temperature here in Disneyland CA was supposed to be in the upper 70s to low 80s the entire time so I already knew half the problem was going to be solved. Giuliana sported a pull-up just in case, Sergio bought us bus tickets that shuttle us back and forth from the RV park to Disneyland, and we slathered ourselves in sunscreen and took off!
All the kids in ToonTown Jail
When we arrived in the park, we had to have our annual passport cards printed which took quite awhile (cuz, well, six of them!) and then we were off! The kids chose as their first rides Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Teacups, and Alice in Wonderland. We took full advantage of the rider switch tickets for any ride for which Aurelia and/or Giuliana were too small. We made sure to keep the smaller kids occupied with things like Tarzan’s Treehouse or the Winnie the Pooh ride. Everyone was full of smiles! We had lunch at a New Orleans themed café and then later had dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. The kids had a great time there which is excellent because it was a $200 buffet. Excuse me, that was vomit in my mouth. At least it was pretty good overpriced food instead of terrible overpriced food?
Their first time on space mountain
The second day we chose to go back to Disneyland and spent time in Tomorrowland and Toon Town. The kids loved Hyperspace Mountain, the Buzz Light Year Blasters, the Cars ride, rockets, Star Tours, and more. They also adored exploring the cartoon land of funny houses, jokes, and tactile delight at every turn. We decided to head back to the RV for a late dinner around 8 pm which was actually far more exhausting and time consuming than it was worth. Lesson learned.
Lucas played musical chairs with the Mad Hatter and Alice
Giuliana on her favorite ride: King Triton Carousel
The third day, we all voted to go to California Adventure where we learned the California Screamin ride is awesome, the ferris wheel with the swinging gondolas is terrifying (at least to some), and Bella could ride on California Screamin after all because it’s not as bad as the ferris wheel. J We had lunch at Ariel’s Grotto where the kids had mac and cheese or angel hair pasta, Sergio had tri-tip, and I had grilled lobster salad. Yummmmmmmmy (but another $200)!
Giuliana loved the trolley through the Studios
We rode more rides including the Ariel attraction, Cars racers, Mater’s tow trucks, Luigi’s tires, and lots of Bugs land attractions and saw the show in the Bug Theater which was really awesome and surprised at every turn. For dinner, we headed over to Storyteller Café where the kids made pizzas, ate salmon, and had mac and cheese, Sergio had roast chicken, and I had a flatbread. We headed back to our trailer late again and collapsed into bed, glad we only had one more day of Disneyland ahead of us!
The kids voted for one more day in California Adventure where it was a little busier than the day before but still really quiet and easy to get on rides. They did a soft launch of the Food and Wine festival so we decided to go meal reservation-less and get the Annual Passport Food and Wine Festival pass for $40 which gave us eight small plates at the festival. Win! We ate at the outdoor food court for lunch (vegetable bowl, clam chowder, burrito, tamales, and quesadillas), devoured two large sundaes from Ghiradelli for a midday snack, and then used the pass for dinner. There were some delicious meals to be had there including bacon mac and cheese, white cheddar lager soup, chilled cioppino, bay shrimp louie salad, fried artichoke carbonara, and a raspberry chocolate tarte. Then we went on the Midway Mania Toy Story ride, rode the carousel once more, and headed back to the RV. We survived!!!
Passports and Poppets 