Disneyland
Earlier this year Alison and Kristin planned a Christmastime trip to Disneyland. They were going to make it a girls' weekend - just them and Skylee. As the trip approached Alison would ask me if I wanted to come, and I told her no. I knew she wanted me to come, but I did not want to mess with the girl's weekend. Then a few weeks ago, we were visiting Dan and the girls and Alison asked Dan if he was going to be sad when they went to Disneyland without him. The next thing I knew Dan decided to go. It only took Alison about 10 seconds after that to convince me to go.
Alison, Skylee, and I left SLC on Thursday after work. Kristin and Dan didn’t want to miss work on Friday so they planned to join us in Disneyland on Saturday. We flew into Long Beach - it is our favorite airport near Disneyland. It is small, so it is easy to get in and out and it is really pretty close to Disneyland. Skylee loved the flight. She and Alison sat on the front row (they were upgraded because Alison flies with Delta often). We got off the plane and got all of our stuff via Lyft to our hotel. We realized traveling with a child entails having a lot of stuff - and we were only traveling with one! Skylee was so excited when she saw our hotel. We stayed at the Castle Inn and Suites. We chose it primarily because of the close proximity to Disneyland and reasonable price point. Skylee loved that it looked like a castle. The employees checking us in gave her a crown and Skylee promptly declared herself Queen of the castle.
We were at our hotel ~7:00 so we walked over to Downtown Disney. One of the fun things about coming to Disneyland with Skylee is seeing her sense of awe and wonder as she takes in the world around her. It makes me try to remember what it is like to see things through the eyes of a child. There is a fountain near the entrance to Downtown Disney that I have walked passed dozens of times. On this particular day, I would not have given it a second thought, but Skylee stopped to marvel at the water and to tell us how the water reminded her of fireworks. Watching her joy made me smile.
We ate some of the most delicious ice cream from Salt and Straw. Skylee even gave it high praise when she said it was her second favorite ice cream, right behind chocolate ice cream with M&Ms. We took Skylee over to the LEGO store to see all of the elaborate LEGO creations and then we stumbled upon a magic show. We stopped and watched the show. Skylee got to participate a couple of times. Her laughter at all of the jokes was infectious. After the show, we swung by the Grand Californian to see their giant gingerbread house before heading back to our hotel.
Friday was a fantastic day in Disneyland. We showed up before the park opened. We almost always show up for rope drop because this is often the best part of the day. We were on literally the first train of the day on Big Thunder Mountain. Skylee could not have been more thrilled. We were once again treated to that infectious laugh on every turn and drop. We walked off of Big Thunder and right into Pirates and then Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. We even stopped to get some Mickey beignets for breakfast. In less than an hour we rode 4 rides and had breakfast. It was magical. Plus we had a fast pass for Space Mountain (it had the Hyperspace Star Wars overly this trip) and the Matterhorn.
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| The guy sitting in front of us on Pirates took this picture. He was trying to get a picture of the ship in the fog and caught this shot of Skylee and Alison dancing on their way into Pirates. He was nice and texted us the picture. |
Between fast passes and the relatively uncrowded day at the park, we were able to ride on rides continuously until lunch. Some rides were particularly fun. One was Star Tours. Alison and I don’t normally enjoy Star Tours, but they have updated it to have characters and scenes from the new Star Wars movies (episodes VII and VIII) and it was awesome. Alison was just thrilled there was no pod racing. It’s A Small World is also fun during the holidays. They mix the traditional song with some Christmas music. Plus they have all kinds of great Christmas decorations.
Skylee loves all rides and she is tall enough to ride everything in Disneyland so we really had no limitations (we didn’t ride Indiana Jones because she wanted to go on it for her first time with her parents). We ran hard and had an excellent morning. For lunch Skylee wanted mac and cheese so we went to the French Market. Although she really only ate ~6 bites. After lunch, she was starting to get a little tired and grumpy. Alison told her that as long as she was happy we could visit Tom Sawyer island (she had been asking if we could all morning).
We rode her favorite ride again - Splash Mountain. As we were exited the ride Skylee saw Mrs. Claus walking around. She was so excited she told me she had never met Mrs. Claus before. She had a great little conversation with Mrs. Claus. At the end of their talk, Mrs. Claus asked Skylee if she could do her a favor and keep her pretty smile on her face all day long. Mrs. Claus also asked Skylee if she could help give her ideas of treats that she could make for the elves instead of cookies. Skylee suggested that she could make cupcakes or donuts. It was an adorable interaction.
Skylee stayed happy and a deal was a deal. We took Skylee over to Tom Sawyer Island. I did my best to convince Skylee to head straight for Star Wars land, but it was a no-go. We went to the island and Skylee had a great time running across all the bridges and playing with anything and everything. She also loved exploring the caves. They were built with kids in mind. There were a few places I had to get on my hands and knees to stay with her. I was able to get her to play efficiently and we covered the island in ~20 minutes.
We headed into Star Wars land. The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride had settled in at ~45-minute wait. That seemed reasonable so we jumped in line. At this point Skylee was tired. I willed her to keep our day going by carrying her for the entire 45-minute wait so she could take a nap. We woke her up right as we reached the end of the line and she was happy as can be and excited for the ride.
We had so much fun that as soon as we got off the ride we got right back in line. This time the line was shorter and Skylee stood in line. She was feeling great after her nap. She wanted me to buy her one of the specialty sprites, and since she has me wrapped around her little finger I, of course, bought her one while we were in line. This time Skylee and I were assigned to be pilots. Skylee was so excited. The cherry on top was that we were in the purple group - Skylee loves purple. She had so much fun being the pilot. She couldn’t quite reach the lever to engage the hyperdrive so I would pull it halfway and she would pull it the rest of the way. It is such a fun ride.
We encountered a couple of stormtroopers at the start of the Millennium Falcon line the first time we rode it. They walked up to the woman right behind us in line and started interrogating her. They asked if she had seen any signs of resistance. She did not know what to say, but Skylee quickly jumped in and told them no. They told us to move along and left. The woman behind us thanked Skylee for helping her out. I was holding Skylee at this point and she was asking me about the stormtroopers. I told her she would need to be careful because Rey was featured on the shirt she was wearing and if the stormtroopers saw her shirt they might throw her in jail. I was joking, but Skylee took this very literally. The next couple of times we saw stormtroopers she crossed her arms around her stomach to hide the picture of the Rey. I told her I was just joking and that they wouldn't actually do anything. She was upset and refused to speak to me. She would either whisper in Alison's ear or use sign language to communicate with me. Keep in mind her sign language skills are limited to words and phrases from the song "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". She told Alison she was signing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" at me in a snarky voice. While she was not talking to me we came across Chewbacca. She held my hand while we followed Chewie around for a couple of minutes, but I couldn't break her silence. Later she told me she forgave me. She is a cute and funny little kid.
After the ride, we ate dinner at Docking Bay 7. The menu is very unique but very good. Alison got the plant-based pita meal and loved it. I had the roast beef and it was really good. Skylee had fried chicken with mac and cheese. She once again was going to eat ~6 bites so I told her she needed to eat at least one more big bite of chicken. After some back and forth she finally took a very big bite of chicken and with her mouth full of chicken looked right and me and asked me if I was happy now. I told her that yes I was happy now.
After dinner, we built a lightsaber. I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to build a lightsaber. It is expensive, especially for a toy. But I had read good things about the experience and I decided it would be a fun thing to do with Skylee. Before we came on the trip I told Skylee were going to build a lightsaber and she got very excited and told me she had always wanted a lightsaber. It was cute. I did have to clarify that this would be my lightsaber, but she could play with it. Before we went to build the lightsaber, I told Skylee we were going to build a blue or green one, even though her heart was hoping for purple.
We arrived a little before our reservation window and checked in. They gave me a pin and had me choose the style of hilt I wanted to build. They had four options. I went with the classic look similar to the one Luke has in Return of the Jedi. When it is time to begin the cast members usher you into a secret back room (it is secret because the First Order is hanging around Batuu). Before you start building they go through a dramatic history of lightsabers and explain the Kyber crystals you can choose from - green, blue, violet, and red. I chose green and I thought Skylee might have a little meltdown. She looked up and me with pleading eyes and asked why I chose green when the purple crystal was speaking to her. It was cute, but I stuck with green. We assembled the hilt before the cast members attached the hilts to a special chamber built into the tabletop. Then Master Yoda spoke to us about our lightsabers before we powered them up for the first time. Then we raised them up overhead while dramatic music played. It was a fun experience. We went out by the Millennium Falcon to take some pictures with the lightsaber. Then we checked it at the droid shop so we could run around unencumbered.
There are a few rides at Disneyland that are particularly fun after dark - Big Thunder Mountain and the Matterhorn. We made sure to ride both of those after dark. I love the views of the park all lit up as you speed along the Matterhorn track. It is magical. We also would have liked to ride It’s A Small World when the Christmas lights were on, but we missed the fast pass window and the line was way too long. We had other fast passes and we continued to ride into the evening.
We planned to do Splash Mountain one more time before heading out to Main Street to watch fireworks. We finished the ride and there was no line so they asked if we wanted to stay in the log and go again and Skylee immediately yelled yes. We went again. We got an added bonus on both of these rides because Fantasmic was going on as we were riding. The first time we came out of the big drop a giant ghostly pirate ship was nearly right on top of us. The second time we came off we glimpsed Mickey slaying the dragon.
With our second ride, we knew we would miss the fireworks. Instead, we headed to Star Wars Land to ride Smugglers Run one more time. The line was short and once again our group was assigned both pilot positions. This time Alison and Skylee flew the Falcon. Alison helped Skylee so she could reach the lever to engage the hyperdrive and Skylee loved flying the ship.
After our last ride, Alison and Skylee stopped at Gibson Girl for ice cream while I ran the stroller to Kristin and Dan’s hotel. They were staying at a different hotel than us. I dropped it off a few minutes before they got there and then I met Alison and Skylee back at our hotel.
On Saturday Alison, Skylee, and I had Magic Morning. We were at Disneyland bright and early before it opened. We were up at the front of the line so as soon as the gates opened we pulled off arguably the most difficult rope drop in Disneyland - Peter Pan. It is so difficult because it immediately develops a 30-40 minute wait. It is one of the most popular rides. Unless you are near the front of the crowd it is not worth rope-dropping. It will also have a 30-40 minute wait later in the day. Unless you are near the front, you might as well go later and not waste the precious morning time. We pulled it off and were able to get on the ride ~2 minutes after we got in line. We then rode Alice in Wonderland and the Carousel (Skylee loves the Carousel) and Space Mountain before grabbing breakfast and meeting Kristin and Dan. They took Skylee on Indiana Jones while Alison and I walked around a very deserted New Orleans Square. We got more Mickey beignets, which Holly loved.
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| Holly loved the beignets |
When they finished Indy we all went on Pirates of the Caribbean. It was Holly’s first ride at Disneyland and she seemed fascinated by the whole thing. We spent the morning and into the afternoon going on all of our favorite rides. Skylee was tired today and had a difficult time adjusting to the dynamic of having her little sister at Disneyland. She did pretty good, but she had moments where she was melting down. During one such incident, I tried to cheer her up with a treat, but it was an epic fail because I got a dole whip and apparently Skylee does not like pineapple ice cream. Holly sure did. She made hilarious faces the first few bites, but then she got used to it and just wanted more. I also tried to get a churro, but Skylee was not having it. Cool note - while we were standing in the churro line Josh Gad and his family came and stood next to us. We didn’t take a picture or anything because I am guessing he doesn’t really want to be accosted while he is visiting Disneyland with his family. But I did point him out to Skylee and told her that he plays Olaf.
Around noon Dan and Kristin have an appointment to build a droid. They took Skylee to build the droid while we took Holly and got lunch at Docking Bay 7. It was another delicious meal in Star Wars land. Before too long Kristin and Dan showed up with a jet-black BB droid they named DC-19. Building droids is fun. The line for Millennium Falcon was fairly long, but we decided we would rider-swap it. Alison and I were planning to stand in line with Kristin and Dan ate lunch with the kids and then they would ride it with Skylee. Dan brought Holly down to talk to the cast member in front of the ride. The cast member loved Holly. She kept asking Dan if she could take the baby home. Alison was already standing in line while we talked to the cast member. The cast member told me that I needed to get Alison so I pulled her out of the line. Then the cast member sent us down the rider swap line. We are not 100% sure what happened, but we think that because Holly is so cute the cast member did us a HUGE favor and allowed both Alison and I, and then later Kristin, Skylee, and Dan to all skip the line. It was really awesome and we were very grateful for this small act of kindness.
After we both rode the Millennium Falcon, we wandered through Star Wars land. The detail in the land is amazing. One of the aspects that is unique and cool is the way the characters interact with guests. We ran into Kylo Ren and a couple of stormtroopers interrogating guests to see if they could learn more about resistance activities on Batuu. One of the stormtroopers pointed to the picture of Yoda on my sweater and warned me to watch myself because some people might question my loyalty to the First Order. Speaking of sweaters - Kristin, Dan, Alison and I bought some Star Wars Christmas sweaters to wear in Disneyland. We made sure to get a few pictures in our sweaters while we were hanging out in Star Wars land.
Late afternoon we had a reservation to visit Oga’s Cantina. This is the themed bar in Star Wars land. We took the girls. The bar is pretty small and can get crowded, so you have to make a reservation. Last time Alison and I did not have a great experience standing at the bar (the majority of spots are standing room only). We knew it wouldn't go well if Skylee had to stand during this experience so we requested a booth and they were able to accommodate our request. Alison and I shared a glass of Bantha (blue) milk and a sugar cookie. Kristin and Skylee also had Bantha milk and a couple of cookies, while Dan tried a Carbon Freeze. While we drank our beverages we danced to the music curated by the robot DJ and explored the bar. It has a fun atmosphere and I think the Bantha milk tastes better here than from the milk stand. Although Alison and I noted that since the first time we came the size of the cup they used to serve the Bantha milk has noticeably diminished.
Saturday was by far the busiest day we spent at the park. This was likely partially driven by the fact this was the last Saturday before most annual passes were blocked out for the remainder of the holiday season. As evening approached lines were long throughout the park and we hit a lull. Skylee and Holly both napped in the stroller (although Skylee slept more than Holly). While the kids slept we took turns rider swapping the Matterhorn. It was a great time to ride the Matterhorn because the sun was setting and we had beautiful views of the park as we rode. Skylee woke up and we got her a hamburger while Dan and I walked over to the baby center in Disneyland to warm up a bottle for Holly. The baby center is a little dated and feels small, but it is super convenient that Disneyland has most of the resources you need to care for a little one readily available.
It was really important for Kristin to take both of her girls to meet Mickey Mouse on this trip. The Disneyland app indicated the line was only 25 minutes long. It seemed like the perfect time to stand in line. When we got to Mickey's house the sign out front indicated the wait was 45 minutes. Either way, it was important so we stood in line. The line moved so slowly that it was closer to a 60-minute wait. Fortunately, we got our pictures with Mickey. Holly was pretty enamored with Mickey Mouse. She saw him and immediately went for his nose - just like Skylee did the first time we brought her to Disneyland. We stayed in toon town after visiting Mickey. Skylee had been dying to play there all trip so we let her run wild. She loves all of the interactive props scattered throughout the land.
We were unsure of what we should do next. Lines were still fairly long, but the app indicated the Jungle Cruise had a 10-minute wait. We were wary after our recent Mickey experience, but we walked over anyway. The sign-out front indicated it had a 45-minute wait, but we looked and saw the line was not winding up and down the stairs so we guessed it was closer to 10 minutes. It was 10 minutes or less. This was a win for the Disneyland app. My favorite part of riding the Jungle Cruise on this trip was how hard Kristin laughed at all the jokes. Her joy was infectious - I can see where Skylee gets it.
Dan and I walked through the Tarzan treehouse with Skylee. This was another thing she had been asking about all trip. She loves all of the play areas around Disneyland - almost as much as she loves the rides. Then Kristin and Dan took Skylee to ride Indiana Jones again, while Alison and I took Holly on Pirates of the Caribbean. Holly fell asleep in my arms while we were waiting in line. She fought it hard. She would lay her head on my shoulder and close her eyes and then suddenly and violently she would pop her head back up and look around. Eventually, she gave in and slept. She stayed asleep until we went down the first drop on Pirates. The first drop startled her and kind of woke her up, and then the second drop her kept her up. She was curious and looking around until she began to get a little fussy halfway through the ride. I passed her off to Alison who soothed her and kept her from crying.
We were all hungry so we got some food. Dan got the fried chicken from Plaza Inn while the rest of us ordered food from the Jolly Holiday Bakery. Alison got one of her favorite meals at Disneyland - grilled cheese and tomato soup. I tried the Thanksmas sandwich. It is oven-roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce on some lightly fried rustic bread. It was delicious. After dinner, Dan ran to pick up his droid and I went to buy a toy sword for Skylee. We promised her that if she was good and tried to be happy we would buy her the sword. She was so thrilled we got it to her. She is pretty self-aware and wasn't sure she earned it, but she was a trooper and despite a couple of melt-downs did very well during this busy Disney day.
We began walking out of the park. While we walked we looked for a place to watch fireworks. The watching areas on Main Street were about as packed as we have ever seen them. We ended up watching the fireworks from the Main Street train station. It was not the best viewing area, but we still got to enjoy the winter spectacular in the sky. When the fireworks ended we went our separate ways to our hotels.
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| Skylee and I broke out the lightsaber and played with it before bed |
We rider-swapped Radiator Springs Racers. The rider swap system was pretty nifty. It allowed all of us to ride, while someone stayed with the baby. While Alison and I were riding Kristin and Dan got some breakfast for Skylee. We made our way toward Pixar Pier to ride Midway Mania and my favorite ride - The Incredicoaster. I liked it better than California Screamin', but it is still really fun. Dan didn't want to ride it so Alison and I went twice, the second time Kristin joined us. Skylee is not quite tall enough to ride it yet, but she should be soon. Then Alison and I took Holly over to the baby center to heat up a bottle while Kristin and Dan took Skylee to ride some of the other rides on the pier. Holly fell asleep so Alison warmed a bottle while I bought some food from the Festival of Holiday booths. We tried the beef pot roast on a potato roll with horseradish cream, curried cauliflower & chicken with lemon tahini sauce and black garlic drizzle, Reuben potato tots with Russian dressing and rye toast, and a hot cocoa marshmallow macaron. The hot cocoa marshmallow macaron was incredibly delicious. We bought two - Alison and I shared one and we gave one to Kristin (Dan was riding on Goofy's Sky School with Skylee at the time). We went on the Little Mermaid ride and then made our way over to Soarin' Over the World. We considered stopping to visit Santa on the Redwood Challenge trail, but when a cast member told us the line was easily 90+ minutes we decided that was not going to happen. Alison and I rode Soarin' while Dan, Kristin, and fam ate lunch and then we swapped and Alison sat with Holly while the rest of us rode. I really enjoy Soarin' Over the World so Alison let me go twice. We had another fast pass for Radiator Springs Racers so we rider swapped again. Skylee got to ride twice.
Then we hit a bit of a lull in the day. It was not as busy as Saturday, but the crowds grew steadily throughout the day and we were between fast passes. We headed out to the park entrance. Earlier in the day while Skylee, Kristin, and I were riding the Guardians of the Galaxy ride Alison and Dan were talking about how different it is to visit Disneyland without kids. It has been a long time since Kristin and Dan have gone to Disneyland without kids and Alison was suggesting they go for their anniversary but said if they were going to do that they should get annual passes (keeping in mind that we had already planned a trip where we would all come to Disneyland in October 2020). Throughout the day we kept talking about annual passes. With the timing of the trip in October Alison and I realized we would save a little bit of money by upgrading our current tickets to a flex annual pass (versus buying tickets for all of the days we would visit Disneyland in the next year). We decided to do it. We went out front to the ticket booth and they applied the cost of our current tickets to our annual passes. Dan and Kristin decided to do the same thing.
Now that we had annual passes we could go to either side of the park. We marched back over to Disneyland where we took a picture at the front gates with our new annual passes. Kristin was so excited (you can really see it in the pictures). We then hung out on the Disneyland side and spent some time in Star Wars land. We also got a fast pass to Big Thunder Mountain. Dan and Kristin stayed at Disneyland to watch the Christmas parade while Alison and I went back to DCA to ride the Incredicoaster at night. I love it when it is all lit up with the carnival-style lighting. It looks so cool. Alison and I grabbed some dinner and watched the Viva Navidad show. Then Kristin and Dan met back up with us for Midway Mania and one last ride on Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. We crossed back over to Disneyland where we took turns riding Big Thunder (another ride that is better at night). Then we found a spot on Main Street USA to watch fireworks. We had a prime spot, but due to winds at higher elevations, they canceled the show that night. They still played some projections on the castle and Main Street and made it snow, which is Alison's favorite part of the winter show anyway.
After the show, Kristin and Dan took Holly back to their hotel. Alison, Skylee, and I headed back into the park. We made one error. It was cold and we left Skylee's coat in the stroller, which was with Kristin and Dan. She had a jacket, but it didn't do much to protect her. We were headed toward an indoor ride so I held her close to try to help keep her warm as we walked. Once we were inside the Millennium Falcon queue it felt fine. Even better, there was basically no line for the ride. We got one final ride on the Millennium Falcon. Once again Skylee and I were the pilots. It was a great last ride.
On our way out Alison told Skylee we could stop at a store and she could pick out a toy. That made her so happy and she forgot all about the cold in her excitement. We stopped by a shop on Main Street and she looked at all the toys eventually deciding on a Porg. It wasn't the toy I would have picked for her, but she loved it so much. She was so excited to put the magnet on her shoulder so that it would sit there. As we were walking out she asked us if Porgs lived in Utah. We told her that it was from a Galaxy far, far away and she said oh, it is from Star Wars. Skylee is the cutest.
We got a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport to fly home. Skylee and Alison slept for most of the flight. I sat behind Kristin and Dan and took pictures of their adorable baby. We arrived in SLC and Alison grabbed a flight to head to Oregon for work. Dan, Kristin, and I also had to go to work so we headed home quickly.
This was such a fun weekend trip. It is funny because what started out as a girl's trip to Disneyland ended up turning into annual passes for our whole group. I feel like Alison willed this to happen. I am glad she did. We all really enjoy spending time in Disneyland together. As we were walking out of the park on our last night Skylee asked Alison, "Why do you love Disneyland?" Alison told her it was because it made her happy. We then asked Skylee why she loves Disneyland. She told us because there are lots of fun rides and because it is a magical place. It really is a magical place.
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