2019 SoCal Trip: Part V - Disneyland

 

Day 1

After our 5 busy Go Card days we still had 3 more days planned at Disneyland. By then mom and dad were worn out and weren't up for spending another $500, so they opted out of Disney. The rest of us drove up Saturday afternoon after both kids had had a nap. Disney only has fireworks on the weekends, so we figured it'd be best to go for the end of the day rather than the beginning. We left Carlsbad around 3:30pm expecting it to take us just over an hour like our previous day going to Knotts. It was after 6:00pm before we were in the park on our first ride. Freeway traffic was more or less what we expected, but getting parked and navigating through the insanely crowded park took forever. Our first mistake was following the signs that said turn here for themepark parking. It was the opposite of where Google told us to go for the Mickey and Friends lot, but we decided to trust it. Unfortunately there was never another sign directing us to we later found out was the Toy Story lot. We needed to make a left shortly after the initial turn, but instead ended up in downtown Anaheim where there was a LOT of foot traffic slowing down cars trying to make right hand turns. Since we had to make 3 right hand turns just to get back to the lot we were originally trying to get to, it slowed us down considerably. Eventually we got parked, but then we had to get the family and both strollers, which had to be collapsed, onto the trams. Once we got to the park we had to go through security, and once we got into the park we had to navigate through huge crowds waiting for a 6pm parade. I hadn't expected that many people to be waiting on main street 40 minutes before the parade started.

We walked towards Tomorrowland hoping to get a Fastpass for Space Mountain. I'd read that it would be closed for maintenance starting the next day, so if we were going to do it we needed to do it that evening. We arrived only to find out all the fastpasses were gone and the standby line was 70 minutes long. Knowing the kids would go nuts in a 70 minute line, we decided we'd have to miss out on it and walked towards Fantasyland. We rode the Carousel, Pinocchio, and Snow White before working our way over to the Haunted Mansion. I knew all of those lines load quickly, which would be much more tolerable for the kids than standing in place for long periods of time. Tyler was very excited to ride the Pinocchio ride. He hasn't seen the movie in nearly a year, but he recognized everything about it.

Tyler's sensory seeking makes him very grabby while bored standing in line, and his ADHD makes him very impulsive and much less willing to stop when asked to stop. At this point in the evening his meds had worn off, so he began actively looking for things to touch while we were waiting for Haunted Mansion. He started shaking the line chains very hard, wouldn't stop when we'd asked him to stop or hold it more gently, and would go right back to it after we'd pull him off and try to distract him. At one point Allison got close to the chains while this was happening and got bashed pretty hard in the mouth. This is when I remembered Disability Access Services (DAS). A friend had told me Disney offers DAS for kids like Tyler who have a harder time standing in line than others. You tell them which ride you want to do next, they'll look up how long the line is, add it to your ticket, and then you can return to the ride anytime after that wait time has passed. I wished I'd remembered right when we got there! Then we could have requested a return time for Space Mountain. As it was we decided to finish Haunted Mansion, ride Winnie the Pooh (it was close and had a short wait), then take the train back to Main Street where Guest Services was. Unfortunately the line for Guest Services was tremendously long, so rather than waiting in it we decided to head over to California Adventure and wait until Monday to use DAS.

We met Goofy at California Adventure, got dinner, then rode Ariel's Undersea Adventure, another constant loader that never has much of a wait. Both kids were absolutely enthralled by it! From there we walked back into Disneyland for the fireworks, where we miraculously got a decent spot. We squeezed into a viewing area just before they roped it off, and the other patrons were kind enough to let us bring the kids strollers to the very front. Oscar and I kneeled behind them so we wouldn't block anyone else's view behind us. I figured it was the least we could do for everyone accomodating us last minute.

We didn't want to head out immediately after the fireworks since we knew lots of people would be leaving then too. We figured it'd be better to wait and ride "It's a Small World" while those crowds were clearing out. We had to wait for the fire department to clear everything before they could open the ride, but once they did we walked right on with zero line.

The park was open until midnight, so after Small World I asked the kids if they wanted to ride more rides or go back to the hotel. They were tired and asking to head back, so we changed them into pajamas before heading out. Getting out of the park was easy, but unfortunately, lines for the tram back to the parking lot took a LONG time. The kids fell asleep instantly in the car and transferred well into the hotel, but the two of us weren't in bed until after midnight (I even fell asleep in the car for about 30 minutes, which I never do). We skipped the crowds leaving right after the fireworks, but a bunch of people were coming out of California Adventure at the same time we were leaving Disneyland because they'd all just finished watching the show "World of Color." I hadn't counted on that. We would have had to stay at least another 30 minutes to avoid that rush.

Day 2

Our first day was Saturday, but we didn't come back for day 2 until Monday. We stayed in Carlsbad until then and spent Sunday relaxing, going to church, swimming, and mostly, packing up. We checked out early on Monday and the kids played their Kindles in the car on the way up to Anaheim.

Once we arrived Oscar dropped Tyler and I off at the front gate. Tyler missed 2.5 days of school so that we could do Disney in the off season, but it really didn't seem much less crowded than when we'd been here on Saturday evening. I knew as soon as we walked in that we would have to get the DAS pass and we would have to bring both strollers. Tyler is of course, more than capable of walking on his own, but I brought a stroller for him to make it easier to take him around the park while I grabbed fastpasses for Radiator Springs Racers and World of Color. He would have been dragging his feet and throwing fits for walking all that way and waiting in lines just to not do anything. I took the small umbrella stroller, which doesn't have any sort of undercubby for storage, but they still made me go through the line for bags and strollers even though I'd collapsed the stroller. I found it annoying that we had to wait an extra 10-15 minutes (precious time when you're trying to get fastpasses) simply because we had a stroller. And of course, once we made it to the metal detectors, they waved us through because we obviously didn't have anything they had to look through.

I grabbed our fastpasses for Racers and World of Color hoping to get an early return time for Racers and great viewing for the show. We got neither, which shows just how quickly those passes run out. Our return time for Racers wasn't until 2:35pm, meaning we wouldn't be able to get another fastpass until after 2:35. I couldn't believe how crowded it was for a Monday in the off season. Standby wait times were already in the 60-90 minute range, which I knew the kids would never be able to handle, so I got in line at guest services (which wasn't too bad compared to the other night) and requested a DAS pass.


Ty had been fascinated by seeing the Matterhorn mountain the other night, so we picked that ride as our first return time with DAS. It only had a 30 minute wait, so by the time we got over there from California Adventure we were ready to ride. Oscar and Allison had walked from the hotel and met up with us by then. Allison is too short for the Matterhorn (42+ inch requirement) so Oscar took her on the Carousel while Tyler and I rode the Matterhorn. Oscar got a rider switch so that he could go back with Tyler after we were done. It's neat that your ticket can have a fastpass, DAS return time, and a rider switch all at once.

Ty and I finished before Oscar and Allison had, so we went over and met up with them there. We saw Peter Pan and Captain Hook nearby, so Oscar and the kids went over to meet them. The kids played games with Peter Pan while I requested a return time for the ride Peter Pan. Oscar and Tyler tried to use their rider switch on Matterhorn, but it had shut down, so they caught up with Allison and I while we were waiting in the standby line for Dumbo.

After Dumbo we rode Peter Pan where we could all fit in the same flying ship. Both of the kids really liked doing it right after meeting Peter and Captain Hook. While we were back at the Guest Services Kiosk requesting a return time for Alice in Wonderland, we noticed athe waterplug below us said Tyler's name on it. Both of the kids found that fascinating and Allison wanted to find one with her name on it too.

Oscar found out he could use his rider switch for a different ride since the Matterhorn was still closed, so he and Tyler walked over to Big Thunder Mountain while Allison ate overpriced popcorn. After that we met up at the Mad Hatter's house, which Allison tried so hard to open but could not. The photopass photographer at the teacup was one of many people to notice and ask about her SafetyTat Tattoo.

After Alice in Wonderland I rode the Teacups with the kids while Oscar requested a Roger Rabbit return time. Allison loved it! Oscar got this cute picture in the middle while we were riding the ride, so those are unposed smiles.

From there we went to Mickey's house to meet Mickey. Tyler was fascinated by this magic mirror with sorcerer Mickey.

And they both loved meeting Mickey! Allison was a little timid at first but then Mickey danced with her and charmed her. I told the photographers that we'd last been here when Tyler was 8 months old and that he'd latched onto Mickey's nose after the photos were taken.

After meeting Mickey we let the kids play in the ToonCar for a bit before walking over to the Fantasyland Stage to see "Mickey's Magical Map."

Mickey's Magical Map is such a good show! They show it multiple times a day and there's plenty of seating. I highly recommend it! It made for a really nice sit down break after all the rides and lines.

The kids were totally mesmerized! Allison got up and started dancing (which of course she stopped doing as soon as I started videoing her). My favorite part was when they brought out the balloon bubbles.

After the show we went back for Roger Rabbit where we got stuck shortly before reaching the end. I also forgot that we could have been spinning our car, which Allison would have really liked, and it took the staff about 10 minutes to get us out. The ride was pretty much a complete wash.

From there Oscar walked back to the kiosk to get us a return time for Guardians of the Galaxy while the kids met Pluto and played at Goofy's playhouse.

Allison was clearly getting very sleepy, but I couldn't take her back for nap until we'd used our Racers fastpass and grabbed another one. On our walk over to California Adventure she fell asleep in her stroller for the first time in over a year. I never expected her to do that since I'd tried to get her to fall asleep in a stroller several times at Wild Waves this past summer, but she never came close. We grabbed a new fastpass for Soarin' then I went on Racers with Tyler before taking Allison back to the hotel. Tyler rode it again with Oscar then they took a break from rides to grab food, including a sundae served in Mickey's Kitchen Sink. Allison had woken up but managed to fall back asleep at the hotel while I grabbed a tasty beef and lamb Gyro at a nearby restaurant before walking back to the park. I found the boys and we rode Guardians before requesting a return time for Toy Story. Tyler was too short to ride the Incredicoaster, but the staff was super cool and let Oscar and I each go individually through the Fastpass line so we didn't have to be separated for very long. Oscar walked back to get Allison while I did Goofy's Sky School and several other Pixar Pier rides with Tyler. We were the lone stroller parked in "stroller parking," though there were plenty of strollers parked in random places. Disney employees will often move your stroller to stroller parking if you park it somewhere you're not supposed to.

Oscar and Allison met up with us at the Toy Story ride where I scored higher than I've ever done before. I even beat Oscar. I think it's because Allison wasn't hitting any targets, though I tried showing her how, so I didn't have anyone competing for the same high targets as me. We saw Buzz Lightyear just outside the line but didn't have time to wait to meet him since we had to book it fast to get back for our Fastpass at Soarin.'

We didn't know if Allison would be tall enough for Soarin,' but we figured we'd take her through the line anyway. We kept waiting for someone to measure her, but they never did. The kids both absolutely LOVED it, and we really liked the new movie (Soarin' over the world rather than Soarin' over California). At the end Allison asked "can we go flying again?" She didn't even seem to mind when the ride got stuck for a few minutes.

From there we went over to get our spot for World of Color. We were close but our view was obstructed, and we had to keep the kids on our shoulders the whole time in order for them to see anything. It's a great show, but they really need to figure out better viewing. Little kids and short people can't see anything if they're not right at the front. I wonder why they don't put in bleachers. Ever since I saw Fantasmic in a huge amphitheater at Disney World I have a hard time standing around for shows longer than a few minutes long.

Day 3

The kids crashed hard that night but we couldn't sleep in. We woke up around 6:30am so we could get to the park early for our Magic Morning early entrance. Only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open at that time, so we went over to Tomorrowland since we'd already done the things we wanted to do in Fantasyland the previous day. I knew the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage would become a long line quickly, so we went there first while it was only a 5 minute wait (which actually ended up being more like 15 since this ride loads incredibly slowly). It's much better at Disney World where it loads in clamshells like the Little Mermaid ride rather than in a slow, space limited submarine. Allison was excited to wear her Finding Dory shirt on the ride, and both kids really enjoyed it. I'm really glad we chose this because the line had become HUGE even before Magic Morning was over. From there we went on Buzz Lightyear, which claimed to have a 30 minute wait. In reality it was much closer to 10 minutes because it loads up so quickly. How the ride loads makes such a difference in how fast the line will be. When you have to stop and start a vehicle to load people on and off, it takes much longer than when you have vehicles one right after another that never stop moving. I feel like they determine approximate wait times by the size of the line rather than the speed the line is moving at.

From there we got a fastpass for Star Tours and a DAS return time for Indiana Jones. Since that portion of the park had just opened, we were able to go right over to it. By the time we got over there, it had already built up a 45 minute wait. We were very happy to skip that.

Allison was too small for Indiana Jones so she played in Tarzan's Treehouse while Tyler and Oscar rode first. He then swapped out and Tyler rode it again with me after doing his own tour of Tarzan's Treehouse. We had to walk an enormous way down the exit to get to the front of the line.

Tyler was excited to go again, but I think his excitement had less to do with enjoying the ride and more to do with being just barely tall enough for it. After that we returned to Star Tours where they measured Allison at the end of the line and found she was just barely tall enough for it too. Now we knew she definitely was tall enough to do the other 40 inch rides, like Splash Mountain, Racers, and Guardians.

From there we got a return time for Pirates of the Carribean then went over to Splash Mountain. We actually grabbed a Fastpass for it since the return time on the Fastpass was right then, so we saved ourselves an extra 15 minutes in the standby line. I was suprised they didn't measure Allison on this one since there are no restraints in the log, but at least now we knew she definitely was tall enough. You can tell the kids were terrified from the drop in this picture, but afterwards they seemed happy about it. Allison still talks about how "we went down the waterfall ride."

From there we rode Pirates then I took the kids to the Tiki Room while Oscar got a return time for the Gadget Go Coaster in Toon Town. The kids LOVED the Tiki room! Allison kept excitedly pointing and saying "the birds are singing" while Tyler exclaimed "the tikis are talking!" While the three of us were in the Tiki Room Oscar met the red haired pirate lady who's now a big feature in the Pirates of the Carribean ride.

I took Allison back for nap while Oscar and Tyler did the Gadget Go Coaster. They then got a return time for Luigi's rollickin' roadsters and rode Autopia.

I purchased another delicious gyro before meeting back up with them in California Adventure where we grabbed another Fastpass for Soarin'. I found them eating lunch and we all rode Luigi's Rollickin Roadsters where I accidentally took our seatbelt off too early. I got it back on real quickly once I realized we were still moving. After that we got a return time for Radiator Springs Racers so we could ride it with Allison this time now that we knew she was tall enough.

Tyler needed a break from rides and was eager to run around and play, so we took him to Redwood Creek Challenge course. Oscar started walking back to get Allison when he realized he was missing his wallet. He began a frantic search to find it and reported it missing to Disney Lost and Found. He never did find it and eventually walked back to the room really concerned that we'd have to deal with the same mess we went through on our Florida trip after he'd lost his ID shortly before leaving.

From there I took Tyler on the Mickey Wheel where we waited extra time to ride in one of the moving gondolas. He really liked when we'd slide down on those. We then did Monster's Inc and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree where Oscar and Allison met back up with us but were too late to join us in the line.

Allison seemed indifferent to Roadsters while we were on it but then afterwards and even now she'll occasonally exclaim "we rode in a racecar!"

After Racers we got a return time for Guardians of the Galaxy. We used our Fastpass at  Soarin' then walked over to Guardians. The video above is dark, but it shows Oscar playing with the kids by holding them upside down and gently letting their heads touch the ground while we waited. I thought Allison would like Guardians since it's basically a bigger version of the frog hopper, but she wasn't a fan since it was in the dark. She was terrified and clutching Oscar desperately. Afterwards she called it "the scary frog hopper." At least Tyler loved it.

It was getting close to 7pm by then and we decided to get Tyler back so he could go to bed early and be up early for our 8:00am flight. Just as Oscar was leaving the park he was notified that his wallet had been found. It'd been left in the Redwood Creek Challenge Area. We had searched there but must not have seen it. Phew!

Allison and I walked over to Disneyland and waited for the train. I'd never taken it from the main street station and wanted to know what happens between there and the next stop. We waited around 20 minutes since we'd just missed the last train only to be disappointed that nothing happens between Main Street and Frontier Village. There's stuff to see between Frontier and Toon Town, and between Tomorrowland and Main Street, but nothing else. In Toontown we walked through Minnie's House then did the Gadget Go Coaster. I thought she'd love it since she likes coasters, but she really didn't care for it since it was dark by then.

To finish up we rode the Carousel, the Casey Jr Circus Train, and Jungle Cruise. Neither of the last two was all that interesting in the dark, but she was mildly entertained. Our tour guide on Jungle Cruise made a great joke at the end - "out of all my groups today you guys have definitely been the most...recent."


The next morning we woke up around 5:30am, dropped mom and dad off at the Long Beach airport, and then barely missed our 8:00am flight. Traffic and dropping the rental car off took longer than we'd planned on. If we hadn't had so much luggage and carseats and strollers to check we could have raced to the gate and made it. We had to pay $200 to reschedule on another flight, but at least it was at 9:30am so we weren't hanging out in the airport with kids for several hours. The kids did well on the flight, a friend picked us up, and Tyler still made it back for a few hours of school. Oscar had bought some candy for us to eat on the flight, so here's a picture of Allison feeding her Swedish fish to her dinosaur. She travelled fine without her carseat this time, but I did have to take her shoes off since she was unconsciously shoving her foot into the man next to her.

It was a long vacation with a few unexpected mishaps, but overall it was a great trip! I'm glad Tyler's old enough now that he might actually remember this one.