One day mini-trip report - January 21, 2015 About This Page:

[SOmommy]

Hello to all! Our family made a quick trip to Disneyland yesterday for our youngest sons birthday (he turned 4 the day after Christmas, but we waited to avoid the holiday crowds). I thought I would type up a quick trip report to share our experience.

I am Sandra, homeschooling mom to 3 boys (Elijah 12, Benjamin 8, Jonny 4). My dh is Louie, and we live about 45 minutes north of Disneyland, which in the right traffic situations can be more like 2 hours! We are not season passholders as most of our friends around here are. Growing up in southern California, Louie and I have made a number of visits to the Happiest Place on Earth, and as a family we go approximately every 3-5 years. Usually we play "tourist" and stay on property for a few days, but this trip was just a one day shot. Our last trip to Disneyland was a couple of years ago, when Jonny was 2, however he and I made a quick half day trip with my brother and his family in October to California Adventure (the older boys and dh had other plans that time so it was just us).

Jonny decided to forgo a birthday blowout this year for a family trip to Disneyland. He is in love with all things Disney, so we happily agreed. We decided to wait until later January for the slow season, and we couldn't have picked a better day. Fortunately, due to our proximity and length of stay, not a whole lot of planning was needed. We checked crowd calendars to select a likely slow day, packed a few necessities the night before, and thats about it.

The park opened at 10am, and I know from experience the best time to arrive is about an hour before opening. This was our intention, and we had no trouble hitting the road by 8:15. Traffic was surprisingly light and we made excellent time which was good for two reasons. Number one, Louie and I were having a rare uninterrupted conversation as our boys were keeping busy during the drive. We talked and talked and talked and drove right past our transition and ended up not realizing it until we were miles away! No worries, we are familiar with this area and were back on track in no time, with only minutes lost, and we just laughed at ourselves and carried on. Number two happened as we were exiting the freeway for Disneyland, when our "birthday" boy Jonny declared he had a stomach ache and wanted to throw up. Not really taking him seriously (he has a penchant for exaggerations and story-telling) and also because this was the first he had mentioned feeling sick and no one else around us had been sick, we continued on our way. Again, he mentioned wanting to throw up, so I pulled some food out of a large plastic baggie we had packed and handed it to him "just in case", and only moments later he ended up using it! Boy, was that lucky for us that he got nothing on the car OR his clothes, because although we tend to overpack, we did not think to bring a change of clothes for him! After pulling over so we could get rid of the stomach contents (gross) and check him over, he declared that he was feeling much better and we could go on. We hesitated for a second, but figured we had already purchased our tickets so we might as well go and see what happens. Turns out he was totally fine the rest of the day, and I attribute the tummy trouble to excitement (I've been there myself).

After that eventful drive, we pulled up to Disney parking not much later than we had hoped, and after the tram ride and security we were still early for the opening ceremony (where they choose a couple families to be the designated "first family" for a small celebration before they open the turnstiles). I had never seen this before so that was fun. We were the 3rd family through our turnstile and I have to say it is pretty magical being there so early. Rather than rushing past Main Street as we usually do, we were able to stroll slowly past all the shops and enjoy the window dressings without throngs of crowds jostling us about. We arrived in front of the castle and waited probably 20 minutes longer for the rope to drop. In that time the kids played with some bubbles someone nearby was making, we took their pictures and rehearsed our contact information on the chance they should be separated from us (for Jonny we stuck a note in his pocket with our info and instructed him to hand it to a uniformed employee if he couldn't find us at any point).

While waiting, we noticed the walk through for the castle was closed. Other areas that are closed right now are pretty much everything in Critter Country, Tom Sawyer Island, The Haunted Mansion, and The Matterhorn. We were slightly disappointed by some of these closures, but thats the price you have to pay for enjoying the lighter crowds of the off season. In the end these closures did not ruin our trip, in fact it felt good knowing that we didn't have to try to fit some of these attractions in!

Once the rope dropped we headed off to Fantasyland where we were able to jump right on Peter Pan, Dumbo, the Carousel, and the Circus Train (where I was able to glimpse the new addition of Arendale and Elsa's ice castle!), before we split up with Louie and Jonny waiting in the longest line of the day for the Storybook Canal boats, while I took the older boys on Snow White and then the Teacups. Louie and Jon weren't done yet, so we wondered over to Tomorrowland to get FP for Space Mountain and checked out the many exhibits in Innovations.

When Louie and Jonny were done with their ride, we all met at Autopia, then caught the end of Jedi Training, which Jonny decided he would like to do next. It was about lunchtime at this point, and Louie and I really wanted to check out a restaurant we had never been to before called Rancho Del Zocalo, but since we were on the wrong side of the park and very hungry, we decided to take a snack break and do a later lunch. We bought some popcorn and a soda, and then pulled out waters, apples, cheesy crackers, and granola bars and noshed on that until the next Jedi Academy show was seating. Louie stayed with Benjamin and Jonny (none of whom are big on roller coasters), while I took Elijah on Space Mountain. Our ride was over so quickly that we had time to see the entire Jedi show, with both Jonny and Benjie selected. Jonny took the whole thing very seriously and was beyond adorable, being almost the smallest one there (they choose between the ages of 4-12), while Benjie was experienced having done this 2 years ago when we were there. Elijah had also participated that time, but now at age 12 he was not interested in watching and took off to get FP for Star Tours.

Once the show finished we still had some time before our FP return so we walked right onto Buzz Lightyear, and then Louie took Benjie on the Astro Orbiter. Seriously, the difference in crowd levels from June, when we last visited, to January is phenomenal! There were plenty of people here, don't get me wrong, and I enjoyed my share of "people-watching", but just the difference in elbow room and wait times is amazing! I think the recent measles outbreak scare might have made a dent in park attendance as well. It was only a slight concern of ours, as we have all been vaccinated, but I heard that those vaccinated might still contract the disease so I guess we'll find out...

Then it was time for Star Tours, but Jonny backed out at the last minute (he is pretty timid when it comes to rides), so I attempted to get him to nap while the older guys took their turn. When they came back I suggested that Louie head over to Frontierland with Jonny and Elijah so I could have my turn on Star Tours and Benjie stayed with me. That,s such a fun ride now that they have different storylines. Benjie's ride with his dad and his ride with me were totally different!

I met Louie at the Mexican restaurant to find him working on getting Jonny down for his nap. We really didn't expect him to sleep, and figured we'd be leaving the park early if he didn't because he gets super-cranky without a proper nap even at this age. Fortunately, Louie had found a quiet, peaceful corner of the restaurant with a water feature to drown out the park noises and he fell right to sleep. I took the boys through the cafeteria style restaurant to pick out their lunches. For the 5 of us we were able to get plenty of food for $40, which is what a restaurant bill usually comes to when we dine out anyway. I am so glad we finally got a chance to try this place, and I cannot rave enough about it! We ordered a steak taco plate which came with two soft tacos, rice, and beans, all generous helpings. Benjie ordered a kids chicken taco plate which came with applesauce, rice, carrots and celery, and a drink. Elijah decided to share that with him as it was so much food and he wasn't very hungry, and he also grabbed a mixed fruit plate to share with his brothers. I grabbed a bag of chips that came with salsa, and some milks for the kids. We were all full and satisfied, with enough food leftover for Jonny when he woke up.

We spent a couple hours at the restaurant, letting Jonny sleep, while we ate, took our bathroom breaks, and then rode the newly renovated Thunder Mountain (I haven't been on this since I was a kid and it was great!). Eli had gotten fast passes for this one before Ben and I had shown up, and was I glad because the stand-by line seemed extremely long and we just by-passed everybody! Benjie rode with us even though he was a little apprehensive at first. He almost backed out last minute, but with a little urging I got him to try it, and he loved it so much they rode a second time before Jonny woke up.

While Jonny ate and used the bathroom, the older boys went to the Shootin' Expedition which is a favorite for them and Louie. I grabbed a hot cocoa for Jonny before we left, because he was feeling chilly, and off we went. We started heading toward Pirates of the Caribbean, but took a detour when Benjie noticed Tarzan's Treehouse just beyond. So Louie took the boys through that (because kids have to have some running around time), while I got our FP's for Indiana Jones. With their wiggles out, we walked right onto Pirates. Then we took a stroll through my personal favorite part of the park, New Orleans Square. We browsed some shops and told the kids all about Club 33 and showed them how it was hidden in plain sight. Then we snacked on some Beignets and mint julep. I had a mint julep on a previous trip and just loved it, so I was looking forward to that treat, and I had always wanted to try a Beignet so that was another new thing to cross of our list

Next we parted ways again, Louie taking the younger two on the train while Eli and I rode Indiana Jones. Its a fun ride, but I will never understand the plot, lol. Afterwards we met up at the Tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room which is one of Benjie's all time favorite attractions. A dole whip is on my list of treats to try, but since we were still full from lunch and the beingets, I will have to save that first for another day.

Louie and I started to feel sleepy while watching the tiki show, and it was now somewhere around 6pm, so we headed to the Monorail, which is what Jonny had been asking to do since we first arrived. See, we end up at Downtown Disney every so often just to get our Disney fix without the Disneyland prices, but they have the Monorail run right through it which just drives Jon crazy. We always have to tell him "No, we can't ride that, we don't have a ticket." So we finally got to tell him, "Yes, we can ride it now." It was probably the ride he was most looking forward to! One Monorail was just leaving as we walked up, so we were the first ones there and asked the operator if it would be possible to sit up front. I had done this once before when it was Benjie's birthday years ago, and since there was hardly anyone else there, he told us that would be fine. When the next Monorail came up, they told us to stand by the first driver's car, but only 4 could go, so I rode in the first car behind them since I had been in the front before. Well, as the Monorail was loading, a woman and her daughter entered my car, with the daughter (I'm guessing around 13) whining about riding in the very front. The mom told her she thought someone else was up front, to which the daughter replied "No there's not", and ran back out of the car, cut in front of my family who was still waiting, and somehow managed to get the driver's door open even though it was empty. The mom followed right behind her and both made themselves quite comfortable in the very front car. But I was hot on their trail and put on my "mom" voice and told them that my family was waiting to ride in the front and we had already been given permission. They started to leave, when a Disney employee got right after them telling them to NEVER open the driver door like that again! They had the guts to sit right next to me on the ride to Downtown Disney, but I guess if they have the guts to cut in front of a family obviously waiting to ride in front AND to just open the driver's car door without permission, that shouldn't surprise me.

At the Downtown Disney stop, no other families were waiting to ride up front, so Elijah switched with me so I could ride up front too, and the driver and Louie told me how none of the employees had ever heard of anyone just opening the driver's door of the Monorail like that. The employees were beyond shocked!

Jonny really enjoyed the special privilege to ride up front like that for his birthday. The driver told us they have the very back available to those who ask too, and that area can seat 6. She said its really a neat perspective, so we might remember to ask about that for our next special occasion at the park.

When we pulled back into Disneyland, we realized we had not done the obligatory Its a Small World, and so we headed that way. Small World was still decked out for the holidays, and it was our first time seeing the Christmas version of the ride! That was another neat first experience

By this time we were really ready to head home, but we had to stop at Gibson Girl in Main Street for some ice cream before leaving. I told the boys, since we had such a late lunch and because it was a special celebration for their brother, we would have ice cream for dinner. They loved this idea! I wasn't in the mood for ice cream, so I grabbed a gourmet apple to eat later that night for my treat (it was heavenly!!!).

It was really the perfect day at Disneyland!! Light crowds, the weather was perfect (t-shirts, pants, and jackets were all we needed), we rode everything we wanted, experienced many firsts and many beloved favorites, and best of all Jonny loved his belated birthday celebration!