In our first act as official pass holders we arrived in Southern California mid day on Saturday November 16th, Christy picked us up from the airport, we went to Panera, dropped mom off at her hotel, got settled at Christy's mom's house and then finally casually strolled into the park at around 6 PM. It was already starting to get dark and by the time we were in the park it was pretty much dark. It was really crowded, everyone was already sitting down and ready for the parade that wasn't for hours. I think it was one of the first nights of the Christmas parade so all of the California people were out and ready to hang out. We saw Mickey and Minnie wander in to the Opera House and so we followed them in. They didn't have a cast member taking pictures which was a bummer because the lighting in there was tricky. But we waited in line for a picture anyway, because they looked so cute in their matching holiday attire. While we were waiting in line I ran into a couple from our old ward when we were first married. I could not remember their names though so it was awkward. But still, small world.
I had never spent any time in this building yet, so it was the first time I had noticed the famous park bench from the park where Walt got his idea for Disneyland while watching his daughter ride a carousel in a park. Then we came around the corner and Pluto and Donald were hanging out there basically alone and they were adorable. We had them to ourselves so they were being funny with each other and giving hugs and Donald even dipped Vivien, which if you watch the video you can see...I'm not sure she liked...but her mom thought it was cute.
So all of my trips are starting to blend together into this mush of happiness but I am pretty sure we went on Casey Junior because it was closed when we took mom on Mother's day and then we went on the Story Book Boats. We then wandered up to Small World. I think I was hoping we would find a spot to watch the parade, even though it was hard to see we still stood for awhile and watched it. The line for the Gadget Go Coaster wasn't bad so we wandered into Toon Town. Where mom declared: "This place looks like my nightmare, all this toon stuff." So I don't think it was her favorite area. Vivi and I walked through Minnie's house while Cali and Stella rode the coaster.
Everyone was hungry to we made our way over to the Mexican Restaurant. It was pretty wild in there, but we managed to get some food and a table to sit down and chill for a bit. All of the fast passes were gone and I was exhausted. I hadn't slept well the night before for some reason and it was taking a toll on me already. So I asked everyone if they were ok to call it a night at about 9. This is why I have a pass I thought...so I can come and go as I please, I don't have to feel like I have to get my money's worth for the day. Everyone was cool with it, but it still took forever to actually leave. Christy had to shop of course. Then we finally found a cast member taking pictures by the big tree in the front and we had to get a picture, because I needed at least one group picture of us. Then Christy got in some ridiculously long line to get her official season passes for her and Cali. We just sat and waited for her and it took a very long time. Pretty soon the fireworks were going off and the whole point of leaving early just went out the window. Except we did beat the crowds to the trams to get to the car so that was good.
Overall, I really enjoyed that night. I loved going in for a few hours. I wish it hadn't been as crazy busy as it was, but that is just part of going to Disney a lot of the time. Especially on a Saturday night.
The next day was Sunday November 17th. Mom slept in and we got to the park around 12:30. We saw Minnie, she was looking adorable. She was a very fun Minnie and we had a little moment and I loved it. We hung around the big tree for a bit and then we headed to Santa Clause. We saw Pluto on the way and then we got in a pretty long line for Santa. Getting a Santa picture was on my Disney bucket list so we had to just sit and wait. He is over by the kid playground so while we waited in line the kids would pop out and play for a bit and then come back only to find that we hadn't moved much and they would go out again. Christy and I spent the time emailing Disney World in search of some lost ride pictures from our trip the month before. (I'm three months into quarantine while I write this and man these were the days!)
Santa was fun. Vivi was surprised. We got the front of the line and she said: "Santa! Santa is here!" I realized then that she had no idea what we were in line waiting for that whole time. We saw the big guy, got a candy cane and we were done. Check.
Christy's grandma had just been diagnosed with cancer and she went to go visit her after this. So it was just me and the girls for a while and it was really delightful. It was the most chill time I had ever had at the parks ever. We went to ride Little Mermaid and then we just walked around. Since it was my birthday if I needed water, I just bought one. If the kids wanted an outrageously priced treat, I bought it. I'm usually so careful with those kinds of purchases because they add up big time, but it was my birthday trip and who cares? They were having a Mexico parade so we sat down with a slurpee treat and watched the show. I didn't feel in a rush to do anything and it was amazing.
I guess we needed another treat, because we sat down in Pixar Pier and had an ice cream sandwich. It was the opposite of the one we had just had in Florida. It was rock solid. Stella asked Vivi if she thought Elsa had used her powers on it and Vivi just shrugged. Mom was on her way so we were just hanging out and waiting for her. When she got there she didn't want to ride the ferris wheel so we just headed over to get our favorite salads.
It was such a beautiful time of night. So pretty. They had this band come up and play and they invited kids to come up and shake some jingling instruments. And one of the singers saw Stella singing to Rudolf and she gestured to Stella to come up and sing with a mic. She did and she sounded lovely. Now that tour is cancelled, that might be her only shot to sing at Disneyland. (Taking a moment to cry right now.) After eating we walked over to Cars Land through the back way. It was mom's first time and she loved it and so she insisted we take some pictures looking like we were hitch hiking. We then got in line to ride Luigi's which was super cute because the songs were all Christmassy.
We rode Little Mermaid again, but this time with Grammy. After we got off Cali and Christy were back in the park and we met them by Grizzley Bear Rapids. The girls wanted to ride it even though it was dark and they were going to get soaked, they rode it twice and they loved it. Stella will tell you that riding it with Cali that day was her favorite memory of that trip because they had the whole tube thing to themselves. While they were riding it, mom found a store and she bought all these country Christmas Minnie and Mickey items and I just had to roll my eyes. Christy saw what she bought and she had to run to the store and check it out. The girls were SOAKED when they were done riding and thankfully Stella had another pair of pants. Cali did not, but that was a thrill for Christy because it meant she "HAD" to go to the stores and pick out some over priced leggings for Cali. She shopped while we went on Soarin'. I was so lame and I put my favored Christmas ears in the pocket under my seat and when we got off of the ride I realized that I had left them. I ran back down to the exit, but the next show had already begun. It was pretty eerie because I felt like I was in this strange pocket of the park where I was not supposed to be, but no one was monitoring it and telling me to leave. I just stood there until the doors opened and I rushed in and found my ears just where I left them. Phew.
We were now cutting it close to make it to all of our fast passses, and Radiator Springs Racers was next. After that we found Vivi asleep in her stroller, and it was time for Toy Story. I knew she would want me to wake her up so I did. When we were in line for the ride she told me about her nap and she was glad I woke her up. "I was dreaming about being at Disneyland."
Then we had our last fast passes for Incredicoaster. Stella really wanted to ride it with Cali and she had been trying to talk her into it all day, but in the end she didn't want to ride it. I was sad for Stella, but I also don't think you should force anyone to ride rides. Even if we had waited all day so we could ride it with her and Chrsity. They headed over to the Italian spot for some food while Stella and I took a ride on the coaster. It was fun as always.
When we got off the ride, World of Color was going on along the water front and Stella and I walked behind it and no one was around it was so lovely. When we got to the restaurant NO ONE was there. When we sat down to eat NO ONE was there. It was so crazy and what a difference a day makes since the night before the park was packed. Cali showed us her Teresa walk and then the girls went and rode Goofy's Sky School and then the Jelly Fish. The park was so empty and I wanted to ride the Golden Zephyr ride, but they wouldn't let us because World of Color was about to start. What was this? There was going to be another showing of World of Color? Where were all the people? But it was true so we went over to the water front and watched the show with a handful of people still at the park. It was amazing. I LOVED it. It was Christmas themed and so lovely to watch it basically alone. Definitely one of my favorite Disney memories of all time. When it was over we had a few more minutes so we hopped over to Monster's Inc and walked right on to that before the park closed. It was just like old Disney days. I haven't had the park empty like that for me in years and it was really delightful. I remember how tired we were but it was still worth it to get to ride one more ride before we trekked home. Overall, this was my favorite California Adventure day of all time. It was the best.
Did you know that November 18th is Mickey's birthday? Officially, I didn't either, and obviously we didn't plan this, but look at us, here to celebrate Mickey Mouse. When we got to the park we all got birthday buttons to wear and help us celebrate. We knew there was going to be a birthday parade and we had just enough time for everyone to ride Star Tours. As we were walking down Main Street I saw my new friend Terry that I had met on the plane. She was kind of a crazy lady, but I liked her. (Mom's take: "Takes crazy to know crazy." not a compliment to me I reckon.) I was surprised that I saw her and that was fun. I wasn't interested in riding Star Tours so I sat and waited for everyone.
Then we headed over to the hub to wait for Mickey to come by. It was totally fun and I acted nuts. It was a bit much. But I was into it. After we all sung happy birthday we saw Terry again so I got a selfie with her to commemorate the event. She told me that she would come and see Stella as Annie, but of course I didn't think she would. (Spoiler Alert: she came.)
We headed to Fantasy Land and rode the Teacups. We may have ridden more things, but I can't remember. We then went to see Tinkerbell. I think the main reason we went was because there was no line. Then we went to Plaza Inn for food and met up with my mom there. She had finally arrived for the day. Someone gave us a dessert and it looked terrible, but it was actually quite good. I think at this point I was already dragging. I was so tired and I was so irritated that I was so tired. We went and got some castle pictures and then we split up so Christy could take Cali and Stella to Star Wars Land so they could ride the ride there. Mom and I stayed in Fantasy land and we rode Alice and then Dumbo. Mom decided to ride Dumbo with us and I loved us all riding together.
We had fast passes for Big Thunder so we met up with the girls there and rode that. Disney does these limited edition popcorn buckets that I think are ridiculous and Christy got hers the first day and mom decided she HAD to have one. So after Big Thunder when we walked by a popcorn stand...that was it...she was getting one. Vivi was THRILLED! She did not want to put it down. Admittedly it was adorable. At this point I was beyond exhausted. I felt like I could not even function. We had fast passes to Indiana Jones and I could not imagine even walking to that ride. So I found this one perfect bench in New Orleans Square and sat down. Cali and Stella went and rode Pirates and Indiana Jones by themselves. I actually closed my eyes and took a legit nap sitting up, and it helped a lot. Meanwhile my mom had gone shopping, found a ring she wanted, and she sent me to go and buy it using my pass discount. At this point I felt helpless when it came to stopping her from shopping so I just got it. Christy and I also had time for a photopass photo shoot. The photographer had a pose by this random pirate machine and it was hilarious.
It was time for our highly anticipated ride on The Haunted Mansion Nightmare Before Christmas style. It is the most popular thing to do during the holidays and we were ready. Vivi was scared so I was holding her and while we were making our way to the doom buggies, she fell asleep. So I ended up riding the ride with her asleep in my arms.
We made our way to Winnie the Pooh and Cali and Stella wanted to ride Splash Mountain. We rode pooh while they went on it, and when they got off they jumped at the chance to ride it again, but first they needed the bathroom. So off they went and we kept watching for them to come back to the bathroom and then kept not coming back. So finally we all got up to try and find them and they were no where to be found. It made sense that we must of missed them getting on the ride, but we all had been looking and none of us saw them. We were all a little worried, but I kept thinking that they were together and if they got lost they both know to ask a cast member for help. So turns out, they did sneak on the ride a second time without us knowing and when they got off we found them. Phew. Our last fast pass was for Small World which is also a big deal at the holidays. Christy wanted beignets, so she went one way and we went through Star Wars land so mom could see the new land.
Oh man to I wish I had video of my mom in Star Wars land. She loved it, but she was FREAKED out. We saw Chewbacca and she was so scared when he was walking behind us. She calmed down when he got distracted by some people, so she didn't see it coming as he came up behind her and growled. She lost it. It was the best. The cast member with him said "What, you've never seen a wookie before?" Then as we were making our way our we saw some storm troopers coming and she took one look at them and booked it the other way muttering "no no no no" After we left the land mom said how awesome it was, but you would have thought she mean awesomely scary.
When we found Chrsity again she shared her beignets with us. They had peppermint ones and they sounded horrible to me, but they were actually amazing. Then it was time for Small World and it was delightful. Seriously it is something else at Christmas.
It was time for the fireworks and Christy and I have a perfect spot now so we hung out there. Christy got herself a huge bag of candy to take home and we ate hot dogs and chips while we waited. The Christmas fireworks are amazing and I loved them. They were the perfect ending to the day. We were all so tired though. We didn't want to fight the crowds to get out after the fireworks so we sat at a table at Jolly Holiday and rested. Cali and Stella basically fell asleep on the table. At one point we realized we had to get up and move it along. As we were leaving someone asked us if we had an extra Mickey birthday pin and I gave them mine and they were so excited. It was fun to make their day and spread some Disney cheer. The lines for the tram were really long and I think we all had PTSD from the Magic Kingdom boat incident and none of us wanted to get in the line for the trams. So we decided to walk to the car. I think it would have been faster to take the tram, but in the end now I can say I've walked to the parking garage at Disneyland.
This trip was so awesome. I don't know why I feel like I have to relive all of my Disney details here, but these days are so full of fun and memories that I want to remember it all. Even the bad stuff. Disneyland has been closed for over three months now and I am missing it like crazy. This was my first trip as a pass holder and I didn't realize how much I would love how freeing that feels. To be at Disney and not feel super stressed to do it all is the freaking best. It was a magical way to celebrate my birthday.
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