3 kids, 2 parents, 1 papa and Christmas at Disneyland 12/20-12/24

[lindsay0526]

So we survived Christmas at Disneyland and lived to tell the tale. We also survived Christmas at Disneyworld 2010, and my husband said "never again", just like he said after this trip. Regardless, we were glad to check DL off of our California bucket list, work it around my husband's school schedule, and most importantly, our kids had a great trip!

Before we jump into the trip report, here are some introductions. Who went on the trip- me (Lindsay), DH, our Papa, DD7, DD5, and DD2.

We stayed at the Candy Cane Inn, which was nice, but I don't think that we would stay there again. Even though it is a quick walk to the parks, by Day 3, it felt like it was MILES away. The CCI does have a shuttle that we didn't utilize, as we have 3 small kids, complete with a massive double stroller. It was just easier to pack the stroller and walk, instead of having to unpack stroller and load stroller onto the shuttle. (Side note- this is our last trip with the double stroller, so a shuttle might be more helpful next time.) The only snag, was that our smoke alarm went off in the hotel at 2:20am the first night, and it took 3 hours to get all of our kids back to sleep, only for the alarm to go off at 6:20 so we could make it to RD at DCA. And we have reconfirmed that we are a suite family- we need at least a 1BR suite when traveling with our kids. And that is the only reason we wouldn't go back to CCI.

[If you stay at the CCI, do book one of the premium rooms. It was much larger than the one our Papa had, and was able to comfortably fit the toddler sized air mattress we brought along for DD2. Plus, you can have a breakfast basket delivered, which is great for those mornings you are trying to make it to RD.]

Stay tuned and I'll walk you through our days.

 

[lindsay0526]

Saturday 12/20
We dropped the dogs off at the kennel, and drove the 6 hours to Anaheim. It wasn't a bad drive until we hit LA traffic. I knew the traffic would be bad, but it was a parking lot. Luckily, I was able to navigate us around some of the traffic, but we still didn't make it to the hotel until about 6. We quickly unpacked the car, got settled into the hotel room, and then made our way to Cheesecake Factory.

One nice thing about the CCI, is that it is walking distance to many restaurants at the mall- PF Changs, California Pizza Kitchen, Bubba Gumps, etc. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory with a 45 minute wait. boo. Luckily, the kids were pretty good, so it made the dinner more enjoyable. Once everyone was stuffed with dinner and cheesecake, we walked back to the hotel to get some sleep... Or that's what we thought until the fire alarm went off at 2:20am.

 

[lindsay0526]

Sunday, 12/21- DCA
Despite the fire alarm, everyone was able to make it into the park at a decent time. We weren't there for RD, but we were pretty close and the park was surprisingly very dead that day.

Once into the park, DH and Papa took DDs to Toy Story, while I went and got FPs for Elsa & Anna, and RSR. Once I got through the very long (yet fast moving) RSR FP line, I met up with everyone as they were coming off of Toy Story. Here, we split up again- Papa taking DD5 and DD2 to the Mickey Wheel and DH, DD7 and myself riding California Screamin'(with maybe a 15-20 minute wait). After everyone got off the rides, we went for DD5 and DD7 to ride Goofy's Sky School, while DD2 and myself road the Golden Zephyr. Our FP return time was coming up for Elsa & Anna, so we made our way over there and got into line. We met the princesses and it was so nice, because I didn't feel rushed, and they had a few minutes to interact with them. When we left, I saw that Turtle Talk with Crush was across the way, so we walked over there and saw the show. It was very cute, but DD5 was so upset that she didn't get to ask Crush a question. We were talking to the "co-host" and he tried to get her to ask him the question, but she was too upset. He ended up shutting off the room and calling Crush back just for her, so we got to ask Crush a few more questions. It was very sweet, and quite magical

Coming up... ToT, RSR, It's a Bugs Life Land