First Trip To Disneyland With All Three Grandkids!

[luvflorida]

After lunch, Megan and Carter headed to Star Tours, and Larry and I walked over to Critter Country with Vanessa and Harrison. We would all meet up later for the 2:30 performance of Mickey and the Magical Map.

Harrison had fallen asleep during lunch and was still napping, so Larry sat with him while I took Vanessa on Winnie the Pooh.

It was one of Vanessa's favorite rides! The line was a bit long, but she ended up going on twice, once with me and once with grampa.

Cutie!

Harrison was awake by now, but on the walk back over to Fantasyland Vanessa fell asleep! We also had a bit of a problem. Megan and Daniel had decided to wait on potty training Vanessa until after our Disneyland trip, figuring it was easier for her to wear Pull-Ups then to have to step out of line to quickly find a restroom if she needed to go. Well, let's just say that the Pull-Up malfunctioned, and it was obvious that she needed a change of clothes. It wasn't too bad, but I wanted to put a different pair of pants on her. I had extra Pull-Ups in the stroller, but neglected to bring a change of clothes to the park.

So, we walked over to Main Street in search of a new pair of pants or shorts. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find pants or shorts. There were tons of tops, but not many bottoms. I finally found a pair of red Minnie shorts in one of the shops. It was close to 2:30, so we hurried over to the Fantasyland Theatre. I managed to change Vanessa in her stroller, but she was so tired, she went right back to sleep. So, Larry stayed with Vanessa, and I hurried to the theatre with Harry. They were about to close off the entrances, and I was told I couldn't bring the stroller in. I quickly parked it nearby and hurried in with Harrison. Megan had texted me to tell me where she and Carter were sitting, so I found them easily. I also noticed an area with strollers with kids in them.

Anyway, we enjoyed Mickey and the Magical Map. Very fun show!

Even Harry was captivated!

After the show, we decided to head back to the hotel and take a break for a few hours. First thing was a nice, warm bubblebath for Vanessa! The kids played with their toys and we relaxed and discussed plans for dinner.

 

[luulu1999]

Loving your report my DD favorite "princess" is Ariel, she always asks how come Ariel isn't always on all the princess stuff. We haven't even seen Frozen yet It is on our Dish right now so we will probably be watching it this weekend or next.

 

[luvflorida]

Loving your report my DD favorite "princess" is Ariel, she always asks how come Ariel isn't always on all the princess stuff. We haven't even seen Frozen yet It is on our Dish right now so we will probably be watching it this weekend or next.

Thank you! I hope you get around to watching Frozen soon. My daughter and I took the two older kids to see it at the theatre a few months ago and we all absolutely loved it. I picked up the Blue Ray DVD a few days ago, and am looking forward to seeing the movie again.

 

[luvflorida]

Monday, March 10th- continued

After recharging for a few hours at the hotel, we walked over to Downtown Disney. We had decided on La Brea Bakery for dinner. It was a good choice!

We only waited about five minutes before being seated. We really enjoyed our dinner, although grampa looks like he's had it for the day here!

Being originally from the frigid Northeast, I can never get enough of dining alfresco.

After dinner we entered DCA and headed to Ariel's Undersea Adventure and rode it twice. We then walked over to Cars Land and entered through the Pacific Wharf area.

So beautiful all lit up at night!

We past this guy, DJ, on our way through Cars Land.

Next up...Luigi's Flying Tires. This little guy was too young to ride, of course, so I stayed with him while the others rode.

I managed to snap a pic with all four of them in it. This was Vanessa's first time on Luigi's and she really liked it.

Carter and Larry.

Megan took this of herself and Vanessa.

The kids were asking to ride Mater's again, so we walked over there. On the way, we stopped for a pic by the tractor.

Me and my three cuties!

Aaaaaaand...back to Mater's! We rode three or four times, then called it a night.

Megan tried to get a pic of the kids peeking out through the beads at Fillmore's, but it was difficult to get both kids looking out at the same time!

This one is a bit creepy!

On our way out of the park, we stopped at Trolley Treats and bought...treats! Vanessa picked out a cookie in the shape of Cinderella's glass slipper, and Carter got a Lightning McQueen cookie. We also bought several bags of popcorn and caramel corn, and a Mickey rice krispie bar. Back at the hotel, we had a "snack party". Again, not normally something we encourage late at night, but hey, it was vacation!

The next day, we would be checking out of the hotel and driving back to Phoenix, but not before enjoying a terrific character breakfast!

 

[luvflorida]

TUESDAY, MARCH 11th-

We had a 9:30am reservation this morning for the Surf's Up with Mickey Character Breakfast at the PCH Grill. We packed up the cars, checked out of the hotel and headed to the Paradise Pier Hotel, which was only a five minute drive from the Residence Inn Maingate.

No rush to get to the parks, so we had a leisurely morning.

"Anyone for a spot of tea with Mrs. Potts?"

We arrived at the PCH Grill a few minutes past our reservation time. We parked on the top level of the parking garage at the hotel and looked all over for an elevator, but never found one. We ended up going down numerous steps with one of us pushing the stroller and the other two holding onto the two older kids. I'm still confused about the lack of an elevator?!??!?

Anyway, we made it.

We were seated within a few minutes. We had a big, round table right in front of the dance floor and where Mickey greets his guests. Loved the location! When Mickey wasn't greeting guests, he interacted with the kids and they got lots of time to hug Mickey!

Arrival and meeting Mickey.

We were SO glad that Vanessa wasn't afraid of the characters. She LOVED them!

I had bought a large, white, frame mat at Michael's before our trip, and we got all the characters at the breakfast to sign it.

Mickey waffles!

I have to say, the food was very good! There was a large variety of items, and the staff kept up with the demand. The serving dishes were always full and the food was hot. As soon as we sat down, our waiter took orders for beverages and throughout the meal, he made sure our drinks were refilled. The kids loved the bendy straws that came with every drink they had.

Everyone from the hostess to the wait staff was very friendly and upbeat. They checked on us often to make sure we had everything we needed. Halfway through the meal, our waiter brought Surf's Up buttons for everyone.

Meeting Minnie!

Harrison had been asleep for the first half hour, but woke up when Minnie came around.

I took a lot of photos throughout the breakfast. A lot! I'll continue in the next post!

 

[luvflorida]

Character Breakfast- continued

Like I said, I took a lot of photos! I promise not to post all of them!

Since Harry was asleep when we first arrived and met Mickey, we took him over to have some photos taken by the photopass photographer. Harry and Mickey got along famously!

In fact, Harry and all the characters hit it off great! It was really a good age to take him, because he's still young enough to not fear them, yet old enough to enjoy looking at and touching them.

The characters were all a lot of fun. They each came to the table and spent time interacting with all three kids. Stitch was especially full of it!

Carter and Stitch.

Stitch loved Harry!

And Harry loved Stitch!

Stitch dancing with Carter and Vanessa.

Carter is showing a Daisy toy figurine to Daisy. She was very excited to see a toy of herself!

Hello, there!

Every thirty minutes, the characters held a dance party on the dance floor, encouraging everyone to dance along to surf music with them. Vanessa really got into it. Carter surprised us by being a little shy and not wanting to dance. He enjoyed meeting the characters, but wasn't interested in "partying" with them.

Signing the mat frame.

 

[luvflorida]

continued-

The breakfast was a huge success and a ton of fun! The adults enjoyed it just as much as the kids! We were there for a little over an hour and a half. At no time did we ever feel rushed. Our waiter kept stopping by our table to see if we needed anything and to bring more beverages.

But, it was time to leave and time to head back home.

Waiting for the car to be brought around.

Larry was driving up to Woodland Hills for a couple of days on business, so he helped get everyone packed into car seats in my car, said good-bye and headed off in his car. I think I detected a hint of a smile from him as he got in his car and proceeded to head off all by himself. Peace and quiet after a few days of non-stop frenzy!

With the kids all buckled in their car seats, Megan and I headed out of Anaheim and back to Phoenix. All three kids fell asleep within half an hour and slept for a couple of hours. We stopped for a late lunch at a Pizza Hut in Blythe, just before hitting Arizona, and we were home by 5:30.

It was a really fun trip and we all enjoyed our time in Disneyland. I had fun reliving it through this trip report. If anyone has any questions, and if I can be of help in any way, just ask! I'll also post my final thoughts in a bit!
Thanks for following along!

 

[crystal1313]

I always love your trip reports! Looks like you had an awesome time! You are amazing grandparents =) The kids are SO cute and I love their coordinating outfits! Thank you for sharing!!

 

[disneyhopeful4]

What a fun trip report! Thanks for sharing

 

[luvflorida]

I always love your trip reports! Looks like you had an awesome time! You are amazing grandparents =) The kids are SO cute and I love their coordinating outfits! Thank you for sharing!!

Thanks for following along! Honestly, we have just as much fun as the grandkids! And yes, someone loves to clothes shop! I'm on a first name basis with employees at Osh Kosh, Carter's and Gynboree!

What a fun trip report! Thanks for sharing

You're welcome! Thanks for reading my report!

 

[luvflorida]

Okay, one final photo! This is a picture I took of the three grandkids meeting Pluto at the character breakfast. I loved the picture, but didn't like the busy background.

So, I asked my younger daughter if she could perform some of her amazing photoshopping skills on the photo, and this is what she did.

Remember the mat that the characters signed at the breakfast? Well, here it is! I still need to find the right frame to put it in, but I love how it came out.

 

[luvflorida]

And now, my final thoughts on our latest trip to Disneyland. First of all, we were really surprised by how crowded it was when we were there. I know March can be busy, but it was way more crowded than I thought it would be. DCA wasn't too bad, but DL was crazy at times! The worst bottlenecks were in Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and New Orleans Square. There were times when we were almost at a standstill when trying to walk from one area to another. I think when planning our next trip, either to Disneyland or Disney World, we'll choose a less hectic time of year, perhaps October/November.

I figured I'd put the rest of my thoughts into a list of tips. I know many of my tips aren't new or groundbreaking, but maybe there's something here that will help someone planning a trip. And, not every tip will suit everyone, but these are the ones that really helped us! Well, tip #8 will help us on future trips!

My Top Ten Tips For Visiting Disneyland with Little Ones (6 and Under)

#10- Take a stroller! It is a life-saver in more ways than one. Walking to and from the parks is much easier with a stroller, especially for mid-day trips back to the hotel and for the end of trek with tired kids! At five and a half, Carter would never use a stroller anywhere else, but for Disney, he did use it. The stroller is also handy for naps, and the under seat basket is great for holding many of the items mentioned in my other tips.

#9- Tie a bright piece of fabric to the handle of your stroller. We always found our strollers a lot quicker when exiting an attraction, because of the bright red strip of fabric tied to each one.

#8- Bring a change of clothes for little kids! Not just diapers! Trust me, it might save you a lot of time and a lot of walking.

#7- Sunscreen! Don't forget to bring it from home, or from your hotel room! Even though we went in March, it was still sunny every day. One day, we left the sunscreen sitting on a table back at the hotel, but luckily Megan and I each had a sunblock stick on us, so we managed to cover little ears, noses and cheeks.

#6- Snacks, snacks, snacks! We always had something available for those times when someone was getting cranky. Individual packs of non-messy snacks are ideal for between meal times, waiting in line, waiting while others are riding, and so on and so on. Animal and goldfish crackers, fruit snacks and Pirate Booty were our friends!

#5- Baby wipes! They're excellent for wiping sticky hands and faces, taking a spot off clothes, wiping up spills, and cleaning off table tops. And, yeah, for diaper changes!

#4- Buy a few toys on the first day of your trip. I, for one, would rather spend the time in the parks at the attractions, rather than strolling the kids through aisle after aisle of tempting merchandise in the shops. We shopped at the Disney Store on our first evening, and that way the kids had something to play with the first night at the hotel and every morning and evening afterwards. Not that I didn't do any shopping after that, but I did it without kids in tow!

#3- Take an afternoon break! If everything is going smoothly and everyone is happy (and naps are being taken in strollers) we will remain in the parks the entire day. But if someone is getting tired, hot, or cranky, or the crowds are just too much, we will head back to the hotel to relax for a few hours. Sometimes, we'll split up and those of us who want to stay and do some shopping (who might that be?!?!) will do so, while the others head back. After a few hours of relaxing and playing, everyone is ready to hit the parks again, and stay later than if we hadn't taken the break.

#2- Character Meals! It's a great way for little ones to get one-on-one interaction with the characters. Knowing ahead of time which meal you're doing and which characters are featured, you can save valuable park time in line at meet and greets. It's also a really good way to get lots of photos of the kids with the characters.

#1- Slow down...relax...take the time to smell the roses! Or in this case, take the time for young kids to eat a Mickey Bar on a park bench, or ride the Chew Chew Train three times in a row, or watch the Riverboat or Columbia sail past. Realize that with little kids, it isn't possible to do and see everything the parks have to offer. They're young, they have a lot of years ahead of them to return and experience things they missed the first time around...or the second time...or third...

That's it! Thanks for following along, and if you're headed to Disneyland or Disney World, have a very magical trip!

 

[luulu1999]

AWESOME report!!! Thanks for sharing Loved reading!!

 

[daisy_77]

I really enjoyed your trip report! Your grandkids are adorable. I love the tips too.

 

[crystal1313]

Fantastic tips! Totally agree!

 

[Kansas Mom]

I just finished reading your report and learned so much. I'm taking my grandsons ages 1 and 3 this June. We Will be using your tips.

 

[luvflorida]

AWESOME report!!! Thanks for sharing Loved reading!!

I really enjoyed your trip report! Your grandkids are adorable. I love the tips too.

Fantastic tips! Totally agree!

Thank you!

I just finished reading your report and learned so much. I'm taking my grandsons ages 1 and 3 this June. We Will be using your tips.

I hope you have a wonderful time at Disneyland with your sweet grandsons!