It's a Great Big Beautiful California - A 2015/2016 Holiday TR- COMPLETED

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Also liked the Santa T-Rex at Ripley's...

This pic of the El Capitan didn't turn out well, but the kids totally geeked out over the fact that the new Star Wars movie premiered here the previous week. I thought about getting our tickets for here, but the area is just such a seedy mess.

They didn't care as much about he Dolby and how the Oscars are usually held here.

I was moving, so he couldnt get a great pic, but I know the kids were wowed seeing the actual Chinese theater. I mean, it's the real Grauman's how can you not be wowed a bit.

We also passed where Jimmy Kimmel films, but my head was in the way for pics.

Took a few more pics...

And then it was time to start heading back towards our hotel...but not before taking a blurry pic of sunset on Sunset Blvd.

We wound up going through Beverly Hills to get out of the area. I'll spare you my super blurry pics of the Beverly Hilton and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

We drove back to Manhattan Beach for dinner, but were still very underdressed for a nice restaurant on a Saturday night. We drove through the main area of Manhattan Beach, even saw the lit pier, but there was no parking and nothing really looked suitable. We made it back up to Sepulveda and had dinner at a place call the Brickworks Roasthouse & Grill. While they had a kids' menu, I don't think they really cater as much to families ... or maybe it was our attire, because they put us in sort of a concealed area. I would have complained or walked out, but we weren't near the kitchen, were close enough to the bathroom but not right on top of it, and we were tired and hungry. The food was OK, but I guess I didn't like it enough to bother taking pics.

We went back to the room, got the kids in bed and I packed up since we'd be checking out in the morning. That's right, we'd be driving to Anaheim on the 27th for our Disneyland days.

Coming up- Packing Packing Packing, We're Too Excited to Sleep, Checking in at 9:30 AM, and a day at DTD.

 

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Gorgeous!!!! Makes me want to go to the beach!!!

If we had more time, I would have bought some fire wood and tried to stake out a fire ring on one of the public beaches. Just never enough time for everything.

 

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December 27th

Well, we've come to that point of the TR where things take a Disney turn...and that's fine with me, as it's my favorite part of the trip.

December 27th was a big day. We were leaving Manhattan Beach, driving to Anaheim, checking into the Hojo, seeing Star Wars The Force Awakens at the AMC in DTD, and having dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. I was also hoping for some shopping time since the girls had received several Disney gift cards for holiday presents. I also wanted to check out all the Disney Dooney bags and hopefully pick up my big treat for the trip.

The movie wasn't until 1:30pm and checkout wasn't until noon at the Residence Inn, so I was planning on letting everyone sleep in a bit. While we'd been exhausted the last couple of days and fallen asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows, we were going to sleep more at Central time times. I don't think we'd maken it past 9pm Pacific time either of the previous two nights. Not only was I afraid of what that would mean for staying up and playing late in the Disney parks at night, I wondered if anyone would sleep in. While DH slept in a little bit, the girls were up early and too excited to sleep. Everyone was just ready to hit the road and get to Disneyland. So, we did just that. I finished packing the bags, crammed everything into the rental, checked out, and we drove to Anaheim. And again, there was no traffic (compared to when I did my original calculations), so it looked like we'd be there in under 40 minutes...and ultimately around 9:30am.

I told DH he had to drive and that I'd navigate. I mean, I was going to be too distracted to be a safe driver- right?

I saw the signs for Knotts Berry Farms and I knew we were getting close. I could even see some of Knotts outside of the window.

Even though I'm not a big fan of meat on the bone and generally avoid fried chicken, I was hoping we'd have time to make it to Knotts to try Mrs. Knotts chicken dinner, but there just wasn't time.

Oh look, we're entering Anaheim!!!

First sign for the Disneyland Resort!!!

Actually, we were exiting Harbor Blvd.

Finally, my first views of things on Disney property...and Diamond Celebration banners.

They were even all through the HoJo parking lot.

So, it was about 9:30 and check in technically wasn't until 3 or 4, but it never hurts to see if your room is ready early... even if it's really early.

I went inside and sure enough, there were 3 rooms available if I wanted to check in at that time. The only catch is that they were all second floor rooms and it would be in a building with no elevators. I didn't care. I just wanted to check in so we could go explore. So, I got my keys and my packet and we were on our way to building 6. I had seen many pics of these rooms and knew they decorated them with vintage Disney art, so I was wondering what theme we'd see in our room. Most of the ones I'd seen were Tiki Room or PotC, so I was expecting that...but I was wrong.

Oh yeah!!! It's some Mary Blair IASW concept art!!!

For those of you that don't know, IASW is my favorite ride and I absolutely ADORE Mary Blair's work. While I'm still a bit bitter that DH's ski trip I had to tack on ate my budget to stay at the Grand Californian or Disneyland Hotel, having a Mary Blair IASW theme in my room was my sign that it was meant to be this way. I mean, that first picture is the exact concept art I used for the cake design the Contemporary bakery botched for my birthday cake back in 2013. So, not just any concept art...my FAVORITE piece of concept art. And if you've eaten at California Grill at WDW since the reno, you may recognize that second piece of art.

So, we moved in to what would be our home until the morning of the 31st. It was spacious, had a balcony, a foldaway bed, and I love the skylights. I remember Pete Werner talking about them in one of the podcasts, but we were up before the sun each day, so they were never a problem.

We also had to check out the balcony and our quiet pool view.

The HoJo also has a really neat water playground on the other side that we never used. It's popular enough that you need to wear a special wristband to gain access. I'm guessing it's also heated because it was pretty chilly while we were in Anaheim (mid 30s to upper 50s) and we saw kids in there pretty much every day.

While it was tempting to sit back and relax, we really wanted to go explore, so we headed out down our retro hallway...

...past the bird of paradise by the building exit...

(they were everywhere when we were there in 2003, so I always associate them with Anaheim)

...past our cute little courtyard area...

...and before we're even out of the parking lot, we get a friendly reminder of just how close we are to Disneyland. Yes, it's our first monorail sighting of the trip.

Also saw this fun plate before leaving the lot...

These two are totally ready to go...

 

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It's hard to tell from these pics, but it is a super quick walk to the Disneyland entrance.

I know I'd read somewhere that this was a 10-12 minute walk, but I doubt it ever took us more than 5 minutes. It's not the closest of the Good Neighbor hotels on Harbor, but you certainly don't need any shuttles or buses. I mean, a 5 minute walk is less than what it takes to go from the Contemporary to MK at WDW!

I will also say that this is the first time I really missed the Maingate and Magic Bubble feeling of WDW. It was the first time I'd think about some of the issues Walt would try to remedy in the early plans for WDW.

A better view of Space Mountain as we crossed the street...

We were also greeted by music as we entered the Disneyland property...

I don't know what they normally play, but this was a very short loop of holiday music, including music from Small World holiday. While it was festive and fun on day 1, we'd grow tired of it by day 3. I mean, you spend a decent amount of time waiting for bag check at Disneyland and everyone has to go through, so after a while, you'd either like some greater variety or just plain quiet.

We weren't going to any parks today, so we just followed the sign towards Downtown Disney.

We still had to go through bag check to get to DTD, so I made the best of it and just snapped pics as we waited. I mean, you had to go through whether you had a bag or not and there was security everywhere...even canine units...so not much else you can do.

I think this was also the day where we had an off duty CM behind us actually fighting with security. She was livid that she had to go through bag check with everyone else. She was getting pretty hot about things and one of the hired security guards had to get loud with her. Mind you, I know all of this heightened security is new, but it struck me as odd that a CM would make such a scene at Disneyland.

We were not chosen to go through the metal detectors, so I headed over to one of these lovely benches to get all my stuff back together.

It was mid morning, but there were still pretty decent crowds making their way into the parks. Yes, I know these are level 10, peak of peak days, but I guess I just figured more people would arrive early on high volume days.

I was also still reveling in the excitement of seeing monorails (something that stuck with me much of the trip, as you'll see)

And while Sleeping Beauty castle is on a smaller scale than Cinderella Castle, I was still able to get my first little peak of her as we were passing the Disneyland park entrance.

Never really fell in love with their holiday decor at the entrance...

Now, if you've ever read one of my trip reports, you know I have a thing for lights. I, for whatever reason, love taking pictures of the light fixtures of Disney. This trip would be no exception. So, here are the first couple of Disney lights in my TR.

We make our way out of the area between the parks and into DTD. And I fall in love with this fountain...

...but I'm quickly reminded that the girls have money to burn and they spot one of the best places for doing just that.

And who better to greet us than Lumiere?!?!

We decided to divide and conquer for a bit since Sammie and DH have more similar tastes and Kendall works well with me. Kendall and I started in the 60th merch.

 

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She didn't see anything she loved, so we moved on and I took in the details.

Sammie even tracked us down to show us something she was considering...

I kind of liked this bag, but it wasn't the kind of bag I had in mind.

Don't drop him!!!

Sammie comes by with another consideration, but I really don't know what a 7 year old would get out of a fascinator.

And there's my guy! Sorry DH. LOL

And Goofy too!

If only I liked Minnie! I do love me some sequins!

No, I had Dooney bags on the brain. I often pick one up as my trip souvenir and there were certainly plenty to choose from.

I just wasn't loving anything and I think I was scaring the CM behind the counter. Yeah, I pretty much plopped my big retro tote up there and started rambling about bag size and placement. These are all normal things for bag people, and in the past, CMs working the Dooney areas are usually very receptive and chatty. This girl wasn't rude or anything, she just wasn't as in to it. I'd later have her take down a bag for size comparison, but I didn't buy.

So, back to detail pics in WoD.

(love this!!!)

At some point, DH came over and told me he wanted me to see some cool things. It was all art and sculptures. We're looking to move in 2017 and I think I might finally get a Disney themed room or area. He was going on about things being steampunk inspired, giclees, and wondering if they had any cels.

 

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The kids also start checking out ornaments since it's still feeling very much like Christmas. It's funny, but our local radio station cuts the Christmas music on Christmas day, but the station we were getting in LA was going through 3pm on the 27th. So it was like we had this wonderful continuation of the holidays taking us seamlessly through the phases of our trip.

I even check out the bags again. I mean, I wanted so much to be in love with one of them. Nope- still nothing.

The girls had each picked a handful of goodies and it was time to check out. I'd also have the fun over the next few days managing their gift cards and keeping the respective balances straight.

We had been in WoD for a while, but it doesn't suck you in quite the way the WDW one does. If anything, it has that flow that you find with the stores along MSUSA in MK. Either way, we needed to move on if we still wanted to see other things before my 11:30 lunch plans (more on that in a bit). So, we head back out onto the pathways of DTD.

We decide to pop into the Grand Californian since it's right there and I wanted to see the tree.

TREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It all reminds me of a more refined version of Wilderness Lodge's tree and holiday decor.

It's funny, but this would also be the first time where we'd really feel like we were on Disney property. The kids immediately got comfy in big chairs in the lobby, me snapping away pics, and CMs approaching us to say hi and offer the kids stickers. The resort also had that more heavily themed Disney decor. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the GC, but in person, it felt like the GF and WL got together and had a hotel baby...and WL was responsible for the dominant gene. Either way, just so many pretty details and lights!

They also had a gingerbread-ish creation in the lobby.

Hidden Mickey!

And even though we just spent a ton of time in WoD, I guess nobody was done shopping.

And they have bags. This one even has really good placement, but again...not in love.

I did kind of love these crayons...but what am I going to do with character crayons?

I stepped out of the store because I saw a light that "needed" to be photographed.

 

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I pretty much left everyone behind in the store and just wandered to take detail pics...

The lobby floor reminded me a lot of the GF's, but I missed all of the character inlays.

DH and the girls caught up to me and told me it was time to go. They were getting hungry and he was getting antsy. My plan for lunch wasn't open yet, but he was afraid of being late for the movie and really wanted to start heading that way. I kept telling him that things were close enough that it shouldn't be a major issue, but he was set on moving on.

I had really wanted to dine at Catal for this trip, but at the time when I did my ADRs, they weren't accepting anything for lunch. I think this may have changed while we were there or went into a testing phase. Either way... we would not get to experience Catal for this trip. Bummer.

And we're walking...

Another pretty fountain...

We live so close to New Orleans and have so much of that style in our area (including a Brennan's), that we didn't want to bother with Ralph Brennan's at DTD.

Like I said... I like taking pics of lights...

As soon as the kids saw the Lego Store, I knew there'd be some begging to go in. We at least were able to push it off until later because we were on a schedule, so to speak. Still love me some Maleficent!

Found the movie theater...

Lady with a macaw outside of the DTD RFC.

The kids saw RFC and thought this was where we were heading for lunch. We are Landry's Select members since there are soooooooooo many options in Houston, but we have three local RFCs. I don't usually go out of my way to eat at one on vacation unless I can't come up with any other dining options. So, that was a big fat no to the kiddos.

Approaching Olaf's ice skaing rink...

The kids asked to skate, but it wasn't open yet and we just weren't sure if there'd be any time with our plans for the day. Speaking of plans, the Disneyland Hotel was calling...

 

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While I wasn't getting all of the warm fuzzies I thought I would from crossing onto the current grounds of the hotel (if you look at the history, there's been a lot of work/demo/changes over the years), I just wasn't hearing that choir of angels singing like I get with some of my fave WDW resorts. Don't get me wrong, I was still resenting DH for the ski trip and saying to myself, "without that, I could be staying here and getting a few more nights at Disneyland!" I'm not bitter or anything. LOL

This sign should start making it a bit clearer as to where we were headed...

That's right friends, we're waiting for Trader Sam's to open!!! Lunch and Drinks!

We didn't have a chance to check out the location in the Poly in WDW back in August, so making it into the DL Trader Sam's was one of my "must TRY to do's." I wasn't sure what to expect with crowds, but it was just before 11:30am and we were only the second group in line.


Coming up- Trader Sam's, More DTD, Star Wars, and all things dinner.

 

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December 27th continued...

So, needless to say, we'd have no problem getting into Trader Sam's. After waiting for a few minutes and Sammie checking out the monorail pool through the fencing, the doors opened and some very happy CMs ushered us in. We picked a table in the corner, but in hindsight, I kind of wish we sat at the bar so we could have ordered a shrunken zombie head and felt the bar stools sink. Oh well...a table is great too, and it worked well for what we did order.

These would periodically have falling snow...

Since we'd be sitting for a bit, I also let the girls check out their recent purchases...

(Kendall's)

(Sammie's- obviously)

We made the mistake of telling Sammie to use that Jack lanyard medallion in conjunction with her Pooh themed one she already had on there. She made this awful metal clashing noise everywhere she went. They also got some new pins, but didn't want to add them to their lanyards because they didn't want to lose them or be tempted to trade them. And they still had balances on their cards, so I was still playing money manager.

So, we put in our orders...including the most important part...the drink order! We were torn between a number of the classic drinks, but decided to go with the Uh-Oa. The place wasn't too crowded, but there were at least enough people at the bar and in a couple of tables to get the whole place chanting. We probably had about 4 CMs out at the table doing the whole thing as well. Even the kids got in on the action and let them toss some extra cinammon into the flames.

The girls were actually really happy with their drinks. Supposedly, these are the best bendy straws...EVER!

We knew we'd be having some snacks at the movies, so small plates for lunch was perfect. I had the Ahi...

DH had some kind of flatbread...

Kids chicken...

Kid slider...

Kendall got fruit and veggies because they didn't feel it was safe for her to consume anything from their fryer. I can't recall all of the menu options, but there was something that involved nuts. Thankfully, this kid oves her fruit and veggies.

Oh, and of course I took some light pictures...some better than others.

They were also very much in holiday mode...

I don't know why, but I don't hate the bill as much when it comes in one of these...

It's also so funny, but at WDW, you get so used to CMs asking you if you're on the dining plan. At Disneyland, you won't hear that, but you will always be asked if you're an annual passholder.

Lunch was a lot of fun and I'm so glad we were able to make it to Disneyland a bit early to have the time to experience this. The CMs have little things they do the entire time...some drink related...some just because. Obviously, it would be more fun without the kids, but it's fun enough and mild enough that the kids could enjoy it as well. Oh...and the drink was potent and good!

So, back out into the California sun...

Caught another bird of paradise on our way out...

The kids also got in their first pin trading of the trip. I told them the parks would be so busy that today might be the only day we did trading...so, they didn't want to waste any more time.

Time to head back into DTD...

 

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...ok, well not before looking up into the hat. I really liked this thing...especially at night, when it sparkles.

We went by Olaf's ice rink again, but it was still closed.

We still had quite a bit of time before the movie, so that meant time to hit more stores in DTD. And of course, the Lego Store was the closest of the wants for the girls.

Not sure why they decided to pose with Beast.

Lego NCAA Football Champ. Trophy

Still looking around outside...

I remember being outside, thinking that it's a neat store, but that I missed the sea serpent in the water at the WDW location. And then I walk in and see this...

I told the kids that they'd just be window shopping in here and there was no way we were leaving with any new Legos. I know, mean mommy. Seriously though...we have waaaaaaaaaay too many Legos at home as it is and the collection keeps growing. So, I took pics of Lego sculptures while DH and the girls browsed all of those Lego kits that wouldn't be purchased by us. LOL

They have a walkway up through there, but it was roped off during our visit.

K made a friend.

And I, for whatever reason, was suddenly fascinated by the underside of the Genie...

I tried to convince the girls to pinch Hulk's butt like they did back in 2012 at the WDW Lego Store, but they just wanted to pose.

 

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We still have plenty of time until the movie, so I drag everyone out and move on in DTD.

Next stop...

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this place. I saw at least 10 things I wanted to take home. I also wonder if one of the artists was in there. I was taking pics of things that interested me, and when I thought I might be in the way of another patron, he excitedly told me no and that he was just watching. Like he was excited that I was showing interest in the pieces in front of me. Oh well, here is everything I wanted and didn't buy...

That Horrace Horse Collar above is just phenomenal...but again, it stayed there.

They indulged me a bit and let me check out the Vault for both Dooneys and Harveys.

Still didn't see anything I loved.

Next up was D Street...

The girls found some pin trading action...

...and I found the Cheshire Cat and some Avengers Dooneys.

Tempting...especially since these are far less common, but still not in love.

I found Sammie eyeing some skate gear and decided that was our queue to leave. More things we are not bringing home. LOL

We decide it's time to head to the movies...

Security had also been beefed up here as well. We all had to go through a bag check line and DH and I both had to go through metal detectors. I also had the girls GoPro in my bag and they debated whether or not they should let me take it in. They said I was fine as long as I didn't record anything in the movie. Ummm...OK. I'm sure the guy we'd see filming during the credits really took that warning to heart.

I don't know what I was expecting, but once inside...it just felt like an average movie theater.

 

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There were still a lot of roped off sections for crowds, but it wasn't too bad a this showing, so we walked right in and found some seats towards the back. I found this pic in the bunch, and I think I took this of me and the girls on my phone while DH went to get refreshments.

I know I took some pics of my ICEE, because I'm ridiculous like that, but I can't seem to find those pics.

Just kidding...I have that ICEE pic!

I was kind of bummed that it wasn't a Coke ICEE, but some kind of ICEE is better than none.

I won't say a ton about the movie. I mean, I know it's been out for a month now, but I know not everyone has seen it and I don't want to deal with spoiler issues. I will say that we are Star Wars fans, so we were pretty excited about this. We bought all of the BluRays for the girls and had great debates about viewing order before watching them as a family. We went 4-5-1-2-3-6, so the kids were all caught up by the time Force Awakens came out. DH was the only one that was so/so on the movie. I will say that it had its moments where they were so obviously giving people some of that nostalgia they were craving, but I enjoyed it and was glad we did it this way. Another great thing...the girls are now old enough that they can have refreshments and make it through an entire movie without having to use the restroom. Score!

I think it was some time between 4 and 4:30 when we got out, and dinner wasn't until 6:30, so we had more time to shop.

Passed the DTD monorail station along the way...

I had the toughest time explaining to the kids that it's not like WDW and we can't just go ride the monorail. They argued that I had our tickets and I argued back that I'm not activating a ticket at 4:30pm just to ride the monorail. OY! I distracted them by saying, "look, you can see the Fun Wheel in DCA!!!"

Sammie reminded us after this that she wanted to head back to D Street to buy a Vinylmation. So, while she and DH went over all of the options on the shelf, I stood face to face with this perfect placement Avengers tote and tried to decide if it was me...because Sammie really wanted it to be me (bags the kids would like to steal from me).

I'm not a huge Avengers fan, so I walked back to meet them at the Vinylmation wall...

D Street Lights...

DH and Sammie went back and forth over which box to pick. There was this one that was a skeleton that she really liked, but she would have been disappointed if she got just about any other one in the series. DH has clearly never watched me buy Vinylmation and was frustated that there was no way to know what one was in the box. I told him it was just a chance she'd have to take. They debated about even making this purchase, but she wanted to take the chance. She also had a panic moment at the register. She had plenty of money on her gift card, but they couldn't get it to work. It worked just fine at WoD, so why was D Street so different? The guy would eventually try swiping it backwards, which worked, but poor Sammie was in tears because he had kind of a sharp edge in dealing with this before figuring out the problem. I mean, she's 7 and she's trying to be a big girl by paying with her own card. I know it was busy, and it's so easy to get a tone when you're frustrated...without even knowing it's coming off that way to the customer, but it just floors me that the same card could be run at WoD without any issue and cause so many problems for an associate at D-Street. Oh well...it was time to go outside and see what she got.

As you can see, it was part of the Haunted Mansion Series. Sweet girl paused a moment to cross all of her fingers and toes in hopes that she got the one she really wanted. I guess it worked becasue this is EXACTLY what she wanted.

So, we decided to move on, but this mouse ear balloon floating off into the sky caught my eye...

They have those weights on the end, so I had to wonder if it was intentionally released.

So, DH and Sammie went into Ridemakerz while K and I went back to Vault. She wanted to check out earrings, but they had nothing. We had a few other places we wanted to check, but decided it was best to meet up with DH and Sammie first.

DH kept trying to convince me that we should let Sammie build a car and that he'd cover the taxes if it went over the amount left on her gift card. Yeah...he just wanted a car and wanted to use Sammie as his way to build one. I took a different angle. I told him that I was having a hard enough time repacking the bags and didn't want to have to deal with a car when it came to carryons and checked bags. I'm sure there were options that would make it work, but Sammie really didn't want a car. She just liked the big skull.

The kids have kind of moved past their Frozen phase, but we figured we'd check Anna & Elsa's boutique first for earrings...just in case.

Yeah...we didn't find anything in there, so it was back to WoD.

It turns out she was looking for Donald earrings. We must have gone through 10 different racks of earrings, but we found NOTHING Donald. At one point, I remember holding onto 5 different things of earrings because he didn't want to wait and just wanted to settle for something else she liked. She eventually narrowed it down to a set of 3 Minnie themed earrings. Of course, a few days later, we'd find a set in the parks with a pair of Donald earrings but she had no money left and I was so over earrings with her at that point. At least this WoD is structured more like the stores on MSUSA, so you never really can lose people in it like you do in the one at WDW.

The sun was starting to set, so we decided to start making our way towards the Disneyland Hotel.

We arrived a bit early to the Disneyland Hotel so we could explore a bit before our reservation at Goofy's Kitchen.

Coming up- Exploring the hotel, first character meal of the trip, and fireworks.

 

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December 27th continued...

Before heading to the Disneyland Hotel, we checked out Olaf's rink one last time. It was finally open, but the line was looooooooooong. Yeah...I know we were there at peak times, but it's also a tiny rink that can't hold very many people, so I imagine your best bet for skating is to be there right when it opens.

We headed in to the Disneyland Hotel, but we were still too early to check in. So, we figured we'd check some stuff out in the hotel. I will tell you right now that I don't think we explored enough. We saw a lot, but I still feel like we missed something...like we should have gone up to another area to explore. Oh well...we still saw some neat stuff.

When we walked in, Small World Gifts & Sundries was right there...

Yeah- all excited about the Mary Blair art.

We also heard Christmas music up ahead of us, but it didn't sound like a recording loop. We turned the corner and found a great group of singers treating everyone to carols.

I also had to peak outside because these upside down trees were calling to me...

Just like the Grand Californian, the Disneyland Hotel had a gingerbread-ish display...

We decide to head into the Fantasia shop to see if there's anything fun in there...

Kendall was kind of digging the Minnie ears even though she's not a big fan of wearing ears...

And I found a 60th Dooney with perfect castle placement...

I snapped up the bag and held onto it for a while. I mean, this is pretty much dream placement on this bag and everyone in my Dooney groups on FB were amazed that anyone could walk away from this bag. I didn't love it, but it was so perfect that even I wasn't sure. So, I held onto it and went over to the girls who were doing some pin trading with a CM in the shop. He understood my bag issues too. Apparently, he was a really serious pin collector and could totally understand that dilemma of dropping several hundred on a piece of merch for your collection. We shifted to where we were from for a while and he talked about some of his time in Texas...and by the end of that...I knew I didn't want the bag. Not sure what did the trick, but I just put her back and moved on. I know...I've got issues.

We left the shop and checked out the set up the hotel had for Santa. I just love this whole 50s style modern look...

As we turned the corner, there was this huge wall of vintage Disney toys. It was really incredible to see sort of a history of Disney in toys over the years...

I also looked down the hall and realized that Goofy's Kitchen (as well as Steakhouse 55) were right there.

We still had a lot of time to burn, so we just explored. K showed me the castle in the carpet...

I was in love with these parasol lights...

The girls also had some fun playing with an Autopia car in that area...

We saw some stairs heading up to the convention facilities upstairs, so we decided to check it out. And I'm sooooooooooo glad we did, because it was full of these paintings/murals depicting parts of the park.

 

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K also started pointing out all of the Mickeys in the carpet.

OK...not just in the carpet...

Also got an overhead view of the castle carpet...

The girls stopped for a bit on the steps to check out their loot again from the day...

A woman who was part of hotel security also came by. I recall that she kept forgetting things that she needed, but she had the girls cracking up over all kinds of silly stuff. Speaking of security...I think I mentioned it a bit before, but the amount of security was incredible. Out in DTD, we'd see uniformed security every few thousand feet and even inside the Disneyland Hotel, we saw a uniformed police officer making rounds.

It was feeling a little stuffy inside, so we sat outside at a table right near the restaurant area entrance for a little bit...mainly just people watching. I guess it was good timing because we were about 15 minutes from our reservation time just as we were starting to get chilly. So, we went inside to check in.

Now, some of you may have heard that you really don't need reservations for table service meals when you go to Disneyland or that you may want to book a couple of days in advance for really popular things like Blue Bayou and Goofy's Kitchen. Let me just tell you that if you travel at a peak time, like we did, a WDW dining reservation approach applies. I'll talk about it more with other reservations, but I can tell you that at Goofy's Kitchen, they have a reservation line and a stand by line...and pretty much everyone in that stand by line was being turned away. Steakhouse 55 appeared to be taking walk ups, but I heard several people complaining about the projected wait time.

So, we got in the reservation line and waited. I had a feeling the family in front of us was going to take a while because she kept going on about all these people. Thankfully, another CMs station opened up and we were able to check in without too much of a wait. We also had purchased vouchers as part of our package. While the dining plan at Disneyland is kind of a joke (not that I like the WDW ones either), these vouchers can sometimes save you some $. I know I locked in the premium character meal vouchers before prices went up a couple of times, so we paid a bit less for our meals than the going rate that night. Of course, Disneyland doesn't jack up character meal pricing during peak times like they do at WDW, but a savings is still a savings.

The only issue we had at check in was our cake. If you know me on one forum, you know that I sometimes post in the cake thread...if you know me on the other forum, you know I run that forum's cake thread. So, custom cakes are a BIG part of our Disney trips. I'm sure some of you are wondering why I need to run a cake thread on one forum when there's a really great one that I use and participate on for the other forum. I mean, I guess it's a bit of a conflict of interest, but I do try and give Carrie/Lurkyloo credit when I use her info and the reality is that some people stick with the one forum where they feel most comfortable. I spend a lot of time on both and I have a decent amount of cake knowledge and design abilities that can help people, so I do both. Sorry to ramble...back on topic... While I work in the financial industry, I do my own custom cakes on the side. Some are clearly better than others, but you are more than welcome to check out my little cake gallery on Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/houcusechickie/albums/72157624710575326 So, needless to say, I like cake and I like to design cakes. So, I didn't want to just get a basic podium cake at meal check in. I guess custom cakes aren't as common things at Disneyland because the girl had no idea how to ring up the cake. After about 5 minutes and the involvment of a second CM, they were able to ring it up and let me pay for my cake. What's crazy is that this would not be our only cake confusion during the meal, but more on that in a bit.

So, we sit down for a second and take a moment to appreciate Goofy's lovely tree...

And then we realize we probably should go take our pictures with Goofy. I mean, it is Goofy's Kitchen and all.

Now, I forgot to test my camera settings for the lighting, but thankfully it all turned out pretty well ... because those were all taken by the Disney photographer. I know I miss out on ride pics and magic shots, but I am just soooo not a fan of things like Photopass and Memory Maker since I can take tons of pics on my own camera and hand it off to the Disney photogs. And every now and then, I get one that prefers Canons over the Nikons Disney provides and they get to have some fun.

So, we went over to the benches to wait to be seated. While we were sitting there...we saw that family that was in front of us at the check in line. Apparently, they were there for their daughter's first birthday, had like 20 or 30 people in their party, and had this monster of a cake.

Kendall looks a bit bored with the wait...

They eventually called our name and we were seated. Love the Goofy inlay in the tables...

Now, I watched a lot of videos before selecting our meals and had seen that characters could vary at Goofy's Kitchen, but then I'd read some more recent reports that they'd be standardizing the characters for the meals and you'd likely see Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale. Not that I don't like those characters, but after seeing videos with Aladdin, Robin Hood, Rabbit, Hatter and such...I was hoping we'd see some less common characters. After scanning the room, it was clear we'd be seeing Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale. Oh well...we were still at a character meal and would have a lot of fun. And considering DH had given the kids this crazy idea that characters roamed freely in Disneyland's DTD (caused a bit of a blow up earlier in the day), the kids were definitely ready for some characters.

We were seated, but when you've got a person in your party with food allergies, you typcially have to sit and wait for the chef before you head up to the buffet. But in waiting, we saw Minnie almost immediately.

Goofy wasn't signing autographs, so Minnie would be the first character to sign the girls' hats.

Pluto showed up right after Minnie.

Around this time, the chef came by the table to talk food. We know most of the off limit items before we ever get up, but he says all of the pizza is an issue since they offer peanut butter and jelly pizza that shares some of the plating spots and equipment; however, he tells Kendall he can make her a special pizza if she'd like. He also said that the bulk of the desserts were also off limits, but that she could help herself to soft serve ice cream as long as she didn't take any toppings. He was aware that we had a cake coming and we chatted a bit about the risks with that. He also said how uncommon it was for them to get a Disneyland bakery cake, but he knows they take extra care when allergies are in play with an order.

This was my first plate of food...

 

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While nothing was mindblowingly awesome, it wasn't bad either. I was afraid it would be like the downright vile dinner we had at Chef Mickey's back in 2010 or the regrettable lunch and dinner we had at Crystal Palace...both of which are places we like for breakfast. No...this reminded me more of my feelings on 1900 Park Fare dinner. There were some things that were just OK and some things that were actually pretty good. That capreses salad didn't have the best tomatoes in the world, but the fresh mozarella was nice. I also love mac & cheese and while buffet mac is usually watered down and kind of tasteless, this was creamy and more dense. The crust on the pizza was meh, but the flavors of the toppins and cheese were worth eating. The fried dumplings were about the only thing on there that were just average. Actually, they made me miss 'Ohana dinner...or even the ones on the 1900 PF dinner buffet.

Goofy's Kitchen also does dance party napkin waving like you'd find at Chef Mickey's. The only big difference...people at Goofy's Kitchen really get into it. There were napkins flying everywhere...and not just the kids. Clearly Sammie was enjoying this...

Not sure what happened here with my Goofy pic, but he's dancin'!

It was at this time that the chef came back with Kendall's pizza. I honestly was just expecting a personal size pizza, but he made her this...

I don't know why I'm always so shocked when CMs act in more magical ways, but this would be the first time this trip that I found my eyes welling up with tears. Obviously, we thanked him, but he just looked so happy to give us such a fun surprise.

I went back up for another plate of food...

As you can see, I got more cheese! The shrimp salad was also really tasty, the carved turkey was great, and that funky looking orange salad stuff was actually really good. It was a sweet potato salad.

We next got a visit from Dale...my favorite 'munk.' Why? Because he's the funny one.

They were all hiding from me in that first pic, so I told them we'd just have to take more pics. They were too silly, so I'd have to get them being more normal in two different shots.

We haven't done autographs since 2010, so they were just ridiculously silly. I think this was about the time that I had to tell them that they needed to uncap the pens and hand them to the characters without putting the tips in their hands. Oy!

After that, Sammie went up to grab some sweet treats. She picked up some brownies, but I think we all were more into the marbled white chocolate Mickeys.

Kendall also wanted something sweet before the cake came out. She remembered the chef saying soft serve was OK, but I think she failed to get the concept of putting it in a bowl.

Yes, that's a plate of ice cream.

I had also requested the bring out the cake. Our server got a bit confused since I guess the standard podium cakes are kept in one area, but bakery cakes are in another? And then, they didn't get the idea of having a cake "just because." They wanted to know what we were celebrating, and I'm like, "being here."

So, the bring out the cake with candles in it...

...and they brought over a few other CMs since they will sing Happy Birthday to guests celebrating birthdays, but they had no idea what to sing to us. In the end, it was just kind of funny, but it had its highly awkward moments. They also didn't initially bring us plates for it, so we grabbed a stack from the buffet. The girl looked confused, but I didn't want to hog the table for too long just because we were waiting on plates.

I took a few more pics of the cake...

This was not the original design I requested. I had first asked for a blue fondant covered cake, topped with an edible 2D stand up image of the Disneyland 60th anniversary logo with the D, and the Mickey wave pattern going along the sides in silver. First, I found out that they couldn't do the D. Then I found out that unlike WDW, they have a significant cake design price increase for any styles they use on their wedding cakes. So, we went with a Goofy theme for Goofy's Kitchen. I asked for the cake to be Goofy blue, the base border to be Goofy green, and they were to come up with orange accents for the side. I forgot to photograph it (shocking), but the back had a pound sign. In some ways, when I looked at the cake, I felt like it was cursing at me for not being OK with a standard basic cake.

Chip came by before we could cut the cake...

And then it was time to dig in...

 

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The cake (red velvet), filling (cream cheese), and fondant were great...but Disneyland's buttercream is AWFUL! It is not the same stuff they use at WDW. The Disneyland bakery gives you the option of buttercream or whipped cream, but their buttercream tastes so much like whipped cream that I can't see why they'd offer it as an alternative. Carrie/Lurkyloo said that we may want to try SusieCakes if we return to Anaheim and want a cake with real buttercream delivered to a Disney restaurant.

You pay for Goofy's Kitchen at the beginning and gratuity is included, so there's really nothing to wait on...normally. But we needed a box for the cake, which took some time. After we got the box, we had to hike back to the HoJo. This would be the only day of the trip where we felt really far from our hotel. Of course, carrying a cake while carrying a big heavy purse doesn't help either. It felt late, but again...we hadn't transitioned to Pacific time. In reality, it was just after 9 when we got the kids in bed.

I was starting to organize things for the next day when I remembered that the Disneyland Forever fireworks would be starting at 9:30p and that we were in a position to see them. Supposedly, the preferred rooms in their tower that runs parallel to Harbor have perfect balcony views, but we were obstructed, so I threw on some comfy clothes, some flip flops (forgetting that it was in the 40s outside) and ran out there with my camera. Not sure what I was thinking either...I wanted to test my portrait lens for fireworks since some people have said it's good for that, but I left by tripod back in the room. In fact, I never got around to taking my tripod out all trip. DH said that he will no longer squeeze it into his bags since I failed to use it even once. In any event, I run out to the parking lot and find that I have a lot of company. In fact, the HoJo even had employees staked out at the entrance doors to the buildings to act as sort of security for the influx after the show. i.e. make sure everyone coming in belongs without creating a log jam at the doors.

I don't love any of my pics, but many are not awful either. A few observations though before posting any of them...
- After seeing WDW fireworks many times, it is very obvious that Disneyland uses different fireworks. I know it all stems from Anaheim's strict laws ... after all, people do live right near the parks. I just know that going through my MK and Epcot fireworks pics, there's a lot of distinction between the shells they use whereas the Disneyland shots all look very similar...like they don't have as many options.
- The spot along Harbor reminded me a lot of watching MK fireworks from the Contemporary. I'm sure it would violate noise ordinances and be a security nightmare, but it would have been nice to have the soundtrack piped in. It just had this hollow feeling to me, like when I watched Illuminatinos from YC.
- I know there are times of year when fireworks are only 3 nights per week due to Anaheim regulations and will get canceled if there's bad weather. Back at Thanksgiving, they bumped it up to fireworks every night...two shows per night, but pulled back to just one show per night every night during the weeks of Christmas and New Year's. So, while you're dealing with level 10 crowds at this time of year, the odds of seeing fireworks are far greater.

This first pic was really the only one that made me happy. No, it's not a great pic, but it's the only time I've ever captured mouse ears.

So, here are a few others. Nothing special, but I do enjoy fireworks. We were also close enough that the shells made the kids (who weren't quite yet asleep) think we were under attack. They had a similar reaction when we stayed a YC and hear Illuminations from the room.

This might have turned out kind of cool if I'd brought out my tripod...

I didn't get anything good in the finale section until it was in wind down...

I've seen Disneyland Forever in both livestreams during the the 24 hour event and in countless videos on YouTube (since there are a lot of different viewing spots for the various projections), so I know you can't judge fireworks outside of the park, especially without a soundtrack. Ultimately, it's just cool to be able to see fireworks from your hotel.

After that, I took my frozen toes back into the building and got everything set for the next day...our first days in the parks!!!

Coming up- Day 1 at Disneyland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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We so almost bought those crayons at WDW in October! Loving everything so far!!! All the Goofy makes me so happy! And all the Mary Blair!!!

 

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We so almost bought those crayons at WDW in October! Loving everything so far!!! All the Goofy makes me so happy! And all the Mary Blair!!!

They really are cute, but I don't think I'd want anyone to use them. So, if that's the case...might as well buy figurines...but then those aren't as cool as character mold crayons. Yes, lots of Goofy and Mary at the start.

 

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December 28th

Our first day in the parks...and my stomach is all in knots. Some of it was excitement and some was fear. The excitement reasons are obvious, even if you don't know all of my plans just yet, but the fear was over the crowds. I've been to WDW at spring break, Easter, and around 4th of July, but never right between Christmas and New Year's. You hear how horribly crowded it is, how miserable it makes people, how little you'll get to do, and so on...and you just wonder if it's really going to be that bad for you and your family. You know the crowds will be there, but how much of it is a matter of a good plan, a lot of of patience, and a positive outlook? Well, we were about to find out! Had I gotten my way, we would have gone in August and just made this a SoCal summer trip, but at some point in the planning, I had to come to grips with things and come up with a solid plan for what DH wanted.

So...this plan involved having 3 day hoppers (since Disneyland's handling of capacity closures is inconsistent- at least that's what came of my research, and these would be the passes that would provide us the most freedom/safety of shutout)...a must do list ranked in order of importance...an understanding that not everything is going to happen due to time and crowds...a lot of TS meals since crowds/lines would be very heavy at quick service...and a flexible touring plan based on how we used to do it with WDW's old legacy FP system. Oh, and how could I forget arriving early...the #1 tip for crowded days at Disney. Yup...we were ready for battle! I kid- I kid.

I got everything set, got myself ready, and got the kids up. Unlike WDW, where I plan pre-park opening breakfasts, at Disneyland...the plan was breakfast on the go and a late TS breakfast or early TS lunch. So, the next couple of mornings...it would be pumpkin pie Pop Tarts as we headed to the parks. Nothing like holiday Pop Tarts for your holiday trip to Disneyland! Breakfast of champions!

While Magic Mornings at Disneyland vary on sort of an every other day schedule during normal times, at peaks...every morning is a Magic Morning...in both parks. We had 3 day hoppers, so we were at least entitled to one Magic Morning. The plan was to save that for day 3, when we were dealing with unfinished business from days 1 and 2. Still, we had to be out early because of the bag check line. I'd seen a picture just two days prior to this where the bag check line had stretched all the way out onto Harbor.So, we were just praying it wouldn't be that bad and that lessons were learned from it getting out of hand.

We head outside and are greeted by the monorail beam and the little bit of the Matterhorn I can see peaking through that area.

As you can see, the sun isn't fully up just yet...

(a look back at the HoJo)

And in short time, we were ready to make it across the crosswalk and onto Disneyland property...

Now, I certainly don't want to give anyone the wrong idea that Disneyland is inferior or less than magical, but another couple of observations were made in this area on this morning that had me thinking about Walt's concerns. See, it's at this crosswalk where you'll find some religious fanatics on a bullhorn preaching to the crowds. It's nothing too dark or scary like you find with some of the people you'll encounter on Bourbon Street in NOLA or in some areas of Vegas, but it's still a strange feeling to be mentally prepping for Disneyland and having someone calling out Biblical references.

So, now here we are in the line for bag check...

It's not a short or fast moving line...but it could be worse. If you look to the left of the central trees, you can see the little awnings for the open bag check area.

As we stood there waiting, I saw another thing you never see at WDW. DH pointed out the various cast member shuttles coming in and out of the adjacent driveways. And every time they dropped people off, you'd see CMs in costume for their particular area of the park, coming in along the left side of the bag check line and feeding in through a CM only entrance off to the left side. It just makes you realize how well concealed all of this is at WDW, just bolstering the strength of that magic bubble. I mean, it's not an awful thing to see CMs coming in...people do have to get to work, but again...it's another thing that makes you think about everything they wanted to correct when building WDW.

I talked before about the security presence...well, it was all back in full force the following day.

I also really wish people would teach their kids not to try and play with police dogs that are clearly on duty- or at least pay attention so they can intervene before it's an issue. I'll spare you the whole story, but I just wanted to get this one mom off of her phone long enough that she could keep her 4-ish looking son from disrupting one of the K-9 units that was obviously sniffing out the area for suspicious things. The mom had no clue he was gone and the human officer had to be the one telling him no. And when she did glance up and see him, she didn't make any serious efforts to get him back where he needed to be.

Back to bag check...part of why the line was going so slow was that they only had the central checking station open. Ummmmm...it's a level 10 day for crowds and you only have one station open??? While we were standing there, everyone noticed a lot of movement at the station to our right...closer to Disneyland park. We could see that everyone around us was about to make a run for it, so we decided our best plan was to stay in our current line and just move up through the running crowds. I think our plan worked pretty well because we moved from waaaaay back where we were in that previous pic to here...

We were through bag check in no time and were now scouting out which line to choose...

They always say to head towards the far left since people are more likely to pick a line on the right. So, we did just that. The far far left lines were still being used for Magic Mornings, so we didn't want that, but we were still pretty far left.

Caught a pic of DH and the girls once we got our place in line. Sammie was fine...just had the sun in her eyes.

I know this is going to be a strange observation, but I felt like we were pointing in the direction of the sun a lot. It's evident in my pictures both with the lighting and the squinting. I just don't remember having these issues in any other place...so, I'm wondering if it's the east/west exposure in certain areas of their parks.

We saw the railroad running through as we waited to get in...

It's hard to tell with the lighting, but it was funny to see how much more quiet it was over at the entry to DCA...

I got bored, so I just started taking decor pics...

I was also having one of those moments in all of this where I kept psyching myself that i was finally going to Disneyland. The various shows and podcasts I listen to had been urging people to go (and rightfully so), but I knew I wanted to be there as soon as it started sounding like the 60th would be a really big deal. It's hard to explain, but it was just that moment that you realize you're about to see and do all of those things that made you shift from east coast to west coast in the first place.

Finally...the gates have opened and people are starting to go in...

It was taking forever, and it wasn't really a very long line, but as soon as we got to the entrance...I'd see why.

Obviously, they don't have magic bands, and they also don't have the little finger print scanners. Instead, they were taking pictures of everone going through the gates. This way, if you crossed back through with that pass, they'd have a picture pop up that goes with that ticket number. We even had to stop at the entrance to add our names to our tickets to ensure we were each using the same one with each park entry. So yea...that was why it was taking forever.

But we're finally in and someone is very happy!

 

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OK, who am I kidding? We're all happy! And we're finally inside the Happiest Place on Earth!!!

8 o'clock on the dot...and time to head in!

Here's where the pictures start to get a bit blurry from time to time. This was not a time to stop and smell the roses (even though I really wish I could as we missed so many details), but I did my best to try and capture what we were seeing as we made our way in...

And then I see it...the firehouse. And it's that moment...even before seeing the castle...where it goes from "I'm in Disneyland!" to "I'm in Walt's park!"

And then you make that little turn...and you see it...Sleeping Beauty Castle.

And let's not focus too much here on castle size. Ya know, if you go to Disneyland, you know not to expect something the size of Cinderella castle. And let's stop calling Sleeping Beauty castle quaint or charming. It's pretty...it's very pretty!

As we were making our way up the street, I started trying to familiarize myself with locations of certain things...like where we'd be having dinner in a couple of days...

Getting closer...

As you can see, the crowds also don't look bad...yet. We knew it wouldn't be long before things got ugly, so we tried to stay focused.

OK...one last pic of the castle and then the Matterhorn before taking a turn towards our first goal.

We head towards Tomorrowland...

We're greeted by Star Wars signage as soon as we arrive...

And before I forget...we are obviously Star Wars fans and can't wait for the new park section to open at DHS; however, I don't like Star Wars taking over Tomorrowland. Some is OK, but I felt like it was the dominant presence during our visit and was missing out on that retro vibe.

I think everyone else ahead of us is heading the same place we are...

We're all basically heading to HyperSpace Mountain. I'd been monitoring the Disneyland app since Thanksgiving to see what lines build the fastest and of the FP attractions, which FPs ran out or were in highest demand first. Once they made the shift to a Star Wars themed Space Mountain, this thing has been wildly popular, even on lower crowd days. I remember DH wanting to head to the bathroom first, but I cautioned him that a simple trip to the bathroom could mean the difference between FPs later that morning and some time mid to late afternoon. Sure, I could have let him go and just taken all 4 of our tickets to grab the passes, but I was also sick and tired of ill timed bathroom trips. So, he waited. I think our FP time started around 10am, so not too bad. We thought we might ride standby if the line wasn't too bad (since the park just opened), but even standby had just jumped up to 70 minutes (which isn't bad considering what it would be)

We were in less of a rush now, so we took a more leisurely pace going back through Tomorrowland...