We’re off to see the Magic! TR

[GBRforWDW]

itinerary:

Hotels:
Best Western Plus Mini Suites July 31-Aug 4
Cambria Aug 4-8

Parks:
Aug 2 - Disneyland
Aug 3 - California Adventure
Aug 7 - Disneyland

ADRs:
July 31 - Tortilla Jo’s
Aug 2 - Cafe Orleans, Blue Bayou, Ogas
Aug 3 - Lamp Light Lounge, Wine Country
Aug 4 - Storyteller character breakfast
Aug 7 - River Belle Terrace, Ogas, maybe UVA bar, but will probably do a quick service if still at the park. If anyone needs info about a DL QS meal, let me know!

Other Stops:
Santa Monica Pier
Captain Dave’s Whale Watching
Baseball games - one Angels and one Dodgers game.
Beaches

We’re flying to California this morning and have already experienced our first wait time of the trip. A 10 minute line to get to bag check in at the airport.

This is our third trip by plane this year and can already tell this one will be different. Plane is full and lots of people at the airport already at 5am central time. Everyone is wearing masks on the plane. Feels weird having not worn one since late April.

Above the clouds as the sun comes up.


8:08 cst - Had a delayed layover in Minneapolis. But about to be on our way to LAX. Should be a 4 hour flight. Almost there!

10am pst - We've arrived at LAX! Let the fun begin!

We’ll see you real soon!

 

[GBRforWDW]

We scheduled a ride with Karmel shuttle to pick us up once we had our luggage. Their timing was perfect as the driver was texting me while I was on the phone with dispatch. We waited maybe 10-15 minutes for our driver to get to the pickup location, which was nearly right outside the door from luggage claim. Very easy instructions to spot him and wave him over to us. Sign inside the van said to wear masks, but We didn’t and the driver didn’t have any issues

We scheduled a 4 hour time slot with them rather than just a hotel dropoff since we were getting in 4hours before check-in and we weren't planning to hit up Disneyland on the way in.

Our first stop I had picked out was the Santa Monica pier. We have a family love of Route 66 and a history of finding vacation spots along the route. In 2016, we stayed in Williams, AZ while visiting the Grand Canyon which had some Route 66 history. Then in 2019, we travelled to Chicago and went to the start of Route 66, so I just knew we had to hit the end of Route 66. We know through reading history that the official end was not on the pier, but still a fun nostalgic stop nonetheless.



Through reading up on the pier, I also knew I had to grab a burger at the restaurant behind us, Pier burger, and it did not disappoint. The burgers were freshly made and full of flavor. Fries were really good too. Not sure if they're fresh cut there, but they could be, they're that good. My wife grabbed a frozen custard that she thought was more along the lines of ice cream than custard, but either way, tasted really good to me.



We then walked down to the beach for the kid to run around for a few minutes. While she was playing, I grabbed this 360 sphere image:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.008...ipM-Qtjdy-qQuxtu2ujetITf3WkldSqRUYc_3u0r!2e10
Hopefully that loads correctly, I've never shared a photosphere link.

Mask wearing was probably about 25% at the pier. Some wore one but most didn’t.

When we got back to the Karmel van at 1pm, so 2 hours into our time, the driver informed us it'd be more than an hour to Hollywood area plus more than an hour from there to Disneyland area, putting us over time, or an hour and a half straight to Disneyland, so we decided to do that with a stop at CVS along the way.

The driver has been very good, very professional and knowledgeable of the area and routes. Was also helpful getting us to where we needed to go at the pier since he's not able to drop us off at the front entrance. The vehicle is clean and large. We're actually in a 15 passenger vehicle for just us 3.

I would definitely recommend, but if you're going to splurge for a driving tour and want to make stops, I'd go up to 5 or 6 hours to have a better chance of doing a few things, though I wouldn't plan more than 3 to 4 stops unless several places are close together. We're here on a Saturday and traffic is crazy heavy. I'm sure it's normal for those who live here, but as an out of towner, a bit overwhelming!

 

[evilmommie]

Welcome to California! Hope you have a fabulous trip. Looking forward to more of your report.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Thank you so much! We’re excited to be here! Our daughter was very thrilled when she found out less than an hour ago she was going to Disneyland! Lol. Fun surprises.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Our shuttle driver dropped us off about 15 minutes before 3, but we had no problem getting checked in. For the first half of our trip, we're staying at the Best Western Plus Mini Suites right across the street from the Esplanade entrance. Our room is on the third floor, but right next to the elevator with a view of the pool out of our window.

First impressions:

Very clean, smells fresh, but not much different than a standard hotel room.

Room is equipped with a mini fridge, microwave, and alarm clock. Not seeing a coffee pot, but I don't drink coffee, so not any issue for me there. Also has 2 luggage racks, which comes in handy for us.

ETA: found a tiny coffee maker in the bathroom.

my wife asked the person at the front desk if masks were required. She initially said yes, then realized none of us were masked and said, well some are, some aren’t.

I took my daughter down to the pool, which is fairly small, maybe 10ftx25ft. There were several kids in the pool and parents to the side. No one was wearing a mask by the pool and the chairs are not distanced, though many empty chairs were available, so not hard to distance yourself.

 

[GBRforWDW]

After resting a bit in the hotel, we headed over to Downtown Disney. We had dinner reservation at Tortilla Jos at 6pm, but had some time to walk around and visit the shops.

Every shop we went into, someone was there reminding guests to wear masks. This was true for both Disney owned and non Disney owned shops - Lego store is the only one we went in, as far as I'm aware of, but I don't know which is which.
The main store I was interested in was the Dress Shop to inquire about the Jungle Cruise Mickey Ears hat. Unfortunately they sold out day 1, so I wasn't able to get one scuse me while my face is on the backside of water for a minute, lol. Oh well, that's 60 bucks not spent!

I almost bought a yellow Luxo ball tie. I have to wear ties at work, so I may go back and get it. There's just not a lot of detail to the little balls on the tie, so makes me hesitant to spend 45 bucks on it. I'll look at other shops and see if anything stands out.



When it was finally time for our ADR, I kept checking my phone to figure out how to check in and realized, I'm too used to WDW restaurants. So we walked over and got in line about 10 minutes to 6. They had a walkup wait line where they were adding people to the return list and it sounded like it was a 1 hour return time. For the reservation return line, they were asking people in front if they received their text. We were confused because we didn't get a text, but just let them know we had a reservation for 6. They asked our name, found the reservation and sat us immediately at an outside table. It felt really nice outside tonight. The sun was hot, but the temps weren't terrible and sitting in the shade felt great, and most if not all the tables were in a shady spot, so that part was nice.

They immediately brought chips and salsa and got our drinks to us. We asked for a couple minutes to discuss what we wanted to share. Our server took over 10 minutes to come back, which was frustrating for us.

My daughter ordered kids chicken tacos and my wife requested veggies for her:



Unfortunately, the meal was a miss for her. She was not impressed by the veggies available and the taco shells were very crunchy, which she doesn't like. She only ate a few bites, but probably just got filled up on chips and salsa and strawberry lemonade.

My wife and I split a 3 entre combo, opting for chicken enchilada, chicken tamale and beef taco:



This was 50/50 for us. We really like the chicken enchilada. Was perfect for us. The chicken tamale was a win with wife and kid. Not something I usually go for and I just didn't eat much of it. The beef taco was strange to me. Maybe others are used to this, I don't know, but the beef was a shredded beef that was charred together. I had never had beef like that before, and it just wasn't something I would try again.

The rice and beans were good and chips and salsa were delicious, so we got enough to eat. I'd go back for the chicken enchiladas and maybe try something else with it. But would prefer to see what other places offered.

After dinner, we made a stop at Marceline's Confectionery. My wife bought 2 cupcakes. I unfortunately didn't get pix of. One was a chocolate cupcake with Mickey themed frosting and a very tiny Mickey dome to top it off. The dome was filled with a creamy chocolate, which was delicious, but the the actual cake was dry and not very good. The other cupcake was vanilla and Minnie Mouse themed. This one had a ton of frosting on top, which was decent, but the cupcake itself was really tasty. Definitely our cupcake Winner.

That's about all for our first day in magic land!

 

[GBRforWDW]

Day 2 - Sunday Aug 1st

Started the morning by going to Best Westerns free breakfast. It was all prepackaged food with few options. Muffin, raisin rolls, cereal, milk, OJ, Coffee, water, banana, oranges, hard boiled eggs and maybe a few other options. Think I would have preferred to walk over to McDonald's or IHOP, for a non park day.

However, I do think that it's a good option on park mornings as you can grab a bag and toss some items in there, then head over to the park and eat while you wait to go through security.

Next up, we were planning a trip to Angels stadium to watch the angels take on the A's. It was our first attempt at using the ART bus and of course, we had to use it in their non scheduled time, meaning you had to request on demand. I do not like the feature. I selected a spot on Harbor near Disney Way, because I thought it would be easier than going over to the Disneyland pickup areas. Unfortunately, it wasn't and it was frustrating.

Could not figure out where we actually needed to be and the person that my wife talked to convinced her we needed to go down to Katella and she just couldn't believe we'd have to schedule a ride. Well, Katella wasn't much help either, so I called their number, asked them how to ride and he confirmed yes you do have to schedule, so I let him know we already had a scheduled pickup, but couldn't figure out where the meetup point was, so he arranged the bus to come find us on Katella.

We stood where the app told us too because the bus stop parking structure at the actual intersection didn't say ART on it and I figured the route would know where we needed to be. That ended up being wrong as they stopped at the bus stop, so we had to walk back to the corner.

It was fine for the most part after that, but he convinced us it would be closer to be dropped off at the car entrance to the park rather than the ARTIC center behind the stadium. In hind sight, that would have been better for us as our tickets were in the outfield and we had to walk all the way around the stadium anyway. But at least we were at the stadium and still had time to look around a bit.



Today was free baseball card day today. Somehow we got 2 Shohei Ohtani cards, woohoo! I had seen earlier in the week he was projected to start at pitcher today, but that had changed unfortunately. Oh well, he was still in the lineup as DH. He went 0 for 4 today, I think, sad day. Here he is during his first at bat. Lots of people were out to cheer him on.



Before the game, we stopped by the main Angels store. They had a line to get in, but it was empty. No one said to wear masks going in and no one enforced them in the shop. And it was crowded in the shop. I don't have an issue with crowds and no masks, but if you do, definitely don't go in there! I bought an Angels hat that my wife liked, it was all gray with a gray A logo. Kinda different, but cool. I was glad I had it though, the sun was directly overhead or somewhat in front of us for the entire game. Was mid to upper 80s, but not too humid. Just hot.

At one point, we stepped away from our seats to grab some helmet nachos! I forgot to grab a picture, but they take a batting Helmet, fill it with chips, cover in nacho cheese sauce and give you options for chicken, beans, pico, guac, sour cream and jalapenos. The chicken and beans are poured on, everything else is done in serving cups. We found a picnic area behind the Center Field Rock Pile with an umbrella. It felt really nice to be shaded even though we had no view of the game.



Was able to get this cool view below by fully extending my arm upward for the shot, lol.can see just a little bit of the field.


After the game, we did walk to the ARTIC center. It was not a bad walk, short distance through the parking lot then under a cover overpasses on a wide sidewalk. We scheduled the pickup while still at the stadium, but it still took quite a while before they arrived. We went inside the building for restroom and snacks. They have auntie Anne's pretzels, frozen yogurt and some other snack there. It's pretty neat inside and very few people around, though it is a Sunday afternoon. Grabbed a 360 sphere pic here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.803...ipMkj4hcccyxbTx7gBMmFlFcv8h2ii0uzKcUbp_T!2e10
We scheduled to be dropped off at Disneyland, but asked the driver if he'd mind letting us off at our hotel instead, which he did. Much shorter walk.

Also on the return, while waiting for the bus, we noticed the bus icon that was coming to pick us up as well as driver and bus info. This wasn't there the first time this morning and was definitely very helpful as it allowed us to realize there was no rush when we got to the ARTIC center. Would have alleviated a lot of stress and frustration though had we had that this morning.

That's about all for Day 2. We'll probably grab some food from a place nearby on Harbor and get some swimming in, as per the child! Lol.

 

[Tasscrapper]

Great start! Sounds like the Art buses are frustrating. I've looked at both of your 360 pics and they worked awesome! Hopefully you do some of those in the parks. Loved your joke about the back side of water and so did hubby. Jungle Cruise is his favorite ride.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Off to a good start this morning. Up at 4am pst! Lol. I brought my computer so I worked a couple hours so I didn't fall back asleep. Got the family up and out of the hotel room at 6:35, grabbed our sack breakfast and walked over to the entrance.



This is the line at 6:45 when we arrived. Not terrible as they held everyone at the white tents which were at bus 1 sign. We were near bus 2 sign.

At 7am, we got BG 97 with a 320 minute wait time. Phone kept spinning loading the party, but everyone was selected and we got in, so that's all that matters.



The line right after getting a boarding group is now back to bus 5



They opened security at 7:15 and we're now waiting to scan tickets

 

[deejdigsdis]

I love the "live" report! Hope your family has a great day!

 

[Tasscrapper]

Up at 4 am??? Good grief. I guess that's excitement for you.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Up at 4 am??? Good grief. I guess that's excitement for you.

Haha, I live in central time, so it was 6am my time. I'm usually up at 5am though

 

[GBRforWDW]

I love the "live" report! Hope your family has a great day!

Thank you, glad you're enjoying. I'll add more when we get back to the hotel, but the morning flew by quickly today!

 

[GBRforWDW]

This morning, we lined up at the castle rope drop to head to Fantasyland at 7:40. We were just a few people back from the rope. Here's our 360 view to start the day:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.811...ipOlk220GEwIIi6_siT2aZ1ZjRKMwsNaDKvvMdwq!2e10
I was planning to start at Peter Pan, but was vetoed in favor of Snow White. Our theme this morning was quantity - though having never been here, most of the Fantasyland rides are new to us.

Snow White



Pinocchio



Mr. Toads Wild Ride



Carousel



Dumbo



Storybook circus



And Teacups all before 9am

 

[GBRforWDW]

We took a short hydration break. It wasn't terribly hot yet, but always good for a breather. As we rested just after 9am, we spotted our first character:



Then we headed for the Storybook Canal Boats



Found more characters at 9:30



Went over to it's a small world. Got a 360 pic in this area:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.814...ipMRneH9pafsCRYimlY_Bu4BxwBJ1khTWpJPrWIv!2e10
Then off to Toontown





I rode the gadget coaster on my own



Then over to Roger Rabbit



That took us to about 10:30.

 

[GBRforWDW]

At 1030, we grabbed another snack break. This time we put in our first mobile order at Galactic Grill for a few drinks, a pickle for my daughter and I spotted this dessert on the menu:



This is the Galactic Parfait.



This was really good the combination of the marmalade, cheesecake, mousse, and cake was really creamy and tastes fantastic. Would definitely recommend.

My daughter and I went over to Buzz Lightyear from there, but got detoured by a couple of our favorite characters



Eyeore was playing hide and seek or something while Pooh was chasing butterflies. This was about 10:45 near the Astro Orbiter and right side of the hub.

We then headed back to Buzz Lightyear. Really the first time all day I looked at wait times as we were approaching our lunch ADR. It was a 20 minute posted wait at 11am, but we were on the ride in 7 minutes.



We had lunch at Cafe Orleans. The Bourbon Street Chicken is what I selected. It's Honey-kissed Chicken with Jasmine Rice, Seasonal Vegetables and Bourbon Sauce. This was very good. Perfect flavor.

 

[GBRforWDW]

After lunch we wanted to head to the front of the park, but we were near the train depot in new Orleans square. It showed a 30 minute wait, but thought I'd see if it'd be quicker. We were just outside the turnstiles waiting for the train and ended up being first in line after the first train unloaded and reloaded, so ended up about a 12-15 minute wait



At the front, I was able to grab a 360 of main street while waiting.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.810...ipOYEqdNG97QS9AopQcddM3qUG8g2t1fACbVQaEk!2e10
As well as a few pix of the buildings:











Then we got to watch the Abe Lincoln movie followed by the Disneyland marching band for a little bit. Chip and Dale came out to dance to the tunes. This was just before 2pm:



After that it was back to the hotel for a much needed break.

 

[deejdigsdis]

The Galactic Parfait looks fun. Those kinds of treats are very hit or miss for me. They always look fun and tasty...but they're not always tasty. Was that an edible thing (planet?) on top?

Sounds like you had a successful morning at Fantasyland!

 

[GBRforWDW]

Yes, the Galactic Parfait was so good. But I hear ya on the hit or miss, though it's usually the cupcakes that are misses for us. We had a cool looking one that was very dry. Ugh. Lol.

The ball was a hollow milk chocolate ball. My daughter grabbed it and ate it up lol. She liked it, but since I didn't eat it, I forgot. Haha.

 

[GBRforWDW]

We returned to Disneyland around 5pm. We had a dinner reservation at Blue Bayou at 5:40, so we just looked around the shops, trying to find the perfect hat for everyone, but keep thinking maybe a different shop has something better.

We arrived at BB and had a short wait for our table to be ready. We loved the atmosphere. The starlit night on the river with the Pirate boats floating by. My wife had the cauliflower steak and I had the jambalaya. That was a bit spicier than I prefer, but still really good.



After dinner, we rode the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh



I finally used our boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance. We were called just as we were headed to lunch at 1130. I got to the ride at almost 730, the only question they asked was if it was just me, since we had 3 passes total. The other 2 didn't want to ride it today.



We were, however, able to finally convince our daughter to fly the Millennium Falcon with us. She was nervous but did a good job.



After that, we had a reservation at Oga's Cantina. We tried the Hyperdrive Punch It, Oga's obsession and Batuu Bits. Our server let us know the Obsession was more of a Jello and not a drink, but we were ok with trying it.



My wife and I enjoyed all 3 offerings. The obsession had some pop rocks on it and the flavor combination was so good. The Batuu Bits were a mix of items similar to chips as well as dried bananas. Definitely a fun snack to try. I'd get them again. The Hyperdrive was a blue raspberry powerade mixed with Sprite and a couple other things. Tasted pretty much like Powerade. Overall, the Cantina was a fun place to sit down and relax for a few minutes.

My kid doesn't like loud noises, so we couldn't convince her to watch fireworks, so we went in and out of shops on Main Street before finding some delicious rice krispie treats.

Then on the way out, got to finally see the Stars! My daughter was wearing her Minnie ears and dress and she got Minnie's attention. Minnie told her through character sign language that she loved her ears and dress and blew a kiss. So definitely a fun way to end the night!



The characters were on the main street side of the train station immediately after fireworks were done. Not sure how long they stayed but probably at least through the initial surge of people leaving. Fireworks are done 45 minutes before the park actually closes, but tons of people left afterwards. We did too, but guessing if you stay, ride wait times are really short.