Disneyland!!

A while back I went to Disneyland with my seven year old niece and her parents. It was Awesome! :D Last time I went on Vacation I wrote a “Travel Log” Blog Post of my adventure (click here to read). I considered doing that again, but that’s a lot of work and though it may be fun for me to write, it may not be so fun for others to read. So I decided to do this post differently by making a list of the Highlights. ;)

Before I beginning my list, I like to give a disclaimer that not all of it is positive highlights. I mean highlights as something I’ll always remember from the trip. That being the case, I like to start with number 10 and work my way down to the better and best highlights. ;) Another disclaimer this list will not be in a time line order. But I hope it’ll still be fun to read. ;) That being said.. Let me begin! :D

10. The Drive

That’s right. We drove to California. We being my brother Ben as the driver, myself the one in shot gun, and my niece IzzaBella in the back. Her mom, Hillary, travelled by plane. I’m not sure what is worst. Driving or Flying. Haha.

The drive surprisingly wasn’t that bad. Long, but not terrible. Granted I wasn’t the one driving. We had a good time singing along to the radio. Or at least I thought so. Not very far into our drive Izzi announced that we would be playing the “quiet game” What seven year old chooses to play the quiet game? Oh wait, one who is keeping score so is allowed to talk, and gets her aunt to stop singing. Haha.

We played other games that were more enjoyable, such as I-Spy, Hangman, 20 Questions, etc. Izzi asked the occasional “Are we there yet?” which was expected. The first one was two hours in. I’m actually impressed she lasted that long. Haha.

The drive to California we did in two days, and the drive back in one. (It was a long day. Haha) Being in shot gun I was assigned to help navigate once we got to California. It was a fun adventure, and I’m proud to say we didn’t get lost. All thanks to GPS of course. ;) 

9. Lines

As I said in the disclaimer, not all the highlights on my list are positive. Lines are just a part of Disneyland. At one point Izzi said, “I’m tired of waiting in line. Can we come back when it’s shorter?” LOL! :) We did download the Disneyland App, and that did help a bunch in knowing what rides had shorter times, but no matter where you go, there will be lines. There is no escape. Fast Passes helped, but there was still a wait. Like I said, all part of Disneyland.

8. The Hotel

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. It was pretty nice. We had a room on the 10th floor. Izzi thought that was pretty cool. I liked it. It was a little challenging sharing a bed with Izzi, mostly because she is a bed hog. I have no idea how someone so small could take up so much space. Haha.

On Wednesday we enjoyed time at the pool. I mostly stuck to the hot tub to soak my sore feet. When we were at the pool there was a little ‘accident’ that caused it to be closed for a while. The hot tub got really crowded. Haha.

7. Souvenirs

Shopping for souvenirs is fun. I think I did pretty well too. :) I got a little something for all my family members, and few friends. And Yes, one of those friends was my boyfriend. I found him a Star Wars T-Shirt. I texted his brother beforehand to help me figure out the size, because I wanted to surprise him. Hehe. So sneaky. ;)

My favorite find however was the small world plate I found for my dad. He is so hard to shop for, but when I saw the plate I knew I had to get it because small world is his *favorite* ride (note the sarcasm) Luckily for me he thought it was pretty funny too. :D

Oh and of course we HAD to get mouse ears. It’s a must when you go to Disneyland. ;) haha

6. Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney was pretty fun. (That is where I found my souvenirs on our last night. ;)) We left early on Tuesday morning so we would be able to explore Downtown Disney with less people around. (At night it got pretty crowded.) I had a fun time taking pictures.

The Lego store was pretty cool with its large displays of Disney characters. Wednesday afternoon on our way back to the hotel Izzi participated in some Lego cart racing. (see Facebook Album for pictures)

Izzi was (and is) such a doll when it comes to pictures. So silly and adorable. I especially like the Star Wars picture I posted above. She’s a born model. :D

5. Food is Good

We were able to enjoyed some of the food the park had to offer. We had Mickey Mouse pretzels, some popsicles, Giant Turkey leg (It was gigantic!), hot dogs, hamburgers with fries, cotton candy (isn’t Izzi cute with her cotton candy? ;)) and my favorite- Dole Whip Floats. It was so delicious! I’d go back just for the Dole Whip. Haha. :)

4. The Entertainment

Disneyland sure knows how to entertain. It was cool walking around the park and catch a random street performance here and there. We also attended the small play “Tangled” Rapunzel gave us a summary of her story with help from the theater. It was so cute and so clever! I love the theater!

The biggest show was that of the Light Parade. Ben was so nice to let Izzi sit on his shoulders to help her see the parade. It was a really cool parade. The fireworks were spectacular. The first night we watched the parade, and sadly the fireworks were cancelled. But the second night they were not. Izzi and I were in line for the Rockets (aka Astro Orbitor) when it started. It was fun being up high on the rockets while watching a few of the fireworks go off. :)

3. Attractions (Rides)

I don’t know where to begin with the attractions, aka rides. They were so much fun! We did our best to get to every ride, but we still missed some. A day and half in Disneyland, and part of day in California Adventures, it clearly not enough time. Haha.

There are a lot of rides. If you’ve been to Disneyland and California Adventures you know what I mean. I’ll just name a few of our favorites. Izzi really enjoyed the Astro Orbitor Rockets, and Buzz Lightyear’s Blasters. Ben, of course, really enjoyed the Star Wars rides. I personally really enjoy the rollercoasters, especially the Screamer. So much fun!! :D

2. Magic Hour!!

Magic Hour is the hour before the park actually opens for those staying at the Disney Hotels. Since we had the Disneyland app we knew which rides were the most popular and had the longest wait times throughout the day. So we went to those rides first.

On Tuesday, our day in Disneyland, we went to the Star Wars rides. Hyperspace Mountain was awesome!! Izzi did not like it very much. She said it was too fast. Haha. After we went to Star Tours, a 3D mission adventure. It was pretty cool.

On Wednesday, our day in California Adventures, we went to Cars Land for Radiator Springs Racers. There was still a wait, but not as bad if we went later in the day, because everyone had the same idea as us. We also went to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree during that hour.

Magic Hour sure went fast, but you know what they say- Time flies when you’re having fun! It was so true for Magic Hour. Haha. :)

1.Character Sighting

My favorite part of Disneyland was the Characters. :D It was so much fun helping Izzi find and meet her favorite Disney Characters.

The first one we ran into was Mickey Mouse himself! :D She was also able to meet and get autographs from few Disney princesses: Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Merida, and Bell. She also found couple from Disney Jr: Princess Sofia, and Dr. McStuffins. Besides meeting Mickey, she also meet his pals: Goofy, Donald, and Pluto. We also meet Judy and Nick from the new movie Zootopia. The highlight, of course, was meeting her favorite Disney character Elsa, and her sister Anna and Olaf. The wait time for Frozen was close to two hours! Ben being the awesome dad he is, saved a place in line for her while the two of us went on rides in Bugs Land. Now that is love! :D

I was really impressed with the time each character spent visiting and interacting with each child. The princesses asked her questions about her day, and it was so cute how they stayed in character the whole time! It was adorable! Even the ones who couldn’t talk interacted with her, and communicated the best they could. It was so cute! I loved it. :D

The End

Yup, Disneyland is Awesome. I really enjoyed my short trip there, all thanks to Izzi. Disneyland with a child is definitely the way to go. ;) I hope you enjoyed my list and summary of my Disneyland Adventure. I am grateful I was able to go and have such a good time. Also, I love being an aunt. :D