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| Our first family Pic at Disneyland from Sleeping Beauty's Castle! |
Here in Monterey, Kyle is on a school schedule (4 quarters), so after every quarter they have a week break! We knew Kyle had to go to Bremerton, WA for a site visit the first half of the break, but I knew we had Thursday-Sunday free, so I started planning and chose Disneyland! I had researched another Disney cruise, but the value at this time wasn't there and the port visits were limited.
So here is a breakdown of our Disney trip. Some tips, tricks and lots of pictures! Enjoy!
Roadtrip
We headed out for Disneyland on Thursday morning. My goal was to be on the road by 6am, but unfortunately that didn't happen. We were out late the night before for Charlotte's Awana and Kyle had just gotten back from Bremerton that afternoon. After a quick stop at Panera for breakfast, we were on the road at 8am. Charlotte did great in the car and even took a nap! The drive there was definitely quicker than coming home as we took a direct route going. Kyle wasn't feeling well, so as soon as we arrived in Anaheim, I found an urgent care to take him to. We dropped him off and headed to the hotel. After a steroid shot, inhaler and Z-pack, he was on the road to recovery for all the fun I had planned! :)
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| 7:30am and so excited to be on our way! |
After tons of research, I decided to stay at the DoubleTree Anaheim Resort-Convention Center. Next time we go, we will book further in advance so we can stay on property at one of the Disney hotels. The rates were crazy expensive because all of the military rooms were reserved. I got an awesome military rate at the DoubleTree and the best part is that the room was spacious and had a living room and bedroom, separated by a door. Perfect for families. Also, since we are Hilton Gold Members (thanks Amex Platinum--free for military) we also received complimentary breakfast (a 14.99 value). They also have awesome chocolate chip cookies when you check in. The hotel was a .9 mile walk from the park entrance. We walked several times and also did the ART shuttle. This hotel also had a heated pool and jacuzzi, which was a plus! We saw one night and watched the fireworks too!
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| We brought some snacks and drinks to fill up our mini bar! |
Disney is awesome and offers a 3-Day Park Hopper ticket for military. It was $156 per person and you can purchase at any base ticket office, but not on site at Disneyland. You can read about the restrictions on the tickets, here. We used all 3 days during our trip.
Maxpass
This is a fairly new program and I was SO excited about it. For $10, you basically get Fastpass and Photopass on your phone through the Disneyland app. Each person in your party needs the Maxpass to utilize the Fastpass option, but we only used that a couple times. In addition, you can still get regular Fastpasses from kiosks around the park. You have to purchase this once you are inside the park, but then you can enjoy the benefits! The Photopass was my favorite part because all of the pictures get loaded onto your app and you can download to your computer or phone for just $10!!! At our Princess breakfast, they came over with a several photos in a paper decorative frame. They wanted $37.95 for this! But then I told them I had Maxpass and they handed me a card and loaded them onto my phone in seconds!! I used the app to seek out photographers (Kyle hated this), but in the end we have some amazing professional photos!
ART
The Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART) is a great option for getting to and from the parks. We used it several times when our feet were a little tired. The one way fare is $3, but the day pass for adults is $5. I recommend getting that in case you use it more than once. Most of the good neighbor hotels sell them in the lobby. We walked right out front to get our shuttle. The one downside? You have to unpack the stroller and break it down. I enjoy walking and getting my steps in, but Kyle opted for the shuttle several times. Charlotte enjoyed "riding the bus" too!
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| On the ART Shuttle! |
Must Haves
Portable iPhone Charger
This was a life saver during the day at the park. It extended our battery life multiple times! Would highly suggest purchasing one before you go!
Collapsable Soft Cooler with Bottled Water and Snacks
Disney allows you to bring in water and snacks, so take advantage of this! We filled up our cooler and used freezer packs to keep it cold during the day! Totally worth it and saved money too! This fit really nicely underneath our stroller.
Autograph Book and Pen
We purchased our autograph book onsite, because I forgot to get one before! I linked up one from Amazon for $11! This was really exciting for Charlotte! She loved giving the book and pen. I sent Kyle to buy one while we were in line for Minnie and he spent $20 on the book and matching pen.
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| We chose a Minnie Mouse book! |
Clothing/Family T-Shirts
I'm a big fan of matching and love to get creative with our outfits. We re-used our Disney family shirts from our cruise early this year! Those were done by Embellished! and then my friend Jessica, with Stitches by Jessica, made our sparkly princess monogram shirts! They turned out so cute!
Once Kyle was doctored up, we headed off to the park. I didn't make any reservations for this day, because I wasn't sure of our timing. Right after arriving at the park, we saw Minnie and Pluto! Charlotte was in heaven! Minnie was dressed for Halloween! Our first ride was Snow White (because the line was only 15 minutes). Charlotte didn't really care for it. She was a little scared. We continued to wander through Frontierland and it was just packed! We got onto the Pirates of the Caribbean ride fairly quickly and Charlotte is still singing the "Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me" song. I couldn't believe how busy it was for a Thursday night! Plaza Inn's fried chicken was on my list of places to eat, but the line was SO long, that we decided to press on to Tomorrowland. We finally found a place with a decently short line. Kyle had a cheeseburger, I had a veggie wrap and Charlotte had mac and cheese. Not the best meal, but it was late and we were just hungry! Next we rode the Autopia Car driving ride. Charlotte loved this and loved when Kyle bumped into the railing! Lol, it's the little things. We continued into Fantasyland and rode It's a Small World. Charlotte loved this one. After this, we called it a night and headed home. My watch clocked 13,307 steps and 6.51 miles for the day! Pretty good for not even full day in the park!
Day 2
We were up early to get ready for our Princess Breakfast at Ariel's Grotto! We decided to take the shuttle this day. We got to the park entrance around 8:45am and the security lines were so long! Thankfully, we made it to Ariel's Grotto by 9:00am for our reservation. As we walked down the circular staircase, Ariel was there waiting for us! Charlotte was so excited. After taking our photo with her, we were seated. I'll admit the breakfast was pricy, $35 per adult and $20 for Charlotte, but the presentation and experience was really great. We were served muffins, pastries and fruit (really fresh and delicious) and then we were able to select an entree off of the menu. I selected the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Croissant and Kyle had the Tri-Tip Steak and Eggs. Both were very good. Charlotte had a waffle that was made into a sailboat with a piece of bacon as the sail! So cute! As we had breakfast, the princesses were introduced and came around and said hi to us. We got to meet Belle, Rapunzel, Tiana and Snow White! Charlotte absolutely loved it!
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| Pastries and Fruit Platter |
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| Charlotte's Sailboat Waffle |
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| My Breakfast Sandwich |
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| Charlotte with Rapunzel |
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| With Tiana! |
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| Family Pic with Ariel! Thanks PhotoPass! |
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| Spider Power! |
The Frozen Show was absolutely amazing. We saw a similar show on our Disney cruise, but obviously this theater had more props/ability and it was wonderful! We were on the 3rd row! Charlotte stayed engaged pretty much the entire time! She kept asking us if she could give the characters hugs. Unfortunately once the show was over, the character meet and greet was already over for the day, so we were unable to see them.
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| The staircase rotated over the audience! It was so cool! |
Next up, we ate lunch in the Pacific Wharf! We decided on Lucky Fortune Cookery! Kyle and Charlotte had a Teriyaki Chicken bowl and I had a Coconut Chicken Curry bowl. It was so yummy and not expensive at all. We also had some mango slices that were really good! Next we walked through Cars Land! Someone was getting sleepy, so we decided to have some ice cream, Mickey Bars of course, and head back to the hotel for nap!
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| Really into her Mickey Bar! Yikes what a mess! Chocolate everywhere! |
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| You can see the fireworks in the distance! |
Charlotte slept in until about 7:15am, so then we were rushing to get to her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment. We opted for the cheapest package ($65) which included hair, makeup and nails. This option is great because you can use a princess dress you already have, and we have tons of them! They will also get a BBB banner, backpack, and the leftover makeup, nail polish, stick on jewels, etc. An important note for BBB is that you can't book through the Disneyland app, you have to call and I recommend doing it as far in advance as possible. Also, a morning time slot is best so they can enjoy their style throughout the day and into the evening. Charlotte's hairstyle survived through nap time!
After checking in, we were taken back into the salon. It's so cute and they have all of the Disney music going. Charlotte sat in her salon chair and then there was a bench right behind for Kyle and I to sit on. The whole experience was very quick. One fairy godmother did her hair and the other did her nails and makeup. Once complete, they turned her around and told her to say, "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" and then the curtains opened and she saw herself in the mirror! She was so proud!
Next up it was time to see princesses in the Royal Hall. After a short 10 minute wait, we got to see Ariel, Snow White and Cinderella. Cinderella is my favorite (and now Charlotte's too). The princesses were so sweet and really spent lots of time with each child.
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| Twirling with Ariel |
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| Cinderella! |
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| My favorite! Lifting her little dress like Belle! |
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| Her face! |
Then we headed to the Fairy Hollow to meet Tinkerbell. It is really cutely decorated! Charlotte loves Tinkerbell. On our way to Toontown to see Mickey and Minnie, we ran into Captain Hook! Kyle and I divided and conquered and he waited in the Mickey's house line, while I waited in the Minnie house line. It worked perfectly! I had to wait for about 40 minutes! But, Char loved it.
Now it was back to the hotel to get some rest and also catch the Gator game! Of course, no channels were playing it, so Kyle went down to the bar and live-streamed it on his computer while I stayed up with Char! On our way to the park, we continued to stream the nail-biter of game, thanks to technology!
We had reservations for the Hungry Bear On-the Go Fantasmic! Dining Package. The package gave us fast passes to the 9pm show and allowed us to have a front row seat. I would highly suggest it, because it was way more affordable than the Blue Bayou package which was $60 per adult. You were able to choose from 3 different entrees and everything was nicely packaged up to take to your seat or to eat at the tables provided at the restaurant. These book up fast, so I would recommend booking this early through the app!
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| She loved the show! |
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| Outside the main gate! I loved all of the Halloween decor! |
