Disneyland

Our long awaited trip to Disneyland came at the beginning of March.  We were so excited! 

After traveling to California one of the first things we did was try a new (to us) restaurant.  We ate lunch at the Black Tap Craft Burgers.  They are known for their amazing shakes.  It was very good food and the shakes lived up to the hype.  

After lunch we hung around downtown Disney for awhile.

The kids ended the day by convincing Brandon to swim with them in the very cold hotel swimming pool.  

The next day we got to Disneyland nice and early.  We wanted to make sure we were in the park with plenty of time to try to get into the virtual line for Rise of the Resistance.  Luckily we were able to get a boarding group.  Our next priority was to get a delicious cinnamon roll for breakfast. 

Then we were ready for rides!

One of the first things we needed to check off the list was making light sabers.  Brandon and Alex were very excited for this and it ended up being as cool as they had hoped.  I couldn't get very good pictures because it was very dark in there but they loved it! 

It was all very magical and Alex thought it was so cool! 

After we made the light sabers we got to take some time to explore Star Wars land.  It was pretty cool. All of Brandon's dreams had come true.  

Mia even got to meet Rey while wearing her Rey t-shirt.  She was pretty excited.  

Before long it was time for us to ride the Rise of the Resistance.  Mia was more than a bit nervous.  At some points in the line she would find something to cling on to and try to not let go.  Luckily we got her on it and in the end she decided it wasn't too bad.  

The rest of us thought it was very cool.  It is very interactive and definitely one of their coolest rides ever.  We were lucky to get a boarding group every day we tried.  One of the days the ride had broken down so there was a very long wait but Brandon and Alex still waited it out for over an hour.  We can't wait to go back to do it again! 

We also had made a reservation for the Cantina for that day.  It isn't very big so we were squished around tables but it was fun to try it.  We ordered a few different drinks and some weird Star Wars treat.  It was a lot of fun!

We also had to try the round soda bottles while we were in Star Wars Land.  Alex thought it was pretty awesome. 

Ready for Splash Mountain in our ponchos! We got Mia to go on it but the picture spot wasn't working so we didn't get to see her terrified face.  Now that we are home she says it was pretty fun but while on it she cried the whole time.  

This picture was taken right before we were getting on the other Star Wars ride, Smuggler's Run.  Once Mia saw that the seats were individual and she wouldn't be able to snuggle me on it she panicked and we had to walk off the ride.  We were able to get her to go on it later on but she was not a fan of it.  It wasn't my favorite ride either though so that is okay.  

Mia loved the t-cups.  Mindi was nice enough to take the girls on it while we did another ride.  She was not too excited but the little girls were.  

Mia loved it so much we did it again a little later. 

We headed back to Star Wars land at night to see it all lit up.  It was pretty cool. 

Alex and Brandon had to capture the awesomeness of their new light sabers!

Day Two: The next day we headed straight for California Adventure. 

We ate a lot of amazing snacks on this trip!

The Mickey's Philharmagic was a highlight for Mia.  She thought the 3D effects were very cool and hilarious. 

Ready for another water ride! This time it was the Grizzly River Run. 

At night Brandon and Alex stayed late to ride a few more rides at Disneyland.

Day Three: Today we were able to get into the park a little early because we had a breakfast reservation for the Plaza Inn.  We got a picture in front of Mickey while the line was short. 

The character breakfast at the Plaza Inn was so fun and delicious.  The kids liked meeting some of the random characters that came by.  

It was finally time for the girls to get their makeovers at the Bibbidi, Bobbidi Boutique.  Mia was very excited and had decided to be Sleeping Beauty this time.  Here is her "before" picture.  

Three beautiful princesses!

It was very bright outside when we took their pictures so it was a little tricky to get them without squinty eyes. 

They even got to meet Belle and the Beast!

Meeting more princesses!

Back to the rides. Grandpa looks less than thrilled! 

Today we tried the blue milk from Star Wars land.  It was pretty good.  Later on we tried the green milk.  It wasn't great. 

Thursday was one of the best days ever at the park! It wasn't busy at all and we couldn't keep up with our fast passes.  That night Alex and I stayed late.  We rode Splash mountain twice in a row.  The second time we were in a log by ourselves.  The camera still wasn't working great but we still got some awesome pictures. 

It was so much fun to stay late with Alex.  He is such a great kid!

Break day: The next morning Mia woke up with some awesome post princess hair. 

The kids relaxed a bit while Brandon picked up a rental car.

And then we headed to the beach.  We found a beautiful beach with cheap parking and we were excited to spend the day relaxing in the sand. 

Unfortunately not long after we had gotten there Brandon was out in the water and got stung by a sting ray.  Apparently the sting rays were very active that day.  We saw at least seven people get stung while we were there.  Brandon might be smiling in this picture but it was very painful.  The lifeguard gave him hot water to soak his foot in to help draw out the venom. 

We still ended up staying for several more hours before Brandon had to hobble back to the car. 

Alex was very lucky to have not gotten stung.  He kept going back into the water to find these sand dollars. They were pretty cool!

Finally a little boy standing not far from Alex got stung and I wouldn't let him go back out any more.  They also had a shark sighting while we were there.  It was an exciting day!

After we went back to Anaheim Brandon stopped at Instant Care.  They were able to give him some stitches, some medicine and a tetanus shot.  Luckily it didn't stop him from walking around Disneyland the next two days.  

Day Four: Today we used our Magic Morning passes and were able to get a fairly uncrowded picture in front of the castle.  

Today we ate dinner at Cafe Orleans.  It was so yummy as usual!

Mia thought this baby grape was very exciting!

We really got into our ride photos!

We were able to check out the new parade called "Magic Happens." It was very cool and Mia loved it!

Mia kept asking all trip to ride the "rockets." We finally made it happen and it ended up being one of her favorite rides.  

Another item on our to-do list was to get silhouettes made of the kids.  They turned out so cool! This lady just looks at them and cuts it out by hand.  The other employee told us she is their best artist in the park so we chose a great time to go.  It was so magical!

We had to head back to Star Wars land yet again to check more things out.

Day Five: Our last day! We drug our kids out of bed early one more time so we were able to get another boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance.  

We also snuck in a few more pictures. 

We spent the morning at Toon Town.  It was almost empty so it was fun to let the kids run around.  We also got to meet Minnie and Mickey and see their houses. 

Mia, Elsie and Lilah got good at entertaining themselves while the bigger people rode bigger rides.  They spent some time break dancing while some of the others were on Big Thunder Railroad.

Mia was really excited about this princess cupcake.  It went straight to her head and shirt. 

The last night we pushed Mia for as long as we could until she finally fell asleep in my arms when we sat down to eat some Mickey Beignets.  We carried her around so more and then all the way back to the hotel without her waking up. 

The next morning we got up and headed to the airport.  Mia again fell asleep in the Lyft.  As soon as we got out and stood in the airport she threw up every where.  I'm not sure if she had gotten car sick or the week had just caught up to her.  I'm just grateful she didn't throw up in a stranger's car.  Luckily she was fine after that. 

I had given her a Disney bag to hold in case she needed to throw up after that and she insisted on holding it the entire flight and ride home.  Luckily there were no more incidents after the first one. 

It was such a fun trip! It was just five days later that they ended up closing Disneyland because of the Covid 19 pandemic.  We know we are very lucky to have gotten our trip in.  I'm so grateful that we were able to have this trip and how fun it was.  We can't wait to do it again!