Wednesday, September 23, 2015

California Part Four: Disneyland

Things have been a little crazy around here so I've gotten a bit delayed on finishing up sharing our California trip even though we've been home for over a month but it's time to get back to it today with our day at Disneyland.

In case you missed the previous parts…
Part One: Beach Views
Part Two: Beach to City
Part Three: Beverly Hills

Day Six - Disneyland 
My grandparents spent winters in Florida and we had an office location there so I grew up going to Disney World many times and Derek and I have been together as well.  Disney World is definitely my favorite but I thought since we had a free day it would be fun for us to take out the chance to visit Disneyland.  We were happy we made the trip - it was smaller than Disney World but fun to see.  We also did California Adventure but we didn't "overdo" it - we didn't want to get home exhausted.  All in all we were probably at the parks for about six hours which was perfect for us - we didn't do everything but we saw/did what we wanted.

Oh, and it was hot hot hot this day.  100 degrees hot.  Today was the first day of the heatwave for our final three days.  We were happy for the AC when the car picked us up to go home.

The "little kid" in me wanted to do my favorite since I was two - Dumbo and the tea cups as well as to see Minnie Mouse and Pluto - after that I was open to just wander the parks, explore, do whatever rides the line was short for and enjoy.  For the most part it was very similar to the Magic Kingdom especially the layout although Snow White's Castle is noticeably smaller than Cinderella's.  The mini "Mickey's Town" in the pack of the park was adorable and any kid would love it.

It was also the 60th anniversary celebration while we were there so it was cool to see all the decorations up in the parks.

Cheers to Mickey, we kicked off our car ride with a sip of champagne because why not on vacation?!  Anaheim is about 45-50 minutes outside of LA (without traffic) so we decided to have a car take us instead of trying to rent a car and figure it out ourselves.



Once afternoon hit we ventured right across the way to California Adventure - it was quite nice that the parks were directly across from each other and easy walking distance.  This park was comparable to a combination of Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  We didn't spend a ton of time over in the park but enough to explore the hotel, see a few shows, exhibits, etc. and grab some refreshing sips of frozen margaritas - they really hit the spot in efforts to beat the heat.



Night Six - Craig's
We got back early enough to get in some downtime around the hotel to relax before a late dinner reservation.  When we got dropped off we noticed a lot of commotion in the valet line at the hotel and lots of press waiting to get in so we changed and went down to the hotel bar for a drink and some apps to check it out.  Turns out it was a gala for the Hollywood Foreign Press with plenty of big stars in attendance.

Last year when we had a day to spare on the way home from our honeymoon the concierge had made us a dinner reservation at one of the new hollywood "hotspots" - Craig's - he had to make the reservation when we took off for Bora Bora about ten days before just to get in and this year it was still just as popular but we were really looking forward to it because of how much we loved it the year before.

It didn't disappoint yet again.  The entrance was filled with paparazzi, the bar scene was packed, we ate dinner next to Russell Simmons and other celebrities were in and out (Kourtney Kardashain was there the following night).  Our meals were just as tasty as I remembered and any meal that can end with a dessert of warm chocolate chip cookies is my kind of place.


We finished off the night at the hotel bar chatting with some people who Derek had met around the hotel earlier.  An end to another successful day.


Like the previous days - here was one of our few photos of the day of our gal (and boy)


Almost done - just two more days to share.

Helpful Links… 

23 comments:

  1. It's definitely nice to go back to a spot you visited as brand new newlyweds!! And how smart to get a car service to and from disney no need to worry about driving at all! xo, Biana BlovedBoston

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  2. I think it says just how much you guys did and packed in that you had to divide your post up into so many parts--SO MUCH fun!!! :) Love that you guys got to go to Disney, and the view from that restaurant was beautiful!

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  3. One of the main things I've always heard from people when they visit Disneyland versus Disney World is that it's just a smaller scale and that the castle is a lot smaller. That's so exciting that you got to visit during the 60th anniversary, I'm sure that Disney went all out for the celebrations. And I'm definitely putting Craig's on my list for next time we visit LA! Good food and potential celebrity sightings sounds like the perfect combo to me!

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  4. How fun!!! Great idea to get car service to Disney!!! Those cookies look amazing!! I'll have to add that to our list of places to try!!

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  5. OMG those balcony views are amazing! I've always wanted to go to Disneyland but with Disney World in my backyard I've never really had a reason to make a trip out there just for that. Those frozen margaritas look amazing!
    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  6. Oh my goodness I love Disneyland! My husband and I went to Disneyland for our honeymoon a couple years ago and it was a blast! I cant wait to go again and take my son when he gets older! It looks like you guys had a fabulous time! :)
    xx, Savana
    theduncandiaries

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  7. Love Disney! Those chocolate chip cookies look divine!
    Kelsey
    www.thepeacockroost.com

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  8. looks like a fabulous trip, lady! So glad you were able to get to Disneyland. Funny story, when we lived in California when I was young, my parents took us there and it was CLOSED. Luckily it wasn't meltdown city but they were heartbroken. Thankfully we were able to get back there and enjoy the rides.

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  9. Oh my goodness I love all things Disney. You have so many adorable pics from Disneyland. I'm so jealous of your trip :)

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  10. So.much.fun! Since Disney World is in my "backyard", I've been more times than I can count, but have always wanted to check out Disney Land out in Cali as well since it's the original. The one thing everyone tells me is they're surprised at how small Sleeping Beauty's castle is compared to the Cinderella Castle in FL. And awesome idea to have car service with champs - always a good idea ;-)

    Green Fashionista

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  11. That looks like so much fun! As a FL girl I've been to World many times but never to Disneyland!

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  12. Such a fun day! I've only ever gone to Disney World since I've grown up here in FL, but I'd love to go to Disneyland one day.

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  13. Ahh I love this! I've been dying to go back to Disney World, I haven't been since I was little. One day I'd like to make it to Disneyland too!

    xo, Carly | carly blogs

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  14. How fun! I've only been to Disneyland once back before I left for college and went to California for an extended vacation with my parents. I'm with you - Disney World is definitely my preference, but it's fun to say you've been to both parks!

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  15. I would love to go to Disneyland! I've been to Disney World, but it was when I was in 7th grade, so I don't really remember a ton from it... Hubs and I are definitely planning on taking the babies in a couple of years when they're a little older.

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  16. I love Disney! I almost think it is more magical as you get older! Those cookies look fabulous, too! Yum!

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  17. Disneyland sounds so fun!! I've never been there but always wanted to go and see the difference between there and Disney World. The whole 100 degree thing sounds rough though.. Your night at Craig's sounds so cool!!

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  18. Aw so fun. Loved seeing all the pics, too!

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  19. Even though I worked at Walt Disney World for 5 years I never made it out to Disneyland. I feel like when I see Sleeping Beauty's Castle I'll be so disappointed because it'll look like a little nugget castle. compared to Cinderella Castle in Orlando. However I am totally pumped to see what the castle looks like at Disneyland Paris when we go there in the spring. We're trying to make a Cali trip next year so I'm loving these posts.

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  20. Such a fun day! My grandpa is from Orlando so we spent many, many spring breaks at Disney World, too :) Still haven't been to Disneyland yet, I can't get over how much smaller the castle looks! And warm chocolate chip cookies?! Yes please!

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  21. I love Disney! In fact we're going this weekend to Animal Kingdom. I've never been to Disneyland though. It looks similar yet very different to the one in Orlando.

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  22. How fun! We recently went to Disney World and it was so much fun but hot too!

    Brooke
    pumps and push-ups

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  23. I'd like to go to Disneyland sometime just to see the difference from Disney World. Funny, I always thought that that Disney World was the original since it's so much bigger. Looks like a great time! I feel like I heard of Craig's before. Maybe from one of the miscellaneous reality shows I watch, haha.

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