Disneyland!

Sean and I discussed taking the kids to Disneyland for the first time when Olivia was around 6 and Brandon was 8.  We wanted them to young enough still that it was magical and old enough to not be scared of the characters and rides and to be tall enough to go on most of the rides.  We heard that the fall was a good time to go because the crowds were generally less and the weather cooler and that Disneyland had some pretty cool Halloween decorations.  Sean and I looked into buying our hotel, tickets, and airfare about a year ago and settled on going through Costco for everything.  We bought our tickets in May and were excited to find out that Disneyland had a fun Halloween party going on at California Adventures while we were going.  We were able to book the tickets to the party early on which was good since it sold out!  We ended up deciding to go the week before Halloween that way the kids would not miss their classroom parties and they had Friday off that week so they only had to miss 2 days of school.  I did a bunch of research prior to going and read a bunch about all that Disneyland has to offer.  We decided to get the new MaxPass's which allow us to book fast passes on our phones through the Disney app.  We also got the park hopper pass that allowed us to go back and forth between California Adventure and Disneyland.  We decided to go for 5 days since after 4 days the 5th day was almost free.

Before we left I got the whole family a bunch of Disney gear to wear at the parks.  I also got the kids fun Halloween themed autograph books from Etsy that had their names on it and the year.  The books were fun because there was a spot for the autographs and their pictures with the characters.  I was so excited for our trip and borrowed several Disneyland guides at the library.  I booked our dinner reservations, our Halloween Party tickets, our character breakfast, and Olivia's Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique reservation several months in advance.

The kids went to school on the day that we left for Disneyland.  I ended up taking the day off so I could drop Lulu off in Albany to stay with my parents and finish some last minute packing.  I was also able to get a much needed pedicure.   The kids came from home from school and we immediately left they were super excited and we all got dressed up in our Disneyland gear for the flight. We had to carry on parts of our costumes (my Pirate hat) which would not fit in the suitcase. We were dressing up for the Ooogie Boogie Halloween bash that we got tickets to on Thursday night. Our good friend Brendan dropped us off at the airport. We got to the airport a little late as we hit traffic but we luckily did not have any line through security.  We were able to get some Café Yumm for dinner on the airplane before we took off.

The kids at PDX airport super excited to leave for Disneyland

We had to get our infamous foot shot at the PDX carpet

On the airplane and so excited to get to Disneyland!

Olivia enjoying her snack on the airplane 

Flying over LA is so beautiful

We arrived in LAX around 7:15 PM and it was so warm when we got off the plane. There was a heat wave going on and it had been in the 90s and it was supposed in the 90s the first 3 days we were there and then cool back off into the 80s. After coming from cold and rainy and in the 50s Portland weather this felt awesome. Unfortunately it took about 45 minutes for our shuttle to get us and then we were off. We got to the hotel around 9:30 and I ran down to the Walgreens to get snacks for the next day and drinks for Sean and me. We got the kids to bed around 10:00 PM and then had a drink and went to bed ourselves. Our hotel was really nice-it had a large kitchen, living room, and then a bedroom with 2 queen beds. We were a bit sad that there were no views but it was really clean and the beds were comfortable.

The new Star Wars land poster at our hotel

Brandon is excited for Disneyland's new Star Wars land!

The next morning we were up by 7:30 AM and then went down to our free hotel breakfast which was really nice. They had an omelet making station, fresh waffles, cereal, fruit, muffins, and pastries-basically anything that you could want. It was really nice not having to buy or worry about breakfast on the way to the park. It was also relatively quick as it was a buffet. We ended up getting to the park around 8:30 AM and there was barely a line. The park opened at 8 as it was on fall holiday hours still.

Standing outside the park and super excited to get in!

All ready to go to Disneyland

Heading to Disneyland's entrance first

It was so fun going through the gates of Disneyland with the kids and seeing them see it for the first time. The streets of Main Street were all decorated with Halloween décor. We immediately got a fast pass to the Indiana Jones ride and made it through Main Street and then headed straight for Adventureland where we first went on the Jungle Cruise which did not have a Fast Pass option. The Jungle Cruise was really fun, we got onto rafts and went on the water where we saw animatronic animals that looked so realistic. We almost went in a water fall but were able to make it back to land safely. After the Jungle Cruise we went on the Indiana Jones ride which was really fun. Apparently there are several different scenarios and endings to the ride so you can have vastly different experiences each time. The kids loved it. After we went on the Indiana Jones ride we booked a fast pass for the Haunted Mansion which was super popular because it was decked out for Halloween in the Nightmare before Christmas theme.

Main Street Disneyland was all decked out for Halloween

First Stop-Adventureland! 

Getting onboard the Jungle Cruise 

Selfie in line on our first ride

Boarding the jungle cruise 

So excited for his first ride

Watch out there are some elephants!

Enjoying the nice cruise

Onwards to Indiana Jones!

Selfie with Daddy

Brandon was super excited for the Indiana Jones ride

Inside the temple of Doom 

About to go on the ride and super excited

We headed for nearby New Orleans Square and went to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride before it got super busy as there was no fast pass option. We loved the Pirates of the Caribbean especially since Brandon was going to be Jack Sparrow for Halloween and had just seen the movie. There was a cute dog that looked just like Lulu towards the end that was holding keys to the jail cell. After the Pirates of the Caribbean ride we headed to the Haunted Mansion. We were glad we got a fast pass because it was really starting to get busy there even though it was only around 10:15 AM. We walked right up with our Fast Pass. The ride was altered for a Halloween theme based on the movie the Nightmare before Christmas which featured the Oogie Boogie. It was a fun ride and not that scary at all. While we were in line for The Haunted mansion ride I booked another fast pass for Splash Mountain in Critter Country. We booked another fast pass at Big Thunder Mountain and barely made it over to Frontier Land before it expired. They were nice and let us on the ride and we had fun on it.  It was already getting quite hot (was in the 80s) and we thought a cool down would be nice. We loved Splash Mountain. The kids were singing Zippity Do Dah and humming for quite a while after. It was so cheerful and fun. We also loved getting wet-it was so nice to cool off with it being so warm outside. We discovered that our Max Pass allowed us to download photos from the rides that had photo options for on them and began downloading pictures which was so fun.

Excited to go on Pirates of the Caribbean!

Pirates of the Caribbean did not disappoint 

Olivia loved it

The Haunted Mansion with a Nightmare Before Christmas Theme

So neat!

An avalanche of pumpkins

A band was playing in Frontierland

Excited for Big Thunder Mountain

Brandon and Sean outside of Big Thunder Mountain

Splash Mountain was magical

First ride picture!  So much fun!

After that we had been monitoring the lines at the new Star Wars Galaxy Edge land and the new ride-Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and decided to make it over to the Star Wars land. The line had steadily been at about 35-40 minutes the whole day. There was no fast pass option so we decided to get in line now as we thought it would get busier later on. Before that though we walked through the Star Wars land which was designed to look like you were stepping into the world of the newer Star Wars movies of the last 5 years. We ran into Rey who could not give us her autograph but was willing to pose for a picture. We also ran into Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers. We explored the giant replica Millennium falcon ship and then headed to the Millennium Falcon ride. Olivia and I got to be pilots and Brandon and Sean were engineers. The kids got to sit in the Millennium Falcon before boarding. The ride itself was really fun with a lot of virtual graphics. It felt like we were really on the ship and controlling it. 

It really felt like we were in Star Wars! 

Millennium Falcon

Sean and Brandon enjoyed Star wars land

We found Rey!

So realistic looking

Watch out for Darth Vader!

Inside the new Star Wars ride-was so cool!

Excited to ride Smugglers Run inside the Millennium Falcon

Almost ready to board!

Ticket in hand-Brandon was an engineer

Ready to board-so neat!

After that we explored around the Galaxy’s Edge and found the Droid Shop where you can design and make droids from the Star Wars movies. They had 2 options for droids-R2-D2 style or the BB-8 style. There is a conveyor belt where you can pick parts of the droid in various colors and styles. At first Brandon decided he wanted to R2 but then decided on the BB-8 which we thought looked cooler. We didn’t make a reservation and had no problems just walking in and making the droid. They also had plenty of parts to choose from. We told Brandon that this would be an early 9th birthday present for him. Each style of droid has 4 different parts. The BB-series model has a dome, a dome connection plate, a body sphere, and a motivator. The parts come in various styles and colors and you can mix and match however you please. Brandon had fun looking at all of the various parts and then finally decided on a white body, a gray connection plate, black legs, and an orange clear dome head. After he selected all four parts, he got to bring his basket to the building station where he followed instructions on the place mat to assemble the parts in the right order. Brandon had fun building his droid all on his own. Once it was built, his droid was paired with a remote control and activated and came to life! We also added an asyomech personality chip to Brandon’s droid which made it have a certain sounds come out of it.

The Droid shop was so neat!

Looking at all the part options

Picking different color options 

So many different choices

Settling on the orange and gray and white combo

Building his droid by himself

Getting the legs put on

Body and legs built!  

Droid is complete in a special box!

After we finished making Brandon’s droid it was getting to be late almost 2:00 PM and Olivia was getting tired. We went and got the famous Dole Whip pineapple ice-cream float and sat down for a while enjoying our treat. It was also very hot in the low 90s at that point. We headed back to Main Street with the intention of leaving but then ran into several characters on our way out. The kids were excited to see the characters so we stopped and got in line so we could get photos with them and get their autographs. We first got Skeleton Goofy’s autograph and then Chip N’ Dale who were dressed like bats. We saw Witch Minnie and The Queen of Hearts from a distance but didn’t get their autographs. After that we saw Pluto who was being playful with the kids then we got really lucky and Mickey came out right when we happened to be right near him so we didn’t have to wait in line that much and got our pictures taken with Mickey. It was nice because we had picked up a photo pass card so we got a picture with our entire family and Mickey. Mickey was so cute how he signed the kids’ books “Your Pal Mickey Mouse.” He was also dressed in Halloween attire as Sorcerer Mickey. At that point it was about 3:00 and we headed back to the hotel to rest. We took the kids swimming at the hotel outdoor pool which was really nice and on the top of the hotel. It also had a really nice hot tub which was nice to rest aching feet. Then we got dressed and walked the mile trek back to gates.

Eating her Dole Whip so yummy!

So refreshing with the Dole Whip

Our custom autograph books

Ghost goofy was our first signature

So much fun with Ghost Goofy

Queen of Hearts

Witch Minnie Mouse 

Chip N' Dale were dressed as bats

Family shot with Chip N Dale

High five to Chip 

Pluto signing on his face is funny

Pluto's signature!

Pluto was so goofy!

Family shot with Mickey!

Meeting Mickey 

The entire family was excited to see Mickey

A hug from Mickey 

I had booked Cars Land Radiator Springs fast pass tickets (which was extremely popular) earlier in the day after we went on Big Thunder Mountain for the 5:30-6:30 PM time slot in California Adventure so we decided to spend our evening at California Adventure. We were happy we had the hopper tickets so we could spend the evening at California Adventures after spending the day in Disneyland. Cars Land was amazing! It looked like we were walking down the street inside of the movie. We got to Radiator Springs which lived up to its hype. You got to go in a car and drive through Radiator Springs like you were in the movie and have encounters with various characters from Cars. At the end you get to race another vehicle through hills and turns ending with a randomized race result. They took our picture but I didn’t get our picture number in time. 

After that we went into the Pixar Pier, which was designed to look like a Californian Boardwalk. It was really pretty and had some great food. We went on the nearby Incredicoaster which was an amazing upside down roller coaster that goes from 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds. Olivia was barely tall enough to go on it (you had to be 48” and I believe she was just tall enough because of her poofy hair). After the IncrediCoaster I booked a Guardians of the Galaxy after Dark Fast Pass ride-this ride like the Haunted Mansion was decked out especially for the Halloween season. It looked really cool outside. We went on Soarin’ Around the World which was a simulated hang glider over several famous landmarks across six continents around the world. There were artificial scents and wind that made the attractions come to life more. We all loved it and enjoyed seeing many of the landmarks that my parents had traveled to. 

 

We headed back to Cars Land to eat at Flo’s V8 Cafe which was decked out to look like a 1950s diner seen in the Cars movie. It lived up to the reviews I had read about it and I had an amazing hamburger meal. The kids enjoyed their food too- Brandon had fried chicken with gravy and Olivia had a hot dog. After that we walked around California Adventure and saw scenes from Coco and then we ran into Ghost Goofy on our way to the Guardians of the Galaxy ride and got his autograph-it was fun seeing Goofy twice in a day! We finally got onto the Guardian of the Galaxy ride (it took longer than normal to get on with the Fast Pass because one of the 3 rides was closed). The Guardians of the Galaxy ride was so cool! Olivia was exhausted by the end and we got home later than I wanted but the kids were at least in bed by 10:00 PM. We had to get ready for a busy next day as we had an early morning access and our fun Halloween party-Oogie Boogie Bash that went until 11:00 PM that night.

Flor's V8 Diner did not disappoint!

Family shot fun!

A yummy dinner

Coco scene 

Dancing and a performance in Coco scene

Waiting for ghost goofy's autograph

Ghost goofy was fun!

Guardians of the Galaxy after Dark was so fun-you can't even see Olivia's head but she was there

I woke up pretty early on Thursday and got everything ready for to go for the day. Brandon was up early too and we let Sean and Olivia sleep in. We grabbed food for Olivia to eat on the way and Sean came down and ate pretty quickly. We still ended up getting to Disneyland at around 8:20 AM and headed to Tomorrowland first which we haven’t seen yet. We hit up all the rides at Tomorrowland starting at Buzz Light Year Space Blasters then we went to the Astro Orbiter. After that we headed over to Autotopia where Olivia had a blast driving a car with real gas along the race track. We then went in the Finding Nemo Submarine ride where we got into a submarine and then went down into a simulated ocean where we went on a submarine voyage where you felt like you were moving and we saw scenes from the movie. It was very cute. After that we used our Fast Pass and went to Hyperspace Mountain which was super fun. It had an original Star Wars type theme. It was fun to see the new variation to the ride since Disney bought the rights to Star Wars. 

Horse drawn carriage on Main Street

Buzz Light Year Blaster was so much fun

Screen shot of Olivia and my score

Brandon on the astro oribitor 

Olivia having a blast driving her car on autotopia 

Looking through the window in Finding Nemo Submarine ride

Hyperspace Mountain was so much fun

  We left Adventureland at 10:15 AM after going through all of the rides in under 2 hours (thanks to the Fast Pass and the early access). We then headed to Fantasyland and got a few photos near Sleeping Beauty’s castle. We had fun exploring Sleeping Beauty’s castle and figuring out where Bippity Boppity Boutique was (as Olivia had an appointment there later that day). We went on Mr. Toad’s Wild ride first which Brandon really liked as he just seen the movie for the first time before we went on our trip. Then we went on the famous Mad Tea Party teacup ride which the kids had a blast spinning around on the teacups. Brandon and Sean went together and Olivia and I went together. None of us got sick luckily! After that we headed to Pinocchio’s Daring Adventure which was another oldie but goodie! It was a bit scary when Pinocchio turned into a donkey. After that we went to Snow White’s Scary Adventure and then we headed back to Adventureland to see Star Tours the Adventure Continues and we got to wear 3D glasses as we had a Fastpass. Luckily Fantasyland and Adventureland are pretty close together. 

In front of Sleeping Beauty's castle

Mr. Toad's Wild ride was so much fun

Teacup fun!

Brandon and Sean had fun together on the teacups spinning as fast as they could

Pinocchio's daring adventure was a fun classic

Snow White's scary adventures 

3-D glasses for the Star Tours the Adventure Continues

We got a Halloween churro-the Maleficent Churro which was covered with chocolate cookie crumbles blended with colored sugar with marshmallow dipping sauce near Town Square and the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The churro was so yummy and we needed a pick-me-up. After that we headed to Critter Country and went on my favorite ride-The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We went in a delightfully cute honey comb and got to see the Winnie the Pooh story come to life. After that we used our fast pass at Splash Mountain again as it was getting quite hot. Splash Mountain was becoming one of our favorite rides. We got lucky and found Tigger and Pooh Bear after our Splash Mountain ride. Tigger was so bouncy and was doing his dance. Pooh Bear gave awesome hugs and I was even able to get in the picture with him! Then we headed back to the hotel to reset as Olivia had a Bibbidi Bobbiti Boutique appointment at 4:10 before our Oogie Boogie bash started at California Adventures.

Those churros were awesome!

Winnie the Pooh Corner

On our honey combs

There he is!

Celebrating his birthday

Excited to go on Splash Mountain again

Olivia is dabbing in the front!

Tigger was so cuddly

Love this one

You can't see Olivia under Pooh Bear's hug

Love this one!  Love Pooh Bear my favorite

Olivia and I headed back to the park with both of us dressed up in our Halloween costumes. I reserved her appointment 60 days in advance right when I was able to and we had decided to do it just before the Halloween party. I purchased the Crown Package which was the least expensive one for her and she got a hairstyle, make up, and her nails done. She brought and wore her princess Aurora dress that she picked for Halloween this year. While Olivia was at Bibbidi Bobbiti ,Brandon and Sean rode the Indiana Jones ride and the IncrediCoaster. Olivia’s fairy godmother was very efficient and nice. She was used to curly hair and was able to tame Olivia’s thick curly hair well. They put a donut in her hair and then tucked all of her hair into a bun and added glitter and a cute Mickey Mouse pin on the back and a crown on the front. They ended doing light make up and her nails. Then they did the big reveal and the mirror sparkled and she got to see herself-she looked so pretty! We got a cute after picture! 

Ready to be transformed to a princess

So excited for her Bibbidi Bobbiti appointment

The before shot

Getting right to work

Pretty bun

Hair spray being done

Nails being done

Such a pretty princess! 

Reveal! 

Transformed princess outside of Bibbidi 

So pretty

The beautiful back of her bun

After the Bibbidi experience, Olivia was feeling quite tired so I thought a lolly pop at the candy shop hoping that it might wake her up before we went to California Adventures to go to the Oogie Boogie Bash. Unfortunately, I left my iPhone at the counter when I purchased the candy and then realized that when we got into the Halloween party so I had to go all the way back and get it. I couldn’t get ahold of Sean without my phone so I was hustling back. Luckily they had it but I broke Olivia’s glowing Frozen wand so she I ended up buying her a glowing Mickey bubble wand as she wanted something glowing for the party. With iPhone in hand, I felt much better! It also got better when we were reunited with Sean and Brandon around 6:00 PM. We went trick or treating amongst the villains that interacted with us-they were extremely funny. We first saw Maleficent and then the evil Queen from Snow White. At each Treat Stop the kids got handfuls of candy. After that we saw that there were some rare characters out and we decided to stand in line for their autographs. We saw Claude Frollo the villain from Hunchback of Notre Dame, Shan Yu the villain from Mulan, and Governor John Ratcliffe the villain from Pocahontas. The kids were excited to get some rare autographs for their autograph book.

All ready for the Oogie Boogie Bash

Getting bubbled!

Brandon in front of Malificient 

Pirate buddies

Trick or treating 

In line at the Immersion treat trail 

Trick or treat buckets

Claude Frollo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame

He took a likening to Olivia 

Shan Yu the villain from Milan

Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahuntas 

We went on one of the highlights of the Oogie Boogie Bash-Villains Grove which was an interactive trail in the Redwood Creek Challenge area of California Adventures. As you wind through the trail, we saw a series of themed lighting and vignettes themed to each villain. The Cheshire Cat was really cool to see! We ended the trail with an enchanted garden with beautiful lights. The trail was only available during the Oogie Boogie bash. After the Villains grove we headed to the Pixar Pier to get some dinner and ran into the Headless horseman! He was the start to the parade. We ran into Woody and to Boo Peep near the Toy Story Mania ride. Then we went on the wobbly ferries wheel that moved back and forth and scared me a lot! The views were really nice though on top of it. After that we went into Cars Land and went on Tow Mater’s ride and then we did the Incredicoaster 4 times in a row. Olivia loved it and we kept going on it as there were no lines.

Villains grove map

Trails of roses

The beautiful starry ending 

Drums!

Pixar Pier at night

Headless horseman during the parade

Meeting Bo Peep

A big hug from Woody

Family shot with the Toy Story characters

Up on the ferris wheel

It was a bit wobbly up there 

Mater's ride 

Incredicoaster fun

Brandon and I are towards the back

Sean and Brandon in the front

We ended the night watching the Villainous! World of Color show which was supposed to start at 10:00 PM but ended up starting later at almost 10:30 PM due to wind warnings. By then Olivia was very tired and had fallen asleep in the stroller during most of the show. Oogie Boogie, who is from Tim Burton’s Nightmare before Christmas movie, weaves a Halloween tale about a young girl named Shelley Marie who has a decision to make about her Halloween costume for the year and finds herself wondering if she could really be as strong and unique as some of her favorite Disney villains. The twisted tale carries Shelley on an unforgettable journey through devious encounters with The Queen, Ursula, Dr. Facilier, Hades, Jafar, Maleficent, and more. We got to watch the villainous side of Disney characters through fountains, lights, lasers, projections and special effects. We loved the show but were pooped afterwards. We didn’t get home and to bed until 11:30 PM that night-a very long day since we started the day at 8:00 AM at Adventureland.

Such beautiful colors 

The finale!

On Friday we slept in and let Olivia sleep in until we woke her up at almost 10:00 AM. We ended up barely missing breakfast (we didn’t realize it went until 10:00 AM) which made Brandon really sad. We ended going to the park and then eating breakfast at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe. This was great because we were able to secure some Fast Passes as we had entered the park which was important because things were much more crowded on Friday and we got such a late start to the day. Our breakfast was very good and actually pretty reasonable, which was good since Brandon was awfully cranky about missing the hotel breakfast. We went on Splash Mountain again since it was super hot with our Fast Pass and then went to Tom Sawyer’s island which was super cute. We all had a blast running around and exploring the island which was a little less hot than the rest of the park. After that, we headed back towards New Orleans square and we ran into Jack Sparrow and the kids were excited to get his autograph! We also explored Tarzan’s tree house which was fun and then headed back to my favorite ride-Winnie the Pooh in Critter Country. After that we used our Fast Pass on the Buzz Light Year Astro Blasters where you got zap targets.

Brandon loves his new Donald Duck hat here he is showing it off at breakfast

Waiting for the raft to Tom Sawyer Island

Tom Sawyer island docking area 

On the raft to Tom Sawyer island

Mark Twain Riverboat 

Exploring fun caves on Tom Sawyer island

Some items glowed when you touched them 

Tree climbing

Watch out for the trap!

Climbing a big tree

Crossing the drawbridge

Making the cannons go!

Ahoy matey!

Olivia found all the treasure!

Jack Sparrow outside the Tom Sawyer raft

He was nice to pause and get a picture taken with us

Walking up to Tarzan's tree house in Adventureland

Another fun Winnie the Pooh ride

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Then we headed back to the hotel to rest for a few hours and to swim in the pool. Olivia loved the outdoor pool and it was so refreshing after being in the hot sun all day. We had dinner reservations at California Adventure Wine Country Trattoria that night which is an Italian restaurant. It was very yummy and I enjoyed the flights of wine. They even gave me a to-go-cup of Pinot Noir that I could carry around the park! We went to Ariel’s Undersea Adventures which was really cute and Toy Story Mania which was a really fun shooting game with targets. We also did Soarin’ Around the World again (one of our favorites) and the super fun Grizzly River Run (which was great since it was still super hot outside that night). We got aboard large circular rafts and went up a wooden conveyor that runs under leaking pipes that sprayed onto us. Once we reached the top of the conveyor, the rafts are dropped into the water to be descended down the peak, passing through a cave and bumping against a log jam and then into a geyser field. The rafts spun as they began their descent and there was a large geyser right at the end which would randomly possibly get you (which made the ride due to the thrill of getting wet even more fun). We went on Goofy’s Sky School a fun little roller coaster that we were able to use our fast pass on and Jumpin’ Jellyfish and then the Silly Symphony Swings in Paradise Gardens Park. We ran into Daisy Duck just before headed off for the night and got her autograph.

Dinner at Wine Country Trattoria 

Ariel's undersea Adventures-Ursula was lurking around

Witch Daisy!

All of us with sweet Daisy

Toy Story Mania

Oogie Boogie decor

On Saturday it was another early access morning. It was hard to get Olivia up because she was on a later schedule of going to bed late and waking up late but we got her up and we were at the park by 8:15 AM. We wanted to get some rides in before we had our fun Character breakfast at the Plaza Inn reservation at 10:00 AM. We saw Donald Duck dressed like a pumpkin at the square and headed to the Indiana Jones ride which had no line and was so fun. We then went on Pirates of the Caribbean again which had no line. And we were able to hit up Splash Mountain at 9:30 with no line as well! 

Pumpkin Donald

Space Mountain fun

Loving Splash Mountain 

Then we headed to breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn. I reserved the character breakfast as soon as it was available about 45 days before our trip. I kept checking and finally it was available one morning! I chose Minnie’s breakfast because it had the widest variety of characters that the kids were most excited to see. I chose the 10:00 AM time slot so that we could enjoy some rides beforehand during our early morning access and so our large breakfast could also serve like lunch. It worked out and we were able to book some more Fast Pass rides during the breakfast. We saw so many characters! We started off seeing Minnie Mouse as she greeted us and invited us to her breakfast. Then we went inside and it was a buffet style breakfast with fresh food and a fresh omelet station. The food was bountiful and yummy! We sat down to eat and then we saw Perla one of Cinderella’s mice and then Eeyore. Then the fairy Godmother from Cinderella and Max (Goofy’s nephew) paid us a visit. We went inside and saw Chip and Dale and then Captain Hook came to our table. We got to see Pooh Bear again and Suzy (the other Cinderella mouse) and got more hugs from Chip who was super friendly. We went back outside and got some special one-on-one time with both Tigger and Pooh much to my happiness! And then friendly Chip came by too! We stayed until the breakfast ended at 11:30 AM and had most of the characters to ourselves-it was really fun!

Excited to go to brunch at the Plaza Inn 

Meeting Minnie

Minnie was so friendly 

We got a family shot with Minnie

Perla!

Yummy breakfast

Eye ore was so cuddly

Chip was cuddly as well

The Fairy Godmother visited us

Max was so friendly 

Dale was friendly as well

Captain Hook

Pooh Bear was cuddly as always

I got to hug Pooh bear as well 

Suzy was friendly as well

Another hug from Chip

More hugs from Tigger

Pooh Bear got in there with Tigger

After breakfast with Minnie we waited in line for Peter Pan’s flight for about 45 minutes (no Fast Pass) but it was worth it! So magical to see the lights of London in the sky! Then we happened to run into Alice and the Mad Hatter walking near Fantasyland. That is about the time the kids discovered the fun art of pin trading and began trading quite a bit with local vendors. On Saturday they reopened the Matterhorn Bobsleds and we went on them and then Space Mountain again. We ran into Peter Pan and got some cute photos near the Pumpkin display. 

Cinderella sighting 

Peter Pan's ride

Alice and the Mad Hatter

Materhorn Bobsleds  

Peter Pan sighting-Peter is a red head like Olivia 

Brandon by the carved Pumpkins

We headed back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest and to begin packing up. We had a fun evening planned with a 3 course dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant which is visible from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and then the Fantasmia show through the dinner package we got. We rested and packed up and then headed back to Disneyland-our first evening at Disneyland as we had spent the last 3 evenings at California Adventures at night. The dinner was great, I had a mint julep and a yummy salad and steak. I tried the special Maleficent desert which was yummy and it came with a glowing fake ice cube. We booked a fast pass to Big Thunder Mountain and it was so fun at night. Then we ran over to the Roger Rabbit ride in Toon Town (pretty far away). The ride broke down in the middle and we got another free fast pass to use whenever we wanted that night-we used it later in the evening on Haunted Mansion. 

3 course dinner at Blue Bayou

Malificent dessert

Yummy dessert

We headed back to Frontier land where we got our seat cushions and watched the Fantasmia show by the water. This was one of the highlights of Disneyland for me. It tells the tale of Sorcerer Mickey as he fights Villains and then ultimately claims that he is in control of his imagination and is able to defeat the dragon at the end and destroying the villains in the process. The show was amazing at the end with the Mark Twain boat gliding past the audience carrying several dozen Disney characters on top of the ship. After Fantasimia the Disney Halloween Screams fireworks show took place about 15 minutes later along the Rivers of America (right where we were for the viewing of Fantasmia). The show was hosted by Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare before Christmas. There is also audio from the Haunted Mansion attraction (Grim Grinning Ghosts). Halloween Screams used projection technology that bathes the castle and Main Street buildings in Halloween imagery. The show ended up with a special Halloween version of spectacular fireworks. We loved it.

The Halloween Screams show was over by 9:30 and we used our extra Fast Pass ticket we got from the Roger Rabbit ride to go back to the Haunted Mansion which was really cool after watching the 2 Halloween shows. We were able to squeeze in one more Fast Pass ride at Big Thunder Mountain which was super cool after dark (as it was all outside). Then we headed back to the hotel and watched the Oregon Duck football game on our way back home-they were playing Washington St and won at the end of the game.

Big Thunder Mountain at night was a ton of fun

Selfie on Big Thunder Mountain

The next morning I got up early to pack some more. We had to leave on our shuttle by 4:00 PM for our 7:15 PM flight at LAX and I knew the kids wanted to spend the time before we had to leave at the parks. We were able to get all our luggage together and eat breakfast and check out and leave our luggage at the front desk and get to the park by 9:00 AM. The kids decided they wanted to go back to California Adventure for the day and I got us a Fast Pass at Radiator Springs right when we got into the park. The ride lines were pretty short (as it usually was before 10:30 AM) and we got to do Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters which completed all of the rides in Cars Land. Then we were able to walk onto the Guardians of the Galaxy-Mission: Breakout in Hollywood Land with no line. After that we headed to Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue also in Hollywood Land, which was really cute. 

Lugi's Rollickin' Roadsters was a cute ride

Halloween theme Cars land

The Monsters Inc. ride was cute

We then headed back over to Cars Land and got to go on Radiator Springs Racers one last time. It was just as fun as the first time and definitely in my top 5 rides of Disneyland and California Adventures. We headed back over to Pixar Pier and did the IncrediCoaster one last time as that was the kids’ favorite ride (although at that point I was getting a bit tired of the super fast roller coaster!). The weather was a bit cooler and in the 70s and cloudy so the Grizzly River run had super short lines. We were able to go on the ride 3 times much to the kids’ delight and the last time we went on it we got soaked with the giant geyser at the end. Then we headed back over to Guardians of the Galaxy again (one of our top 5 rides) to say goodbye to it. We grabbed some lunch at the Pixar Pier and attempted to do the IncrediCoaster one last time but the ride was temporarily shut. We ended up having to say goodbye to Disneyland and headed back to our hotel at around 3:00 PM to catch our shuttle. 

Mummy Tow Mater

Back in Radiator Springs

Driving away

Having a blast! 

The kids sure loved the IncrediCoaster

Last time on their favorite ride

We were able to go on it twice!

And more fun time at Guardians of the Galaxy

Our shuttle picked us up and we made it to LAX uneventfully. Our flight ended up being over an hour late and the pilot was annoyed because he got stuck on another flight that he had to take due to fog but we finally got home by 11:30 PM that night. The kids had to go to school the next day but were troopers. We had so much fun and are already looking forward to going back!

Highlights of Disneyland for me were:
(1) Fantasmia show

(2) Halloween screams Firework show

(3) Splash Mountain

(4) Radiator Springs and Cars Land

(5) Oogie Boogie Bash

(6) Guardians of the Galaxy

(7) IncrediCoaster

(8) Big Thunder Mountain at night

(8) Soarin’ Around the World

(9) Star Wars land and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

(10) Hyperspace Mountain

If I had to do it all over again, I would spend at least 2 nights in Disneyland (vs. only the 1 we spent there) as Disneyland after dark was awesome. I loved the Fastasmia and fireworks shows. I would have liked to have seen a complete parade and would have liked to have gone back to Star Wars Galaxy Edge and done the Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run ride again. Lastly, I would have looked at hotels not for size and comfort but for proximity to the parks and would have tried to find a hotel right across the street from the parks. But, we had so much fun and I wouldn’t have changed the trip for anything! We got home and the kids had so much fun decorating their autograph books with all their character pictures. We are already excited for another Disneyland trip!