We drove down to California, stayed in an amazing condo, and spent a wonderful week in the Happiest Place on Earth!
The Roadtrip
I don't mind flying-- I actually love traveling in all forms and a plane just automatically means good times are ahead. That being said, the control that I have traveling by car is epic! I can over pack (weakness!), I can pack non-perishable foods to save money (we don't have sales tax in Oregon!), and we don't count on anybody for anything!
We split the 15 hour drive into two days... because we could! I picked a hotel (with a pool!) about 9 hours away, so that the bulk of the trip would be on day 1 when our patience and excitement is highest. We found an amazing park about 10 minutes away from our hotel, so after leaving the hotel (no alarm, no pressure), we made sure to let our almost-six year old play to her hearts content!
The Condo
The owner of our condo is a goddess! She provides everything (and more) in the condo, great directions, and even had little treats for all three of us when we arrived!
We arrived, oohed and ahhed over the awesome two story condo, unpacked, and then made our grocery list.
After a nice dinner out and a stroll through Downtown Disney, we stopped at the Super Walmart (about a 10 minute drive away from the condo) for groceries for the week. Then we went back to the condo for a chill evening before our week of AWESOME would truly began.
Now, I'm obviously a planner... so I packed our Disneyland backpack (and my daughter's backpack) the night before. In my backpack: 2 1/2 frozen water bottles (topped off with fresh water) wrapped in a washcloth and placed in my wet bag (similar to the one below). A ziplock bag with an extra pair of socks (in case they got wet). Some first aid items in a small ziplock bag (band-aids, spray Neosporin, pain reliever, and moleskin). Sunscreen. A small plastic container with snacks inside. Portable charger. Wallet. Sunglass case. Disney lanyard for holding tickets and PhotoPass card. Our coin holder (filled with quarters and pennies) for the smashed penny machines-- we loved these!! We eventually got a pressed coin map and had fun looking for machines that were near attractions we were already heading towards! Side note: Some of the pressed coin machines are for nickels and dimes too. I also had a stash of gallon size and regular size ziplock bags for a variety of uses.
In my daughter's backpack: A ziplock bag with an extra pair of socks and shorts. A small plastic container with snacks. Bubbles. Autograph book (inside ziplock) with a sharpie. Sunglass case. See It's the little stuff... for more details.
Before I went to bed, I put together a gift bag and a note from Tinkerbell. Since my daughter turned 6 the first day in the park, we also had some birthday presents. The Tinkerbell note and gift was to get her excited about Disneyland (as if she needed help) but to emphasize the do-not-beg-to-buy-everything-you-see-all-day-long whining. I did this every morning before we went to one of the parks (glow sticks, a shirt, water bottle, little stuff-- all Disney themed). It worked! She was given a gift card with a set limit and we agreed that she could pick something at the end of the week from Disneyland (and something from the one day we were at California Adventures).
Disneyland
Our condo was an 8 minute casual walk from our front door to the Disneyland tram. AWESOME!
We entered the park, got the classic picture at the entrance, and then went straight to City Hall to get our Birthday Button, We are Celebrating button, and First Visit buttons!! What a great start...
We decided since we were going to be at Magic Kingdom for a total of three days, we would just go with the wind and not stress over rushing all over the place. We got really lucky by being in the right place (like all the time!) when it came to running into characters and getting their autographs! The longest line we waited in was for Merida, but we were happy for the break. And I will forever be a fan of the PhotoPass! It was really wonderful to be able to have them scan the PhotoPass barcode, get a bunch of pictures (with me in them too!), and know that I can pick and choose the best ones later.
If I had to pick one tip to share, it would be to head back to your place for lunch. Every day in the parks, except California Adventures (which we only did once), we headed back to our condo for lunch (saved money!), went for a swim, relaxed, and headed back to the parks refreshed and in a fresh outfit! #bliss #brilliant
We experienced it all... the rides, the food, the characters, the shows, the Fast Passes, you name it!
On our last day at Magic Kingdom, we started the day with a visit to Bippity Boppity Boutique! I highly recommend this for a little girl or boy. We brought a Cinderella dress (saved money!) and bought the basic package. The Fairy Godmother in Training #adorable did my daughter's hair, make up, painted her nails, and of course there was glitter involved! It was awesome... Everywhere we went that day, my daughter was greeted with "Hello your highness!" and "Good Day Princess!" and other cute greetings. And waiting in lines she got a lot of positive attention too. She loved it.
We loved every moment at the Magic Kingdom. #nuffsaid
Day Off
After two exciting and full days at the Magic Kingdom, we took a full day off. We didn't wake up to an alarm, we lounged around, we went swimming two different times, we went out to dinner... we just chilled. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
California Adventure
It was recommended by my best friend to spend only one day at this park, and that was perfect for us.
We spent the entire day at the park and enjoyed it very much. I was most excited to experience Radiator Springs (I was not disappointed).
My daughter's favorite ride was Soarin'-- we went on it twice! Side note, while waiting in line for Soarin' (longest wait- both times- of all the rides the entire week) we played Heads Up on my phone. Hilarious! We utilized the Single Line and Fast Passes here more than at the Magic Kingdom.
Crush actually talked to us!!
June 2015 was epic. Best vacation to date!
It was so excellent that I am currently planning a trip to DisneyWorld and Harry Potter World (Winter Break 2017)! My daughter will be 8 1/2. She doesn't know yet... I think I'll tell her about 3 weeks before we go (like we did for the Disneyland 2015 trip). We will be going with my best friend and her family (a total of 4 adults and 4 kids). The condo we have picked out (and will be putting the down payment on next month) is ridiculously amazing and has a private pool!!
I will be making some themed shirts for the gang. Check out my Etsy shop (SuchGreatFun) if you want me to make something for you.
I will be utilizing a lot of the same tips and packing ideas as I did for Disneyland. A big challenge will be that we are flying to Florida, so we will be spending more money on food and we will be paying for a rental car (and most likely park parking which is about $17 a day-- eeek!). So I probably better get off this blog and start making some money to pay for this trip!
Didn't catch the beginning of this journey? Start here!
