Welcome back to another Disneyland Diaries post!
Here is a quick run-down of the vibes:
This is our spring FAMILY trip; usually we wait until May for our spring disney trip, but chose to go in February this year! We have a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old. We stayed 4 days, 3 nights; with 3 of the days at Disneyland.
Also, Disney100, the celebration of 100 years of The Walt Disney Company just kicked off in January; just a couple weeks before visiting. Disneyland is the main hub of the celebration & it is decked out to celebrate! If you are coming to Disneyland this year (2023-early 2024) be sure to keep reading to get some more information on the celebration.
Ok, let’s dive in:
where we stayed:
- The Grand Legacy at the Park!
We did one of there “last minute escape” deals because I didn’t book until “late.” FYI In Disney time, anything 2-3 months out is “last minute” because people typically book further in advance!
what we ate:
we always bring quite a bit of groceries on family trips so we brought a lot of sandwiches, snacks, beef jerky, muffins, cereal, etc. We typically eat 1-2 meals a day in the park.
- churros *disneyland
- beginets *disneyland
- Mickey Pretzel & Cheese (in line for Small World, our fav!) *disneyland
- I got the Double Cheeseburger/Onion Rings & kids got the Chicken Tenders/Fries *DCA: Smokejumpers Grill
- (my favorite) Raspberry Rose Mickey Macaron & Chocolate-Strawberry Macaron *Disneyland: Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe
what we rode:
Disneyland:
- Buzz Astro Blaster
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad (got a virtual queue both days!!)
- Small World (multiple times)
- The Tiki Room
- Pirates
DCA:
- Web Slingers
- Radiator Springs Racers
- Ariel
what we did:
We actually met characters this trip! We don’t usually want to wait in line, but the kids saw them & wanted to see them. We met them in this cute area by Small World! When we got in line, Cast Members informed us that characters switch about every 30 minutes, and the characters we see (Mickey & Donald) probably won’t be the ones we meet, but others will come out.
My 3-year-old has been obsessed with Minnie Mouse so I was hoping it would be her that came out next! When they switched, I was right! Minnie & Pluto came out. That’s who we got to meet!
My kids were in HEAVEN! Is there anything better than character hugs?
We were walking through Frontierland & saw Jessie! Only two people were in line & my kids were so excited to meet her!
We also got to meet up with several of my friends & their kids while we were here! Seeing their kids & my own kids become friends is such a special experience for me. We got to ride a couple of rides with them. I love my mom friends so much & love that my kids have such great friends!!
Lastly, my favorite part of the trip was during the last night we were in the parks. We decided to head over to Star Traders in Tomorrowland & made our OWN LIGHTSABERS!! This was so fun. You get to pick every part of the lightsaber. We chose single tips so it was around $30 a lightsaber. Chad has a lightsaber from Savi’s (he did it for his 30th!) so, now we all have a lightsaber! It’s a core memory for me; dueling with the kids in the middle of Tomorrowland 🙂
firsts from this trip:
There is SO much to do at Disneyland/DCA. Part of the magic is that you can go so many times and never really re-create the same trip every time. I LOVE it! Here are my first time doing/eating/etc these things:
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Ate Beignets from the Mint Julep Bar*
- Saw the Lilly Belle in person!! I mean it was far away, but I SAW it! The Lilly Belle is a special car in which Walt Disney’s wife, Lillian Disney, designed. It is such a fun disney history find!
- Rode the Monorail!
- Went in the Tiki Room!!
*The Mint Julep Bar is now closed, without a re-opening date currently. But, you can find Beignets now at Royal Street Veranda in the meantime!
what I wore:
I feel like it was colder than I have experience Disneyland before so, I wore two sweaters each day! haha I also don’t have any full outfit of just me, but I took this photo on the way to the park.
This was our last day & I wore a sage green midi dress with a brighter green sweater on top. I switched out Minnie Ears for a rainbow plaid headband that had hidden Mickeys 🙂 Also, I wore my Tevas that I wear every trip!!
double exposure of the trip:
I started to make at least one double exposure photograph (in-camera) during my trip! These photographs layer two photographs on top of each other. Disneyland is CONSTANTLY changing; landscaping, flowers, decor, etc. So, these photographs allow me to get creative & show both the seasons and the places that I love during my trip.
best advice for Disney100:
- Check out the new decked out castle. See the fountains on the sides of Sleeping Beauty’s castle at night!! I hope they keep these fountains after the celebration! Personally, I love the little fairies on Sleeping Beauty’s castle!! They are so adorable!!
- Enjoy the new Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad!! There are so many fun, quirky, & history in the queue line; along with lots of hidden mickeys! At the time I went, they had a virtual queue, but now there is a standby line and/or an individual lightning lane available for purchase. All ages can ride it, but be aware it is a more bouncey/jerky ride!
- Toontown reopens March 19th & will be fun to check out all the new/updated town. The grass hub is already our family’s favorite!!
- Magic Happens parade is back!! There are two showings everyday 3:30pm and 6:30pm. I have heard AMAZING things about the nighttime performance specifically! I am still DYING to see it!!
- Merch!! There is SO MUCH MERCH for Disney100! It seems like the purple sweatsuit sells out the quickest. But, there is definitely a lot of fun merch to check out for your trip!