Long Disneyland/LA Trip Report

[dcrunnergirl52]

We got back from LA about a week ago. Here is a long trip report. Overall, a wonderful vacation. Things I'm thankful for that made it so great were Genie+, beautiful weather, Zofran, and the stroller we brought for DS3, LOL.

Saturday:
We flew from DCA to LAX direct. The plane was delayed, we boarded, then had to deplane and board again. In total, we were delayed about 3 hours. The flight itself was easy with the kids, and we arrived in LAX, got our luggage, and picked up our rental minivan from Enterprise. I booked a hotel+rental package through Costco and basically paid only about $200 for the van for 8 days. It was a great deal.

We drove to our hotel (Residence Inn Anaheim Convention Center) and got there around 4pm. The hotel was very nice, and centrally located to Disneyland. We had a one-bedroom suite, with two queen beds and a sofabed, which was perfect. We just hung out for the night, ordered groceries and pizza for dinner, and recovered from travel.

Sunday:
DD and I picked up food from the free breakfast buffet, and we ate all in our room. Then we walked to Disneyland, where we had reservations for Disneyland Park. The walk was about 15 minutes. It wasn’t too bad, but if I could do it again, I would splurge for the Grand Californian or Courtyard Marriott b/c while 15 minutes isn’t that long, at the end of the day, it felt long.

We LOVED Disneyland Park. We got there around 7:30am for rope drop, and just had a great day. It was all the wonderful things about Magic Kingdom but in a much more manageable size. We started in Fantasyland and walked onto Dumbo, Mr. Toad, and a few other rides, and then started using Genie+. Our first stop was a Lightning Lane pass for Rise of the Resistance, which was amazing.

From there, we used Genie+ to ride Smuggler’s Run twice in a row (once with Genie and once without) and then did some shopping around Galaxy’s Edge (I swear DH spent the kids’ entire college fund on stuff for them but they were all so happy). After that, we spent the rest of the day doing a variety of rides in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, and just had the BEST time. It was very crowded but with Genie, we barely waited at all.

We left the park around 5pm and were exhausted. We just ordered Red Robin for dinner and chilled in the room.

Monday:
Breakfast at hotel and then rope dropped California Adventure. We started with a Lightning Lane for Web Slingers, which was cool but not worth the extra money. From there, we walked over to Pixar Pier to do Toy Story a few times, Incredicoaster (DH, DD, and DS2 said it was amazing), the carousel, and a few other rides.

From there, we headed to Carsland, which was so cool but made me sad that none of the kids are into Cars anymore. We did a Lightning Lane for Radiator Springs Racers, which was so much fun. Then we did the Monsters Inc ride (lame), ate lunch at the hot dog stand, rode Soarin (so fun), did Incredicoaster again, ate Mickey Bars, etc. It was a really fun day, but we definitely preferred Disneyland Park.

On the way out, we walked through Downtown Disney, which was a much longer walk than we anticipated, and we were all so tired by the time we got back to the hotel around 4pm. After that, same routine as the night before, including Red Robin.

Tuesday:
DH had an early work call, so the kids and I uber’d and rope-dropped Disneyland Park. We put DD’s speedy walking skills to work, and she got us spots for Peter Pan with minimal wait. Basically within 10 minutes of park opening, Peter Pan is an hour wait, with no Genie+ options.

After Peter Pan, we walked to the back of the park to Winnie the Pooh and Splash Mountain. We all rode Pooh, and then DD walked onto Splash Mountain while the boys and I did Pooh again. By the time DD was done, DH met us at the park, and he, DS2, and DD walked onto Splash again. DS1, DS3, and I watched some baby ducks, ate some snacks, and just waited. When they were done, we wandered over to Frontierland and Adventureland. We did Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones (walk on with no wait b/c it broke down and we happened to be standing next to it when it reopened), and a bunch of other rides.

After that, we walked back to Galaxy’s Edge and rode Smuggler’s Run again. I love doing that ride as a family! We then found an awesome table in the shade where we could see characters parading by, so we hung out there for a while, ate lunch, and did some shopping.

Around 2pm, it was time for our appt at Savii’s Workshop. This was SO expensive, but DH and DS2 dreamed of doing it, so we went for it. I thought it was short, but the kids all loved it, and DH said it was one of the coolest things he’s ever done. (And, since we got home, the light sabers have basically occupied my kids all day every day).

After Savii’s, we had these huge light sabers to carry, so we left. DD, DH, and DS3 (in the stroller) walked back to the hotel. DS1, DS2, and I took an uber along with all our purchases. We rested in the hotel room for about 2 hours, and then we took an Uber to the Disneyland Hotel, where we did Goofy’s Kitchen for dinner. Goofy’s was fun, but the characters weren’t stopping at the tables, which was a bummer. However, it was good having a buffet of food to pick from b/c it meant we actually ate something other than pizza, burger, and fries.

We left Goofy’s and took the monorail from Downtown Disney directly into Tomorrowland, which was awesome. We did a bunch of rides and then found a spot by Small World to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks. The fireworks were 100% amazing. So, so cool, and watching them from Small World was awesome b/c they do the projections on the front and it’s way less crowded than the castle. After the fireworks, we rode Small World, walked back to Galaxy’s Edge b/c DH needed to exchange something, and then headed home around midnight.

Wednesday:
This was our last day at the parks. We got a late start, and got to California Adventure around 10am. We did all the rides we had missed before, did a few repeats (Racers, Incredicoaster), shopped, saw characters, watched Mickey’s Philharmagic, etc. DS2’s foot was also severely hurting him so we got a stroller for him, which looked ridiculous b/c he’s 9, but it was better than listening to him complain all day.

We left there around 2pm, went shopping in Downtown Disney, and then took an uber back to the hotel. We just relaxed and stayed in for the rest of the day. The hotel had a nice pool but we were too tired to bother.

Thursday:
We got a late start, and then checked out of the hotel. We drove across LA to our hotel in Marina Del Rey (Residence Inn Marina Del Rey). I 100% DO NOT RECOMMEND this hotel. Long story short but we paid A LOT for a room with a water view and balcony. However, the hotel’s outdoor restaurant/bar were right outside our room, and it was SO loud from 12pm until midnight. We hated it.

On Thursday night, DH had a work event, so the kids and I just went out walking along the marina and ordered takeout. Nothing too exciting.

Friday:
DH’s work event started early, so we got an early start. The kids and I drove to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and had a fabulous time. We walked around Long Beach after, ate lunch on the water, had ice cream, etc., and had a great day. We got back to the hotel around 3pm, and the music had already started. We complained several times, and the hotel said too bad, so sad. We suffered through it the rest of the night but we had enough.

Saturday:
We checked out of the hotel early and moved to the hotel that DH’s work event was located it (Hotel MDR), which was so much nicer. DH went to his event, and the kids and I drove to downtown LA to the La Brea Tar Pits. This was so fun, especially b/c we got in free with our science museum membership reciprocity. From there, we drove down to Hollywood Boulevard and hit up the Funko Pop store. I highly recommend it! It’s so fun, and it’s right down on the Walk of Fame, so you can see that, the Hollywood sign, etc.

When we were leaving the store, I started to not feel sick. By the time we got to the hotel, I was feeling terrible. I basically crawled into bed and was useless the rest of the day. I had a fever, chills, etc. The kids entertained themselves on tablets while I rested until DH got back at 6pm.

Around 7pm, DS2 said he wasn’t feeling well and had a fever. I tested both of us, and thankfully we were negative. Around midnight, however, DS2 started throwing up violently. It was ugly.

Sunday:
Our flight was scheduled to depart LAX at 8am. When our alarm went off at 5am, it was clear that DS2 and I weren’t flying. DH packed up the other 3 kids, returned the rental car, and flew home without us. Not how we envisioned ending the trip. I booked us new plane tickets and reserved our room for another night.

We spent Sunday morning feeling awful, but DS2 was in really, really bad shape. I eventually did a telehealth appt for him, and got a zofran Rx. I had to leave a crying DS2 in the hotel room to walk next door to CVS to pick up the Rx, which was awful but he did great. By afternoon, he was feeling better and taking care of me, and then I started feeling better. By Sunday night, we were both probably 80% back to normal, and had a fun evening watching The Office together.

Monday:
DS2 and I flew home uneventfully through LAX, glad to be back home with the family.

Overall, it was a fantastic vacation. So much fun at Disneyland, the aquarium, and the Funko store.

[freshsqueezed]

Thanks for the trip report. Do you feel like 4 days was a good amount of time? We would be first time visitors to that park.

[ny96]

It sounds like a great time. We may be leaving LA soon and will do one last Disneyland trip. We’ve never been to California Adventure, but this solidified for me that we should go back to Disneyland Park.

We live about 5 minutes from the Funko store and until a few months ago I always wondered what the hype was all about (long lines outside every day). I finally took my kids and now they’re totally obsessed and we go about once a week.

[dcrunnergirl52]

Jun 29, 2022 9:53:37 GMT -5 freshsqueezed said:

Thanks for the trip report. Do you feel like 4 days was a good amount of time? We would be first time visitors to that park.

Four days was perfect for us b/c we didn't have to rush. The kids are 11, 11, 9, and 4, and we moved slow at times, had differing interests, etc. A smaller group may be able to get through the parks in 2 days, but we would have missed a lot. We didn't do Park Hopper b/c we're good with just one park per day. I've never had the energy or desire to move over to another park part way through the day.