Disneyland, Part 1

November 11, 2022

Erik got a huge desk calendar for us to keep track of our schedules. He said that we had nothing planned the weekend of Veteran's Day, so we should go somewhere as a family. I thought we should go to Sedona, but he said we just went there. Erik wanted to go to Disneyland and try the new Genie+, which replaced the old fastpass system but costs $25 per person. I said that it wouldn't be very fun because it would be too busy and the kids would be too whiney. Long story short, Erik talked the kids into going, so we left shortly after everyone got home Friday afternoon. The drive wasn't too bad. We stayed in a Residence Inn, which was more like a small apartment with a small kitchen, sitting area, and 2 bedrooms. Even though it was 15 minutes away from Disneyland, Erik said it was the same price as one of the dumpy hotels across the street from the park. My friend Autumn came to visit us that night as we ate dinner from the Crab Cooker. We talked for a few hours while the kids watched tv in their room. Erik tried to get Gabe to do some missing school assignments on his Chromebook.

Elisa enjoyed the salmon and crab cakes from Crab Cooker.

Autumn and I have known each other since 2003.

November 12, 2022

The next morning, we got up and ate a small breakfast from our own snacks; the complimentary breakfast didn't open for another hour. We drove to the park to the Mickey and Friends parking structure. Unfortunately, parking didn't open until 1 hour before the park opened, so we had to wait in line for 10-20 minutes in the van. First line of the day. At least we were sitting down in our warm car. We walked through the cold parking structure, through security, and onto the tram. We walked right through the gates after they took our picture to pair with our tickets. We quickly walked down Main Street noticing all of the Christmas decorations. They made us wait at the end of Main Street until the rest of the park opened at 8am. Erik reserved a lightning lane with Genie+ for Indiana Jones. After what seemed like forever, they opened the park, and we went straight to the Haunted Mansion. The kids liked that it was decorated with the Nightmare Before Christmas theme. After that, we waited in line for Big Thunder Mountain, used our lightning lane for Indiana Jones, and waited in line for Splash Mountain.

Main Street was very Christmassy.

It was pretty chilly on Big Thunder Mountain even with the sun shining.

Elisa got to drive the jeep for the Indiana Jones ride; she was surprised that the steering wheel didn't turn.

Genie+ also gave us free pictures. Erik's leg got soaked on this ride.

Disneyland days are always a blur, so I'm not sure I'll get everything in. We took a quick snack break at Pooh Corner after we exited Splash Mountain. Erik bought some Tigger Tales, cake balls, and maybe a brownie. We made a lightning lane reservation for Big Thunder Mountain, but it broke down. Erik wanted to ride Pirates and Nemo early, but Pirates was down. When we looked at wait times in the Disneyland app, the line for Nemo was already long, so we went to Casey Junior instead. The kids were already hungry again, so we got some churros to tide them over. Good thing too; we waited almost 30 minutes to ride Casey Jr. We also made a lightning lane reservation for Space Mountain. While waiting for our return time, we waited in line for the Autopia. 

Who could resist this cute kid? Oh, and all the sweets too.

Sharing churros just like Lady and the Tramp.

Ian got more cinnamon and sugar on his face than in his mouth.

Ian was grumpy because we teased him about how he danced to the Casey Junior song the last time we went on this ride.

Erik and I like taking videos of the kids driving their Autopia cars.

Gabe and Ian got to ride in the front for Space Mountain, while I had to ride all alone.