Disneyland Advice

Okay so here are the things we would recommend doing and the things we would not necessarily recommend.

Recommend:

1. BRING a stroller if you have kids under 6.  Tommy who is 5 and a great walker, rode most of the time on the front of the stroller.  You can definitely rent strollers there, but you have to keep them in the parks and if you are staying on property, you have a ways to walk before you get to your hotel.  So if you want to carry your kids that far, it is fine, but just be prepared.
2. If you are staying at the Disneyland Hotel, get a suite if you can.  We had a two bedroom suite in the Disneyland Hotel.  We could have gotten away with just a one bedroom suite (because there was a bed in the couch and a Murphy bed in the TV cabinet in the living room), but it was nice to have the two bathrooms.  The concierge lounge - which you have access to when you have a suite - was key to not spending a ton of money on breakfast, beverages and quick pick up items (potato chips, etc).
3. If you don't want to listen to whiny kids asking you for things the entire time you are there, make sure your kids know that you are only getting ONE souvenir before you leave for the trip.   That way you can remind them of that when they are asking for things and they quickly remember and don't whine all that much.  Disneyland has stuff for sale EVERYWHERE!
4. Be prepared for all sorts of weather.  It was 105 degrees when we were there.  It was October.  Bring tank tops and rain jackets...you just never know what it is going to be like. 
5. Reusable water bottles from home were great to have because then you weren't having to buy them all over the place.
6. Having a plan was great for us...we used http://touringplans.com/ to just give us a starting point.  We did not necessarily follow the plans, but they gave us an idea of what we wanted to do.
7. If you want to visit a busy attraction, use the Fast Pass system or go right when the park opens.  We had great success with both of those tactics.  Also you can get a switch pass if you are waiting with a younger kid while a parent/older kid go on a ride.  The parent just asks for a switch pass and then the parent who had been waiting, just takes that pass and goes in the Fast Pass lane.
8. Make reservations for dinner out and a character breakfast once you book your trip.  You can always cancel those reservations, but it is handy to have them.
9. If you want to see World of Color, get reserved viewing...World of Color Dining  We went to the Wine Country Trattoria dinner and then had the "Preferred Viewing" tickets.
10. Go to Napa Rose for dinner.  It is amazing!
11. Get some sort of "line wait" application for your phone, so you can have "real-time" estimates of how long lines are going to take.
12. If you have a kid that is into Star Wars, take them to the Jedi Training Academy.  If they want to be in the performance, sit in front, have a sign and make sure they are yelling, jumping up and down and really excited to be in the performance.
13. If you care about meeting characters, do a character breakfast.  It is the best way to meet the characters, without having to stand in line.
14. If it is your first time there, make that known...if you need something from the Disney staff members, ask...they are all overly helpful!
15. Watch a parade.  It is magical!

Not Recommended:

1. Don't plan on doing everything, just know that there are lines, people and craziness all over.
2. If you are planning on being at the Disneyland Hotel, it might be under construction.  The first floor and pool complex were under construction while we were there. So just be prepared for that possibility.
3. Don't assume October will be a "quiet" time...it was super busy when we were there.  I have heard end of August/beginning of September is a pretty quiet time to go.
4. Stressing out...get done what you can and then know you have something to see on your next trip, if you don't get to it.

Cheers to Disneyland and all the planning that goes with it!

Disneyland - Day 5 (our last day)

I was very sad to say goodbye to Disneyland.  We did not fly out until about 6PM, so we had all day at Disneyland.  So our day was filled with many fun adventures.

We started out the day by heading to Tomorrowland where Tommy and Mike went on Buzz Lightyear's ride again.  Morgan and I went on the spaceship ride. 

Before we left for the trip, we told the kids they could get one souvenier item and we would pick it out on the last day, so they could not ask us to buy them something every time we walked through any shop.  Tommy was pretty consistent from the first day we arrived that he wanted a lightsaber.  So while in Tomorrowland, we bought him his lightsaber on this the last day.  He decided on the model that he used in the jedi training.

We then headed to the Dumbo ride where we waited in line for about 20 minutes and then once we got on the ride, the ride broke so we had to get off and exit the ride halfway through.  Kind of a disappointment.

Here is how we made it through Disneyland the entire trip...Tommy on the front of the stroller and Morgan sitting in the stroller.  I loved the castle, so I had to get two shots.

We rode the Disneyland Railroad around the park, which was really fun to see all of the "lands" and just sit and relax.  We also looked around to see where we should settle down for lunch and try to get Morgan to take a nap in the stroller.

We decided to have lunch at the Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country because they had a nice deck where we could sit and relax for a while.  Mike and Tommy ordered lunch, while a sleeping Morgan and I found a place to sit. 

Mike also brought me a wonderful Lemon-honey cupcake...

It also gave me time to snuggle with Tommy.

From there, we headed back to the hotel to gather our stuff and get picked up by the limousine.

We took a few photos in front of the hotel.

I really have to say, I could have spent probably about 2 more days there.  We did not get on some of the rides I wanted to get on and visit some of the places I wanted to visit, but it was a great first visit to Disneyland. 

Cheers to a wonderful family vacation!

Disneyland - Day 4 (what I remember)

So as my previous posting stated, we had a bit to drink the third night we were in Disneyland.  Well it effected me more than it did Michael.  So Mike spent the morning with Tommy in California Adventure, while Morgan and I hung out in our room.

Mike and Tommy did so much at California Adventure and took several pictures with characters, so I would say California Adventure had more accessible character pictures than Disneyland.

Here are the pics that Mike captured on his phone:

Mike and Tommy on Grizzly River Rapids (which Tommy LOVED)!

Tommy with Mickey in California Adventure

Tommy with Buzz Lightyear

Tommy eating his frozen lemonade

Tommy dancing with Phineas and Ferb

That night we went to dinner at Tortilla Jo's and I was able to enjoy and hang out with everyone.  Of course I did not have my favorite thing...a margarita, but we will go back!

Cheers to having at least one parent who could hang out with Tommy on Day 4!

Napa Rose Dinner

This dinner was AMAZING!  Any and all foodies that go to Disneyland should dine here.  Even if you just like eating good meal, you have to eat here.  We dined at the chef's counter, which was a wonderful experience, they offer two seatings a night and you must have a reservation to get a seat.  They seat you right in the action.  One of the chefs comes over and asks you your likes and dislikes and then they just cook for you.  I can barely describe how good this meal was, but I will try below.

We started out the night at the bar because we were about 45 minutes early.  Even the bar menu looked tempting, but we had much ahead of us, so we decided to just drink some bubbles!

Our Soter bubbles we started the night off with!  One of our favorites.

Then we were seated in our glorious seats that overlooked the kitchen.  At first it was a bit intimidating sitting right there in the action, but as the drinks kept coming it was easier to be there.  We told the lovely chef who came to talk with us that we liked most things, but we were not huge fans of lamb, rabbit or gamey type meats, but everything else we love.

We started with an amuse-bouche course that was paired with a Belgium ale.

House made pretzel, duck liver pate, chorizo, ham and apples.

A Belgian Ale that is made in the style of champagne and was delightfully light and fruity.

The second course was the salad course:

Pan roasted sea scallop with lobster, lemon and vanilla sauce.

Cured hamachi with confit orange and baby green salad. Meatball with roasted pepper and olive.

Wine for the salad course - Flower's Chard with the scallop and the Chablis with the Hamachi.

This was a great course.  Everything was prepared wonderfully.  And of course by this time, I was starting to feel the wonderful wine courses we were having!

Then we had the third course:

“Smiling Tiger Salad” Tempura Fried Lobster, Spicy Beef, Asian Greens and Coconut-Lime Vinaigrette

Wine Country "Steak Tartare" of Angus Beef Tenderloin and Pumpkin Fries.

Wine for the third course - Riesling with the salad and the Sauvignon Blanc with the tartare.

For those who followed my France blog postings, you know that I LOVE beef tartare.  So I tried that part first and it was silky and incredibly fresh tasting.  Mike started with the "Smiling Tiger" salad and thought that it did not need the beef under the salad.  I disagreed and thought it balanced the dish.

Rabbit meatloaf with mushrooms and carrot puree and pear mustard

Smoked Pheasant dumpling with cranberry lemongrass glaze

The first meat course wine - Sangio with the meatloaf and the Pinot with the dumpling

This course was amazing!  Both Mike and I were skeptical about the rabbit meatloaf, but it ended up being one of the best things that we had! 

We then received a lovely "extra plate" to try:

Bacon wrapped pheasant breast with sweet potato chips and hummus

Then onto the second "meat course":

Skillet seared Angus NY strip steak. Sauteed chanterelle mushrooms and Country Ham

Venison with pumpkin spetzel, roasted squash and pomagranate chimichuri sauce

Second meat course wine - the Zin with the venison and the Cab with the steak

Both of these meat items were phenomenal.  Perfectly cooked and I loved the pumpkin spetzel.

Then it was dessert time!  This is possibly my favorite part of a meal and while my dessert was good, I was really hoping for a bit more.  Mike requested an ice cream sundae to rival Farrel's.  So here they are:

Concord grape panna cotta with sauteed grapes and bread sticks

Mike's Ice Cream Explosion

Desert wine - Late harvest resling with the ice cream and the Veuve for the flan

So to end our meal, I could not get enough of the Veuve, so I had him leave the bottle and we finished that.  So needless to say, we had plenty to drink.

The roses that were at our wedding (Leonadas - as shown above) decorated the restaurant all over.  Our lovely server gave us two of the roses to take back to our room.  We also received a little box of chocolates which we gave to Grandma Jan when we returned to the room for babysitting the kids.

All-in-all it was definitely one of the best meals we have had and there was so much food.  When we arrived back at the room, I apparently was VERY exuberant and told Grandma Jan about the entire meal. 

Unfortunately, I paid the whole next day for the amount of alcohol that I consumed and the evening reminded me that I am not 25 anymore...I am 35 and should act like it!  BUT we had such a fun time, that it was worth it!

Below is a self-portrait of Mike and I at the end of the night, on our way back to the room under Mickey's sorcerer hat! 

Cheers to having so much to drink that you take silly self-portraits.