Right after America’s 250th birthday, we got up at 3:00am to load the car and drive to Birmingham before our 7:00am flight to Los Angeles. Nothing says “vacation” quite like a 3:00am alarm clock. Collin was so cute cuddled up in his blanket on the floor waiting for us to put him in the car. Camryn insisted she was a spokesmodel this year and asked for a matching sweatshirt that she also insisted on wearing to the airport.

The layover in Dallas felt like forever. We did our best to keep the kids entertained. Thankfully, they fell asleep on the next flight! A small miracle considering how long our travel day was already feeling.

Our travel agent, Lauren Runions, arranged for the Lightning McQueen car to pick us up from the airport and take us to our resort. This was such a fun way to kick off the trip! We were blown away by the ride! Ethan, our driver, was full of energy and made the kids laugh several times. He also played music from Cars and other Disney movies. He made it all about the kids, but still talked to me and Weston throughout the ride. When we arrived at Pixar Place, Ethan parked in the best spot to take tons of pictures of us with the car. It honestly felt like the Disney magic started before we even made it to Disney.

Pixar Place

There were three Disney resort options to choose from and we chose Pixar Place because we thought the kids would love the theming best. After seeing their faces when we walked in, I think we made the right choice.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by Dug from Up! Apparently that is the only place you can see him. Camryn was too scared to take a picture with him, but she did get another opportunity on the last day. 

We were starving, so we dropped off our luggage and walked across the street to the Grand Californian Hotel. It was the only restaurant that was open for a 4:00pm dinner. After being awake since 3:00am, we were not about to be picky.

Disneyland Park Day 1

The kids woke up extra early and were ready to go! Apparently they inherited my ability to wake up early when there is something exciting happening. We got dressed and grabbed a quick breakfast at the café in Pixar Place. We knew that Bing Bong would be making an appearance soon, so we stayed at the resort long enough to get a picture with him. He’s another character that is only found at Pixar Place!

As soon as we walked into the park, we saw Chip N Dale and were able to get the last spots in line to take pictures with them. Then we saw Mickey and got in line to see him. While we were waiting, we saw Cruella across the street. She wasn’t even listed on the app! We were able to make it over there to get pictures with her and she told me she liked my spots. The entire interaction was hilarious and I told Weston I never thought I would be so excited to meet a villain!

The lightning lanes are a little different at Disneyland Park vs Disney World, so that was a little learning curve for me. You can’t book your first one until you enter the park. I was able to book it while we waited in line, but we had some time before our window to ride. I quickly realized Disneyland was going to require a slightly different strategy than our Disney World trip.

On our way to Dumbo, we ran into Mirabel and Bruno. Then, we made our way to the Millennium Falcon. I think I was the only one excited for it out of the four of us. We ran into Darth Vader on our way out and Collin was fascinated by him. We didn’t get to meet him this time though.

One of the characters Camryn desperately wanted to meet was Jesse, so we went to the spot she was supposed to be and waited. We were one of the first in line and Camryn hugged both Woody and Jesse!

Pinocchio’s Daring Journey had a short wait time and we hopped in line. I don’t love the rides where you just sit and it takes you through the story, but it was nice to get in the cold air for a few minutes.

We had reservations at Plaza Inn for lunch. The dining package included lunch and reserved seating for the Paint the Night Parade that evening. The food was decent, but we agreed it was only worth it to get the reserved seating.

Next up was a quick stop at the Mad Tea Party ride before meeting Tinker Bell in Pixie Hollow. She talked about how hot it was and we said it was actually cooler here than at our house. She asked where we were from and I said, “Alabama.” With a straight face, she said, “Never heard of it.” Really caught me off guard until I remembered she was probably just staying in character.

Our next lighting lane was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, but we had time to ride the Astro Orbiter right next to it. I think that was one of the challenges for me with scheduling the Lightning Lanes. I didn’t want us to be walking back and forth across the park, so I had to check Lightning Lane availability along with nearby rides/character sightings and wait times frequently. 

The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage had a short wait time and it was nearby. I also booked our next Lightning lane at Autopia right after we scanned into Buzz Lightyear, so we were able to walk right up to it after the submarine ride.

We went to Snow White’s Enchanted Wish and Storybook Land Boats before heading to Toon Town. Mickey and Minnie’s houses were top on my list to see because I remember going inside them at Disney World when I was a kid (they aren’t there anymore). It was one of those moments where I was getting to revisit something from my childhood with my own kids, which made it extra special. The kids played at Goofy’s playground while we waited for the next time slot to see Mickey. Right after going to Mickey’s house, we went next door to Minnie’s house. We did have to wait a little while for both, but it was worth it.

It’s a Small World had a 5-minute wait time, so we walked on and rested for a few minutes before heading towards our reserved seating for the Paint the Night Parade. We grabbed some snacks and waited in our seats. The Paint the Night Parade was a highlight for sure! The seats weren’t as great as they advertised because we were on a curve, but it was nice having a designated area.

California Adventure Park

We started our morning at Storytellers Cafe. We learned that Collin is not as much of a morning person as we originally believed. Apparently, he is like me and requires a little more time to become fully operational. He didn’t want anything to do with the characters first thing in the morning. Our waiter took our order and informed me that they don’t serve Coke Zero. I was visibly heartbroken, but ordered Diet Coke and went to get my food. When I returned, our waiter had magically procured a Coke Zero for me! I’m pretty sure that was real Disney magic.

Camryn and Collin begged to ride the Ferris wheel as soon as we arrived at the park. When we walked up, we saw two lines – one for stationary gondolas and one for swinging gondolas. Weston and I looked at each other and silently made the decision to go on the swinging gondolas without saying anything to the kids. They loved it and Weston ended up being the one a little scared on one of the drops! The kids had absolutely no idea what they were getting themselves into and apparently neither did Weston. 😂

We took a ride on the Emotional Whirlwind and ran into Frozone on our way to our first Lightning Lane in Cars Land. Radiator Springs Racers turned out to be a favorite ride for everyone except Camryn. She is still a little traumatized from the Slinky Dog ride at Disney World. Collin, on the other hand, asked to ride it again as soon as we got off. The line was ridiculously long and you have to pay an additional $23 fee per person for this Lightning Lane for a reason. And we weren’t willing to pay the fee a second time even though it was a really fun ride.

Our next stop was pictures with Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde before the Monsters Inc ride and grabbing a quick lunch. We also waited in line to see Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Bo Peep, and Rex. We saw Spider-Man swinging on the rooftop before the Web Slingers ride, which ended up being a favorite for all four of us! After getting a photo with Lightning McQueen, we went to Flo’s Cafe to get drinks and cool off. We rode a few more rides, took pictures with Sadness, and called it a day. The kids were getting restless and it just wasn’t worth it to push them past their limits.

Back at our hotel, we had a relaxing dinner on the rooftop and played some of the family games. We were still awake when it was time for the Color Your World light show and we had a great view from the hallway. It was pretty, but definitely not worth staying at the park all day to see it up close. Sometimes the best Disney decision is knowing when to call it a night.

Disneyland Park Day 2

Goofy’s Kitchen was a fun start to our morning. I really liked how you could get a picture with Goofy while you waited for your table. Collin wasn’t interested in the characters again and we joked that he just hadn’t had his coffee yet. Minnie was so sweet and tried to get him to warm up to her each time she came to the table. He did finally take a picture with her! 

We rode the monorail into the park and went straight to where Genie was supposed to be. We ran into Alice on the way there and Camryn ended up being the first in line to see Genie. He held her hand and walked to a spot in the shade with her. It was such a sweet interaction! Those little one-on-one character moments ended up being some of my favorite memories from the trip. As we were walking to our first ride, we ran into Geppetto, Pinocchio, and Moana.

After a couple of quick rides, we waited in line to see Winnie the Pooh. This was the first character that Collin hugged and it was so sweet! Tigger and Eeyore were coming out soon, so we waited to see them too. To our surprise, Collin gave both of them big hugs too! Something finally clicked and suddenly he was a character-hugging kid.

It was really hot, so we got some apple freezes from Maurice’s Treats and I promised the kids I wouldn’t make them wait in line for anymore characters. Right about that time, Flynn Rider was walking by. They did ask to go take a picture with him though! Maybe they just needed to know it wasn’t a requirement?

Collin was strangely excited to see Darth Vader even though he has never seen Star Wars, so we did go over to that area to make sure he got to take a picture with him. Darth Vader picked us out of the crowd to bring us in front for interrogation. Weston was taking pictures until Darth Vader made him come over with us. He handed my phone to a stranger who did a great job taking pictures for us! Getting “interrogated” by Darth Vader was definitely not on our itinerary, but it made for one of the funniest moments of the trip.

We were getting ready to go by this point because it was so hot, but Camryn desperately wanted to see Clarabelle and Collin wanted to ride Chip N Dale’s Gadget Coaster again. We made our way to Toon Town and Weston asked to ride the coaster with Collin, which was a huge shock to me. He usually doesn’t like stuff like that. Camryn got to take a picture with Daisy and was first in line to take a picture with Clarabelle. Clarabelle spotted her, grabbed her hand, and walked with her to the spot where she was going to take pictures. It was such a sweet little moment, especially because Camryn had been so excited to meet her. Weston really wanted a picture with Max, so we let the kids play until it was time for Max to come out. We got our pictures and headed back to the hotel before dinner.

The kids picked out a toy in the gift shop and the cashier told them they could get a prize if they found where Forky was hidden. They found him and the prize ended up being a sticker, but they were really excited. Honestly, Disney could probably give them a piece of paper with a smiley face on it and they would be thrilled. We ate dinner on the rooftop again and got to bed early.

Los Angeles

We arranged for a private car to pick us up from Pixar Place and take us sight seeing in Los Angeles. While we were waiting, Dug came to the lobby and got Camryn to try to move the giant ball with him. And just like that, we got our second chance at that Dug photo!

Our driver had the live action 101 Dalmatians playing for the kids. First on our list was the Hollywood sign and the view was even better than when Weston and I were there years ago. Our driver knew of a small park on the mountain with a beautiful view of the sign, so we got a great picture! Having someone else drive us around was the perfect way to see a lot of LA without having to figure out the traffic ourselves.

We went to the Walk of Fame for the kids to see the stars, but we decided not to get out of the car. The last time we were there, we were bombarded by crazy people in weird costumes that were trying to scheme us into paying them. We didn’t want to subject the kids to that. 

We stopped for a picture at the Beverly Hills sign and drove through the neighborhood to look at houses. The last stop on our list was the Santa Monica Pier. We walked on the beach and didn’t stay long because of all the marijuana. Not exactly the beach experience we were hoping for with two kids.

Our hotel was within walking distance of In-n-Out burger. We grabbed lunch and then coffee at Starbucks before walking to Mattel Headquarters. Mattel was a spontaneous decision when we saw how close it was. They had so many fun displays in the lobby and then we learned of their toy store. We were limited on luggage space, but we let the kids pick out a small toy to take home. A spontaneous toy-store stop might not have been part of the original itinerary, but it was definitely one of the kids’ favorite parts of the day.

Travel Day

Our hotel shuttle took us to the airport and our first flight was a little delayed leaving. As we approached Dallas, the flight attendant informed everyone that there were 19 passengers with short connecting times and to let them get off first. Did everyone follow instructions? No. Of course not.

We had 5 minutes to get to our next flight and half of the plane got off before we did. The kids needed to go to the bathroom and I told them they would have to wait because we had 5 minutes to get to our connecting flight. The guy in front of us must have felt guilty for not following directions and he let us pass him. We made it on our next flight with one minute to spare and we were the last ones to board. I have never been so happy to see the inside of a plane. Thanks for waiting on us, Southwest!

We had a great week at Disneyland and we’re already dreaming of going back! Weston is even calling himself a Disney Dad now, so we might get to go again sooner than we think!

P.S. If you saw something we wore that you liked, it probably came from Amazon. Check my affiliate link here!