Mickey's Toontown Archives

Happy October, loves! This month is the best kind of chaos for us, beginning with a solo trip for me back to New York for my cousin’s wedding at the end of September/first weekend in October, followed a few days later by …. drum roll, please …. OUR TRIP TO DISNEYLAND!

I’ve only been to Disney World, and the girls had never been to anything Disney related, so this was very special. Sadly Chris couldn’t get away from work to join, but we did manage to drag Grandpa Robert along, so that was very lovely, as well.

We stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and splurged for the Genie+ passes, so this was not a cheap trip. Still, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. With a 7-, 5- and 2-year-old, I wanted to do as much as I could to make this trip as “easy” as possible for myself and Grandpa. Staying in a hotel that was walking distance to everything we needed and paying to skip the lines whenever possible was absolutely worth it. Even though we all stayed together in one room, Grandpa and I each got a Queen bed, Emilia slept in a travel crib that the resort had, and the girls slept on a (very large) hide-away bed. It was delightfully comfortable. I also booked the majority of our meals prior to the trip. This turned out to be a smart move, as well. As you can imagine it was insanely busy, so knowing where and when we were eating was an essential step in avoiding hangriness (myself included) all around.

Here’s a bit of what we got up to 😉

Day 1: Arrival & Downtown Disney!

We were so lucky that we got to visit during the 100th anniversary of Disney and during the height of their Halloween festivities. I LOVE Halloween, so seeing all the decorations and visiting the special attractions was so much fun!

There was direct access to Adventure Park from our hotel (which we didn’t visit on this trip), as well as to the Downtown Disney District, which is steps to the Disney entrance. Be prepared to open all your bags and walk through a metal detector to get into Downtown Disney. Part of the Disney experience is knowing you’re safe from weapons. Because that’s the world we live in.

The Disney attention to detail is SO REAL. No stone is left unturned when it comes to delight.

The Storytellers Cafe — where characters hang out with you during breakfast and lunch services — was in our hotel. Sadly breakfast and lunches were booked out while we were there, but we did do dinner one night. The girls wore their princess best 😉

The buffet was great! Honestly the food everywhere was amazing, which is a good thing because that ish is EXPENSIVE 😉

Day 2: Our First Disney Experience!

One of the best things about this trip was the fact that the girls had no idea what to expect. Yes, they knew we were going to Disney, and they obviously know who most of the Disney characters are, but outside of that, they couldn’t grasp the experience. How could they?

It’s safe to say they were blown away.

Guests of any Disney resort get early access to the park at 7:30 a.m. (it opens to the general public at 8), so we were there bright and early both days, and had good spots to check out Mickey & Minnie’s opening act. Not too shabby 😉

Grandpa hadn’t been to Disneyland since he was a little kid, so this was basically all new to him, as well!

The Disney app is AMAZING, including the photo feature. They had professional photographers located around the park who would take photos that got loaded automatically to your app. Genius.

The girls’ first ride was DUMBO … a very solid choice! Emilia in particular was IN LOVE.

It’s a Small World was another hit. We went on it twice!

We hung with so many characters! Goofy was our first <3

I obviously bought special Disney shirts for our trip, and Grace was disappointed in mine because she said it wasn’t “Disney” enough. So I was very happy when we came across this statue with the same phrase!

Mickey’s Toontown was so cute! The girls and I got to walk through Minnie’s house and then meet her, and then Grandpa did Mickey’s house with them. (All this while Emilia slept through the chaos around her!) We also rode the Runaway Railway, which was so fun, although a bit more roller coaster-ey than I expected! Emilia seemed to enjoy it all the same!

Grace was right at home at Minnie’s House <3

We even managed to catch the ending of the parade on Main St., which was so much fun! It was the perfect topper to the perfect first day in the park <3

Day 3: Finding Our Disney Mojo

By Day 2 in the park I figured out how to use the Disney app and Genie service a bit better, so we were able to take advantage of shorter lines more frequently. Our first stop was Pirates of the Caribbean! It was a dark and “scary” ride, but I was so proud of Grace for challenging herself to do rides that scared her! She ended up enjoying (most of!) them.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh <3

The Jungle Cruise was so cute, and the guide was hilarious!

Peter Pan’s Flight had one of the longer lines we waited in (about 30 minutes), and the ride itself was fairly short, but it was definitely cute and worth doing.

Lunch at Jazz Kitchen Costal Grill & Patio was back in Downtown Disney — so about a 20 minute walk from Fantasyland in the park, where we were — but I enjoyed having lunch in a more laidback setting, away from the insanity of the park. Plus, it was SO GOOD!

Our first ride after lunch was the Haunted Mansion from The Nightmare Before Christmas. We scored a Lightning Lane entrance from the Genie + app for this, which got us in at about a 15 minute wait, as opposed to about an hour. SCORE!

After the mansion we booked it back over to Fantasyland to meet some princesses, and on the way we ran into Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh!

We had tried to do the Snow White ride our first day in the park and the ride broke down. Oops. We caught it after the princesses, though, and it was worth going back!

The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was so much cuter than I expected! Totally worth a visit.

Before heading back to the hotel after an insane day, we managed to snag this photo at the pumpkin in the main square, as well as see the Disney Band play as they lowered the flag for the day.

Back at the hotel we took advantage of the pool and hot tub, which the girls are thoroughly obsessed with.

Day 4: Headed Home

Our final breakfast was Mickey waffles — obviously — at the GCH Craftsman Bar in our hotel. A fitting final meal for a simply delightful trip.

And that was it, friends! As I type this we are back home, awaiting our next adventure — Aussie Nan & Poppa coming to visit in four days! They head in for Chris’ Big Birthday next week, and we cannot wait! Until next time, bis bald, friends! Hope your fall is off to a fabulous start!