Being a parent I knew I wanted to take Little Man to a Disney park as well. Stupid me, I took him to DisneyWorld when he was four as well since he was all things Disney obsessed, especially Toy Story. DisneyWorld was an incredible experience but we only stayed for two days and it was not long enough.
Well fast forward four years and his recollection of the trip is nothing.
To switch things up I decided we should give Disneyland a try to celebrate our birthdays since they are two weeks apart. It is the "happiest place on earth" after all.
I planned a 5 day trip to Anaheim back in March. My intent was to spend a day at California Adventure followed by three full days at Disneyland with the final day spent traveling back to Houston. Plans changed after a request to include a day at Universal Studios Hollywood. That tacked on an extra night at the hotel, rental car, gas, and tickets... One extra day at a different park entirely tacked on an extra $1200+.
I booked a room at the Disneyland Hotel so we'd be fairly close to the parks since we were not renting a car for the duration of the trip after that Saturday for getting back and forth to Universal Studios Hollywood.
With 50+ attractions between the two parks we planned ahead so we could make the most of our time at the park. Some restaurants have a 60+ day wait list. Say what?!!! Of course no matter how much planning we put in we can't control weather, ride shutdowns, and line length. Thankfully we are extremely flexible.
We enjoyed the parks from open to close which made for long 12+ hour days. Downloaded the Disney Wait Time App which provides the obvious ride wait times and a map with restrooms... a must when enjoying the parks with a little one.
Tip with your phone... keep it on airplane and low battery modes so the battery won't drain as quickly trying to locate a signal on certain rides that go underground, or better yet. Turn it off and disconnect completely.
Pack ponchos just in case it rains.
In the spirit of getting ready for our vacation we watched a bunch of Disney movies and you can too by watching them here.
Friday August 12th, 2016... Travel day to Los Angeles/Anaheim, California:
Because the trip was kept a secret from Little Man I had to pack our bags last minute. He knew we were going to the airport as we made it there but still wanted it to be kept a surprise as to the destination. A comment was made about possibly seeing "famous people" and he exclaimed, "We're going to California?!!" This kid is obsessed with the notion of running away to Hollywood one day to become an actor.
We flew Spirit for the first time ever. I have no complaints as I understand that you have to pay for everything. Carry-on and checked bags, seat preferences, and food/drinks. I'll have to do the math and see if it was worth the "lower fare".
Arrived in Los Angeles around 4:30pm and after picking up our bags at baggage claim we headed out to wait for the shuttle. We had no idea how long it would be and we were antsy to get there so we hopped aboard the first marked Disneyland shuttle that pulled up. We had no idea what we were in store for.
Robert, the shuttle driver, was an aggressive Russian who took us around the airport two times in hopes that we could gather more passengers but it ended up being just us. Los Angeles traffic was bummer to bummer. He took lanes even when they weren't given to him and even rode the shoulder or lane ending numerous times. When Little Man had the urge to pee, Robert pulled off into a rough part of Inglewood to let us run him into the bathroom at a gas station. Robert made friends with the store clerk and they both were slapping high fives and fist bumping over the fact that they both don't "give a shit about anything."
After that wild ride we finally checked into our room at the Disneyland Hotel three hours later. The hotel didn't have that jaw dropping reaction like the Animal Kingdom at DisneyWorld. Again, I got spoiled with that vacation. The hotel is outdated and next time I know better that the Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is the place to stay. It even has a direct entrance into California Adventure and the inside of their hotel is stunning.
The only thing not disappointing about our hotel room was the bed and artwork over the headboards. Frustrating that they did not have any outlets by the nightstands so I couldn't have my phone's alarm nearby to keep it on the charger, the windows had mildew on the outside which made for an obstructed view of the fireworks, and the bathroom water smelled like the toilet water. I cringed every time we had to brush our teeth. Ick!
We finally got hungry about an hour later and decided on staying at the hotel checking out Goofy's Kitchen. I love themed things so character dining is a lot of fun. The characters come to the table a lot and have fun with the guests. I really appreciate that they make it a point to specialize the interactions too. Little Man was given a birthday button (since the point of our trip was for celebrating birthdays) and a 1st Visit button so everyone kept wishing him a "Happy Birthday" and was given free dessert everywhere we went.
Saturday August 13th, 2016... Universal Studios Hollywood:
Because the trip was kept a secret from Little Man I had to pack our bags last minute. He knew we were going to the airport as we made it there but still wanted it to be kept a surprise as to the destination. A comment was made about possibly seeing "famous people" and he exclaimed, "We're going to California?!!" This kid is obsessed with the notion of running away to Hollywood one day to become an actor.
We flew Spirit for the first time ever. I have no complaints as I understand that you have to pay for everything. Carry-on and checked bags, seat preferences, and food/drinks. I'll have to do the math and see if it was worth the "lower fare".
(Still clueless after arrival in Los Angeles, California. Thought for sure the Disneyland shuttle would give the destination away but he didn't put two and two together until we pulled into the hotel.)
Robert, the shuttle driver, was an aggressive Russian who took us around the airport two times in hopes that we could gather more passengers but it ended up being just us. Los Angeles traffic was bummer to bummer. He took lanes even when they weren't given to him and even rode the shoulder or lane ending numerous times. When Little Man had the urge to pee, Robert pulled off into a rough part of Inglewood to let us run him into the bathroom at a gas station. Robert made friends with the store clerk and they both were slapping high fives and fist bumping over the fact that they both don't "give a shit about anything."
After that wild ride we finally checked into our room at the Disneyland Hotel three hours later. The hotel didn't have that jaw dropping reaction like the Animal Kingdom at DisneyWorld. Again, I got spoiled with that vacation. The hotel is outdated and next time I know better that the Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is the place to stay. It even has a direct entrance into California Adventure and the inside of their hotel is stunning.
The only thing not disappointing about our hotel room was the bed and artwork over the headboards. Frustrating that they did not have any outlets by the nightstands so I couldn't have my phone's alarm nearby to keep it on the charger, the windows had mildew on the outside which made for an obstructed view of the fireworks, and the bathroom water smelled like the toilet water. I cringed every time we had to brush our teeth. Ick!
We finally got hungry about an hour later and decided on staying at the hotel checking out Goofy's Kitchen. I love themed things so character dining is a lot of fun. The characters come to the table a lot and have fun with the guests. I really appreciate that they make it a point to specialize the interactions too. Little Man was given a birthday button (since the point of our trip was for celebrating birthdays) and a 1st Visit button so everyone kept wishing him a "Happy Birthday" and was given free dessert everywhere we went.
(He was so proud of himself for stealing that kiss!!)
After dinner we checked out the hotel gift shop and I told Little Man at the end of the trip he could have anything he wanted. Every day he spotted something new but toward the last couple of days his heart was set on a Star Wars action figure set.
We watched the fireworks from the room and fell fast asleep for the day ahead of us.
Saturday August 13th, 2016... Universal Studios Hollywood:
(LOVE!!)
We all woke up early with no problem since our bodies were still on Texas time. The time change really worked in our favor on this trip. Since we were up early we walked Downtown Disney even though all of the shops were closed. I'm such a window shopper and knew I had to stop into WonderGround Gallery before our vacation ended. I want to fill a wall in the house with fun artwork and this store did not disappoint. They have a featured artist, original works, and prints. I purchased an Alice in Wonderland mug and all of the postcard prints that "spoke" to me. Walked away with $60+ in postcards.
Had a reservation to pick up the rental car on Friday night but didn't arrive to the hotel in time. This ended up not being an issue since the clerk at Alamo Rental Car let us in 15 minutes early and we had our car within 10 minutes and were put on the road before 8am.
The drive to Universal Studios Hollywood was a breeze since there was light traffic and the scenery was beautiful especially as we made it into Studio City. I needed cash for valet parking (I highly recommend doing Valet. It's $30 and you don't have to walk far to enter the park or have the hassle of locating your vehicle). A Bank of America was located right across from Warner Bros. Studios and we were in awe of how close we were. Even saw the famous "Hollywood" sign on the hilltop.
We parked in "Jurassic Parking" which made me so giddy since I am obsessed with that movie franchise. The valet sign had a T-Rex holding car keys. Love!!
I was beyond excited to go knowing that Harry Potter has opened up. This park is incredible! This is my second time here, the first was 19 years ago and my memories have faded. There is nothing like a behind the scenes look at how movies are made and to do it will on a thrill ride, even better!
Had a reservation to pick up the rental car on Friday night but didn't arrive to the hotel in time. This ended up not being an issue since the clerk at Alamo Rental Car let us in 15 minutes early and we had our car within 10 minutes and were put on the road before 8am.
The drive to Universal Studios Hollywood was a breeze since there was light traffic and the scenery was beautiful especially as we made it into Studio City. I needed cash for valet parking (I highly recommend doing Valet. It's $30 and you don't have to walk far to enter the park or have the hassle of locating your vehicle). A Bank of America was located right across from Warner Bros. Studios and we were in awe of how close we were. Even saw the famous "Hollywood" sign on the hilltop.
We parked in "Jurassic Parking" which made me so giddy since I am obsessed with that movie franchise. The valet sign had a T-Rex holding car keys. Love!!
I was beyond excited to go knowing that Harry Potter has opened up. This park is incredible! This is my second time here, the first was 19 years ago and my memories have faded. There is nothing like a behind the scenes look at how movies are made and to do it will on a thrill ride, even better!
We experienced as much of the park as possible spending the day there from open to close.
First stop was into Krustyland where we enjoyed donuts from Lard Lad (Little Man got the biggest one they had) and after we had Krusty burgers before making our way to the Back Lot Tour. The tour was better than I remembered as a kid. My favorite part was still seeing Jaws. I have a strange obsession with sharks. Not that I ever wish to have an open water encounter but in a cage, yes!!
We headed over to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I got a Hermione Grainger wand and we tried Butterbeer for the first time. It was delicious but too rich. We couldn't suck it all down but couldn't help ourselves from ordering it again with dinner later in the day when we went to Three Broomsticks. The food was okay. Nothing stellar but the restaurant was beautiful inside. I felt like I was in the movie.
First stop was into Krustyland where we enjoyed donuts from Lard Lad (Little Man got the biggest one they had) and after we had Krusty burgers before making our way to the Back Lot Tour. The tour was better than I remembered as a kid. My favorite part was still seeing Jaws. I have a strange obsession with sharks. Not that I ever wish to have an open water encounter but in a cage, yes!!
We headed over to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I got a Hermione Grainger wand and we tried Butterbeer for the first time. It was delicious but too rich. We couldn't suck it all down but couldn't help ourselves from ordering it again with dinner later in the day when we went to Three Broomsticks. The food was okay. Nothing stellar but the restaurant was beautiful inside. I felt like I was in the movie.
After we got our Harry Potter fill we ended up at Super Silly Fun Land and that's when Little Man had his sights set on Despicable Me Minion Mayhem which was such a fun 3D ride getting jolted and "dropped". The ride dumps you out into a gift shop, well played, and Little Man just had to have a hippie minion plush.
Little Man knew how badly I wanted to check out Jurassic Park and said we could finally head over that way since he got what he was really looking forward to. We went down five escalators which reminded me of the scene from Jurassic World. I was beyond excited. I saw the gates of Jurassic Park and we made it in time to be up close for the raptor encounter. Seriously the best part of my day! It was made complete all because of it.
(Highlight of my vacation was the raptor encounter!!)
As a kid I remember going on the Jurassic Park ride and I remembered the T-Rex popping out at the end before plummeting us 84 feet straight down. Little Man was so brave going on the ride as I told him there would be a drop at the end. Poor guy came out of the drop in tears. He was scared of the dark and the unknown. It kind of ruined rides for the remainder of the trip because he was terrified there would be a sudden drop.
I highly recommend purchasing the Front of the Line Passes to help cut on line wait times. We were so grateful we did because we had priority seating at the shows as well. The Special Effects show was amazing and the stuntmen were a blast to watch as well as the astronaut skit at the end of the show. It was a nonstop laugh. We also watched Animal Actor's and ended the night with WaterWorld. WaterWorld was by far the absolute best performance of the day and a must watch if you go. My favorite part was at the beginning when the actors were interacting with the audience. I especially love when they harass a single audience member and that person plays along. One of the actors told the wet zone, "If you speak English, you... are... going... to.. get... wet!!! If you don't speak English, enjoy!!" A roar of laughter from the crowd. The show was so darn good.
To end our Universal Studios adventure we walked through the shops at the CityWalk and I ended up picking up a California Love sweater and trucker hat from Billabong. Good souvenir to always remember this California adventure.
Sunday August 14th, 2016... California Adventure:
This morning we had a reservation for breakfast at Paradise Pier's PCH Grill for character dining. Little Man loved how interaction Stitch was. The food was okay. Nothing we've had to eat yet has been that great.
After breakfast we made it over to California Adventure. I chose this park for day one since I heard that it had faster queue lines and less crowds. First thing we did was grab fast passes for Radiator Racers and good thing we did because the wait time was over 60+ minutes and that was right at opening. While waiting for our fast past time we enjoyed the rides in Cars Land starting with Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. Little Man loved this ride as well as Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters. Absolute kid rides but still enjoyable for adults.
Because I haven't been overly impressed with this park I knew that for our final day I would be suggesting that we head back over to California Adventure so I knew we had to experience all of the lands that we could. We came up to Mickey's Toontown which was the only part of the park that made my jaw drop. The sets were adorable and going through Mickey's House and riding on Gadget's Go Coaster were some of the highlights of our day. We spent a couple hours here before heading over to Blue Bayou where I made a reservation a couple of weeks in advance. So glad I did because they were not accepting any walk-ins since all of the reservation spots were taken.
I did enjoy the vacation and seeing experiencing the three parks through Little Man's eyes but I would not choose to do Disneyland for more than one day again. I would absolutely go back to Universal Studios and California Adventure.
I highly recommend purchasing the Front of the Line Passes to help cut on line wait times. We were so grateful we did because we had priority seating at the shows as well. The Special Effects show was amazing and the stuntmen were a blast to watch as well as the astronaut skit at the end of the show. It was a nonstop laugh. We also watched Animal Actor's and ended the night with WaterWorld. WaterWorld was by far the absolute best performance of the day and a must watch if you go. My favorite part was at the beginning when the actors were interacting with the audience. I especially love when they harass a single audience member and that person plays along. One of the actors told the wet zone, "If you speak English, you... are... going... to.. get... wet!!! If you don't speak English, enjoy!!" A roar of laughter from the crowd. The show was so darn good.
To end our Universal Studios adventure we walked through the shops at the CityWalk and I ended up picking up a California Love sweater and trucker hat from Billabong. Good souvenir to always remember this California adventure.
Sunday August 14th, 2016... California Adventure:
This morning we had a reservation for breakfast at Paradise Pier's PCH Grill for character dining. Little Man loved how interaction Stitch was. The food was okay. Nothing we've had to eat yet has been that great.
(My hair and his face! Haha!! No photo of us looked flattering at all. My hair was in my face every race. This ride was so much fun!!)
After breakfast we made it over to California Adventure. I chose this park for day one since I heard that it had faster queue lines and less crowds. First thing we did was grab fast passes for Radiator Racers and good thing we did because the wait time was over 60+ minutes and that was right at opening. While waiting for our fast past time we enjoyed the rides in Cars Land starting with Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. Little Man loved this ride as well as Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters. Absolute kid rides but still enjoyable for adults.
Up next was exploring Grizzly Peak after grabbing fast passes for Grizzly River Run. Little Man saw a sign for the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and begged for that to be the next activity. We spent over an hour climbed through the ropes course, rock climbing, going down the slides, and exploring the grounds. It was a lot of fun. Hot as hell but lots of fun.
To help cool off we headed to the falls near the Grizzly River Run where there was a splash zone from the rafts plummeting down. Little Man got soaked and he had a blast hanging out with the other kids. It was a nice way to cool down for about a half hour before using our fast pass to get on the ride. This became one of Little Man's favorite rides so we would go back and forth getting fast passes for this and Radiator Racers.
Around 5pm we headed to Hollywood Land to get a seat for the Pixar Play Parade. We found the perfect seats that made it so Little Man could stand up higher than anyone in the crowd and he didn't miss any of the fun floats. Truly impressed with Toy Story as the gymnasts were incredibly athletic doing continual flips on the bars all the way down the road. One girl had a backup but never tagged her in. Impressive!
Across from where we were sitting was a hot dog stand... I love cheeky slogans.
Another ride that Little Man requested to go on over and over again was the Golden Zephyr. Because the line was so small they let us stay on the ride as long as we wanted. Stayed on for three rounds before I started to get dizzy and had to call it quits.
(My boy leaned into me, gave hugs and kisses, and held my hand as much as he could over the 6 days we were on vacation. I know it was his way of telling me how much he loves me.)
Monday August 14th, 2016... Disneyland:
(Ready for the morning)
We read the Disneyland park hours wrong and ended up having two hours to kill. Thankfully we were hungry so we made the walk back to the front of Downtown Disney for breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe. First people in line and got to pick a table by the aquarium to watch the scuba divers cleaning the tank. Once again, another disappointing breakfast. My eggs were ordered over-medium and they came out with the whites still runny. Ick! I couldn't eat them. The Bloody Mary was the best part of my meal.
(Potato chips on a Bloody Mary, that's a first. Yum!)
First stop at Disneyland was Tomorrowland to do all things Star Wars. Jumped on the Astro Orbiter, did Star Tours (Little Man's absolute favorite ride at Disneyland!!), ate at the Galactic Grill (they had the best pink lemonade and themed desserts) while watching the Jedi Academy (those poor kids got burnt from the sun and the hot Jedi cloaks had them all overheated, Little Man did not want to do it), got cooled off in the theater to watch The Path of the Jedi, and then went to the Launch Bay to meet the character.
(The Dark Side drink at the Galactic Grill... best pink lemonade ever!)
(Darth by Chocolate and BB-8 Rice Krispies Treat)
(Jedi Academy was very entertaining and the kids were so stinkin' cute!!)
(My prince charming!)
When it was time to meet Kylo-Ren Little Man had me in tears from laughing so hard. To him, these characters were the real deal. He knows Mickey can't be in multiple places at once and they are people in costume but Star Wars... he's a believer. He stood in line to meet Kylo-Ren petrified and asked the attendant, "Am I going to have to battle Kylo-Ren? Cause I just had two chocolate milks, a fake Darth Vader chocolate, chicken nuggets, and some apple slices so I have to wait at least 30 minutes to battle." Hilarious! I laughed about it the rest of the day. When it was our turn to meet him Kylo-Ren jumped around the corner to scare us. Little Man got his picture first and he stood with a scared face for a good minute or two. Poor guy. I laughed.
(That scared face! Poor guy!!)
After spending the entire morning and part of the afternoon in Tomorrowland we moved over to Adventureland stopping to grab some fruit for a snack and hats since we were starting to burn even with sunblock applications.
As we were walking through New Orleans Square we came up to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. As we were waiting in line Little Man kept asking about how big the drops were going to be but I could not give him any answers since it was my first time on the ride. I know Jurassic Park scared the hell out of him but I didn't think anything after that would be as bad. I was wrong. This ride was dark, loud, and had small but sudden drops. In his mind the pirates were real and he so badly wanted the slow moving ride to be over. Poor guy. I loved the ride though.
Because of the temps being close to 100 degrees that day and having gone non-stop at the other parks since Saturday Little Man was ready to call it an early day and head back to the hotel. I had no issue with that. We took our time heading back to the hotel strolling through Downtown Disney. There is a water fountain near security that would shoot the water up high and then cut off so the water would collapse with a loud "woosh" sound. He loved the fountain so we sat for 15 minutes watching it and getting misted to help cool off. As we made it to the front of Downtown Disney by our hotel there was a local food truck, BrewWings, where we got the best chicken and waffles for dinner and sat and listened to reggae music and danced the night away. So much for calling it an early day. Ha!
Tuesday August 15th, 2016... Disneyland:
(I cuddled him every night while he slept. Stay little forever!)
(Ready for another day at Disneyland)
Little Man requested that we try Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. Again, the food sucked. Nothing has been satisfying yet. The best part of breakfast was the Froot Loops and seeing the characters. No joke.
Today we decided to take the monorail into Tomorrowland from Disney Downtown across from a Starbucks. Just a tip, the line was short to get through security and have tickets scanned and there was a very short wait for it to arrive. In true Disney style everything is done like a "ride" so there was audio with comedic relief to help make the ride go by quicker.
At the bottom of the monorail stop was the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. This ride was so well put together that it felt like we were really on a submarine in the movie Finding Nemo. Little Man and I loved it!
Since we were already in Tomorrowland I already knew that Little Man would want to do the entire Star Wars experience again, so we did. This time on Star Tours we got a different story line which made the ride new and we had fun playing in the gift shop trying on the hats and he built his own droid that has a sombrero. Ha!
After scoping out the park map we decided on doing the Jungle Cruise. The wait time was less than 5 minutes and this one was fun but not as good as Disney World's safari where they have live animals. Can't lie, Disneyland was somewhat disappointing for me and if given the choice I would pick Disney World every time now.
Little Man got to try his first churro and it was love at first bite. Every time we'd pass a concession stand selling them he'd shout, "Churros!"
We checked out The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride which was "boring" but after we had fun watching the guests interact with Tigger as we waited in line for our turn to meet the characters.
Because I haven't been overly impressed with this park I knew that for our final day I would be suggesting that we head back over to California Adventure so I knew we had to experience all of the lands that we could. We came up to Mickey's Toontown which was the only part of the park that made my jaw drop. The sets were adorable and going through Mickey's House and riding on Gadget's Go Coaster were some of the highlights of our day. We spent a couple hours here before heading over to Blue Bayou where I made a reservation a couple of weeks in advance. So glad I did because they were not accepting any walk-ins since all of the reservation spots were taken.
Dinner at Blue Bayou was the first meal at Disney that did not disappoint. I got the Surf and Turf with their gumbo and it was so delicious. I loved the ambiance. It was a candlelit dinner with string globe lighting and the restaurant was backed up to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It felt like we were sitting outside in Louisiana without the mosquitos or humidity. We took our time having dinner. It was so nice to get off of our feet for a little bit.
To end our night at the park we sat for about an hour getting a caricature done. First one ever. I think they did an okay job on me (especially those lashes and chubby cheeks!) but it's hard for me to see my Little Man. Still love it and would do this again with him.
Wednesday August 16th, 2016... California Adventure:
I was not going to leave our hotel without trying Steakhouse 55 for one of our meals. Breakfast did not disappoint. I had the steak and eggs and couldn't resist finishing Little Man's leftover Mickey shaped wheat pancake. Breakfast was perfection and it was cheaper than any character dining or other meal we had sat down for. So worth it and would definitely recommend this spot.
(We were not dressed for this fancier restaurant and looked out of place even though we were at a Disney park. I loved that Little Man lived in this hat during his visit to Disney.)
(Saved my custom made Mickey ears for the final day)
After making it into California Adventure we decided to alternate fast passes between Radiator Racers and Grizzly River Run. Good thing we did. Our first ride time even though we got there at opening for Radiator Racers was 12:55pm and then when we went back to get another pass when we were able to it ended up being 7:55pm. We had no idea the ride was broke down for the rest of the day after our first go round and ended up waiting 30 minutes to make it through the line to ride at 7:55pm. Only fast passes were able to ride for the rest of the evening due to the closure. Fast passes, fast passes, fast passes. Cannot stress it enough to plan ahead.
Little Man couldn't wait to make it back over to Paradise Pier. Today he wanted to try the swinging gondolas on Mickey's Fun Wheel instead of the non-swinging. He was so brave and this one scared the hell out of us but we had such a good laugh together after we realized we survived the ride.
While on Paradise Pier we did every ride and just had to get ice cream since I was craving a swirl cone. It was best enjoyed on a covered bench watching the coaster launch passengers on the California Scream.
After exploring Grizzly Peak and our final run on Grizzly River Run we decided to head over to the Grand Californian hotel to have dinner at Storytellers Cafe for their buffet. This buffet was one of the better ones. Limited options but the food was delicious.
We had fast passes for World of Color and ended up getting the perfect spot to stand for the show. This show was spectacular, so captivating. I put Little Man on my back the whole time so he would be more propped up. He placed his cheek on mine the entire time and I could hear him singing the songs and saying all of the characters he saw in the show. My heart was full but my calves and back were on fire. Anything for him. I thought this was the perfect ending to our Disney vacation but I was wrong. As we excited the park we were walking through Downtown Disney when Disneyland was shooting off their fireworks so we were able to sit and watch them. That was the perfect ending, although Little Man would tell you it was finally getting the souvenir of his liking from the gift shop that was promised. He had his heart set on the Star Wars action figures and he beamed when he got to take them back to the hotel room.
Felt bad that I didn't let him open them that night but we had to be awake by 4am to catch our shuttle to the airport for our flight the next morning.
I did enjoy the vacation and seeing experiencing the three parks through Little Man's eyes but I would not choose to do Disneyland for more than one day again. I would absolutely go back to Universal Studios and California Adventure.
