All Things Travel Podcast
Listen in each week with Creating Magic Vacations Travel Advisors and destination experts Ryan and Julie.
He is your travel professor, teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation. She is a Disney-loving, Maryland mom of 3 and a specialist in family travel.
Whether they're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories…it’s always All Things Travel.
All Things Travel Podcast
Disneyland Magic with Little Ones: Tips for an Unforgettable Family Vacation
In this episode of All Things Travel, Ryan and Julie explore Julie’s recent family trip to Disneyland in California. From managing young children in the parks to experiencing the magic of classic rides, Julie shares her expert tips for making the most of a Disney vacation with little ones.
Key Topics Covered:
- Disneyland Overview: First impressions and tips for navigating Disneyland with toddlers and young children.
- Fantasyland & Toontown Fun: Making the most of these family-friendly areas, plus why taking breaks is essential.
- Top Rides & Attractions: Highlights of Web Slingers, the Matterhorn, Cars Land, and Avengers Campus.
- Dining Experiences: Delicious dining spots like Tangaroa Terrace and Lamplight Lounge, plus some must-try Disney food items.
- Family Travel Tips: Practical advice on managing strollers, Rider Switch, and packing for long vacations with young kids.
Next Episode Teaser:
Stay tuned for the next episode where Julie dives into the second half of her trip at Aulani, Disney’s Hawaiian paradise on Oahu.
Call to Action:
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Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. My family just returned from the most magical vacation to the happiest place on earth. Disneyland was everything I hoped for and more and today Ryan and I are going to talk about this trip as always I'll be sharing tips for traveling with little ones to have the perfect Disney vacation. Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts Ryan and Julie. He is your travel professor teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation and I am a Disney loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. Whether we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:All right. So Julie, you and your family are back from this massive trip, this amazing trip that you took to Disneyland and Alani. And I know in our text groups, you have been missing Hawaii
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:All right. So Julie, you and your family are back from this amazing trip that you took to Disneyland and Alani. And I know in our text groups, you have been missing Hawaii hardcore. In fact, this is like two weeks since you've been back, we're recording. and tell everybody what your family did today
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:We went to a luau Maryland.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:withdrawal from the Aloha that you felt at Alani. So your family went to,
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:we do have a local Hawaiian restaurant called Uncle's Hawaiian Grinds. And if you are local and you haven't been there, you have to go. I love their food. Their chef is from Hawaii. They try to source things local. It is amazing. Everything is just so creative on the menu and I love it so much. we have been in such a vacation slump. my entire family is like, when are we going back to Hawaii? The kids are like, mom, when are you planning Hawaii? Um, brutal.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:get tired of me talking about Hawaii, talking about Alani. And you're like, why do you keep talking about this place? Why is this the best place? and now you get it, right? It is in
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:And, uh, Now I'm like, Ryan, how do I get over this? Because it's not fun. so today we were like, okay, let's go to uncle's. We were just going to go get some poke bowls. My kids love, they have a kid's mac and cheese with spam and broccoli and they think it's good. Mac and cheese with hot dogs. I ask for it all the time. we went there and we wanted to sit outside. They have an outdoor tiki bar with, murals of the North Shore.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:love this place and I've never been to it.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah we show up and they're having a luau. they're celebrating their eighth anniversary. The luau is like a buffet and we read the menu and we're just like, yep, that sounds good. It's like spam musubi, shoyu chicken, Polynesian salad, mac salad, sticky rice, they've got a whole pig, like, garlic shrimp, you got a Mai Tai, there was musicians playing ukuleles and singing they're, doing hula dances. Man, my kids were front and center. Um, Mia was trying to join in most of the dancing, but it was like the perfect. cure for today.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:love it. your trip was amazing, but before you got to Hawaii, you spent time as a family for the first time at Disneyland, and that's what we're going to talk about in this episode there's so much on this trip that the next episode is going to be, dedicated to Aulani and the island of Oahu. I want to focus on Disneyland in Anaheim, but I want to remind folks, if you have not listened to last week's episode, Julie and I discussed why travel could make the best holiday gift. And give you suggestions on how to do that.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:And I just want to toss this out there that if you haven't visited our new Facebook page, All Things Travel Podcast, head over there, and follow the page. That's where I'll be posting some awesome pictures from these
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Yes, especially these couple of weeks, there's going to be some great pictures of your family. You've already posted a few of your super cute niddles. I'm excited to see more. So first, Julie, just give us a quick overview of the trip. Cause we haven't talked about this for several weeks.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:yeah, so this was a trip that we have always been planning for my husband and my 10 year wedding anniversary. We always planned to go to Aulani and, a couple months after we had the idea to go to Aulani, it was always looped in. We're going to go to Disneyland on the way.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Which is a common thing for people to do. Disney
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah, because remember, I'm from the East Coast, so I don't go that direction ever. this was also my first time in California, other than a layover. So, just a lot of firsts for us, out of our comfort zone a little bit. But also, it was very fun. So. We planned, to do this. And, of course, now we have a five year old, a three year old, and a one year old that we were bringing with us. Lots of logistics, lots of things to think about. we arrived in Disneyland on a Saturday. We just hung out that day. I'll go into details of what we did And then we had three full park days. We had a three day park hopper ticket. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in a room that overlooked the pool, the day after our three park days, we flew to Hawaii.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Let's start by talking about the travel. You said this is your first time to California. I am assuming it's the first time for everybody. And that's a pretty hefty, trip.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:I thought it was going to be six hours. It was a little bit less, like five and a half ish. Our flight was early, we left Maryland at, I don't know, it was early, 8. 30 or something, And, obviously getting three kids up and out the door at that time is not pleasant. Um, but we had everything packed from the night before. I'm really big on each kid has their own book bag and they pack their own book bag. I have a bunch of activities they can choose from to put in their book bags, and they get to bring their tablets. Are only for airplanes. They never get them at any other
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:remember that as a tip you've given in the past and that's really a smart idea.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah, i'm not a tablet person. My kids don't play on tablets at home ever. It's only when we're on flights So it's something that will definitely occupy them on the flight But before they get their tablet, they're usually playing with all these other fidgety things and I always get a couple new fidgety things that they're excited about Um, this was the first trip that we were bringing our triple stroller
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Oh
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:let We have a double Zoe stroller, which in the world of young moms is like one of the best travel strollers because it's super light. The double is 17 pounds, which is insanely light. And you can get a triple attachment. So I did that because the last time we went to Disney. In Florida, we took two strollers and it was unpleasant. Did that stroller, it's easier to just have a seat for everybody at their age. Even though that five year old, I'm not going to be using this stroller at home. Going through the airport, going through the parks, it's easier to have everyone contained in one space. So they've each got a seat, they've each got their backpacks with their stuff in it. Steven and I have another backpack of things that, we're hopeful that maybe we'll get to listen to a song on the flight. I don't
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I completely zone out. I listen to books on audio. I'll watch movies that I
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Oh, what's that like?
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:we have such different experiences. I put my noise canceling headphones in, I'm in my own world. And you're just not living that right now. Are you?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah. And then I have a whole other bag full of things to entertain my one year old. This was the first time we've brought our car seat on a flight. I under the age of two, you don't have to buy a seat for your infant. Some people buy a seat and bring their car seat every time. This is the first time we have ever brought it. So we've got a triple stroller. All of our luggage, the car seat, and this massive car seat bag, we looked ridiculous in the airport. But, we were gonna be gone for two weeks, we had a lot of stuff!
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:You just do it. we're taking this vacation and we've got to deal with logistics of all these things. And, but at the end of the day, we're going to take this vacation as a family. I think that's great that you did that. at one point you're like, do we really even want to do this? you and Steven committed to it And the reactions were this was one of our best trips ever. I'm so glad that you did this.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah there was a lot of logistical planning to make this trip. successful. One of us is sitting with two children and one of us is sitting with a one year old. Fortunately, the very nice man was sitting in the other seat on that row. what a lovely experience for six hours on a plane.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:So you get to L. A. and how do you get to Disneyland? Do you rent a car? Do you take Uber? Do you take the shuttle service? What did you do?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:We had booked Carmel Carmel shuttle they were timely. It wasn't an issue. It's like a sprinter van We shared with one other family that was going to a hotel nearby We were dropped off first at Disneyland Hotel. The ride was definitely longer than I was anticipating
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:short ride.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:No, like Disney World when you're driving there it feels like it's gonna be really far and then next thing, you're passing under the Welcome to Old Disney World sign. It didn't feel like that with Disneyland,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:first impressions. What did you think when you're like we're in the middle of a neighborhood and it says we're gonna be there in one minute
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:yeah, that was super weird, because I was tracking it on my phone on Waze, my kids were all, falling asleep, which is fine, this is another fun fact about the plane. They fell asleep as the wheels hit the ground. I kid you not. As the wheels hit the ground, so the weird thing about arriving is that it is like in the middle of the neighborhood, we're driving and then we just stop and they let us out on the curb and I'm like, oh, there's Disneyland Like, this is weird. But also cool to think about the history of the hotel and of Disneyland and just getting to see that firsthand was So cool. We walked into the hotel and I was just like, oh, such a dream.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:you left Maryland wheN?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Our flight was around 8, 830,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:And what time did you get to Disneyland? Anaheim time. Do you remember
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:30 ish one o'clock at the one o'clock latest I remember we were going straight for
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:So half of a day, you've got lunch coming up. I know you're going to explore the resort. You're going to explore downtown Disney. Give me your family's first impressions. Cause I know Julie, you love Disney history. And guess is you're just like, Oh my gosh, I am here.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah, that just felt so surreal and like everything about the hotel. We were just like, Oh my gosh, we had watched very brief walkthroughs Um, I don't like to know everything about it. I like to, experience it for the first time. So our room wasn't ready. So we just walked around. We got lunch at Tangaroa Terrace and I was just so pumped to go there. I love Hawaiian food. It's that style of food. It's just like Captain Cook's basically at the Polynesian. it's my vibe. And I was like, this is my perfect place. We're at the Disneyland hotel, but the food is the Polynesian. Phenomenal. and I feel like the whole time we were there, we were just, thinking about the history of the hotel and how cool it was, to just be there. I kept thinking back to, I know that on opening day of the hotel, the majority of the rooms were not even ready. They were storing luggage inside of rooms that weren't ready yet. And it was just madness. since our room wasn't ready and we didn't really want to, get into our swimsuits we walked over to Downtown Disney
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:And for folks that have not been and are thinking of Walt Disney World, downtown Disney is essentially a street that connects several of the resorts to the gates of the park. you can walk down that street in, I don't know, 15 minutes. Tell me about your first impressions of downtown Disney.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:The first thing is the Lego store. My husband is a massive Lego nerd. My kids love Legos and it was really fun to see different Legos because the Lego store is at Disney Springs in Florida. We don't go to Disney Springs a lot. For the logistical reason that it's out of the way, right? here, it was so accessible. It was right there. Then there was like a monorail stop. There was so much going on. My kids, I have videos of them. they were doing a celebration of Encanto. So there's topiaries for Encanto. They're playing that style of music. There's dancing. There's crafts going on. It was just very chill.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:for the Disney world person, Disneyland just has a more relaxed feeling overall. It just feels good. that's the best way I can describe it, which I know is not very descriptive, but it just feels good to be there.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah, so our room was ready pretty soon after we walked around the Lego store and To walk back to the Disneyland Hotel is like two minutes. So we did that. I had requested to be in the Fantasyland Tower because that's where the main lobby is. And I had heard that sometimes when you come down there's characters there,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Okay.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:So that's why we had to wait for our room a little bit because I wanted To honor that request, you go into the room is beautiful. We were on a high floor to have a good view. They've got the fiber optic fireworks on the headboards. it felt big for what it was. Like the two queen beds, but then also Mia is still in a pack and play. And there was plenty of space. So we spent some time in the room, you just getting acclimated a little bit and we are, starting to struggle a little with the time change here. so
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:will probably be a common theme over the next couple episodes.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:we decided, let's go to the pool for a little bit. I totally forgot that when they built the new DVC Tower at Disneyland Hotel, they added another pool over there that has the cutest Steamboat Willie splash pad area. So that's where we went and It was so sweet. My kids loved it. There wasn't a lot of climbing structure So it's not like a water playground. is just a splash pad I wish they had a little bit more than that for my kids ages But you know as I got older the other pools would have been fine It's just that they were deeper And i'm just not a fan of being in a pool with three small children
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:great that they have a variety, right?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:the big monorail slide, we really wanted to do that. We just never got the opportunity, but just, literally picture perfect. I have so many pictures of just that view, and it's just so iconic. I just love it. we went back to Disney Springs later that night, we had looked at a bunch of menus ahead of time, decided we didn't want to do a reservation because we weren't sure how we'd be. But we still wanted to go back and check it out you had suggested walk to where the park is so you get a little bit of an idea of what the next morning will be like. So we went down to Black Tap Craft Burgers and Shakes and man, this,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:don't they?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:we didn't even finish It was a cookie batter flavored Milkshake with an entire piece of cake on top and I think my children did not even know what to do When it arrived at the table, I will say their burgers were Phenomenal and there was a line to get in but it did not take long to get our food would highly recommend it. It was lovely and far enough into downtown Disney that you get to walk around and see like enough. We walked a good bit past that to get a sense of where the park entrance would be but we didn't walk all the way to the park entrance that night because we were so tired. it was like 5 30 California time maybe even 6. 30 California time, which would have been 9. 30 our time. Our kids are usually all in bed by then. we were done.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:And you bring up a good point with your dinner that night, just like Disney Springs, downtown Disney Have some really good options that you need reservations for, and they have really good quick service options that you don't need reservations for. for those people that are going out seeing Disneyland for the first time, you still have that opportunity in downtown Disney.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:yeah, there was food Everywhere and it was definitely a decision to figure out where we were gonna go But at the end of the day we were like, I don't want a reservation. It's not worth it
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Julie. The next day, the day you've been waiting for years, your
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Man,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:visited Disneyland. Tell us about that first day.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Ryan you're hyping this up and I'm having heart palpitations with excitement because it was everything we wanted it to be. I knew that castle was going to be small. My kids knew the castle was going to be small because of the videos that I had showed them. And yeah, it was like, I remember taking a picture and you can't even see the castle. It's in a fog at the end of the road. we're walking in and my husband and I just look at each other like, Oh my God, we're in Disneyland, I can't believe we made it here it was so lovely. we got there at early entry. The one thing I don't like is for Disneyland's lightning lane system, you have to book that after you enter the park, once you scan in. So it takes away for the first time visitor you're like, oh disneyland and then you're like, hold on I gotta book my thing, Going into the trip, like I said, I had to use the unofficial guide. I had to use Ryan's quote unquote expert knowledge
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:whoa, quote, unquote, let's take those quotes off, please.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:I'd also use the actual touring plans website. I have a subscription to touring plans. I love using their resources for many different things, including the room request and the reservation finder, but I've never used their full custom touring plans before because I'm so familiar with Walt Disney World. for Disneyland, I started getting a little panicky and made our custom touring plans. We were being gracious with ourselves and thinking, okay, day one, we just want to do Phantasyland and Toontown. We were not going to go to Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at all on the trip because it's the exact same as Walt Disney World.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:and we talked about that beforehand, what's different, what's the same, how do you want to handle that on your first trip? I always tell
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:yeah,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:if there's not a must do that's also at Disneyland or vice versa, if you're visiting Walt Disney World, if you're a Disneyland person, try to focus on what's different, I think you really maximize that time of feeling like you're at a different, but similar park.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:And being able to be immersed in where you are and not Jumping right to ride. even though, and again, going back to the 1st impressions, right? We knew where we were going, but also not I knew fantasy land was like, back behind the castle, but also not 100 percent sure where the ride was that we were going to. So it was such a strange feeling. I know that you've talked about that before, too. We were in awe, walking down Main Street and back behind the castle. We were headed towards some of the dark rides in Fantasyland first, because they don't take Lightning Lanes, and I'll talk more about that later. um, the first Lightning Lane we booked was for the Matterhorn, We knew we were going to ride or switch to Matterhorn and that it would be fairly easy because of all the kids rides in the area We didn't quite realize how lovely that was until you're standing there and you can Touch Alice in Wonderland with one hand, touch the teacups with the next hand, right next door is the carousel, and then there's Dumbo, and the Matterhorn is just right behind you. It was crazy to me. I remember I kept wanting to video, how close everything was, and you we wanted to do Alice in Wonderland first, because that's not at Walt Disney World, and you come to it first when you're walking into Fantasyland. I loved it. I thought it was the cutest thing. You could so tell it was such an old ride. My kids were probably terrified. Then we switched off on the Matterhorn. Steven took the kids on the teacups. I went on the Matterhorn. I don't know what I expected for the Matterhorn because like I said, I don't like to watch ride videos really, but what an experience. I thought it would be number one, a lot faster and I didn't think it would be smooth, but I didn't think I was going to feel like I was falling off of a thing the whole It was so rickety. And also, the Yeti was pretty intense in there. I was also not prepared for that. Because, and I may have asked you, would Eliana do the Matterhorn? I can't remember. And I'm really glad I did not get her a lightning link for it. She would have not written anything else that day. We spent the morning on that side of Fantasyland doing, Dumbo, Teacups, Alice in Wonderland, The Matterhorn. Then we went back to Toontown, and we were so excited for Toontown. I remember Toontown when it was in Walt Disney World. Such great memories. Such a sweet little area. I was a little surprised that it was a little smaller than what I thought, but again, that's like how
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:feels like you're on a soundstage when you're back in Toontown,
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yes, And I'm sure that's on purpose, but I don't remember the Toontown and Disney World being like that. then again, I was also like four years old, so things probably felt a little different. We did the Roger Rabbit ride back there. Super interesting for my kids, but I grew up with two older brothers, and that was a movie we watched all the time. I don't know if anyone remembers, there used to be a Roger Rabbit little area in Hollywood
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:do remember that.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:we have pictures pretending to hold up the steamroller. So I enjoyed that ride for the nostalgia of it. Mickey we actually let the kids spend a lot of time in Centennial Park, which I was also really looking forward to. I will post some pictures because I thought that was just such an awesome area, and I wish the parks had more areas like that. It's a massive climbing and play structure, and it was so much fun for them. Um, that was the majority of our morning. we grabbed some corndogs. My kids loved the corndogs. We went back to the hotel, took a break, did the pool again, and just relaxed a little bit. then went back to Disneyland again for dinner. So we had a phantasmic dining package booked at Riverbell We went to dinner at Riverbell Terrace, which I loved I got the burnt ends pasta and it was phenomenal. Steven didn't love his dinner. I think he made a poor choice. He got mahi. And I'm just like, this isn't really the place for mahi. We didn't end up going to Fantasmic because it just wasn't worth it to have the kids melting
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I get
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:And we were all so tired. I don't even remember if we did rides. we also did Indiana Jones point this day.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:One of my favorite things at Disneyland.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah, we were so excited. it was so easy for us to switch because things were so close together that it was very easy to take the kids elsewhere, like right next door. Indiana Jones. It was And I remember riding that ride knowing it's the same track as Dinosaur, so much more expansive.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:yes, absolutely. I feel like dinosaur is just, let's move fast in the dark and jerk around Indiana Jones does not feel like that at all. It just feels like a completely different ride.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:It was amazing, and I'm so glad that we found time to do that ride. It was so much fun.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Hey, before we get to the next couple of days, I want to talk about where in the world is all things travel. when I went back and looked at some new places this week, we have Taylor's South Carolina that popped up. Taylors is a suburb of Greenville, South Carolina, and looks like just a beautiful little town. And I always like to highlight these small towns. Taylor's has a variety of different things that you can do, but I think this is a fun place, Julie, that we have not talked about on this show. And I could totally see you going here. Taylors has what they call the mad smash, and it's a rage room. Have you ever been to one of these?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:It sounds amazing.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:you first put on some safety gear, pick your breakables and choose your weapon, then you're ready to connect a Bluetooth speaker to play your favorite tunes. You get your smash on smash things like a variety of bottles, windows, dishes, electronics, and even a car. So I know it's not necessarily Taylor's specific, but if we're going all the way to Taylor's, I could see you totally doing this.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:this was created by a stay at home mom.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I am all excited to go to Taylor's, have some Southern hospitality, meet our listener, and I would love for them to reach out to us on email or via the Facebook group, I want to send a little thank you gift for being featured on the show. Thank you so much for listening to All Things Travel. Alright, so day two of your trip, Julie, is Disney's California Adventure. Now you were all nostalgic about Disney land. What were your initial thoughts before you went to Disney's California adventure?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:I feel like I was a little unsure that there would be enough for us and the kids to do. and I remembered you telling me it's gonna feel like Hollywood studios, Um,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:still stand by that.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:yeah, I can see that, but it just feels like such a mismatch, but it's so much fun. Like, Every Every area is so different from the other areas. But we had a blast and there was a couple things here We were really looking forward to so we were just super excited. we went at early entry and we Went straight to avengers it was amazing. We had been talking up the spidey ride like crazy to the kids Really My kids are the type that should think this ride is a great time, but they're like, oh, my God, it's loud. And I'm like, you are louder than the ride, but okay. the first time we went on it, they were absolutely terrified. We went on it multiple times per their request and. Then they really loved it. if you haven't been on it, it's a little bit similar to Toy Story that you have, it's like a shooting target game, but you don't have an actual thing that you're shooting. You're using your arms to flip webs, which is something we do around our house anyways. Um, My kids are Spidey fanatics. it was such a fun time. And I love Tom Holland, so I loved the pre show. It was so fun. I love, the humor in there. And, Avengers Campus just feels so cool. The music is going. It's just so fun. Ugh.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:One of the things I really liked about Avengers Campus going for the first time is, I felt like there were a lot of character meet and greets, It was a really neat way to interact with the Marvel characters. Totally.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Agreed. And going into it, you could look at a map and be like, Oh, there's two rides here. We're gonna be in and out. But, look at the times of the shows, add those to your list. I mean, we did Web Slingers, we walked through the stores, we did Ride or Swap for Guardians of the Galaxy, which I loved. It was different than what I was expecting, but it was a lot of fun. Tower of Terror is one of my top favorite rides, so it was a little bit of an adjustment for
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:it's different, it's a different ride. So you can't really compare the two. I don't think.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. we got the big pretzel at PIM. At the Pim Kitchen. Oh, it was delicious and it was a great place. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which is pretty unusual for some of the restaurants. We didn't get breakfast, but it looked
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I had breakfast and lunch there on my trip and both meals were phenomenal. I think we even stopped there for just snacks. for my family. It was probably the biggest hit food wise.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:I agree. everything we ate there was really good. I wish that they had more seating. it wasn't even a really crowded day. DCA, similar to Hollywood Studios, the layout is so strange to me. I I feel like I did figure out DCA quicker than I can figure out Hollywood Studios layout, even though I've been there a thousand times. But it's just not like a logical layout. So, At the back of Avengers Campus, you can loop around and go into Hollywoodland, and we wanted to do Monsters, Inc. ride. My son loves Monsters, Inc. We watch that movie all the time. So they were very excited for that. They loved that ride. It was so cute. It's Yeah, it's just super cute. So we went back to Avengers Campus because it was mid morning and some the shows were starting. we watched the Amazing Spider Man show. Awesome. The kids were amazed. it looks like he's flying in the sky. It's done so well. I wish we had time to meet him, but he doesn't meet directly after the shows, and they told me that he would start meeting after 4 p. m., and that wasn't really true. It was just a little confusing about when he was available. So, we never got to meet him. Wish we did. I guess we have to go back. We also watched, I can't think of the name of it, there's another show, event, there's a show with more Avengers, like Black Widow, Captain America is in it, we we watched shows with the women from Wakanda, we met Ms. Marvel, all those character things and it. was so fun. while Steven wrote Guardians of the Galaxy, the children had Spider Man bubble wands that entertained them for a good 30 minutes. Highly recommend the bubble wand. after we did Avengers and Hollywoodland, which there wasn't really much else in Hollywoodland, a couple shows, but my kids weren't really into that. There was a couple characters there we saw. We walked back up to Pixar Pier, which I was very much looking forward to. You There's nothing like that in Walt Disney World, I don't think. Again, we did Rider Swap on the Incredicoaster, which I remember I got off and I messaged, our group and said, I think that's my favorite ride because it was so much fun. I loved, the character theming throughout all the tunnels and it was just so fun. Um, we did Toy Story Mania, even though we have it at home. The kids love it, so we still did it. And then I took the kids on the little carousel thing. So it was me and three children on the carousel. lovely experience, but they had a great time.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:mysteriously found himself a beer
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:no, he was on the Incredicoaster, so Because we had switched So we did all that. We walked over to, Paradise Gardens, Which is where some of those older rides are. maybe they're not older, but they feel like they're older. Like Silly Symphony Swings, the Jellyfish, the Golden Zephyr. The thing I liked about these is that you can see what they are. So my kids would be like, I don't want to do that. I was like, that's fine. I don't need to get on that. We did not get on like the big Ferris wheel because it terrified my children. And honestly, it terrified me a Those skarts swing
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:It was more intense than I thought it could be, if you are unsure about it.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:So that's called the pixar pal around and I kept getting the pixar pal around Confused with the swings and the inside out emotional whirlwinds like they were all confusing to me, but they're all rides that we have at our boardwalk or local theme parks we really just skipped those they weren't really disney rides, They were rides with a disney overlay and we weren't really into that we did do the Zephyr. My children, my older two, were for some reason very much wanting to get on the Golden Zephyr, which is like a very slow version of the Astro Orbiter. So we did that a couple times because wait times were very low, I'll talk more about those later. What else did we do that day? We went to the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Did you guys ever go over there?
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:No, but I saw that because we were staying at, Grand California.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:it's right outside the Grand Cow entrance. Redwood,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:my room.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:oh, that's cool. So Redwood Creek Challenge Trail is like a big adventure park almost, like big climbing ropes, slides, obstacles, stuff like that. my kids probably should have been a little bit older for it, but it was still a good spot for them to run around. Mia kept trying to Walk across the rope bridges, which was not fun Her feet kept getting stuck. We lost shoes lots of times, but the older two loves it. So We did that we were just killing a little bit of time before we went to dinner At some point my husband took the kids on the Little Mermaid ride It's the exact same as it is in Disney World But they wanted to go on it. And then finally, we got to go to dinner at Lamplight Lounge, which may have been the best atmosphere
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I love Lamplight Lounge.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Food was delicious. It's like you're sitting out on the water and you can see the pier behind you. It is so chill. We really enjoyed it. after dinner, we went back to the hotel and got ready for bed because we were so
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:world of color phantasmic is all really good stuff. But, like you've said, this was our trip with small kids and my guest is at the end of this episode, we're going to talk about future trips with older kids. you're going to see those things.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:absolutely.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:So you had a third park day that you called a bonus day. talk to us about that, because I know there were things you intentionally did not do the first couple days so that you could do it on this third day and spread things out.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Yeah. That was our intention so we could go at a slower pace and truly enjoy certain areas to a fuller extent we could have those times where the kids are just running around with bubble wands be much more relaxed. we wanted to start our third day at California Adventure because I wanted to rope drop Avengers and Cars Land. There was not an early entry that day. So it was a pure rope drop. You get there and everyone is waiting at the rope. Comical because everyone that's going to Cars Land is running back to Radiator Springs Racers and we are going to Maters where there is No one. But I will tell you, it is such a good ride. Did you do it when you were there?
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I don't remember if we did or not.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:It's the same ride system as Alien Swirling Saucers, but it feels a million times better. I don't know if it's because it's a more open atmosphere, the music is different, it feels like it might be a little bit longer, I don't know. We rode that ride three or four times in a row, and the joy emanating from my children It was such a fun ride.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:so I love Cars Land and obviously Cars Land is considered by a lot of folks as some of the best theme Disney lands. So tell me your thoughts.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:It was so well done. I was so much more impressed than I thought. Because my kids are not super into cars. They like the movie, but it's not something we are, obsessed with they were so excited to go to Cars Land. They had the best time. I loved that because everyone went to Radiator Springs Racers. we could ride the kid rides over and over again. in Disney World, even if you're not rope dropping a headlining ride, you still can't really ride it over and over again. That still doesn't happen. I, so I really appreciated just that spontaneity that it gave us and it was just so fun. Then we went to Luigi's Rollickin Roadsters Looks very chill, Was a little intense once you got in the car. So much fun. We did not realize that both Mater's and Luigi's rides had a height minimum of 32 inches. So we got to find out that Mia is just 32 inches, but thankfully she could go on it. But man, what an experience trying to measure an 18 month old and how tall they are. Whew, took four people.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Ha.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:she just wouldn't stand tall or she'd buckle her legs or go up on her tippy toes. so we didn't rope drop Radiator Springs Racers because we had bought Lightning Lanes for it. I'm just such a big fan of that's just not worth my time. Instead of waiting in line all that time, we got to ride three times and ride Luigi's. in the same amount of in line, right? we did ride or switch it. I took my oldest, and then Stephen went with Luca, and Mia did not go on that ride. It is so much better than anyone could have prepared you for. I don't watch any ride videos. I had no idea to expect that we were going to be basically going into the Cars movie on the inside there. It makes Test Track look and I compared it to Test Track because they're similar It's not the same track. So cool. Kids loved it, which, if I took them on Test Track, they're terrified. so much fun, and I wish we could have done that ride. another time. it just didn't happen. We hung out there for a while. The photographers there were awesome taking pictures of, us. There weren't lines really for PhotoPass like there is in Disney World. We made our way over to Avengers Campus. We did Web Slingers again. We did Monsters Inc. again. We ended up doing Web Slingers a total of, three or four times on this trip. Just
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:found what everybody liked, and maximized your time there.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:And again, that's not something you can do in Walt Disney World. You can't just be, like, What do you want to go on again? You can, but it's like a time commitment to go do that, right? It didn't feel like that here. At one point, the webslinger's wait was, like, all day 15 minutes. it's not like Walt Disney World in that sense, at least not on the days we were there. So after that, we walked over to Grand California. Like you mentioned, you can walk right into DCA from the Grand Californian Resort. And we had brunch reservations at Storyteller's Cafe, which is a character meal. And that's why we did that. It's Mickey, Minnie, Pippendale, and Pluto. The food was fine. It was brunch. I felt like I was at Chef Mickey's. It was chaos. Pure chaos. I don't know that I would do it again. I'm glad that we did it. I don't know that I would do it again because it just felt so
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I have clients who have loved it, and I have clients who wanted to do it because it was a character meal and felt the same way you did.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:they don't have, character meals in the parks like Disney World Have Storyteller's Cafe or Goofy's Kitchen, and even though Goofy's Kitchen is in Disneyland Hotel and may have made more sense for us, um, logistically, the menu at Storyteller's Cafe seemed better and I wanted to see the Grand Californian. Don't think I would do it on the next trip because it was just pure chaos in there. Good food though. We all liked the food. we went straight from there into Disneyland because we had that park hopper. We We wanted to do Tomorrowland. We hadn't even stepped foot in Tomorrowland yet. We did Space Mountain. Loved it. Loved that it was a two seater. So smooth. Such a lovely ride.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:different than at Walt Disney World.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:We then also did the Finding Nemo ride, the submarine voyage, and I really liked that
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:And
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:almost didn't do it,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:maintenance when I was there. So I was not able to do it.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Ugh, no, it, we almost didn't do it because it was like a 30 minute standby wait and it's not on Lightning Lane. I ended up waiting in line, me and three children, while Steven was riding Space Mountain, It was a bit of a brutal wait just because it was me and these three minions. But it was such a sweet ride. It was such a sweet ride. And there was women in line behind me that were older they were talking about what Tomorrowland used to look like when they were teens and they would come to Disneyland and there would be performers on stage different the atmosphere It was so neat to hear that perspective. So this was okay, any last rides anybody wants to do? I really wanted to do Storybook land canal boats. So we did that we had done all the dark rides earlier in the week. After we did storybook land canal boats. We were all just like we were dragging We were done. So we went back to the hotel. I think we got tangaroa terrace probably for dinner. Chilled we had a pack we had to leave the hotel like I think our shuttle back was like 4. 45 in the
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Cause you've got a whole other vacation happening after
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Then we were heading off to Hawaii,
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:So thoughts about logistics, number of days. Was that right for your family? Did you feel like that's good for a Disneyland vacation? I think I had three days as well, and that felt pretty good.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:It felt good, but it's hard with the time change
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I agree with that.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:especially with the little kids, this is like one of my biggest travel tips I always give to families traveling with kids give them grace. Don't expect them to go through this whole day of excitement and not melt down. my heart goes out to these kids that I see in the parks that like, the parents are just, Not giving them grace and expecting them to last the whole day. I am just not one to push that. if people are getting tired, we're going back to the room because it's not going to be enjoyable for anybody. So, that meant that we missed, Fantasmic. It meant that we, maybe didn't get to ride as many rides a second time as we wanted to, but that was the best decision for us I wish we would have had one more day, If we were not flying to Hawaii, we probably would have been taking a later flight home that day and we could have maximized that third day a little more, because I would have liked a little more time.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Let's talk about some of your biggest tips and takeaways. What are the things that you would suggest to folks, or things that you're really thinking about from this drip, the Disneyland portion?
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:So I would say this, what I did going into it was we had a list of must do attractions and a list of if we have time, attractions. And I would definitely make that list, especially if you're a frequent Walt Disney World visitor. It'll make navigating the park a lot easier. It'll take the stress off of you of having to feel like you need to do everything because, you really don't need to do Peter Pan. It's the exact same as Walt Disney World. You don't need to do Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. It's the exact same as Walt Disney World. that, Took a lot of pressure off of us and was really enjoyable. One thing I didn't quite realize was a lot of those old nostalgic rides in Disneyland do not have lightning lane. And it is a lot more rides that don't have lightning lane compared to Walt Disney World. So if you want to ride those nostalgic dark rides, Pinocchio, Snow White, Mr. Toad, do it at early entry because the lines get long. However, long for Disneyland is like 35 minutes. It's not like Disney World, 85 minute Peter Pan.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Now they definitely have some rides that are longer, but the majority are much shorter compared to Walt Disney World.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:they are, but when you can use your lightning wings to go on so many things, it's frustrating that those rides don't have it, and I just didn't quite realize that. So yeah, have your must do list, go to those dark rides first. The big lands rope drop. I liked that. We did avengers campus that way We had our whole morning to focus on avengers campus one day and then rope dropped cars land the next day So we had a whole morning to focus on that didn't feel like we had to rush around.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:this sounds like an amazing trip for you as a Disney adult, loving the nostalgia and for your kids experiencing something for the first time.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:the kids were just like in heaven They loved it so much We We packed up and headed to the airport to go to Hawaii being like, wow, this was amazing.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:That's great.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:And then we got to Hawaii.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:as we wrap up, future plans for your family to go to Disneyland? I think I know the answer.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Absolutely. I might like it a little more than Disney World.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:Ooh. Them's fightin words, Julie.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:I think in my season of life, Disneyland is just so much easier.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:I get that.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:I can push my triple stroller right down downtown Disney and into the parks. No transportation needed. But I do remember I said to our other travel colleague and my friend Lauren at one point, it's great that you can walk to the park from the resort. However, that also means you have to walk to the park from the
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:With that triple
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:Like you're tired Yeah, exactly. You're tired at the end of the day. However, you are back very soon. I think every single person we walked past gave us a second look and said something about our stroller.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:You want to plan a trip to an amazing destination like Disneyland, but you don't know how to get started? As your travel advisor, we work with you to create a customized itinerary for your vacation and take the stress of planning away so you can focus on the fun and creating memories. You can reach out to me at ryan at creatingmagicvacations. com.
j_1_10-20-2024_194611:you can reach me at Julie at CreatingMagicVacations. com.
ryan_2_10-20-2024_194611:look forward to talking to you next week on all things travel because we're not done with Julie's vacation. We're going to talk all about the second half where she visits Aulani, a Disney resort and spa on the island of Oahu.
