My family went to Disneyland... and I'm still pinching myself. Going to Disneyland was something that I never truly thought I'd ever experience with my parents. I remember being so excited to show Jeremy everything back in December of 2017. I figured that was as good as it was gonna get. Mom would never fly out to California... right?
Wrong. Ever since I found out that we all were going... I could barely contain my sheer excitement. I was incredibly excited for this trip... which was probably pretty obvious since I couldn't stop talking about it here on my blog. I also created an insanely long Disneyland Bucket List that I had to separate into categories since it was so long. (In my defense, it also got extra long due to the Halloween season.)
Today, I wanted to see how we did with that bucket list. I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but the most important part of this trip was that Mom and Dad enjoyed it... which I can say with 100% certainty that they did. Plus, none of us were prepared for the onslaught of a rouge California heat wave so we did pretty good considering the circumstances! So let's dive into these results!
DISNEYLAND FOOD
1.) Tigger Tail
I didn't eat one of these during our trip. But I did bring one home to enjoy!!!
2.) Dole Whip
This didn't sound appealing to me the entire trip... I was too hot and it was too sweet.
3.) Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich
I had one of these the first day we were at Disneyland and it was perfection!
4.) Mickey Mouse Cake Pop
I'm a little bummed out that I forgot about my cake pop. I'll get one next time!
5.) Forky Cake Pop
We didn't even make it to Pixar Pier this trip... more about that later.
6.) Churros
I didn't have my own churro, but Eliot made sure I had a few bites from all of his!
7.) Alien Macrons
Let's be real... this is truly the only thing I had to eat at Disneyland. So delicious and so cute!!! He was even dressed up as a Vampire for Halloween!
8.) Mint Julep and Mickey Beignets
We were near the Mint Julep Bar a few times but I was never hungry when we were.
9.) Pixar Pier Parfait
Again, we didn't go to Pixar Pier this time.
10.) Have Ice Cream in Souvenir Bowl (Mickey Sink, Minnie Sink, or Ear Hat)
This also did not sound appetizing to me... I really just want the darn dishes!
11.) Bring Home Candy Apples
I did have Eliot buy two Minnie Mouse Witch candy apples to bring home! Yum!
12.) Bring Mickey Sourdough Bread Home
We never made it back to California Adventure to grab one of these.
DISNEYLAND HALLOWEEN FOOD
13.) Halloween Cake (French Market Restaurant)
It looked so good in the photos... but we weren't able to get one. I probably wouldn't have wanted to get it anyways since I wasn't eating much this trip.
14.) Blood Orange Slush (Galactic Grill)
Eliot and I were going to split one of these but we never got one.
15.) Pumpkin-Spiced Mickey Shaped Beignets (Mint Julep Bar)
This sounds like fall and I'm sure they are wonderful.
16.) Pumpkin Spice Churro (Tomorrowland Churro Cart, Buena Vista Cart)
I was definitely intrigued by this concept.
17.) Fruity Sugar Churro (Cozy Cone)
I'm sure Eliot would have loved this sweet treat!
18.) Hard Apple Float (Clarabelle’s Hand-Scooped Ice Cream)
Not gonna lie... I'm planning to make one of these for myself at home.
19.) Blue Rum Cocktail (Hollywood Lounge)
This looked delicious... but the last thing I needed was alcohol when I was already extremely dehydrated from how hot it was in that heatwave.
20.) Jack-Jack Shortbread Cookie (Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums)
Didn't happen, but Eliot would have loved these!
21.) Vampire Mickey Shaped Sourdough Bread (Mortimer’s Market)
I'm pretty bummed that I never even saw what this looked like. Boo hiss.
22.) Minnie Witch Shake (Schmoozies!)
I saw a girl with one of these and it was really cute!
SHOPPING IN DOWNTOWN DISNEY
23.) Dress Shop
I'm a little bummed I didn't get here, but one of the girls in my Facebook group posted a photo and they didn't have much there anyways.
24.) Wonderground
I'm very bummed we didn't get here... but my wallet is incredibly relieved.
25.) Disney Home Store
Again, me sad. Wallet very happy.
26.) World of Disney
I would have loved to go here too... but we just didn't have time with everything else.
27.) The Lego Store
Eliot, Jeremy and I did make it to the Lego Store. The full Downtown Disney story is that we went one night... but everything closed early so we literally were only able to go to this one store before everything shut down. (No exaggeration... we were there for so little time that the parking attendant literally just let us through for free.)
28.) Marceline’s Confectionary
Also didn't get here... but still got my treats!
SHOPPING IN CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
29.) Knick’s Knacks (Pixar Store)
Ok... I'll go into the Pixar Pier stuff more now. Basically, it was so darn hot while we were in California (almost 100°) that none of us had any desire to walk the entire pier area. The only two rides over there we were going to go on were Toy Story (which Mom didn't want to go on it anyways) and the Incredicoaster- which only Eliot wanted to go on. Since Eliot and I had already done those rides in March, we decided it was too hot out and not worth it. But we did get to enjoy the view of the pier though!
30.) Off the Page (The Art Store)
My parents both got a big kick out of this store. Mom claims that if she'd known about Disney artwork more when they built their house, they would have gotten some. I told her Eliot and I have quite a bit... she'll be really surprised once we get it all hung up!
31.) Bing Bong’s Sweet Stuff
No Pixar Pier, no Bing Bong's Sweet Stuff, no Forky cake pop.
32.) Elias and Company
We did check this store out quite a bit. Plus, the air conditioning was fabulous!
SHOPPING IN DISNEYLAND
33.) Emporium
I took everyone to the Emporium on our first day at Disneyland. The air conditioning was nice and it was fairly quiet since it was earlier in the day. Plus, it was the perfect place to chill while Eliot got his disability access pass all set up at City Hall.
34.) Disneyana (The Art Store)
Eliot and I love this store so we made sure to pop in a few times!
35.) Plaza Point (Christmas Store)
I also took Mom, Dad and Jeremy over to the clothing section of this store. I didn't make it into the home and Christmas sections, but they went there our last day so Mom could get her Christmas ornament. (I was buying my jewelry across the street.)
PHOTOS
36.) Photos with the Castle
We were able to take a few photos with the castle!
37.) Photos of the Castle
I actually didn't take many this trip, but Eliot got some great nighttime photos!
38.) Family Photos in Front of the Castle
A family photo was a must-do and this mission was achieved! We also got photos with my family on our last day there. (But I haven't downloaded them from Photopass yet!)
39.) Family Photos in California Adventure
We didn't take any PhotoPass photos, but a magical cast member offered to take a photo of us after we watched World of Color. (More on that story below...)
40.) Donkeys and Little Man of Disneyland’s House
We didn't get to swing by our little friend's house this trip. But I waved to him!
41.) Photos of HEH Products
We did bring a few ears, but it was too hot and I didn't want to bother with photos.
42.) Photos with Characters
The only character we got a photo with during this trip was Stitch while we were at the Disney Rewards Visa booth in California Adventure, but it counts! Honestly, it was so hot that the characters weren't out like they usually are.
LANDS AND ATTRACTIONS
43.) Visit Animation Academy
This is truly the only thing that I'm sad we didn't get to do. It would have been air conditioned and it's my favorite place to sit back and relax while visiting the California Adventure park. I'm sure my Mom would have loved it too.
44.) Visit Avengers Campus
Jeremy really enjoyed this. We weren't in the land very long, but I know he got a kick out of seeing everything. We didn't go into the land at night and it's really cool lit up... so I guess we'll just have to go back again sometime!
45.) Visit Star Wars Land
Dad and Jeremy also really enjoyed this part of our trip!
46.) Rise of the Resistance
I think both Dad and Jeremy were stunned at this ride. It's so immersive. They were both pretty speechless after Eliot and I took them on it!
47.) Go on the Disney Railroad
We took the railroad a few times. I love the waterfalls so much!
48.) Go on my Favorite Attractions (Pirates, HM, Small World)
These were what I was looking forward to the most. I love these attractions so much and I was so excited for Mom and Dad to see the Disneyland versions! They both enjoyed the longer experience of Pirates. Mom kept talking about what a good job they did with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay of the Haunted Mansion. And I know they both enjoyed It's A Small World and all of the Disney character dolls!
49.) Ride the Monorail
We were not able to ride the monorail this trip because they barely ran it. If it's over a certain temperature, they don't run the monorail since it surprisingly does not have air conditioning on it. We did see it pass by a few times at night, but during the day they weren't running them at all... and I don't think they even had guests on them at night since it was still far too hot out to be boxed up inside of them.
GO ON RIDES THAT I CAN’T AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
50.) Indiana Jones
We were planning to get back to this ride, but it didn't end up happening.
51.) Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
We did ride Mr. Toad, but it made Mom a bit dizzy so we skipped the other dark rides.
52.) Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
53.) Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
54.) Storybook Land Canal Boats
This is my favorite ride at Disneyland, but after all of the walking we did, I was afraid that I'd have problems getting in and out of the boat. So we skipped it this trip...
55.) Casey Jr. Circus Train
However, we were able to show Mom and Dad all of the little castles, buildings, villages and the canal boats from the Casey Jr. Circus Train! I pointed a bunch of stuff out as we rode around and I know that my Mom really got a kick out of it!
56.) Alice in Wonderland
Mom skipped this ride, but Eliot, Jeremy, me, Dad and Eliot's mom Nori all went on it one night. Naturally, it broke down so Mom was left outside waiting for us to come back out. Thankfully, they "rescued" us from the ride vehicle pretty quickly because those darn things are really tight and uncomfortable on my bad knee!
57.) Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
I love this ride. Eliot and I ended up going on it by ourselves since everyone else was pretty Disney-ed out at that point this particular day. I'm glad we went on it though!
58.) Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
We weren't able to do the walk through this trip, but after all of the walking we did, it's probably a good thing. Stairs wouldn't have been my friend!
59.) Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
We went into the entrance of this, but we missed the show. (I still don't think I've ever actually seen the show with Lincoln before!)
60.) Haunted Mansion Holiday
This is a favorite of mine. Eliot and I aren't huge Nightmare Before Christmas fans, but the overlay they do on the mansion every year is spectacular. The crew really outdoes themselves every year. Plus, I'm always amazed at the real gingerbread house that the bakery team designs, bakes and constructs each year!!! It's a must see!
61.) Radiator Springs Racers
Mom skipped this attraction, but the rest of us went on it. Dad really enjoyed it, even though I don't know if he's seen the movie Cars before.
62.) Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
We tried to go on this ride, but it broke down just as we were getting ready to enter the building while in the queue. We planned to go back but it never worked out.
63.) Grizzly River Run
I didn't go on this, but Eliot enjoyed himself on it. As hot as it was, I didn't have a great experience with Splash Mountain a few days prior... so I decided to skip this one.
64.) Spiderman Web Slingers
Eliot and I took Dad and Jeremy on this and they both enjoyed it!
EXPERIENCES
65.) Hug Mickey
As referenced above, the characters weren't out that much this trip since it was hot.
66.) Hug Minnie
We weren't able to see them much... barely at all actually.
67.) See World of Color
This was really cool. We were slated to see the second showing of World of Color on Wednesday night when we went to California Adventure. We figured we'd kill some time during the first show by hanging out at the pizza place we go to on the end of Pixar Pier. While walking through the crowd trying to find a place to watch the first show, a cast member came up to me, asked how many were in my party and if we were all together. Eliot was nearby asking about wheelchair seating for the second show, but I grabbed him. The sweet cast member named Lori (a VIP tour guide in plaid) told me she wanted to bring us into her VIP seating area. (Apparently, people weren't showing up for their VIP tours and they had extra seating there.) It worked out perfectly. Not only did we get to watch the first show, but it was all the way in the back, raised above so you could pretty much see everything, and they had actual benches for us to sit on! It was a very magical experience and I'm so grateful.
68.) See Fantasmic
For Fantasmic, we were able to get into the handicap viewing area. It was off to the side and we couldn't see Sorcerer Mickey very well, but other than that, we had pretty great seats and we weren't fighting with everyone else to get a good view! Mom and Dad really enjoyed all of the different elements of the Disneyland version... especially the Pirates of the Caribbean scene with the giant pirate ship!
69.) See Mickey’s March Along
We saw the March Along when the band passed by us on our first day at Disneyland... but since it was so hot out, the characters were not marching with the band like they usually do. I assume that the Dapper Dans and characters all joined the marching band at the Train Station, but we didn't get to see that part.
70.) See Encanto Projection Show on It’s a Small World
I had heard a rumor online that they stopped doing this right before our trip, so we didn't make it a priority to go see. Of course, they started playing "We Don't Talk About Bruno" one night when we were already in line to get on the train and it would have been nearly impossible to run down the hill in time to catch it. Argh!
71.) See Tale of the Lion King
I think they cancelled some of these shows due to the heat. Eliot and I were checking the app and the show was scheduled to happen on days when we were at Disneyland, then the showtimes kept disappearing. We never did get to see it, but there's always next time... I'm still bitter about them ending Mickey and the Magical Map anyways.
72.) Ride in Front of Monorail? (Not sure if even possible with COVID.)
As noted above, they barely even used the monorail since it was so hot out.
DISNEYLAND HALLOWEEN EXPERIENCES
73.) Get Donald Candy Corn Sipper
This still hasn't actually come out yet... so we weren't able to get it this trip.
74.) Get Mickey Mummy Premium Popcorn Bucket
We did see quite a few Mummy Popcorn buckets, but we didn't get one since we weren't sure if we'd even have room in our luggage for it!
75.) See the Halloween Decorations
We did enjoy all of the decorations at Disneyland and California Adventure!
76.) See the Halloween Fireworks
We saw the Halloween fireworks Saturday night at Disneyland. They used most of the same music as Hallowishes (if not the exact soundtrack) so that was really nice.
77.) Photograph with the Mickey Pumpkin
The line to do this was always long, but I waited in it one night. Eliot ended up coming over to join me and I got photos with the pumpkin and of the pumpkin!
78.) Photograph Halloween Decorations
I also took a few photos of the decorations!
79.) Photograph Haunted Mansion Holiday Decor
I had Eliot take photos outside and inside when our Doombuggy stopped a few times!
80.) Main Street Pumpkin Festival
I enjoyed seeing all of the Jack O'Lanterns lit up at nighttime!
81.) See Characters in Halloween Attire
We barely saw any of the characters at all this trip.... but Eliot did see Mickey and we saw Chip and Dale in their Halloween costumes. I wanted to see them all though.
82.) Do Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit in Downtown Disney
We weren't able to do the Pumpkin Pursuit, but Eliot and I did purchase the Halloween buckets you get as prizes. They're the perfect size for the donkeys so we might have to have his Mom go back to get a few more! They need trick or treat buckets!
This list of 82 things was the most insane bucket list that I've ever created. We didn't get a good portion of it done...but I can't really be mad about it. I don't like to eat much when I'm hot, and I barely ate during most of the trip since it was so darn hot out.
I feel like we did get to experience Halloween in the parks. And Eliot and I did a lot of the normal "Disneyland Resort" stuff back in March. Mom, Dad and Jeremy enjoyed everything and loved getting to see Disneyland and all of the differences, and at the end of the day, that's all that really mattered to me.
Thank you Disneyland for a lot of wonderful memories! Now that we have visited you together as a family once, I have a newfound hope that we'll be back someday!!! °o°
