My brother picked us up at our hotel around 9am Friday morning to drive us down to Anaheim. We wanted to time the drive so we weren't in rush hour. With no traffic it should take around 45 minutes best case scenario, and worst case it can take several hours! It ended up taking us a tad over an hour which wasn't bad at all. Once we got to Anaheim, we stopped at a gas station for gas and some snacks {where they also tried to charge me $5 to use the restroom- that had no toilet paper or hand soap- I was appalled and gave him a fairly ugly and completely incredulous look and said "but we're buying gas and food?!" before he just handed me the key}. {eye roll} Then we headed to the Disneyland Hotel to get checked in!
There were so many bits of magic everywhere we looked! You can see Tinkerbell and her pixie dust that lit up every few seconds above SC.
Sitting in the tea cups in the lobby
We stopped by the gift shop for pens for their autograph books {which I had forgotten} and also for a stuffed animal for Sallie Cate {because I had also forgotten to bring any of her lovies or stuffed animals, and anyone who knows Sal knows she sleeps with about 20 every night!}. I couldn't exactly tell Curran she couldn't get one, even though she doesn't even like stuffed animals at home {she did hold onto that thing almost every minute of our trip and slept with it too, but it has since been adopted by Sal now that we are home.} The girls had gift cards they had gotten for Christmas from family members, so they used those for their purchases. SC picked out baby Bolt and C picked out baby Thumper.
Pretty topiaries outside near the pool
Next we headed up to the E-Ticket Lounge in to look around.
The view was pretty nice. You could see Downtown Disney as well as parts of both theme parks.
cute little touches everywhere
The kids corner that played Disney Jr shows.
We checked out the lounge and got some snacks and something to drink, and then went back downstairs for our 11:20 breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen, the character meal at our resort. Characters are present at breakfast and dinner, so I got the latest breakfast time I could.
The girls wanted to pose like they were holding the fork. :)
When you check in, your first stop is to see Goofy in his kitchen before going to your table.
They actually had breakfast and lunch foods out at the buffet, and we enjoyed it. The character interactions were SO fun and got our trip off to a great start!
Minnie came by as soon as we sat down.
When we got back to our table from fixing plates, Chip was standing there holding Curran's stuffed animal. He would not put it down and kept acting like he was going to leave with it. The girls thought it was so funny.
I guess SC had had enough of that game and was trying to get him to sign his autograph.
But he acted like he didn't know what to do with it.
So here she is showing him. :)
They thought he was SO funny, and he probably spent a good 10 minutes at our table. Seriously.
Minnie stopped by a second time.
Then Pluto came by.
Pluto was also a fan of the stuffed animals.
We couldn't figure out what was going on with Dale. He wandered by but didn't stop, and was just hanging out at the end of the restaurant where no one was. He finally stopped by our table right as we were about to leave.
After we ate, we walked around the hotel a bit and then walked through Downtown Disney to the park entrances because my brother needed to renew his annual pass, and I needed to pick up my tickets. For those who don't know, Disneyland is all "walkable." Our hotel was at the end so to speak, and right outside of our hotel was the entrance to Downtown Disney which also serves as a security check point to the parks. It is about a 7 minute walk from our hotel through Downtown Disney to get to the entrances of the parks, which are right across from one another.
This is the E-Ticket pool which was closed for refurbishment while we were there.
The grounds of the hotel were really pretty!
Posing in front of the Lego Store in Downtown Disney
Getting ideas for souvenirs
DD was landscaped very nicely.
First glimpse of California Adventure which is to your right after exiting DD.
First glimpse of Disneyland Park which is to the left when you exit DD.
My brother and I did what we needed to do and then we headed back to the hotel.
Curran was starting to get a blister, so SC came to the rescue with Bandaids she had in her backpack {and she insisted on doing it herself :) }
Curran asked for me to take a picture of her by the signs back at our hotel.
Her poses crack me up. :)
Then we headed back to the resort so the girls could swim. Our room still wasn't ready, but we had packed our swim suits in our backpacks, so I took the girls to get changed.
They enjoyed the hot tub as it was a tad chilly outside {thankfully the pools are heated}.
They had poolside cabanas you could rent for an additional cost.
The iconic {and original} Trader Sam's!
John and I got a few drinks here to enjoy poolside. Kids are allowed inside until 8pm at which time it becomes an adults-only lounge.
The girls loved the water slides at the pool!
While we were at the pool, I got the text that our room was ready. It was a little after 2pm at this point. I went upstairs to call the bellman to bring our bags while John stayed with the girls at the pool.
I knew the girls would be so thrilled with the light up headboards that played A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes!
After having a snack, the girls took a bath and then got in the bed and watched a little TV. It was really nice because our room was right next door to the lounge, so we could easily run over there and grab something quickly while the girls were content. Of course the moment we did that was when housekeeping brought us more towels. I'm glad they didn't report us to the authorities for leaving our kids! :)
My plan had been to eat dinner in the lounge and watch fireworks from the there because they also pipe in the music. WELL, there ended up being NO fireworks the whole time we were there! I was fully prepared for them to be canceled due to high winds {very common out there} but was so happy and relieved when the weather predicted light winds. However for some reason the construction they are doing on Main Street affects the fireworks show, so they are not doing them again until March. I was super bummed if I can be honest. I always know the list of closures and refurbishments prior to my trips, but there were several additional closures I wasn't aware of until we got there. Even the bellman who brought our bags to our room didn't know they weren't doing fireworks or parades. Oh well. We ate our dinner {the lounge serves heavy appetizers from 5-7pm but it was plenty filling for us} and then called it a night.
The girls ended up falling asleep around 7pm and John followed them shortly thereafter. You can turn the headboard lights off fyi but the girls liked them on. :)
My brother went back to his apartment in Santa Monica and was coming back the next morning to join us at the parks. I tried to see if I could see Fantasmic {at Disneyland Park} and World of Color {at California Adventure} from our room {they were both starting at 9pm that night}, and while I could see some of both of them, it wasn't worth standing there trying to watch, so I gave up and went to bed myself so I could be rested for our first park day!
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