Disneyland Girls’ Trip

My sister in law, Cheryl, and I loved watching the way our girls’ eyes sparkled during our Disneyland trip last year. We loved it so much, in fact, that we decided to return again this year for a surprise mom-daughter trip! We had such a great time secretly planning all the details, and could hardly wait to reveal the trip. When the big day came, Cheryl told Waverly she had a meeting in Portland and so Waverly was going to have a play date with us. After they arrived, we asked the girls what they wanted to do that afternoon. They asked if they could go to the park. Cheryl and I agreed the park sounded pretty fun, but we had another idea. “How about we go to Disneyland?!” It took a few minutes for the news to really sink in (Waverly confessed she wasn’t sure whether she was actually going until we arrived at the airport) but the girls were absolutely ecstatic!

We arrived in the evening and walked to Downtown Disney for dinner. The next morning we started out at California Adventure. The first hour in the park was beautiful, and then the clouds rolled in and the rain poured down for 5 hours straight! Even in rain gear we were soggy! We didn’t let the downpour spoil our fun though, and managed to pack in a full day of rides, treats, shows, and Disney magic!

We stayed at the Howard Johnson with the intention of spending Thursday-Saturday in the parks and letting the girls play in the splash pad Sunday morning. Unfortunately, the rain put a damper on those plans. We were still grateful to be staying in such a clean and comfortable hotel just a few minutes’ walk from the parks.

The girls picked Ariel’s Undersea Adventure as our first ride of the day. And second! No surprise there!The rainiest place- er, the happiest place on earth! Isla and Waverly were such troopers with the wet weather, so we told them the rain was helping us earn our mermaid badges.Corn dogs in the pouring rain- making the most of a soggy situation!

We dried out quite a bit while waiting for the Monster’s Inc ride. Sometimes lines have their benefits!As if we didn’t love the Animation Academy enough, it was a great place to escape from the heavy rains. We went to back to back sessions and learned to draw Eeyore and Piglet.

I think Cars Land at California Adventure is my very favorite section of the park. Every time I visit I am absolutely blown away by every magical detail that makes up Radiator Springs. The minds behind the development of this theme park are nothing short of brilliant!

Hooray for a break in the rain! We relished these few hours of sunshine, and celebrated with churros. Naturally. The Disney castle sweatshirts we made kept us warm and cozy in the rain and we received so many nice compliments on them!Later in the afternoon we noticed the lines were super short at Disneyland, so we made our way over there.The girls made a valiant effort to pull the sword from the stone. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful, but they sure had a lot of fun trying!This was both Isla’s and my first time on the Dumbo ride and we loved it!You can always count on Auntie Cheryl to bring glow sticks! Assembling necklaces, bracelets, ankles and belts helped the girls pass time while waiting in line for Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters.As I mentioned earlier, we told the girls they were earning their “mermaid badges” when they toughed out the rainy weather and kept positive attitudes. At the time, we didn’t actually mean literal badges, so imagine our delight when we came across these “I’m really a mermaid” pins! We couldn’t resist getting them and throwing the girls a ceremonial badge pinning during dinner. They wore them them proudly the entire trip!

Day 1 Highlights from nearly 10 hours in the parks:

Ariel’s Undersea Adventure x2

Soarin’

Monsters’s Inc.

Animation Academy x2

Corn dogs in the rain!

Frozen show

Churros

Pirates of the Caribbean

Haunted Mansion

Mickey’s Soundsational Parade

King Arthur’s Carousel

Dumbo

Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters

Our second day in the park was the driest day of the entire week, so we made sure to spend as much time there as we could- nearly 14 fun-filled hours!

The day started with some great surprises: beautiful new princess dresses, sparkly crowns, and appointments at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. The girls were so excited!!! They couldn’t wait to try on their dresses and were absolutely giddy about returning to the boutique for some pampering.Isla was ECSTATIC about her new Elsa ice queen dress- as in putting it on immediately, telling me how much she LOVED it, and thanking me repeatedly throughout the day. My heart was ready to burst- not only for seeing her so blissfully happy, but also for the enthusiastic and genuine gratitude she expressed. This was a day I will cherish forever.Hair, make up, nails, and a generous dusting of pixie dust! Our little princesses enjoyed their pampering at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.Step aside, Elsa! On another note, I can only wonder how many people were accidentally whipped by Isla’s cape during our days at Disneyland! Isla was SO thrilled with her Elsa dress and makeover. Seriously, this girl was feelin’ it! She strutted through the park like this ALL day, pausing to wave to admirers. She was certain they thought she was the real Elsa and absolutely tickled about it. It was seriously the cutest! I love this girl’s incredible imagination and I never want to forget her proud little prance!Churro bliss! Isla counting how many adults thought she was “the REAL Elsa!”A quick hug with Princess Tianna.Dole whip time!

A little trip through the Hundred Acre Woods.Isla was so eager to go on the Haunted Mansion ride and she absolutely LOVED it! I remember it being one of my favorite rides when I went to Disneyworld as a little girl as well.We caught most of the Soundsational Parade the night before from a distance, but decided to go and see it from the actual parade route. We arrived early to secure good seats, so we had some wait time. The girls put their imaginations to work and kept themselves happily entertained. Peter Pan came by looking for a mother to help him tie his shoe and I volunteered Cheryl for the job!

Isla decided to put on an impromptu performance and sang her little heart out for all the people sitting around us!

The parade was indeed soundsational!Goofy walked up to Isla and drew a heart around her. She was tickled beyond words!Before the parade, Auntie Cheryl bought Isla some Minnie Ears and let her pick out any style she wanted. Isla chose a simple, subtle pair… not.After the parade it was time for more rides!

The Alice and Wonderland ride was a big hit!Up next were the teacups!

We spun and laughed ourselves silly!One of my favorite tips for traveling and NOT having your kiddo ask you for every little thing that catches their eye is to give them a gift card with a set amount at the start of your trip. Explain that this card holds ALL the money they have, and encourage them to spend a day or two looking for what they really want before spending. When they see something they like, talk with them about its cost and how it compares to the amount of money they have on their card. Tell them you’ll make a note of where they found favorite items (and really do) in case that’s what they want to come back for. It’s amazing how this strategy reduces the requests for things and helps your child think about selecting something that holds greater value to them. Isla and Wavy both chose these baby Marie stuffed animals as their Disneyland girls’ trip souvenirs.It’s a small, small world…During previous Disneyland trips, whenever I rode on Pirates of the Caribbean I would admire the lantern-decked patio of the Blue Bayou restaurant and think how cool it would be to have dinner there. When planning our girls’ trip, we decided to finally make it happen! We made reservations for the night the girls’ had their BBB appointments so that they’d be all dressed up, and even took them on the ride so that they could have a sneak peek of where they would enjoy dinner.The girls enjoyed their dinner, but were most excited about their light up ice cubes. It’s the little things!

When you hang in the park hours past your bedtime, late night snacks are a must! Mickey cake pop deliciousness!

Day 2 Highlights from nearly 14 hours at Disneyland…

New princess dresses and crowns

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

King Arthur’s Carousel x2

Dole Whip

Churros

Winnie the Pooh x2

Haunted Mansion x2

Peter Pan x2

Corn Dogs and Chimichangas

Hugs with Princess Tianna

Soundsational Parade

Cotton Candy

Teacups x2

Alice and Wonderland x2

Dumbo

It’s a Small World

Dinner at Blue Bayou

Cake Pops and Caramel Apples

Our third day in Anaheim brought high wind and flash flood warnings, so we decided to hunker down in the hotel and take a day of rest. A Great British Baking Show marathon was the perfect entertainment for a day spent relaxing in our jammies. Isla and Wavy played, took a long bath, and colored. We only ventured out into the rain for brunch and an early dinner. With plans for a very early start the next day, we snuggled up before bed and watched The Incredibles 2.

We were up bright and early on the fourth day of our trip to make it to Magic Morning. Turns out you can’t go to Magic Morning at California Adventure unless you are staying at a Disneyland Resort. Oops! We decided just to get in line, so that we were ready the second the park opened.Isla and I made a beeline straight for the Radiator Springs Racers. She was pretty nervous for this fast paced ride, but ended up absolutely loving it! At the end of the race she asked, “Did we win?”We made a trip down Pixar Pier to ride the Midway Mania Ride- one of our very favorites!Many of the rides at Disneyland and California Adventure have games you can play while in line to help make the wait a little more entertaining. You just download the Disney Play app and check for participating rides. The games encourage the kids search for, and interact with, items at each ride.

It was so fun to find these Jack Jack’s Num Num Cookies after watching The Incredibles 2 the night before. They were, in fact, very nummy! Warm, gooey, chocolately bliss.

The FIRST thing Isla did when she learned we were going to Disneyland was ask if we could visit Elsa and Anna. When we went to visit, Elsa was out taking care of some ice magic business, but Isla had the most wonderful meeting with Anna! “You look just like my sister!” She exclaimed when she saw Isla. They talked about Isla’s dream where she had ice powers, shared pinky swears (one of which Isla agreed to be her honorary sister for the morning) and giggled a ton. Isla was completely enchanted. Thank you, Anna!

After our visit with Anna we hopped over to Turtle Talk with Crush. This has to be my favorite attraction of all- so wonderfully magical and clever!

Because Isla had her heart set on seeing Elsa, we waited in another hour-long line to see her after Turtle Talk. It was totally worth the wait, however. When Isla saw Elsa she was absolutely giddy! I’m so happy we were able to wrap up our amazing girls’ getaway with such a magical interaction!

We had just enough time after visiting Elsa and Anna to hop on Soarin’ once more and grab a final churro before dashing out of the park and heading to the airport.

Day 4 Highlights from 4.5 non-stop hours in California Adventure…

Radiator Springs Racers

Toy Story Midway Mania

Num Num Cookies

Visit with Anna

Turtle Talk with Crush

Visit with Anna and Elsa

Soarin’

Farewell Churro

The rain definitely added a layer of challenge to our trip, but the magic of Disneyland overshadowed all the sogginess. Our girls’ getaway was SO memorable; four days of fun, rides, tasty treats, and laughter! It was every bit of the joyful mother-daughter experience I was hoping it would be. Is it crazy that we’re already eager to plan another trip?!