Disneyland 2014 – so fun!
Just last week, I spent a fun few days in Disneyland with my family and the extended family on my side. It’s no secret that we love Disneyland, you just can’t deny the happy place. Every time we go, it’s a completely different experience. It was 2 years ago when we went last, and I shared some great Disneyland tips if you are planning a trip, although a few of those tips have changed.
Ok, first up. Cars Land! Oh it’s so fun! We had great success with Cars Land for our first visit because we had a plan. At the beginning of our day, we all headed straight for Radiator Springs Racers the best ride in Cars Land and we also had one person from our group grab fast passes with all of our tickets so we could ride it twice early on in the day. It really is such a fun ride. We ended up riding it three times that first day only having to wait in the long line once.
Like I said, we spent two days at the parks, one at California Adventure and the second day at Disneyland. In my Disneyland tips from two years ago, I suggested to park hop, meaning you go from park to park on the same day. Now I say DON’T park hop. I think there’s enough to do at each park for a full day, so save yourself the $35 per ticket and just do one park per day.
Cars Land is darling during the day, but if you can stick around in the evening when the neon lights first flicker on and the music starts, it’s too cute! Couples started dancing in the street, it was so fun. Here’s a bunch of fun pictures from Cars Land.
A trip to Disneyland (for me) isn’t complete without trying all the best food at the park. We loved Red’s apple freeze at the Cozy Cone. It really reminded me of the Frozen Butter Beer from Harry Potter in Universal Orlando. Both have that creamy top…so good!
This trip I finally got to try the Monte Cristo Sandwich. I love monte cristo sandwiches, and I had heard that DisneyLand had the best. It was so good! You can find it at either the Blue Bayou restaurant inside the Pirates ride, or you can get it at Cafe Orleans. Both are sit down restaurants, so it’s not a quick grab and go order. The sandwich easily feeds two, it’s so big. It’s $18, but definitely worth it. Kyle and I shared it and sat outside on their patio.
Other honorable Disney food mentions: the Dole whip float, the churros and the giant turkey leg. We also ate dinner at Pizza Port which is next to Space Mountain. I had the best Asian Chicken chopped salad. We all loved the Pizza Port.
The Winnie the Pooh Corner bakery is another favorite. How cute are these caramel apples?!
Lots of rides were closed during our visit this year, like: Soarin’ of California, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Small World, which is always a bummer. Especially for Soarin’. That ride is our most favorite. But Space Mountain was Open! Yay! Love Space Mountain!
I’m always in awe of the flower beds at Disneyland. We just can’t grow them here in Utah the same. This bed in California Adventure was filled with poppies. So gorgeous!
See what I mean:
We didn’t have that much of a plan for the second day at Disneyland, only hopes to see Anna and Elsa from Frozen. We hopped in line to meet them right when the park opened knowing the wait would be a doozey. After waiting a good two hours, we decided to jump ship and leave the line without seeing them. This is my one big complaint from our visit. The line to meet them didn’t actually start moving until 11 even though the park opened at 9:30, so there was already a long line to begin. I think they need to have multiple “Annas and Elsas” in different spots to keep the line short. No one wants to spend the day waiting in line just to meet a princess. I guess they didn’t anticipate the major success of the movie, because they couldn’t even keep anything Frozen stocked in the souvenir shops. There was nothing Frozen to be found when we were there.
We did have a few fun character sightings. Like Minnie. <3 – We saw so many girls wearing the Minnie hat with the ears and the big red bow or the headband. Everyone loves Minnie!
…and Donald…but mostly because he doesn’t where pants. 😉
It was such a fun trip. We loved having it to look forward to for the last few months.
Here’s a few more favorite pictures from the trip:
My Dad brought along his DIY Mickey stick again this trip. It’s perfect for sticking together as a group, because we can always spot him from far away. We ended up walking an average of about 11 miles each day at the parks. So great! I guess it helps to combat all the calories. 😉
Lots of great memories made with all these cute cousins.
Every Disney trip needs to be followed with a day at the beach. We call it the Disney Detox day. 😉
*A big thank you to my parents for such a fun trip. We had the best time.
Here’s a fun look back at our Disneyland trips in the past:
Disneyland 2012
Disneyland 2009
Disneyland 2008
Disneyland 2007
Okay, so let’s talk Disney, what are your favorites? Do you have tips you’d love to share?
nest of posies says
i think “the hair day” pic is my favorite! 😉 but i also loved your video on IG while at the beach! you’re making me so excited for our summer trip! so glad you all had a wonderful time!
good tips too. we haven’t been to California Adventure yet – so i’m looking forward to it all!
xo
kami says
Kellie!! I’m so excited for you to take your family! They will love Cars Land! It’s so fun!! I hope you have the best time!
Claudia says
What a fun trip. We haven’t gone in a couple of years as well, so we haven’t seen Cars Land except when our friend (he designed it) showed us an overview before it opened. The Anna/Elsa thing would bug me, too, you’d think they’d be better prepared. My oldest loved Frozen, so much that he insisted in seeing it again.
What great family memories!!!
kami says
Thanks Claudia! Isn’t Frozen the cutest?! We love it too. It’s a bummer they weren’t better prepared for the success.
judy in carefree says
I’ve never been to Disneyland…just World years ago, but our daughter and family were just there about three weeks ago and had a wonderful time and thought Cars Land was absolutely the best…adults even more than the 10 and 11 year old kids.
kami says
How fun for them! It’s true! I think all the adults loved it even more. It’s a darling little place.
Crystal says
Great pictures!! What a fun time!!
kami says
Thanks Crystal! 🙂
itsmeglo says
GREAT pics! You made me want to go to Disneyland and I live in So. Cal & have an annual pass!
kami says
Thanks Meg! It makes me want that too! 🙂
melanie says
How exciting! It looks like so much fun!! Love you all:)
Lynell says
It’s hard to find well-informed people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks