Thursday, December 30,
2021
We saw this "hidden Mickey" near Grizzly River Run
Nathaniel and Audrey had decided to cancel
their Monsters Inc. passes and get ones for Guardians of the Galaxy instead.
Audrey loved that ride and couldn’t go on it enough. They went back to the
hotel to get changed and the rest of us went to Monsters Inc. It was
raining quite a bit at that time. As we were walking there, Andrew said he
wanted to go to Downtown Disney and go to Wetzel’s Pretzels and then go back to
the hotel by himself. I hesitated but he really wanted to do it and Michael
agreed so we let him. We went on Monsters Inc. and that was fun. The only thing
that annoyed me was that when we were stopped and about to go inside, I didn’t
have my mask on yet because I was distracted on my phone looking at an email.
So, the guy went to the other group on the other line because I didn’t have my
mask on yet. We weren’t even inside yet. That was so rude! After that
ride, we headed out. We stopped in the
gift shop and I bought some English toffee, which was amazing. They normally
sell that in the bakery case but they didn’t have it this time because they had
a churro flavored one so I was glad to get the bag of toffee. I shared it
with everybody and Michael loved it and so did Erin. We walked with Emily to
the corner at Disney Way and then she went to the hotel by herself and the rest
of us went back to the Residence Inn. We all got out of our wet clothes. I
called Dad because I wanted to hear about his experience giving the bikes to
the kids at the Sheriff’s Youth Ranch. Then, I took a nap. I woke up to about
17 texts on the group chat because everyone was trying to find out what was
going on. Everyone else wanted to go back to the parks. According to the
weather forecast, the rain should be done for the night. At first Jonathan and
I weren’t going to go, because he was tired and I wasn’t feeling great. But
once I got up and moving around, I started feeling better and we decided we
would go. He was excited to try and get on Toy Story because it said the wait
was only 10 minutes, but that never worked out. Michael, Erin, and Daniel left
the hotel room sometime between 7:30 and 7:45 PM. Jonathan and I left at 8 PM.
We got from our hotel into Disney California Adventure in 17 minutes. As soon as
we got there, Emily told us that Nathaniel and Audrey’s Genie+ passes weren’t
working. I had offered to let them use the ones for me and Jonathan and we
tried sending him a picture of our card but that didn’t work. So, I
quickly got over to Guardians of the Galaxy and let them use our paper tickets
and they got in, a little after everyone else.
When everyone got off the ride, we went to get a
picture taken at the entrance to Avengers’ campus.
Nathaniel and Audrey ran to get over to
Disneyland because they had Genie+ passes. Everyone still needed to eat.
Michael, Jonathan, Daniel, and Erin all went to Award Wieners. Emily wanted to
go to Paradise Garden Grill and so did Andrew, but by then it was 8:55 PM and
it was closing at 9 PM so that wasn’t going to work. While we were trying
to figure out what we would eat, Goofy came by the fountain so we got a few
pictures.
We looked on the app to see what was at
Disneyland and decided to order from Galactic Grill. I did the mobile order for
them. We let everyone know what we were doing and then we decided to try taking
the monorail into Disneyland. As we walked over there, we passed by Sprinkles
cupcakes and I decided I wanted to get a cupcake and Emily got a red velvet
cookie. Andrew realized that the hours of the monorail were different than he
thought and he went to check on it and, sure enough, it was already closed. So,
we had to walk back and go through the regular Disneyland entrance. We
quickly walked to the Galactic Grill and they got their food. We thought we
could take the railroad over to New Orleans Square because we were all going to
meet at Haunted Mansion to use our Genie+ pass. However, we missed the train
and I figured it would be easier just to walk over there so we did. We all went
on Haunted Mansion. Then we got right onto Pirates. It said it was a
15-minute wait but we kept walking right until we got on the ride. We had a
pass for Big Thunder so we went there right after we were done with Pirates.
Everyone was tired but Erin and I still wanted to go to Peter Pan so everyone
else left and we went to Fantasyland. We only waited about 20 minutes for Peter
Pan.
I got Genie+ passes for Space Mountain and then
we went on Star Tours. The wait was super short. We’ve been having problems
this whole trip getting separated a little bit going through the Genie+
machines and then people come in between us and then once we’re in the ride
line we’re not together. It was really annoying. Sometimes we would let the
people go in front of us and sometimes we would say “excuse me” and go in front
of them to meet up as a group. We thought about going on Buzz Lightyear next,
but that line was too long. We decided to go on the Monorail and do the
round-trip. I’m glad it worked out because if you start in Downtown Disney and
do the round-trip you can’t do it. But if you start in Tomorrowland, they do
allow you to stay on at Downtown Disney and do the round-trip. It’s so cute
that Andrew loves that ride so much. It’s not even a ride but we go on it like
it is.
We were already on the
street when Michael called me and said that they were at the hotel so we were
not far behind them. They had gone to the Shooting Gallery and then stopped at
a bakery to buy treats on the way home. Jonathan had a Mickey Santa sugar
cookie earlier today that was amazing! Tonight, they bought cookies that looked
like Cookie Num Nums. Apparently, they were called double chocolate cookies and
they tasted like brownies. While Nathaniel and Audrey were on their own, they
went on Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Peter Pan, and Indiana Jones. They were
able to use Genie+ passes for everything but Peter Pan.
Friday, December 31, 2021
It is so cool that we are in Disneyland on New Year’s Eve! By the time we had breakfast, got to the park, and got through the ticket booth it was about 10 AM.
We saw that the it’s a small world line was really short so we walked
over there next. We spotted Miguel from Coco and took a couple pictures.
By then, it was time to go to our pass for Space Mountain.
Then we headed toward the Disneyland Railroad
because we thought it would be a good idea to take that over to New Orleans
Square to go to lunch at Blue Bayou. We got there just as the train arrived,
but the cast members were just talking and making phone calls and not letting
anybody on so we weren’t sure if we should give up or not. Michael said as soon
as we exit, they’ll probably let us on. That’s pretty much exactly what
happened, because Emily and I both said we should just go and walk over there
and as soon as a couple of us went through the exit they started letting us on
the train. We rode it all the way to New Orleans Square and walked to Blue
Bayou to check in. Luckily, there weren’t any problems and they were able to
seat all nine of us. We had to wait a little while but it wasn’t too bad. I
felt bad for all of the people who went up to the counter at Blue Bayou hoping
for a spot but they were totally full. One lady made the comment that it’s so
hard to get reservations, even if you try and get them on the day that they’re
open. I understood what she meant. That’s why I got up at 2 o’clock in the
morning to make the reservations. I had requested to be seated by the water and
we were. That was so nice! Everyone really enjoyed the restaurant. Jonathan
thanked me as soon as we sat down and so did everyone else. I mentioned to
everyone that it was really hard to get the reservations and Michael said that
I had to get up at 2 o’clock in the morning to get them and they were all very
grateful. Jonathan, Daniel, and I all got the prime rib. Nathaniel, Erin,
Andrew, and Emily all got the Monte Cristo sandwich. Audrey got Cajun
cauliflower and Michael got the filet mignon and lobster. Everything was
delicious. I was kind of disappointed that they didn’t bring us any bread and
we did wait quite a while for our food. I like that it’s one of the few dine-in
restaurants at Disney that actually has a bathroom at the restaurant. Emily and
I both noticed that when you’re in the bathroom, you can hear the people on the
ride screaming as they go down the drop. It was a really fun experience and I’m
so glad we did it.
We spotted Jack Sparrow after lunch!
Nathaniel and Audrey wanted to get Dole Whips and
I knew Erin did too so I suggested that she go with them and they did and we
met up at Big Thunder. The rest of us were going to go to the Shooting Gallery
but it was super busy. As soon as we got merged with the main line at Big
Thunder, they made an announcement that the ride broke down and we would all
have to exit. They had us go out through the ride and we waited a while for our
turn to scan our passes so we could get a free Genie+ for something else.
We thought about going to Toon Town but it was getting kind of late and we had
our Radiator Springs Racers passes to use so we just left the park. We wanted
to stop at the lockers because Erin and I needed our coats because it was
getting super cold. We went straight to Radiator Springs Racers and breezed
through the line. As we walked into California Adventure today, I was standing
there with Andrew, Daniel, and Jonathan, and Andrew told me thank you so much
for buying the Genie+ pass so they can skip the lines. Daniel and Jonathan
sincerely thanked me, as well. Emily, Nathaniel, and Audrey had also thanked me many times. It really was awesome to be able to go through the Lightning Lanes. I really like the Radiator Springs Racers ride, but a two-hour wait would have been awful.
After we got off, we walked over to the picture
spot and I got a good picture of the kids and Erin.
Nathaniel and Audrey went
off to do their own thing. The rest of us went to the Incredicoaster. The
Lightning Lane line was super long. However, it moved really quickly.
Thankfully, the Cookie Num Num counter was open today so we were able to get one of those. I think everyone got one except for Jonathan, who got the shortbread cookie instead. We got a picture in front of the photo op that said Happy New Year 2022.
Thankfully, the Cookie Num Num counter was open today so we were able to get one of those. I think everyone got one except for Jonathan, who got the shortbread cookie instead. We got a picture in front of the photo op that said Happy New Year 2022.
We decided to meet at Grizzly River Run so I headed over there. We all met up at Grizzly River Run. Erin, Andrew, Daniel, and Jonathan all went on it. They didn’t get very wet the first time they went on it, but they all decided to go on again. Daniel hesitated but he went also. I think they were sorry they did because they all got much more wet the second time.
A quick picture by Pixar Pier
The fireworks show was
amazing! Disney really knows how to do fireworks.
After that, we went over to the canal boats. It’s hard to see everything at night, but I
still like that ride. Then we went on Alice in Wonderland. After that, we
couldn’t resist going on the teacups one more time.
Then we headed over to
Snow White. That’s a really short ride. Then we walked back over to the Jungle
Cruise. The Jungle Cruise is still fun at night but it’s definitely not the
same. You can hardly see anything. Michael, Emily, and Jonathan went to
the Shooting Gallery while Daniel, Erin, and I all went to Tomorrowland. Daniel
bought his Funko Pop that he wanted at the Star Wars store and then we rode on
Buzz one last time. Then it was 2 AM and time to leave so we headed straight to
the hotel. Michael called to see where we were and we were actually ahead of
them. We all got to bed as soon as we could.
Saturday, January 1, 2022
We slept in until 8:30
AM and got dressed and ready to go to breakfast. The kids came over to meet us
and have breakfast with us. They all came up to our room so we could have a
family prayer and say our goodbyes and then they left. We finished packing up
and Michael and Erin and the boys took everything downstairs while I checked
everything. We stopped at a rest area and then went to lunch in Blythe at the
Sizzler. Michael asked what everyone’s favorite part was. Mine was the part
where it stopped raining and beating Daniel’s score on Buzz Lightyear. Michael
says his favorite part was being able to go to the Shooting Gallery multiple
times. Andrew says his favorite part was Jonny’s face on the Incredicoaster.
Daniel’s favorite part was Blue Bayou. Jonny’s favorite part was the hotel.
Erin said her favorite part was being together. Michael drove the entire way.
We dropped off Erin around 7 PM. Then we drove the rest of the way home. We
stopped by Safeway and I went into buy eggs and bananas and then we went home
and got everything unloaded and unpacked. The boys didn’t really want to but
they did all their unpacking. Nathaniel, Audrey, and Emily all made it back to Provo safely.
It was such a wonderful trip and I feel so blessed that we were able to go!
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