Our Big Family Vacation

 

We got a visit to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in before school starts. Despite the issues with the Magic Key pass, we were able to get reservations on the days we wanted. The magical duo was great and the Genie+ was powerful and it was all over so suddenly!

We went down to Anaheim the day before our reservations at the park. We stayed at our "old faithful" La Quinta Inn & Suites. The room was $107 which is much cheaper than other hotels in the area. The joke was on us a bit when we realized the beds and the couch were very uncomfortable, the breakfast area was super crowded and the air conditioner was dripping a huge puddle of water all night. But we didn't let that stop us from having a great time.

PACKING LIST

Insulated Coolers

😇watermelon
😇strawberries
😙cottage cheese
😄peas
corn

grapes
🥰cucumber
🥰bell pepper
🥰plastic silverware incl knife
🥰reusable straw
🥰string cheese

BOB stroller

😄long-sleeved shirts

😄Glow sticks
😄Spray sunscreen
😄Water misting fan

😄40 oz Hydroflask

😄34 oz Ceres Chill

😄12 oz Toddler Tumbler

😄baby carrier

😄bubble fidget toy

😄Minnie ears

😄glasses lens cleaning cloth

Diaper change kit

🎃two diapers
🎃wipes
🎃poop bags

Pink backpack

😃hand sanitizing wipes

😀three fruit pouches
😄toy car
😃three hats
😃six masks
😄change of clothes
😄five diapers
apple
banana

clementines
granola bar

protein bar
😄goldfish crackers
😄cheerios
parm crisps
😉pretzels
😄Body glide
😃flour sack towel

binder clips
😀battery + cable
😂three pairs Goodr sunglasses

Mom & Dad

🩲underwear
🧦socks
😁walking shoes
🙄flip flops
😆yoga shorts
👖PJ pants and top
👚day tops
😜bras
😉toiletry bag
😃headphones
🤔swimsuit
🌍Tylenol/vitamins/medications/first aid
😛charging cable for versa 3

😄Roku  

Eye mask / Earplugs / Anti-snoring device

Albie

😁short outfits (3)
😁long pants (2)
😁pjs (2)
😁socks (4)

walking shoes (2)
🙄swimsuit / water shoes / swim diaper
😂wetbag for dirty laundry

Turns out the pool and jacuzzi at the hotel were under renovation, so we didn't get to use our swimsuits at all. Parking was $20 per day and we were able to leave the car there even after checkout time. We got early check-in which was great since we arrived 1.5 hours before 3pm.

The recharging station on the bedside table was great. It charged my phone and smartwatch very fast. I ended up using the glow sticks as a nightlight and it was genius.

We did bring a cooling fan and extra batteries. But unfortunately, the mist feature of the fan stopped working. It still worked as a fan though. We brought a few things for kiddo to play with in the room including a small car collection, some beads for stringing and some pom poms (that he didn't even need).

I didn't detail what was in the toiletry bag but here it was: toothbrush and toothpaste (kid and adult), dishsoap, shampoo & conditioner & hair gel and a comb, baby body wash, dental floss. Also deodorant, face wash, face lotion and vitamins.

We had a small pharmacy with us as well which included omeprazole, acetaminophen, DayQuil and NyQuil, immodium, cough drops, tweezers, baby tylenol, baby ibuprofen, booger drops, a snot sucker, alcohol wipes, liquid bandage, ear drops and chapstick.

The desk was a good height to use as a diaper changing station. I used two flour sack towels as a base and then put the diaper changing pad over the top. Pictured here is a "busy bag" that had also stickers and magnatiles (which we didn't use).

Nonperishable snacks were somewhat useful. But we did end up eating lots of sweet and salty things in the parks so we mostly ate these on the night before going in. Our favorite turned out to be Grandma's Peanut Butter Sandwich Creme Cookies. There were 12 in the package, great for sharing and paired well with decaf coffee.

I brought two juice boxes and six milks. I thought we would use the milk for coffee creamer, which is why I packed so many. Also my kid's pediatrician told us we need to offer him milk in a 6 oz serving three times per day, which is insane but this is how I do it.

I ended up putting those in the fridge so they could help keep other stuff cold in the coolers we took into the park. Our fridge in the room was so cold it actually froze most everything, which was good for some things but not good for the strawberries. My son won't eat them if they have turned mushy.

We have used these food portioning containers so much. It's the right size for bringing the chopped fresh or canned veggies and fruits. The larger containers take up more room in the cooler and they're all different sizes so you can't stack them. If all the containers are the same size, it's easier. We also like these reusable sandwich bags which I used to pack a bell pepper I didn't have time to cut up.

To get into our day at Disneyland, the Tom Sawyer / Pirate's Lair island was by far our favorite thing. The other stuff was all great and we eliminated waiting in lines using Genie+. We also got the epic family photo I wanted using PhotoPass and I'm super happy with how that all worked.

For our day at California Adventure, the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail was by far Albert's favorite thing. He got to run everywhere and even met Chip & Dale. For us adults, we ducked inside the Grand Californian hotel looking for a gift shop and ended up taking a very refreshing nap there on the couches in the lobby. There was a live pianist and a fireplace and it was just so perfect.

We did get to the Disney Junior Dance Party, which I missed on our last visit to DCA. We ended the day at Cars land, but we didn't stay until sunset to see the neon lights come on. So there's some magic that we can save for our next visit. We walked 7 miles per day for 3 days in a row and it was tiring and wonderful.

We did have one magic key pass, which allows you to get Genie+ for only $16 per day. The magic key pass was $399 for one person and since Albert is under 3 years old, he doesn't have to pay. Mike got in on a California Resident 3-day pass, which was $249. We can go another day since Mike didn't use his 3rd day. We asked at guest services what we can do if Mike wanted to upgrade his 3-day pass to a Magic Key pass, but it wasn't possible at this time. 

Mike had to pay $20 for his Genie+ pass, per day. If we rode separately using parent swap, we could have done this without two people having Genie+. If I had known that so many rides at DCA were not child-appropriate, and that the lightning lanes are for rides that have a height limit above Albert's height, I wouldn't have got Genie+ for DCA. But it was 100% worth it for Disneyland. I love our castle photo and I love the McQueen photo from DCA. Not wild about the Hollywoodland photo, but that's Okay. 

Genie+ allows unlimited downloads of your PhotoPass pictures from the Disneyland app. I had no trouble doing this and now we have a great picture to send to daycare with Albert of all three of us. If you don't have Genie+ then it costs $14.99 to download one photo. So even though we got only 1 great photo, we got 13 pretty good ones and I downloaded all of them.

We definitely spent less than $100 per day on food in the parks. I had a breakdown and spent $75 on Cars for Albert. Some of them are hidden so that we can use them as gifts or bribes for later on. I know we could have bought more stuff, but I'm happy with how we spent the money we spent. We weren't able to get reservations at the Magic Key terrace and I didn't get the popcorn bucket. I mean honestly it's kind of just plastic junk that would clutter up our house.

I don't know if we'll renew our magic key. Some part of me loves the nostalgia of childhood innocence. But another part of me sees Disney as a MAGA in disguise which reinforces stereotypes and allows white people to profit from cultural appropriation. And I can't shake the "happy ending" of every princess ending up married. Isn't that misogynistic and heteronormative? Hell yes I'm woke and PC. I'm just not 100% okay with letting my son see the world that way. Even though Daisy Duck is feisty.