holidays collide

We had a fantastic day at Disneyland, doing less and enjoying more. The temperature was just about perfect. We parked at the Toy Story lot for $26.50.

We started in Tomorrowland Pretzel Cart for $7.50 because our kiddo loves driving cars at Autotopia. Then we went to Mr. Toad's wild ride for the same reason. Fantasyland Fruit Cart sold us 2 juice boxes for $5, and then we spent $21 on the grey stuff, tater tots, a lemonade, and a hot coffee. Albert didn't eat the tater tots, but he did eat the cucumber we had brought, and we used the diaper changing station there, which was great.

We found a cool spot inside the castle to watch a short film. Following the Disneyland Band from the castle down main street was so fun. We spent $13 + $29 + $31 for toys (cars, remote control Mater, and a new bubble wand) and then headed up to the Magic Key Terrace for our special lunch ($55).

We enjoyed a leisurely 1.5-hour lunch on the patio and spent $20 on special gold medallions. Then we walked through Pixar Pier and got the Magic Key exclusive FREE tote bag for Viva Navidad. We saw a show called Operation Playtime! Featuring the Green Army Patrol.

We decided to go back to Disneyland to catch some rides, and we met a lovely man who suggested we participate in the Flag Retreat ceremony. Albert dashed in and out of every gift shop in Grizzly Peak, looking for more cars; thankfully, we didn't find any. We did find Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Chip and Dale. Albert got a wave from Dale and a hug from Chip, and he was so excited about that. We did buy a frozen fruit bar over there, and Albert ate it along with some raisins we had brought.

We went into Trolley Treats before leaving DCA ($42) and I picked up some things that will help give me the energy to finish up the semester of grading. Churro toffee! Most of the holiday eats are available on Nov 10th, but the following items started Nov 3rd, so we went ahead and brought them home to enjoy over the next several weeks.

• Minnie Santa Hat Apple: Green apple dipped in caramel with two marshmallows ears enrobed in milk chocolate, rolled in red sanding sugar, and embellished with white M&M'S chocolate candies and a white chocolate Santa hat with a bow
• Minnie Santa Hat Cereal Treat: Mickey-shaped cereal treat dipped in milk chocolate and decorated with red sanding sugar, green M&M's chocolate candies, and a Santa hat
• Holiday Milk Marshmallow Wand: Marshmallows dipped in caramel and then milk chocolate drizzled with green and red chocolate

After the flag retreat ceremony, we went to New Orleans Square, where the fog was put on the Rivers of America. We didn't see any show there, but they were practicing for something. The Pirates of the Caribbean line was only 20 minutes, so we did that. Always love that ride!

Finally, we decided to get dinner at Jolly Holiday before heading home ($39). Albert had the Mac & Cheese, Mike had the Roast Beef sandwich, and I had the Jolly Holiday Combo with grilled cheese and tomato soup. I added the Pumpkin Chai cream puff to say farewell to fall. It was actually so good. Mike got a coffee from Refreshment Corner ($3) for the drive home,e and we listened to the Ragtime piano player right there on the patio. It was great to sit there with other families. All the kids were screaming, and all the parents were exhausted, and it was dark; the lights in the trees were twinkling, the balloons were lit up, and so was the Christmas tree. The joys of that visit were in the simple spending time (and money) together and having moments of stillness without having to go-go-go.

We kind of decided to let our Magic Keys go, we will not renew them when our renewal window opens. I love and enjoy being at Disneyland but also it is expensive and we're not rich. We can spend that money elsewhere for sure.

Albert has an obsession with pressed pennies. We had to buy a set of 8 near It's a Small World, another set of 3 on Main Street, and 3 in Adventureland ($11). So the money we spent that day was $300 exactly. It's not so much the cost of the Magic Keys, which are expensive, though; it's more about this additional spending for one Disney day. Even though we didn't stay at a hotel, we spent a ton of money on the treats, food, and toys, and Albert is getting even more and more into shopping. We must be careful about bringing him places or get better at saying no. I don't want my kid to end up very spoiled (and it might already be too late). We plan on doing more straightforward, free, and local things until we get our balance on the credit card back down to zero and until we can rein in our monthly expenses. We are still determining when or if any opportunity may arise to buy a condo in the current complex that we live in, but if it does, we want to be ready when that happens. If we can buy, our mortgage plus insurance plus HOA fee will be so expensive we'll have to cut corners to afford it, so we'll start now. It's hard to put a price on joy, but we can find just about the same amount of joy doing stuff like walking around our neighborhood for free.