Disneyland Day Trip

Disneyland Day Trip! Well, I wanted to post a quick blog to recap our visit to Disneyland last Friday during the Lunar New Year celebration. We had overall a good day. I tried to keep our spending under $100, which I failed. But we had a good time and a memorable day trip. 

Albert remembers the treehouse; he's still talking about it 3 days later. While riding the teacups for the first time, he was brave but didn't enjoy Star Wars Smuggler's Run. He was scared because they locked us in the spaceship. He didn't like that they sealed the exit. He loves the Blue Milk and had fun talking to the droids outside the droid depot. 

Cars Land is still his favorite place but causes more meltdowns than any other place in the two parks. He's still obsessed with coin collecting. He didn't really register that Web Slingers is about Spiderman and isn't impressed with Avengers Campus in general, with the exception of the oversized pretzel. He's still not super into parades, but he had fun blowing bubbles with his bubble wand during Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession. 

He danced like crazy at the Disney Jr Dance Party, although he complained that the music was too loud. He surprised me by having fun in Frontierland, pretending to shoot cannonballs over the fort. If you ever try to recreate the magic from a previous trip to Disneyland, that is a mistake. It's much better to go with the flow and let each trip show you something new.

5am leave house
6am arrive Garden Walk
6:30 walk to park
7am security
7:30 gate

$10.63 Coffee + cake pops
$9.68 chips + juice

8am Jungle cruise
8:30 treehouse

$20 pirate coins

9am Pooh Corner
10am Galaxy's Edge

$4.30 chips
$18.30 blue + green milk

11am Fantasyland
(carousel and teacups)
11:30 Small world

$19.38 two cars
$10.17 lunch stew

12:45 Lunar New Year Parade
1:20 avengers assemble

$12.60 pym pretzel 🥨

2pm Cars Land

$9.60 for Guido + Luigi

3pm walk around Pixar Pier
4pm Disney jr dance party
4:30 Frontierland snacks

$5.50 fruit popsicle
$7.53 cheese + ham croissant

5:30 shaboom
6pm park exit

$119.21 in-park spending + $30 Garden Walk parking




Packing List

• ✨Spray sunscreen (didn't use)
• Mickey Backpack
• two hats
• Minnie ears
• two pairs sunglasses
• ✨Albie change of clothes (didn't use)
• ✨flour sack towel (didn't use)
• Think sunscreen bag
• phone charger / battery
• first aid kit
• 5 toy cars
• Albie medications
• 3 diapers
• ✨wetbag for dirty laundry (didn't use)
• glasses lens cleaner
• bubble fidget toy
• bubble wand + extra bubbles
• ✨AA Batteries + screwdriver (didn't bring)
• Diaper change kit
• Tow Mater + remote control
• ✨Photopass QR card (didn't bring)
• extra ziploc bags
• BOB stroller
• Water bottle
• Red Snack Bag
• ✨raisins (didn't use)
• ✨apple (didn't use)
• ✨goldfish (didn't use)
• ✨cheerios (didn't use)
• ✨pretzels (didn't use)
• Insulated Cooler
• milk
• juice
• Cucumber
• Blueberries
• raspberries
• Strawberries
• Oranges
• plastic silverware + knife
• reusable straws
• string cheese
• ✨three fruit pouches (didn't use)
• Granola bars

If we had wanted to save more money, we could have brought a full-size bag of Lay's potato chips since we bought 3 small bags for $4 each.

Market House is located on Main Street USA on the northeast edge, near the Plaza Inn and the Little Red Wagon (aka Corn Dog Cart). I have never been in there because the line is always out the door, but this time, we rope dropped so early that we got in and beat the crowds. It was a waste, though, since I never drank the coffee and Albert never ate the cake pops. I wanted to sit there for a bit, but kiddo was on the go and wanted to leave almost immediately.

• Main St Fruit Stand – Just outside of Market House
• Fruit Cart – Located Between New Orleans Square and Critter Country
• https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/fruit/

Troubadour Tavern is adjacent to Fantasyland Theatre, near Small World and Toontown. I got the Serengeti Stew with Roasted Chicken and Chermoula Sauce with Steamed Rice and Roasted Kale. It was perfect on a cold day. Warmed me up without being too much food. I shared the rice with Albert.

• Frozen Treats Cart – Located at the Entrance of Adventureland
• https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/disneyland-ice-cream/

Maurice's Treats is adjacent to the Royal Theater, within sight of the Plaza, the Partners statue, and Sleeping Beauty Castle. I saw people walking away from it with something cheesy and warm, which made me curious. I had just eaten a pretzel, so I skipped the pretzel cheese bread and opted for the Ham and Cheese Croissant instead. It was something easy, quick, cheap and hot.

• https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/pretzels/

As Imagineer Alex Wright wrote, Main Street USA presents "fanciful flair" and gives you a sense of "overriding optimism." The right side (towards the castle) has things you might need in the morning: coffee, hats, and Main Street Photo Supply Co.. The left side (but on your right as you walk away from the castle) has more souvenirs (Emporium) and things you would do at the end of the day, like one last ice cream scoop. It's slightly uphill as you go to the castle to slow you down in the morning, and slightly downhill as you leave the park to give you the feeling of getting to the exit with your exhausted kids faster.  ~MousePlanet

https://www.mouseplanet.com/13294/Walking_Down_Walt_Disney_Worlds_Main_Street_USA
https://insidethemagic.net/2020/09/main-street-disneyland-guide-ba1mmb/
https://www.themouseforless.com/disneyland/dining/disneyland-resorts-restaurant-menus/disneyland-snack-cart-menus/

Main Street USA "creates a sense of intimacy, an area that was less threatening but also communicated to the unconscious mind that this was slightly different than the real world. As a result, the guests' minds are already being prepared to accept the next level of fantasy presented in the other lands." ~MousePlanet

"You know the expression, 'A man's home is his castle.' So, in the end, this castle is Everyman's home, stated Imagineer John Hench." ~MousePlanet

We're about to enter our renewal window for our magic keys and it's time to let go. I have one more reservation on the keys booked, but time will tell if we actually use that reservation. Whether I bring Albert or go by myself. I had fun imagining it was Adventureland Day (Sunday, March 3rd, 2024) and wearing my military-style jacket with explorer patches on it and my ears with animal print. I lost those ears, but I also let them go.

fun month, boring month

Our new strategy for saving money is to have one month of splurge and one month of save. We call it turning the tap on and turning the tap off. But let me tell you, after a splurge it really hurts turning the tap off.

I think we got into this pattern during May 2023 (fun), june (boring), July (fun), august (boring), September (fun), october (boring), November (fun), december (boring), January 2024 (fun!). Extending that out, it tracks that Albert's birthday and the expiration of our Magic Keys falls in a fun month (March 2024). 

Fun = Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov

Boring = Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec

Well, it's hard to have a boring month in December because of Christmas and Mike's birthday, but we have been experiencing some staffing shortages here at work so this year we are definitely planning to stay locally here. It's interesting that September 2024 is a fun month, we'll see about doing the Disneyland race that month. Maybe we won't do it. Maybe we'll do some other one. Maybe we'll just train for it and then just enjoy running for the sake of running.

November 2023 was fun. We went to San Diego. But I'm too tired to write about it today.

I'll leave you with these two photos. First one is a selfie at the Village after I did a run that felt like 5 miles but was actually only 1.5 miles. The second one is my official school headshot. I think the lighting captured my double chin perfectly but I'm trying to just accept that it's what I look like right now and that's why I'm trying to get back into running.

I recently purchased a few items that I hope will be helpful for my return to running. 

• New Shoes Brooks Ghost 14 White/Purple/Coral
• A Jacket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WPFTLDL
• Compression Socks from Sparkle Athletic
• and NurseMates which I got from Buy Nothing
• Reflective Visor from Sparkle Athletic
• A light vest https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3NM7PDM
• Two running skirts Magical Shapes and Baby Pink

I extended my training program through to the start of next school year 2024-2025. I don't know if I'm totally nuts, but I do know that I've been wanting to do a runDisney race for a long time.

Tinkerbell Half Marathon Sun, Jan 20, 2013

I got my first pair of ears and sparkle skirt from Poshmark on Dec 27 and 28, 2021. I found my second pair of ears on the ground crossing the street leaving the parks. I got two more pairs of ears on Amazon in April 22, 2023 to prepare for taking my sister and niece to the parks in May 2023.

First mouse swag Dec 29, 2021

I guess we got our first Imagine Key Pass on Apr 20, 2022. That year Albert was 2 years old, so we only needed one pass to get in both of us. When we renewed our passes it must have been in March 2023 because Albert turned 3 and he needed his own pass. Then our passes expire March 19, 2024 unless we renew them.

Our first Disney trip with Albert May 2022

Aug 22-23 2022 + Sept 12 (Dad had a 3-day SoCal resident ticket) 1 ticket = $249

Dec 14-15 2022 (Mike's 50th Bday Extravaganza) 1 ticket = $159

Jan 12-14 2023 (Mighty Ducks Day)

Mar 20 2023 (Albert's bday + spring break + food & wine festival) lots of rain

May 15-16 2023 + May 22 (downtown Disney only)

Aug 21 2023 (Hurricane Hilary)

Oct 2 2023 mom's day out

• see also https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2023/08/folding-stroller.html
• and https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2023/09/acceleration.html 

Nov 8 2023 (Veteran's Day)

and that brings us up to date. So I'm also too tired to do a financial analysis of whether we got our money's worth out of the magic key. the 2022 price was $400 and the 2023 price was $450 (we bought them on Nov 16, 2022) and the so-cal resident 3-day ticket was $249. We shall see.

acceleration

It seems the semester is accelerating or maybe perhaps I am just now recovering from COVID-19 and starting to function near full capacity.

I wanted to post because I haven't been doing the microblogging that I used to do on my Bumper group over on Reddit. The active posters moved over to Discord and I just can't keep up with all the activity over there. There is an active Bumper group on Facebook as well, but it's largely photos and links and there isn't an easy way to see all my archived activity to cut and paste the text over here. So I guess I'll start posting here as much as I can or at least with the goal of several times per month.

My kiddo's word list seems like it's rapidly expanding now. He talked himself to sleep last night with an endless stream of half-nonsense and half-perceptible speech. He says funny words like butt and fart. He can say "ice cream cone" very clearly when he wants one. He says "green bike" every day as he runs to the garage to go to school. I'm so glad he finally loves the bike! 

He says "ka-kee" for cupcake, "tee-kaa" for tic-tic. He says "cow" for milk and "ka-koo" for popcorn. He is trying to say something for chicken nuggets but I can't really distinguish it. I'm not sure what he says if he wants just string cheese but he definitely says "hot cheese" for mac & cheese. He doesn't want to be called baby Albert anymore, just Albert. He lets me know about things that are fast by saying "beez" which I think means Blaze. He says "Gook" for both Goofy and his scooter. He says "chee No" for chicken nuggets.

When we're getting dressed, he is starting to have opinions about what color shirt he gets. I ask him for the color of the day and he tells me. "Led" is red. "Gold" is orange. "Lello" is yellow. "Geen" is green. "Boo" is blue. "Pup" is purple. "Gee" is grey. "Back" is black. "White" is white. He is refusing to wear a long-sleeved shirt over his t-shirt even though the temperature is in the 60s on the way to school.

Every day he wants to "pick car" which means going to a store that sells cars, looking at all the cars, taking about 30 minutes to touch each car and comment on it, and then ultimately buying one (or not). He loves to "choose" for himself. "Buy ka-kee" is also a recent hobby which is to go to the store and buy 12 cupcakes, and eat only the sprinkles off the top of every single one.

He says "cup" instead of cut. He talks about getting a haircut. He loves going swimming, he says "pool wa" which means he wants to go in the pool water and swim. Swimming is totally fun now, Albert climbs in and out of the pool using the stairs. He jumps off the side of the pool and tries to grab his floating cars. He is very independent and can motor himself pretty well from one area of the pool to the other. One day he even was doing a backfloat on his own, which he rarely allows.

I'm thinking about Halloween already, it's not too soon. In 2021 we represented three of the four Hogwarts houses. Albert was Gryffindor, I was Hufflepuff, and Mike was Slytherin. That was our first year of trick-or-treating at the LA Zoo. I think the only thing I bought for that costume was a onesie for Albert and a patch for Mike. In 2022 I bought two pairs of PJs from Old Navy. One was a doctor and I made cardboard cutouts of an ambulance to camouflage the BOB jogging stroller. The other was a firefighter and I made cardboard cutouts to dress up our cargo bike as a fire engine.

We went on a costumed bike ride which was on campus at CSUN. It was cool to see everyone that dressed up but unfortunately, the pace of the ride was so fast, we got dropped almost immediately. This year, I got Disney PJs of a racecar driver for #95 Lightning McQueen ($30). I plan to make cardboard cutouts of a racecar and attach them to our beach wagon. I bought a steering wheel that makes sounds (Disney Pixar’s CARS 3 LIGHTNING MCQUEEN Rev N' Roll Steering Wheel by eKids, $15). I got two "pit crew" t-shirts for Mike and me to wear to coordinate and support Albert ($20 each, Kohl's). So I guess I really went in this year. I am ordering decals to be color-printed to make the racecar more realistic and I was considering buying spray-paint to make the red car and yellow lightning bolt quicker to paint.

My husband thinks it is time to take another formal family photo for our Christmas cards. I'm not sure. I actually love the photos they take at Disneyland for free. Well, it's free to get your photo taken. You have to get Genie+ to download the digital version. I dunno.

I kinda feel like it's time to buy running shoes again. I am loving my Lularoe shirts that I wear for work. I am loving my pull-on skinny jeans. I don't care that skinny jeans are going out of style, they're practical for biking to work. Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. Gold Label Women's Size Totally Shaping Pull-On Skinny Jeans. I wear and wash them every night after lab. I went by the size chart and measured into a size 20. Disregard what Amazon recommends based on your other orders. I feel so grateful that I have a wardrobe I can just walk in there and grab something without overthinking it.

I'm struggling to set a date to go back to Disneyland. I definitely want to go at least once per month so I guess I just need to set the date and commit to it. Spirit Jersey: peach ($43), blue ($64), purple ($35). Minnie ears ($19), running skirt ($15) via Poshmark and Facebook Marketplace. I found out that if you're in Anaheim but not at the park, you can go to Target or Walmart and find Disney merchandise for much cheaper, I think I got this shirt for $6.

I did buy myself a bunch of mom appreciation gifts (and one dad appreciation gift). Instead of buying $1000 of clothes to get these incentives during World Breastfeeding Week 2023, I just bought the incentive gifts. I think the color-changing cup is 100% fun and I love it. I love the phone grip and the keychains. I'm not wild so far about the twist-front nursing tank and the ribbed nursing tank but maybe they'll grow on me. I also got a pair of LM leggings ($26) with no pockets. They are more comfortable than the leggings I got from Amazon.

I got a legging organizer from Amazon but I'm finding it more useful to organize my son's outfits. I can roll up together his shorts and shirt that match and he can see them and pick/choose what he wants to wear. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BMYV21TN/ 

We're trying to be on a spending freeze and we're crossing our fingers about the student loan forgiveness. I should be eligible now, but the repayment for all borrowers is resuming next month, so there is certainly a flurry of activity as borrowers try to get loans forgiven or in forbearance. They are saying it will be 30-90 days until my paperwork is processed.

folding a stroller

We did a new thing at Disneyland this past visit, we parked on-site and rode the resort tram service into the park. To do so, we had to fold our jogging stroller and squeeze it into the bench seat with us. All while managing our 3-year old and multitude of small coolers, backpacks, and diaper bags.

I'm saying all this because we weren't expecting to take the Tram but that's how it works if you park in the Mickey & Friends parking structure. You are funneled from the elevator or escalator, to the security and bag screening, to the Tram. Once our kid saw the Tram, of course he wanted to get on it. 

These tips would have been good to know ahead of time: The front seat of each tram car is wider if you need extra space for your folded stroller. Also you don't need to rush to board the tram. After we got on, they waited a bit for it to fill up so really there was no need to hurry. Also, the tram seats have doors which you need to be able to hold open. So you really need a second or third adult to hold the door, move the stroller, and wrangle the kid.

If you don't have a stroller, you can take this cool escalator.

Since we are magic key holders with an Imagine Key, we could get 25 percent off parking at the Toy Story Parking Area, just South of the GardenWalk. Restrooms inside the Toy Story Parking Area are located near the bus stop. If you park in the Toy Story lot, bus service will take you from the parking area to the parks. The bus will drop you off on the opposite side of the Disneyland Esplanade from where the trams stop, on the Harbor Boulevard side. You can also walk to the parks; it is about a 15-minute walk up and across Harbor Boulevard. (for $22.50)

"From the second floor of the Pixar Pals structure, there is a pedestrian ramp that takes you to the Downtown Disney entrance. You can enter security there and then walk through Downtown Disney to get to the Esplanade. It’s about a 15-minute walk. Once inside Downtown Disney, you may instead opt to take the monorail into Disneyland Park instead of walking. (The monorail does close early at night, so don't count on it taking you back later at night). The monorail turnstile counts as a park entrance, so once you scan your ticket, you can use or purchase Genie+ to start making Lightning Lane selections. We like to mobile order breakfast from the monorail and pick it up at Galactic Grill after disembarking."
https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/disneyland-parking/

"Toy Story is a surface lot. There is no covered parking, so you won’t have to deal with escalators/elevators/stairs like you do at the parking structures. However if it is raining, windy, very cold or very hot – you’ll be loading and unloading in the elements. Many people find the Toy Story Parking Area more convenient than the parking structures, as there is rarely a back-up of cars waiting to enter and once you’re in you don’t have to drive up a ramp and circle the levels to a spot. Exiting is quicker, too!"
https://www.californiafamilytravel.com/disneyland-parking/

All this to say that by folding the stroller first thing in the morning and then having to cram it in the tram, I hurt my back. Also the walking was killer that day, I was not prepared. We got so many steps. You can't actually cross Magic Way or Disneyland Drive on the street level, we had to backtrack to catch the ramp to the second level. So I have some training to do to get my steps back to where they need to be to be able to enjoy a day at Disneyland.