The Disney Way

Over Easter break, my boyfriend and I took a short trip to Anaheim, California. Anaheim (and the LA area) is probably our favourite place to go. Not only is it the most affordable, and the closest home away from home for us, it is also where Disneyland (and great shopping) is. This year, the occasion was my boyfriend's birthday. Here is my full trip report...

Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree was decorated in springtime decor and Easter eggs. Disneyland held a fun Easter egg hunt, Egg-stravaganza. For $5, you buy a map to hunt down your eggs, and when you've fount them all, you can redeem your prize at the main store. Or you can choose to not hunt your eggs, and redeem your prize immediately. We decided against the egg hunt due to time constraints but maybe next year!

World of Colour is my favourite show at California Adventure, and my trip just isn't complete unless I watch it twice!

As I had previously mentioned in an earlier entry, my boyfriend and I celebrated his dinner at the Blue Bayou. Their food was delicious, and I now understand why it's always busy! Our Fantasmic package included dinner, a special viewing area for Fantastic and a cute cushion for your tushie. My favourite food at Disneyland is their gumbo. I've discovered that all the gumbos at Disneyland each have a different recipe. I've always loved the steak jumbo served at Royal Street Veranda just above the Pirates of Caribbean ride but when I tried it at Cafe Orleans, it was completely different (and disappointing). I was so happy to find out that Blue Bayou's gumbo was even better than Royal Street Veranda's. During dinner, it started raining - pouring, which was great for California. But unfortunately, this meant the first showing of Fantastic and the fireworks show was cancelled. We headed over two California Adventure to watch World of Color, of course, which shows rain or shine, then back to Disneyland as the rain stopped. Lucky for us, they decided it was safe to go on with second showing of Fantastic. Since the rain has scared away most of the crowds, we sat front row watching the show. It was the perfect end to our night.

That concludes my trip to Disneyland this year!

California Living

Easter Sunday at Huntington beach and my boyfriend's 31st birthday at Disney with nighttime Fantastic festivities: 

Hello from the Happiest Place on Earth!

We've been here in Anaheim enjoying the California sun for a few days now! Here are some photos documenting our Disney day...

Almost there!

Wow! Time flies... and I didn't even start packing yet! 

...until our trip to Disneyland!

One Month Mark!

Only 

...until our annual trip to Disneyland! 

Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration

The anticipation is building as Disneyland begins the countdown to the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration. As you may have heard, Disneyland is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Last month, they announced a new World of Color, and a new nighttime parade and firework show. The Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Carthay Circle Theatre will be decorated in diamonds to match the anniversary theme. The entire resort will sparkle with diamond decor and festive banners as well. The parade, "Paint the Night," and firework show, "Disneyland Forever," debuts on May 22. You can read more on the Disney Parks Blog.

Unfortunately, I won't be in Disneyland for the big celebration as I am visiting in April. I am so disappointed but I am still very excited about the release of the limited-edition memorabilia for the event.

We've purchased two five-day passes for our 7 day trip. We won't be going to Disneyland for the full five days (although that's not a bad idea)! I took at the look at the list of rides closed for refurbishment, and I'm slightly concerned. I guess they're planning to get all the rides ready for the 60th anniversary. Matterhorn Bobsleds will be closed during our visit. Thank God Splash Mountain reopens just in time! I hope the weather will be warm enough to get soaked this year. Last May, it was way too cold to get wet. However, it looks like there is a heat wave in Southern California right now, so we are hoping it continues through until April.

I'll be updating as Disney makes more announcement about the celebration!

Soon...

I have some exciting news to announce! We are headed to Disneyland in April for our annual trip! In addition to visiting Disneyland, we will visiting relatives (sadly, I missed my cousin's wedding in November), and my boyfriend also has a very special and important meeting! My Disneyside will be coming out in preparation for my trip. Lots of Disney posts coming your way in the next three months, get excited!

Hello Disneyland

We went to Disneyland everyday during our trip! I won't bore you with the details, here are some highlights...

(courtesy of yours truly via Instagram)

After seeing the Maleficent preview, I am even more excited for the movie. Angelina Jolie looks amazing as Maleficent; they really nailed it with the casting. Another thing we were super excited about - we managed to get fastpasses for Radiator Springs Racers - twice! Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was back up, we tried to go on it as much as we could but the queue has tripled since our last visit and it was broken down many times during our visit. We only went on Splash Mountain once due to LA's uncharacteristically cold weather, and we were soaked! A boat full of adults will do that to ya. In your bottom left is a new dessert Disney offers: Mickey's Kitchen Sink. There are about five flavours you can choose from. You get three scoops of ice cream and you get to keep the sink! It's a nice souvenir, and it's a good price ($11.99) in comparison to other sundaes. Lastly, our trip would not be complete without a Dole Whip Float. We love these, and unfortunately, others have discovered it in the past few years.. Never have we seen a line this long! For those of you who know Disneyland, the lineup wraps all the way around to Aladdin's Oasis. For us, it was quite worth it.


Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my highlights as much as I enjoyed my trip...

Greetings from SoCal!

Hello everyone! 

We are currently in Anaheim. The weather is fair, there is a slight breeze throughout the day so it never gets too hot. The temperature rises during the afternoon for a few short hours but most of the time it's quite chilly. I'm beginning to think I packed for the wrong season! It's supposed to get warmer in the next couple of days so we'll see. 

We picked up our rental car straight from the airport when we arrived on Wednesday morning. Our first stop was the Citadel Outlets. Not one of my favourite outlets but we were able to grab some baby Bambi and Dumbo stuff animals for only $7. These guys are still $23 at Disneyland! What a steal. 

Next we headed to In N Out for lunch, then we stopped by the Outlets at the Orange. No haul here.  So we called it a day and headed to the Boiling Crab for some crayfish, shrimp and gumbo. 

...More later!

Packing

I'm feeling slightly panicked for my upcoming trip to Disneyland. Here we are, just ten days before our trip and I've just barely started to pack. Now for those of you who know me, I am a little bit extreme when it comes to packing. I usually start packing months in advance, so ten days out, this is quite sloppy of me. Get it together, Flora! But I don't just pack. I create lists with a full inventory of what I am bringing. I also make lists of outfit ideas, for mornings when I just can't throw together a cute outfit. I am also an over-packer. Yes, I'm that person who packs 9 different pairs of shoes and 15 pairs of shorts. So unfortunately, my suitcase is always at or close to 50 lbs. This is a challenge because it is always overweight when I come home. I consider myself a seasoned traveler but I am still working on the suitcase issue. September will be a true test for me, as we are traveling to Italy and we are planning on packing light - to move around more freely, and to be able to bring souvenirs home. This is especially difficult because we will be on a one week cruise and cruises require formal wear. For the ladies, formal wear means fancy dresses and heels. And ladies, we all know how much weight all that extra poof adds.

So what is my strategy this time? Here are three things I will keep in mind while packing...

Check the weather. Los Angeles will be warm in early May. Temperatures are in mid to high twenties, so I'll definitely be in shorts. I'll also pack some pants and a lightweight spring jacket for those cool summer nights. Once the sun sets, it can get a little breezy in SoCal. Prepare for layers, so a tank top with a cardigan in the early morning. When the temperature rises in the afternoon, a tank top will be just fine, and when the temperature cools down in the evening, a light jacket will help out.

Tone it down with the Disney. Now every time I go to Disneyland or Disney World, I just throw all my Disney clothes in my suitcase. Well, whaddaya know, I don't always wear every single Disney shirt I bring with me. This time around, I am only bringing what I will wear, and for the number of days I will actually be at Disneyland. Well... maybe one extra shirt won't hurt in case I spill something.

Now my second biggest challenge: Pants. Now I know I'll have to pack pants for a rainy day or a cold night out. I'll need a pair of jeans, because jeans go with everything. On the other hand, I can't go without my trusty cargo pants. They are just as versatile and they are much more comfortable for longer wear. I also have soft black pants I want to bring with me. California weather can be scorching so I want to test my soft pants out for Italy. Many religious sites in Italy require women to cover their legs - or at least their knees. I can only wear so many maxi skirts, and I don't own any capris or knee length shorts/skirts, so I decided to invest in a pair of lightweight soft pants. I want to make sure these pants can withstand hot weather, so I'm not sweating through them during the day. If they can't withstand California weather, they're not coming to Italy with me. And I can't forget about my leggings, which I'll be wearing on the plane. Do I really need four pairs of pants for six days? No. So this is something I'll have to think over.

Disneyland

I've just started to plan our May trip to Disneyland and my co-worker mentioned she was going for the first time in April. I love sharing my Disney love and knowledge so I've decided to give her some tips on how to make the most of her one Disney day. This is my fifth adult trip to Disneyland in the past five years (eighth in my entire life) so I consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to Disney.

We usually do a park hopper because we love having the best of both worlds. If one park is busy, we just hop over next door. California Adventure also closes earlier, so we can still enjoy Disneyland in the later hours. However, my co-worker is only tackling Disneyland so here are my quick tips for her:

Food

We recommend packing snacks and especially, water to refuel during the day. There are lineups everywhere, and it's hot during mid-day. It's nice to have a bottle of water or a granola bar to help refuel. There is not one particular restaurant that is a must-visit for us in either park, but Carthay Circle, Cafe Orleans and Carnation Cafe are among our favourites. The best snacks in Disneyland are Dole Whips. One cannot visit the park, and not have Dole Whip. If there is no time to eat dinner in the park or dinner can wait, Downtown Disney is opened after the park closes. Downtown Disney stays opened until 11 PM, sometimes 12 AM.

Rides

We recommend getting FastPasses for: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. A lot of people don`t recommend getting a FastPass for Big Thunder, and I understand. If the line is short, then it is better to get a FastPass elsewhere. Don’t miss: Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Pirates of the Caribbean, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, and It's a Small World.

Shows

Mickey’s Magical Map is a new show that debuted last May. We recommend seeing the second showing of Fantasmic if there is one. There are less kids, and more space. Watch the “Remember Dreams Come True" Fireworks show. 

 (courtesy of yours truly via Instagram)

I love learning new tips about Disneyland. It's always a new experience for me, and I always discover something new. If you have anything to share, I would love to hear it!