A Disneyland Day in the Life
Hello friends and happy almost Friday! Wanna know the best/worst part about being an entrepreneur? Every day is Friday, and no day is Friday. <——— Deep. Last Friday, Squirt and I headed down to Disneyland for a fun day in the parks. We don’t usually go on Fridays because it’s more crowded, but Matt was going to be able to meet us later in the afternoon, so I figured what the hell. I also thought it would be fun to do a little breakdown of what our typical Disneyland day looks like (though this was not totally typical because Matt’s not usually there at all, but the basics are the same). You should definitely keep in mind that the kid and me do this about once a week, so we don’t ever feel pressured to ride rides. We have a very go with the flow attitude about the parks, because we can. And honestly, that’s one of the best parts of being a passholder. Here’s what our day looked like:
10:52 Leave the house and head straight to Starbucks, because coffee. From Starbucks, we hit the road.
11:56 Get off the freeway after a pretty painless (which is odd) drive. Normally it takes at least an hour.
12:07 Park the car. Despite longish lines, parking goes quickly.
12:24 Board the tram after going through security. I have this down to a science so it goes fast. Also, the tram is Squirt’s favorite ride.
12:38 Enter California Adventure (heretofore known as DCA) and head right to Food and Wine Festival. Grab a pie and a frose from the Strawberry Patch booth. It’s my first meal of the day, and also breakfast of champions.
1:16 After stuffing my face (and sharing a few bites with Squirt), we walk across the Esplanade to Disneyland.
1:24 Lunch time for Squirt. We usually eat at the tables in Tomorrowland because they are shady and not crowded. I always bring Squirt a lunch and grab something small for myself.
2:03 Squirt decides we should ride the Monorail to the Lego store so that he can Hulk smash Lego Hulk. So that’s what we do.
2:44 Back in DCA (after successfully NOT buying any Legos, go me), we get in line at the Starbucks in the park.
3:01 I’m actually handed my coffee.
3:23 Squirt wants a Groot car, so we head over to the Marvel store, which is at the exit of the Guardians ride. Lucky me, there’s a whole set of Marvel themed cars!!!!! #sarcasm Squirt changes his mind and goes for the Rocket Raccoon car instead. You do you, boo.
4:06 Monsters Inc time. Look! We actually went on a ride! And Matt is there waiting for us when we are done.
4:53 After purchasing two cocktails and a snack from Food and Wine (check this post for Food and Wine highlights) we sit down at the new tables in front of Wine Country Trattoria.
5:24 Time for Cars Land. Squirt says hi to Mater, then spends an inordinate amount of time looking at cars we don’t buy in Sarge’s Surplus Hut, then says hi to Lightning.
6:02 Squirt wants to see Groot. Not meet Groot, because he is super tall and kinda scary, but he wants to look at him from a safe distance. We walk to Guardians, cutting through a bug’s land and riding two rides on our way. Mom doesn’t ride anything that spins, so it’s a good chance for Squirt to ride on some of those little kid rides that I can’t stomach.
6:33 We make it to Guardians only to find Groot is gone for the day. So we go meet Cap instead. Not a shabby replacement, even if Squirt finds him terrifying. (For the record, he has met Cap before and knew what to expect, and he asked to meet him, so totes not my fault that he’s scared.)
7:01 Dinner time. We walk down to ESPN Zone. Not my first choice in dining, but they have booze and March Madness is on so whatevs. #basketballsucks
7:24 We slide into our booth after a remarkably short wait time. The clouds have gathered at this point and it’s about to rain any minute.
8:43 Full and exhausted, we make it back to our car, just as the rain begins to come down.
9:41 We finally arrive home. Normally the ride home is much shorter, but thanks to the rain and LA drivers who can’t handle it, it takes us almost an hour to make it home. Squirt goes straight to bed, and I go straight to the wine.
It was a successful (and longer) Disneyland day for us, and I’m glad it was a good one because Squirt is now blocked out for three weeks while the madness of Spring Break ensues. I’ll be back at the parks a couple of times solo and with Brianna, so make sure you are following me on Instagram for all the highlights (@falonloveslife)!
