Festival of Holidays is once again upon us, and after checking out the soft opening last week, I noticed several items on the menu are repeats from years past. It should also be noted that there are fewer booths set up this year, with only eight joining the marketplace (I think last year there were thirteen). There are a couple of new items I definitely want to eat (and drink), but there are also a few returning favorites I think are worth a try. These are some items I have sampled before that are definitely worth eating again!
September was a bit of a mixed bag at the parks. On the one hand, it was the beginning of Halloween Time, which is always fun (and always equals lots of yummy new food to try), but on the other hand, it meant saying goodbye to the Pixarmonic Orchestra, which honestly, was a little bit devastating. DCA has been letting go of a lot of its live entertainment and it’s a trend that really sucks. And I hope it means there is more new live entertainment in the works, but I’m not holding my breath. Let’s take a look back at September in the parks:
So the other day we had a rare opportunity: family day at Disneyland! I know, I know, you’re totes thinking, isn’t that like a weekly occurrence? But actually, it’s not. Squirt and I go to the parks together about once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. But usually when we go, Matt is working (usually in the parks) so we see him, but he doesn’t get to hang out with us. Last week Squirt happened to have a minimum day on one of Matt’s days off, so we headed over as a fam, and here’s what our typical day at the parks looks like:
11:51 Leave the house
12:12 On the tram-because that’s how we roll now! Twenty minutes to drive to Disneyland, park and get through security, ka-chow!
12:24 Enter Disneyland and realize the Disneyland Band March Along starts in three minutes, so we of course head to the castle because what does Matt want to do when he’s not playing in the band? Watch the band!
12:48 Train time! Since we marched down Main Street with the band and ended up at the train station, we hopped aboard to head over to Haunted Mansion because Squirt is suddenly super into Haunted Mansion.
12:55 Fast Passes to Haunted Mansion secured!
1:04 And since we’re in the area, we might as well try the Groom churro (thoughts on Halloween food coming soon!)
1:10 Time for a walk through Galaxy’s Edge! Not going to lie, we had no intention of going on Smuggler’s Run, so we were literally just walking through. We stopped to look at some of the marketplace shops, and filled our water bottle (obviously), but that’s about it.
1:44 Squirt’s new favorite ride: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters! Matt and I have a special connection to this ride so it’s fun to go on it all together. I almost beat Matt. Almost.
2:05 Squirt and I snagged our Halloween AP magnets and buttons. Matt didn’t get one since he’s a cast member and not an AP (he was not sad about it).
2:19 Headed to Pizza Planet for a quick lunch. We brought Squirt a sandwich from home, and Matt and I shared a piece of the Halloween pizza (again, more on that soon!).
3:00 Time to walk back across the park for our Haunted Mansion Fast Pass. I don’t know where it came from, but Squirt went from hating this ride to insisting we go on it every time. Not mad about it.
3:34 Walked across the esplanade to check out some of our DCA faves (and by that I mean beer).
3:48 Sat down to enjoy a pretzel and some beers at Sonoma Terrace, which might literally be my favorite place in the parks.
4:11 Matt and Squirt headed in to the “Superhero Store” while I sat my tired ass on a bench in the shade. Disneylanding with a five year old is hard, y’all.
4:58 When given the option between a ride and meeting Spider-Man, Squirt surprised us and picked Spidey. Normally he is not into meeting the characters, and he was super shy when Spidey actually talked to him, but he had fun. And yes, my kid is wearing a Legoland hat at Disneyland.
5:12 Even though it’s early, we decided to head out. We didn’t want to eat dinner in the parks, and even though Squirt didn’t have school the next day, we still wanted to keep to our normal nighttime schedule as much as possible. Also, he woke up at 6:45 that morning, so we know the wall would be getting hit at any moment.
Honestly, these are my favorite kind of days. I love being able to hang out with Matt in the parks (it’s fun to watch him play too, but it’s better to actually get to enjoy the parks with him) and Squirt absolutely loves getting to have Dad time at his favorite place. Nothing can beat hanging with my favorite guys in my favorite place!
So this is kind of a toughy as I hardly went to Disneyland at all in July (gasp! shock! awe!). Honestly, I was so busy with life stuff, that the House of the Mouse took a backseat. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have Disney love to share, because it’s me, and of course I do.
Okay, this Loop de Loop Sundae from Golden Horseshoe is adorable, but it might be the sweetest thing I have ever eaten in my whole life. Ice cream and fruity cereal and churros and sprinkles. It was good, but it was…a lot.
Wait, did I say that was the sweetest thing I’ve ever eaten? Let me introduce you to the reality stone churro from DCA (sold at the cart in the Hollywood Backlot). I still think the sundae is sweeter, but this bad boy was equally sugary and quite a bit messier.
Now that the castle is back to life, the Disneyland Band is back to doing their march along set, where the characters join the band for a march from the castle down Main Street. It’s a super fun set to watch as it’s a great chance to see the Fab Five, and the band and Dapper Dans all perform together, which is adorbs.
TRASH!!! <—- My favorite quote from Toy Story 4. I’m pretty in love with these new Pixar Pier trash cans, found by the newly opened Emotional Whirlwind ride. I won’t go on the ride, because spinning in a circle is not my jam, but Brianna took Squirt and they both liked it so I think it’s a winner.
So this is technically not from Disneyland, but it’s my blog and I’ll post what I want to. Had to do a little throwback to my most popular post of all time, my Marvel Chronological Countdown printable (which, I know, needs some updates). Honestly, it sounds dumb, but this post and the ensuing challenge made me an MCU fan and life will never be the same!
Wanna hear something pretty crazy? It’s already the middle of August and I haven’t been to Disneyland once this month! But don’t worry, I’m going tomorrow, and this weekend, and I’m sure a few more times between now and September so I promise to still have Disneyland updates to share with you! If you aren’t following me on Insta, what are you waiting for?
Guuuyyyyssss… Festival of Holidays is almost over and I’m so sad. As I mentioned in my Disneyland Holiday food review, I am blocked out until January 6th. It’s the only two weeks of the year I’m blocked out, and it’s going to be crazy crowded so I’m not too bummed, except it means I’m missing out on good Festival of Holidays time. Luckily, the official end date for FoH is January 8th, which means I will have two days to get in the last of the good eats. And you know I will! If you haven’t already, make sure you check out my first highlights post as there were lots of good eats featured there. And here’s the rest of the highlights!
Well, folks, today is a sad, sad, day. Today is the day I officially begin my two week block out at Disneyland, which means I will likely not make it back to the parks before the official end of the holiday season on January 6, 2019. Now, technically I’m not blocked out on the 6th itself, so there’s a decent chance I’ll run over to the parks for some final tasty holiday treats, but chances are, I’ve enjoyed my last peppermint delight for the season. However, I’m sure many of you have holiday trips planned over the next two weeks, so here are some of the goodies you can look forward to trying!
This is the peppermint shake from Schmoozies in California Adventure. Peppermint ice cream is one of my all-time favorite flavors, so I was all about this shake. My only problem with it was the mound of whipped cream on top. It makes for an adorable picture, but it dripped everywhere and was quite messy. Overall though, a very tasty treat.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas, but Festival of Holidays at California Adventure! Time to eat (and drink) my weight in tasty goodies. As I mentioned back in my Christmas treats to eat post, this year for Festival of Holidays, I’m not making a checklist, but rather trying new things depending on my mood for the day. So far this has worked out really well, as I have really enjoyed everything I’ve sampled so far. (It also doesn’t hurt that Matt scored some cast member coupons for the booths-yummies are great, free yummies are even better.) These are some of the delectable bites I have tried so far!
