Have I ever told you guys that I didn’t go to Disneyland until I was an adult?
I went to Disney World when I was in college but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I went to Disneyland for the first time. I have to admit that when we were there in May I kept wondering what all the fuss was about. It was so overcrowded and we spent more time standing in line than we did doing anything else. The magic was there but it just wasn’t like I had expected, even with The Love Nugget with us. We decided to go again this year because we knew with the baby coming we probably wouldn’t return for a few more years. Plus we wanted to do a fun trip with The Love Nugget before his world gets flipped upside down. So we planned a few days in February when things are supposed to be much less crowded. THIS, was a huge winning factor to our trip. There were so many fewer people there that it truly made for a much more enjoyable trip. That plus the fact that The Love Nugget was so much more into it this time than last being that he was a few years older. His excitement just leading up to the trip was enough to make us anticipate the day more than we thought we would.
Like I said we planned our trip for early February and also chose mid-week which we knew would make for fewer people. We left bright and early on a Monday morning to make the 6 1/2 hour drive to LA. I know some people are probably thinking we’re crazy for driving but it’s really not all that bad when you leave early enough to miss traffic. Along with The Love Nugget, we had my mom and mother in law with us which made for a more entertaining drive. We arrived at Disney Grand California just after 12:00 and dropped off our bags to go explore Downtown Disney.
Last time we made the trip, we didn’t take anytime to do this or plan for any down time so made sure to save a day to do so this time. First stop was lunch at the raved about Naples Ristorante E Pizzeria.
After a yummy lunch, we cruised around the downtown area stopping into some much-anticipated shops like the Lego store,
and Ridemakers where he built his own car.
For several weeks before Disney, we paid the Love Nugget in Disney Dollars for his doing his chores. He had a jar that we would put fake Disney money into and by the time we left he had earned $50 dollars! He stuffed it into his wallet and we let him pick out a few things using “his” money that he had earned. He even paid with the fake stuff at Lego land then I quietly handed her my card. Thankfully she went along with it and he was thrilled to be able to spend his hard-earned money 
We cruised around shopping for a while until we received a text that our room was ready. We made the short walk to our hotel (which I highly recommend) and checked into our room where we found a surprise waiting for us!
A very LARGE Star Wars Balloon, backpack filled with goodies and a light saber for The Love Nugget,
and a Disney ice chest filled with all sorts of snacks and treats for the rest of us. The Hubby is working on a job that has to do with traveling in California and mentioned we were going to be staying at The Disneyland Grand California so they arranged for some fun surprises for us. So nice!
It wasn’t long before it was time to head down to the Grand Quest in the hotel Lobby.
We helped The Love Nugget search for clues and uncover secret answers throughout the hotel which was so fun! Also a great way to explore the grounds
We did a little relaxing in our room after that then headed back to downtown Disney in search of dinner.
I’ll be sharing more about our meals in a separate post but we ended up at Tortilla Joe’s as which came highly recommended.
We all turned in early so we could be well rested for day number 2! Coming tomorrow
QUESTIONS –
- How old were you when you first went to Disneyland?
- If you’ve stayed on site, where have you stayed?
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