Disneyland 2017

This post has been in my drafts for way too long :D I’ve been busy planning our next trip to Disney World, ha ha.

A few weeks ago, we did something we’ve never done before and ventured to the west coast to Disneyland for a change. Mostly because Bryan’s brother and his family are in CA, but also, Disneyland. We had originally proposed DL, but didn’t think it would happen, so we started talking about going to San Francisco and Disney World instead. We weren’t able to book DW until March and then Chris and Rae were all aboard the Disney boat, so we decided to do both. We got a great discount at the Grand Californian and our flights were good prices too since we traveled on a Monday, so it didn’t cost a fortune.

It was a great week. Probably even better than our last Disney World trip. Now, not saying Disneyland is better, but it does have some major advantages. Also because Owen is older and I didn’t have to nurse him while waiting for rides :D

Best part of DL is that everything is in walking distance and our hotel was literally next to California adventure. We did just as much walking, but we went back and forth between the parks multiple times a day and not having to worry about a bus is pretty nice.

You get a lot out of morning magic hours. Even mornings in general are super quiet with little to no waits for rides. We rode Toy Story Midway Mania four times in a row on two separate days with no wait.

Toon Town was a huge hit with Owen. He would move there if he could. It’s better than the one they used to have in Disney World too. And again, mornings were great there. No line for Mickey or Minnie. He met them both every day of our trip. Because that’s what you do when you let your kid decide the itinerary :D The character interaction is better in Disneyland. On several occasions, characters who were walking off to take their break came up to Owen to say hi. I’ve never seen that in DW.

We also rode Mickey’s Fun Wheel every day which was his favorite ride I think. That or “Christmas ride” which is actually Haunted Mansion Holiday. That was my favorite of the trip.

The last great thing about Disneyland is the redwood creek challenge trail, or maybe the worst because chasing Owen around there was not easy. It’s better than the playground in Animal Kingdom and Owen enjoyed the duck races. Only part that sucked was that he was too short for the rock wall and zip line which resulted in a meltdown.

Disney World wins in the food department. I did have two meals though that were really delicious. One was quick service at the red rose tavern and the other was the Blue Bayou. Both were the vegetarian dishes. I do love my veggies.

Disney World also has more random shows. Owen really loved those drums in the Animal Kingdom last trip. Shopping in World Showcase is also one of my favorite things to do.

Oh the castle. I knew the castle in Disneyland was smaller, but boy do you really miss out on that “wow, I’m in Disney” feeling when you walk down main street.

I think for his age, DL is way better. Even if we had never ventured outside Toon Town. I think for adults, DW is where I’d prefer to spend my time. Also, nothing beats seeing Owen and Lyra run around together. It was like instant best friends. So amazing. So happy we went!