I finally tallied our spending for Disneyland. We spent $2,011.90. This spending is for a family of four. We travelled from Seattle and spent 8 nights in Anaheim. We spent 3 days in Disneyland and 2 days in Disney California Adventure. Here are the cost breakdown:

Disney Tickets – $1,096.60

Disney have very few discounts on their tickets. A standard theme park ticket is $104 per day. It’s less the more days you purchase. Our family purchased a 5 day ticket which was about $76 per day. I purchased the ticket at Undercovertourist.com, which gave us $60 discount on our total purchase price. I opened a Chase Freedom Flex, which gave me a $200 cash back after a $500 purchase. I also paid the tickets via PayPal, which gave me 5x worth points. I paid $40 for Genie+ for 2 days to get the photo passes.

Restaurants – $254.07

We only had 2 seat down meals. The biggest expense was the character brunch at Storyteller Cafe, for the day that we didn’t go to the park. The second one was a dinner order for our last night at Disney California Adventure. The rest were treats, like beignets, cotton candy, churros and ice cream. If I were to do this again, I will skip the character dining all together. It was expensive and there was nothing special about the food.

Car Service – $234.25

Since we were flying from Seattle, we either needed to rent a car and haul 2 car seats (or rent a car seats) and pay for daily parking or use a car service that provides car seats. Luckily someone from our residential facebook page recommended Lansky. I was very impressed with the car service. The cars were big and clean and the drivers were on time and very was helpful. We saved money by using a car service since the cost of rental, parking at $25/per night and gas is easily more than $234.25

Souvenirs – $114.73

I’m surprised to see this low, considering that we spent 5 days in the theme parks. We let the boys have a couple of toys and I also bought a coin album for the penny press that we’ve been collecting through out the parks.

Groceries – $102.89

These were two deliveries from InstaCart. This cost was about our normal grocery spending for the week. We saved a ton in food by having breakfast and dinner in the hotel and packing our lunches and eating it in the park. We were able to have breakfast and dinner in the hotel by bringing our rice cooker. We cooked some oatmeal, pasta and rice with steam veggies in the rice cooker. For protein, we bought a couple of rotisserrie chicken, beans and lunch meats. Snacks were mostly fruits with crackers or peanut butter sandwiches. I have a bento box for kids and filled it with apples, strawberries, raisins and goldfish crackers. We prevented meltdowns by having snacks readily available in a backpack.

Stroller Rental – $85

We rented a double stroller and a bed rail. We have a double bob stroller at home that I got from our local buy nothing page. We didn’t bring it because it will not fit in our trunk along with our suitcase. Included in the rental was the bed rail so AHP can use the bottom bunk. I would definitely rent one again if we were to go back. Our stroller was waiting for us in the hotel when we checked in and we just dropped it at the same spot at check out. We used City Stroller and noticed that there were quite a few in the park with the same stroller rented from the same company. I highly recommend them if you are ever need to rent a stroller or other baby equipments.

Air Travel – $63.60

I opened an Alaska Airline Credit Card and used 45k points to book 3 round trip tickets from Seattle to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. Santa Ana Airport is the closest airport to Anaheim and the cheapest flight from Seattle. I prefer flying to Santa Ana than Los Angeles. It is a smaller airport, which means less walking with our kids in tow. The car service rate was also cheaper from Santa Ana.

Entertainment – $20

These were for the arcade games that the boys played in Disney California Adventure. They won 2 star stuffy in exchange of $20 (yes, a rip off)

Hotel – $20

My husband opened a Chase Sapphire Preferred specifically for this trip and earned 100k sign up bonus. The points were enough to book 8 nights at Howard Johnson. The hotel is about 8 minutes from the main gate. Our room consists of a bunk bed and a queen bed. The set up worked out really well. The hotel also have a pool that we didn’t utilize, mainly because I forgot our swimwear and we also spent our days in the park or in downtown Disney. I like this hotel and I will book this again when we go back. The $20 was the tip we left for housekeeping.

Fast Food – $11.51

We had ice cream from McDonalds on our non Disney days and for some reason, our order of Churros was also classified as fast food.

Laundry – $9.25

We did our laundry twice. The hotel has a self serve laundry facility. I packed quite a bit less, knowing this.

We saved about $2,000 from travel hacking. This includes paying the flights and hotel via points. I didn’t include the cash back I received by using Chase Freedom Flex because the rewards was given via points and I haven’t cashed it.

This trip was definitely my favorite so far and I know that we will be back. It is so good to be able to travel again. In fact, I seriously considered upgrading our tickets to an annual pass and come back during spring break — well, maybe next year.

Have you been to Disneyland? What do you think is a reasonable budget for a 5 day theme park visit?

January 11, 2022

We are back to Disneyland California Adventure Today. I was excited, but I also don’t want to pack a lot of things in the morning to cause the kids to be over tired. So we had our leisurely breakfast of oatmeal, brown sugar with raisins along with some fruits, packed our lunch (leftover pizza and ham sandwich) and headed to the park. 

We got to the security line just before the park opened and got through the main gate. MBP really wants to ride the Little Mermaid, but it was closed for refurbishment. We were lucky that it was open the last time we were here. We headed to Cars land first because I was hoping that I could convince MBP to ride the car race with me, but it was a 105 minutes wait – ridiculous, so I said no. We rode the Luigi ride with minimal wait. Afterwards, MBP wanted to ride Toy Story Mania again, so we headed towards there. On the way, we had our picture taken with the Pier in the backdrop. AHP and I went ahead in line while MBP and Dad went to the bathroom. We enjoyed the ride and I attempted to put in the 3D glasses for AHP, but I was not successful. They rode Jessie’s Carousel again and then we headed back to Hollywood. On our way, my husband spotted a Mexican restaurant in the Pacific Wharf. We are eating in the park on our last day, so we decided that we will mobile order our food for tonight. 

Once we’re back in Hollywood, we sat down on the bench close to the theatre to have snacks and lunch. We were waiting for the Jr Dance Party. Just before we finish our meal, the theatre opens. Luckily the lines were short and we were able to get in at the 11:15 party. This was really awesome. For about half an hour, the kids were dancing and there were some characters that joined in, with Mickey and Minnie being the last one. It also snowed again, and AHP, again, was worried about the snow on my head. After the dance party, we headed to the other side of the park, by Grizzly peak. We got our pictures taken with the airplane and then headed over to the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. MBP was scared a bit but he managed to walk on those bridge ropes. There were some animal sculptures and he imagined it being a story. AHP enjoyed running back and forth the bridges and just running in general. We were here for a bit until nap time and we headed back.

My husband ordered our food and started laundry while I put AHP to nap. It didn’t take a while until the boys were napping. As always, MBP woke up before AHP and he had his iPad time. Once AHP wakes up, the kids watched some TV and then we headed back to the park. Our food should be ready by 5:30. It’s our first time doing a mobile order, so I’m not sure of the logistics. I opened the app once we’re at the Pacific Wharf. I got the notification a couple of minutes later that our food was ready. I’m glad that we ordered ahead because there lines were already forming. My husband picked up our order while the kids and I settled on our table. We ordered 4 different types of Tacos and a side of beans and rice. It was actually tasty. MBP ate 2 full tacos and AHP ate 1.5. As always, AHP really struggles to sit while eating. After half a taco, he just wants to run around. It’s dinner time, so there was more traffic in the dining area. I told them that they can run from one point back to our chair and that seems to work. AHP will run to that point, go back to us and take a bite and then run again. That happens until he finishes his tacos. Before we left, I mobile ordered some root beer float for a treat to be picked up around 7PM.

MBP wants to go back to Redwood Creek, but we want to do something that we can’t do at home, because we basically live in a forest and are surrounded by trails. We convinced him to watch the 3D Cinema with us. On our way, we had our pictures taken on Cars Land. MBP was so excited for the show, he even remembered how the doors would open. These are the things I just don’t pay attention to. We got in and AHP still didn’t want to put on his 3D glasses. MBP though was sooo into it. He was laughing, screaming (sometimes too loud) and very happy with the show. I had more fun watching him than the show. After the show, we went back to the Animation Studio to talk with Crush (the turtle from Finding Nemo). It was a funny bit and quite interactive. We headed back to Cars Land to get our Rootbeer float. On our way, we had our pictures taken in “Hollywood”. The kids liked the ice cream, but not the float. We then met Mater and had our pictures taken with him and also had our pictures taken on “Route 66”. My husband and MBP rode Mater again, while I changed AHP’s diaper. The lines were short and we were not able to catched them before they rode Mater. Instead, we rode Luigi again. At this point, I’m really enjoying the small crowds in the park. It’s almost closing time, and we probably have time for one more ride. MBP wants to ride Monster Inc again. This time, it was a 5 minute wait. There was absolutely no line that we roded it twice!! I’d say it’s a good wrap up of our trip to Disney.

We headed back to our hotel for one last night. After the normal night time routine, the boys went to bed. 

Total Money Spent for the day: $ 115.4

Genie+ : $20

Dinner at Cocina Cucamonga: $56.5

“Route” beer float: $12.9

Laundry: $6.00

January 10, 2022

We are back in Disneyland. I woke up pretty excited that I didn’t even check the opening hours for Disney. On our first visit, Disney was open from 8AM – 12AM, but this time, they were only open from 9AM – 9PM. Off peak hours started. Well, we experienced our first “rope drop” since we were in the security line by 8:15 and inside the park by 8:40. Our plan was to be in Fantasyland and ride Peter Pan and get some family photos. I signed up for Genie+ once they scanned our tickets in. I just want some good family photos and we’re not good at asking folks to take one of all of us. When the park opened, there was already a line at Peter Pan. This is one of the many popular rides. We waited about 10 minutes in line. We then rode the Story Book Canal as requested by AHP. He likes to go to the Big Whale mouth which he dubbed as Baby Shark. We then rode Alice in Wonderland. We have a lot of time so we got some pictures taken at the Mad Tea Cups and rode the King Arthur Carousel again. We also had our pictures taken with the sword. MBP thought that it was a real sword and asked me to help me get it. He was putting a lot of effort. We explained to him that only Arthur can get it. We went to Bibbidi Bopp Boutique to get the boys some boutons and had our pictures taken at the castle. It was basically snack / lunch time after our photo was taken and we packed quite a bit in the morning.

I wanted to walk to all the way to Star Wars, which was probably not a good idea at the time because everyone was hungry. Anyway, we made it there and sat on a bench with some enclosure and the kids had their snacks and lunch. We stayed there for a bit and just let the kids run around. We walked around and had our pictures taken by the Millenium Falcon. It was huge! This area was also a nice open spot for the kids to run around. By the time we got there, the Millenium Falcon opened up. I convinced MBP to go with me. BAD Idea. The poor kid was so scared, I thought he will have a nightmare over it. Luckily he just brushed it off. We got out of there pretty fast and asked MBP which ride he wants to do again and he picked the Buzz Lightyear. There was a bit of  a line, but not bad. After that ride, he seems to have forgotten all about the Millenium Falcon. We went to the store so I can get some more bubble juice for the bubble wand. Turned out that the cast member just refilled it for free. MBP was happy. We tried to see if there were some arcades that the boys can play with – there were none. We watched the Lincoln show, instead. MBP is very into “The Secret Museum” these days, so he got a kicked out of the “museum” before the show. I was impressed. After this we head back for naps. 

AHP had a hard time napping today and was over tired. It took him about an hour. When the boys napped, I decided to go back to Disneyland and try some rides myself using the lightning lane that comes with the Genie+. I was able to ride the Star Wars Tours and Matterhorn. I was really impressed with the Star Wars Tours but the Matterhorn is just ehh. I’m expecting more longer drops but it’s more like short round drops. The kids were still napping when I got back and we let them rest.

They watched some TV while the adults prepared dinner and snacks and then we went back to Disney. The crowds were definitely a lot less. MBP requested to ride It’s a Small world again and then we rode the Mad Tea Cups, all less than a 5 minute wait. After the Tea cups there were some Light Up projections on the castle of It’s a small world. We got some good viewing sights and MBP and AHP thought of it as a concert. We went back to ride the Buzz Light Year and then just hang outside the store to eat our snack and let the kids run around until the park closed.

We got back home and did our normal night time routine. It didn’t take a while for the kids to sleep. That night, I made sure to check the time for Disneyland California Adventure. Tomorrow is our last theme park day. 

Total Money Spent for the day: $20

Genie+ : $20

January 9, 2022

This day was another non-Disney day. We were supposed to have another character dining brunch reservation for Goofy’s kitchen but I canceled it yesterday. After looking at the menu, my husband and I just didn’t think it’s worth it. We had a hard time with AHP sitting in a restaurant and it’s more of a hassle than an entertainment. Instead, we decided to go and shop for souvenirs in Downtown Disney. We packed our normal snacks and lunch and headed toward the park one more time.

Downtown Disney was actually entertaining in itself. There were a couple of fountains that the boys liked. I gave them coins to throw just for fun. At the same time, MBP enjoyed playing with his bubble wand. I have some balance on my Starbucks app from years ago and we decided to get a couple of muffins and coffee cake as a treat. Even the Starbucks here have a line! The boys were outside while I ordered. After our snacks, we went to shop for some souvenirs. The World of Disney is huge and have all the Disney items you’ll need. Max had an eye on one pet toy, but it was too big to haul in our luggage and we’re not a big fan of it. We convinced him to pick another item. He picked some magnets. I liked it because I was already looking to buy some fridge magnets. I collected fridge magnets on places I traveled, but I took it all out because the boys were slowly breaking them! We also got some postcards before heading to the cashier. While in line, MBP saw a Buzzlightyear car so we let him have it. We also picked up Woody for AHP and I got some albums for the coin press.

We got out of the store and the boys were holding on to their cars. We sat on a bench close to the Star Wars store and had our picnic lunch. This time, ham sandwiches. The boys played with their cars while we were having lunch and watched the monorail pass by. It was definitely entertaining for them. We went to the Star Wars store and try to find something for my brother since he is a huge Star Wars fan. The only thing I can think of is a mug, but we already gave him a Yeti mug for Christmas so we left without getting anything.

 We stopped by the Lego Store and of course, MBP wants to get a lego. He will get out of a stroller and pick a box and put it under the chair. We definitely have to stop him and tell him that we need to pay for these things. We let him pick one and we got out of the store after paying.  

It was a pretty successful day and AHP was ready for his nap time. After naps, we just stayed in the hotel and prepared for the next day. This time I was excited to go back to Disneyland.

Total Money Spent for the day: $91.54

Souvenirs – 85.83

McDonalds Ice cream Sundae – $6.01

January 8, 2022

This day was a non-Disney day. I specifically planned for this because I did not want to fight the weekend crowds in Disney. In addition to regular tourist crowds, locals also go to Disney, especially on weekends. I made a reservation for a Disney character brunch at Storyteller Cafe instead. This will still give us a Disney feel, without going to the park. I booked this brunch 60 days out because I heard that reservations were hard to obtain. I basically counted 60 days before this day and booked the reservation on the Disneyland App. 

The storyteller cafe is located at Disney Grand Californian Hotel. I didn’t know the directions, so we followed google maps. We left about an hour before our reservations to give ourselves enough time, in case we get lost. We did the usual trek to Disneyland parks and went through security. Instead of going to the parks, we followed the sign to Downtown Disney and hoped for the best — that there is a sign that will lead us to Disney Grand California. Well, I was wrong. We walked all the way and were about to leave downtown Disney. I asked the security and she mentioned that we passed it. So we went back. Another person from one of the stores, gave us a better direction to turn right after The Disney’s Dress Shop store. We saw the store and I followed the signs to the restaurant. We got there 10 minutes before our reservation and checked in. We didn’t have to wait long until our table was ready.

The brunch is a buffet style with a typical brunch menu. I wasn’t impressed with the food on the buffet – I mean it was good, because bacon is good. I don’t think you can screw it up, but it also doesn’t have a lot of “healthy” selection. I ordered off the menu, and the food was better. The chicken skewer was actually delicious and the avocado toast was decent. I also ordered some chicken and fries for the kids, and of course they enjoyed it. The highlight of the brunch was the character sightings. The kids watched out for it, but it was just OK. Because of COVID, the characters just walked around the restaurants. I expected this, but we already saw the same characters at the park, so it wasn’t new to the kids. AHP also had a hard time sitting and started running around the restaurants. There was one time he ran to the characters – which of course you can’t do. Since AHP is about to be 2 next month, I asked the server for a special cake. He got him a rainbow cupcake for the boys and we sang Happy Birthday to AHP. He didn’t know how to blow a candle, and was about to cry. Unfortunately, the singing stopped and he enjoyed the icing on the cupcakes. 

The kids are definitely done with the restaurant after an hour and 3 sightings of the same characters. AHP and I stayed outside the lobby while MBP and my husband used the restroom. AHP had fun running back and forth while one kid try to chase him. When MBP saw the kid, he immediately says “Hey, a friend is here”. He always try to say hi to other kids at the park and is always very friendly. I think he really misses his classmates, which is weird because he really doesn’t play with them in school.

We went back to our hotel on a leisurely walk, just in time for AHP’s nap. MBP had some quiet time, but didn’t really nap. He usually doesn’t nap at home, but park days make him tired, so he’s been napping the last 3 days when we visited the parks. 

The afternoon was just hanging around our room, ordering some more fruits and water bottle from Instacart and getting pizza for dinner. Tomorrow is another non-Disney day.

Total Money Spent for the day: $131.8

Brunch – $97.15 (Excluding the $70 gift card balance from we received from my brother for Christmas)

Instacart – $31.4 

Laundry: $3.25

January 7, 2022

We’re going back to Disneyland today for the second time. We packed quite a bit on our first day, so I’m just taking it slowly today. We had breakfast – cereal for the boys and my normal oatmeal. I eat this breakfast daily. I prefer having a consistent healthy meal to start the day. It takes out the mental capacity of thinking what to eat, when you just wake up. We packed our snacks and lunch. We are having chicken salad this time from the leftover rotisserie chicken, with some bread. 

The only agenda is to see the other side of the park, mainly Adventureland and Frontierland. I can tell that it was more crowded today, being Friday and probably with the last weekend of the Holiday shows. Our first ride was Jungle Cruise. This was a great ride and the boys loved it. I loved this too – there were so many animals and they looked real. After the cruise we ventured out and took a raft to Tom Sawyer Island. I really like this side of the park because the kids can just run around and it wasn’t too crowded. At this point, the crowd was starting to get to me, so I’m glad to just be in this little area. When we got back, the boys had their snacks and we headed out to ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We didn’t have to wait at all on this ride. Max ran to the gift shop after the ride. Those gift shops are strategically located once you exit the ride. You have to look to your sides to bypass it, which of course MBP will not do. MBP got some bubble wands, which every kid in the park has. I used the Disney gift card that my brother gave us for Christmas. The cashier took out the tags and got the bubble wand ready for action. We also saw Winnie the Pooh on the way out. We stayed for a bit because there was a nice area for the kids to play with their new toy. 

We then head back to Toontown for lunch. We stayed at Chip and Dale’s treehouse and had our lunch there. The kids ran around and MBP played with his bubbles, which all other kids love. There was a boy who wanted to borrow his wand and took it. MBP flat out said no and took it back. Luckily the parents were there, so no crying was involved. We stayed there and we were able to convince MBP to try the Gadget Coaster. My husband and MBP were in line while AHP and I stayed in the tree house. The lines were short, so when they were about to exit, I asked the cast member to do a ride switch. I have to asked MBP to ride with Mommy this time and after some convincing, he did it. I can tell he was scared but after the ride, he got out of the chair, and screamed “it’s the most amazing ride ever”. I asked him if he wanted to do it again and he said no. I honestly don’t know what’s going on in his head. We stayed in Toontown for a bit since the crowd was dispersing. Before heading back to the hotel, we had time for another ride and decided to do Dumbo the flying elephant.

We trekked back to our hotel for naps. At this point, everytime that we have to go back to our hotel, I wished that we are closer. Granted, it’s probably just another 5 minute walk – but that 5 minute walk can be brutal. 

We had our dinner after naps and dealt with some internet connectivity issues. The kids wanted to watch their shows and the internet was not working. My husband prepared dinner – our last leftover rotisserie, with rice and steam veggies with beans. Once everyone’s bellies are full, we headed back to the park, packed with some water and snacks.

It was also a bit cold today, so we made sure to bring a blanket with us. We first tried to take the train that goes all the way around the park. We left the stroller by main street and took the train all the way to Toontown, until it broke down… it was actually a good ride, especially at night so I was a bit disappointed. We now have to get out of the train and find a way to get our stroller back. Good thing though is that the train stopped close to the It’s a small world. The whole castle was lit, which we hadn’t seen last time. MBP requested to ride the boat again. It was a long wait, but it will give my husband enough time to get the stroller from the main entrance back to the ride. The kids were getting used to waiting in lines and we had enough games to play. MBP was also entertained with all the lights, which would turn off sometimes. I told him that it was Tinkerbell and her pixie dust. I was actually so glad to get on this ride again at night. It was just so different. There wasn’t enough time for another ride before the fireworks, so we decided to get some Beignet and sat down for a snack.

We went back to main street just before the fireworks. This time we were not front and center and got some space closer to the main entrance by the tree. The kids were more interested with all the lights from the buildings in main street. The “snow” was also more powerful in this area. AHP was really worried about the snow on my hair and kept telling me to take it out. We headed back to the hotel, did the normal night time routine and tucked in for the night. Tomorrow is a non-disney day and I’m actually looking forward to some rest. 

Total Money Spent for the day: $9.15

Bubble Wand – $0 (It was $30, but I used a gift card we received from my brother)

Mickey Mouse Beignet – $9.15

January 6, 2022

The kids woke up around 6:50 AM. I was up before that, since it typically takes me a while to get use to sleeping on a “new” bed. Today, we are visiting Disney California Adventure. From what I remember, this park has more “thrilling” rides. After nursing AHP, I prepared the usual breakfast of oatmeal with some apples and strawberries. I also prepared the boys’ snacks, the usual, apple, strawberries, raisins and goldfish crackers. Preparing the boys and getting out of the hotel always takes a while. We packed our lunch for the day – turkey meat and mini bagels and some water bottles. 

There were more lines in the security this time and more lines in the gate entrance. The wait was about 10 minutes in total and was manageable. I wasn’t able to find any map when we got in so we just started walking. Luckily, we stumbled into the “Little Mermaid” ride and there wasn’t any line. We rode it and enjoyed the under the sea adventure. We were really lucky because the ride was out for refurbishment during our next visit. We headed to the Pixar Pier and rode Jessie’s Carousel – again, no wait. I asked MBP if we can ride the big wheel, but he kept on saying no, so we just started walking. The next ride was the Toy Story Mania. This was a bit of a wait, but shorter than what it says on the app. MBP really loved this ride. At this time, AHP was getting fuzzy, so we ended up giving their snack while waiting in line. Another perk of bringing your own food. After the ride, we sat on the bench to finish their snacks and just walked around. It was almost lunch time, so we found another bench close to the water with some enclosure and had our lunch there. So far, we’ve been lucky on finding a really good lunch spot. My husband ordered some churros for a special treat. It was ehhh. I know that folks rave about churros, but it was just ok. I’d rather have an ice cream. 

We started walking again and saw Woody and Little Bo Peep on stage. Our next ride was the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind and waited for about 15 minutes. The kids don’t really know the characters but they like the different colors of the balloons. Our next ride was Golden Zephyr – a little bit higher than our usual ride, but again the kids didn’t mind it at all. We headed back to get our stroller and walk around Cars land. I was super impressed with this. It is the Radiator Spring with all the shops around. We managed to ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree with minimal wait. Initially, I though that AHP was too short to ride, so we waited by the exit, but then I saw that other little kids were riding it, so I measured his height and he is just an inch above the required height. Yay! This was faster than our usual slow rides, but he seems to enjoy it. The line for Radiator Springs Racer was long and MBP keeps on saying that he doesn’t want it “too fast” so we skipped it.  

We then head back to the hotel for our nap break. The kids slept right away and I did the usual dishes from the morning breakfast. After nap, the kids had some screen time and we had our dinner. Pasta with red sauce with some rotisserie chicken and steam veggies on the side. All cooked in the rice cooker. The chicken and the red sauce was surprisingly delicious. We packed up some snacks and water and we headed back to the Disneyland California Adventure. 

It was busier than normal, probably from the weekend crowds. We waited about 45 minutes for the Monster Inc ride, which in our mind, was not worth it. The kids still loved it though. We stayed in Hollywood and watched a 3D Philharmonic Show, which MBP dubbed as the concert. At first, I thought he would be scared, but he LOVED it. AHP didn’t want to put on the 3D glasses so everything’s so blurry for him. We stayed there and went to a store, where I found a penny press! I was disappointed to see that it’s not the old school press anymore where you have to crank it up manually. Now all you need to do is press a button with the choice of your design. Ehhh… good thing MBP still had fun with his coin. We went to an Animation studio where we learned how to draw Tiger. I had fun and it’s so funny to see MBP’s version of Tiger. We ended up having some cotton candy and called it a night. It was AHP’s first experience of cotton candy and for some reason, he cried – probably because the cotton candy just disappeared from his mouth – he ended up eating the dried mango that we packed for snacks. We left at the right time because the fireworks just started. We were able to watched it from a distance, while the kids were sitting in their strollers. It was a lot more convenient than waiting more than half an hour before it started.

We got back to our hotel, and did the usual night time routine. The kids, exhausted, slept quickly. I did the dishes from dinner, surfed the internet and called it a night. Tomorrow is another day at Disneyland.

Total Money Spent for the day: $16.5

Churros – $5.5

Cotton Candy – $11

January 5, 2022

I’m pretty sure I was more excited than the kids. I was awake at 6AM, but didn’t get up just before 7AM, basically when the boys woke up. I prepared some oatmeal, using the rice cooker and cut up some apples and strawberries. We had oatmeal with raisins, with brown sugar and flaxseed with the cut up fruits. After breakfast, I prepared the boys snacks – apples, strawberries, raisins and goldfish crackers, packed in a 4 compartment bento box. For lunch, we packed some turkey lunch meat and wheat bread. My husband got some ice from the hotel and packed it in a zip lock bag, which we put in our lunch bag, along with the meat. We got our water bottles and off we went!

It took less than 10 minutes to get to the gate and probably another 20 minutes to get through security and entrance lines. We got inside Disneyland around 8:45. The crowds were not bad. It has been 18 years since my last visit, and I can’t remember the layout of the theme park. I do remember the rides and the LINES. Once we passed through the main street, I saw the castle and Tomorrowland. Our first ride was Astro Orbiter. I’ve been watching some Youtube videos of the rides with MBP and AHP so they noticed the rocket ships right away. Lines were reasonable at around 10 minutes but we definitely had to explain to MBP the concept of waiting for our turn. We lucked out and rode Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters just right after. The lines were short and we only waited 5 minutes. MBP was definitely entertained with this ride. When we left the ride, I noticed there were more people. We started walking around and for some reason ended up at a “It’s A Small World” castle. Since the line was short, we rode the boat. I was definitely impressed by this ride. Disney still had the holiday theme and everything was so colorful. We sat by the bench after the ride and the boys had their snacks. AHP was very methodical about his snacks. He will first eat the goldfish crackers, then raisins before eating the strawberries and apples. We soaked up the Southern California Sun for a bit, had a bathroom break and let the kids run around.

We found our way to Fantasyland and rode the Carousel, Pinocchio and Mr. Toad’s wild ride. AHP was a bit scared of Mr. Toad, but was such a good sport. We then head to Toontown. There were a lot of character sightings at Toontown and it was a great place to let the kids run around. We had our lunch at Toontown Park. It’s a great place to have lunch, since it is shaded and somewhat enclosed. AHP can’t really sit down for more than 5 minutes. He will walk/run around, go back to us to take a bite and will run around again. We stayed in Toontown for a bit and let the kids explore the character houses and say hello to all the characters. We saw Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck here – just one of the many sightings on this vacation. We then headed back to our hotel for some nap breaks. On the way back, we lucked out and there was a mini parade with Donald, Pluto, Princess Anna and Elsa and Chip and Dale. It was a packed morning. 

We got back before 2PM. The boys were exhausted and napped right away. I cleaned the dishes from breakfast and also had a nap. MBP woke up before AHP and we gave him the iPad. AHP napped until 4:15. We prepared some dinner of rice, rotisserie chicken with BBQ sauce and steamed veggies. Once our bellies were full, we headed back to the park. 

The park was so different at night. The Christmas tree was lit and the main street was transformed with all the lights for the holidays festivities. I was so glad that we went just after the holidays. I was able to see all the holidays decorations without the holidays crowds. We went back to fantasyland and rode the mad tea cups and the carousel. We then waited in line for the Casey Train Ride, which the app said was a 5 minute wait. Well, that wait was 45 minutes. Good thing, the kids were entertained. We then head back to get some seats for the fireworks. We settled around 8:15 and waited for the show. During the wait, the kids snacked and we played a lot of games and sang some songs. It was probably the hardest wait for them since they cannot run around. The fireworks show was great and ended with some “snow” (it’s really soap). We had a little bathroom break before heading back to our hotel. 

It was a rush to get the kids ready for bed, but they definitely slept well that night. Overall it was a good day!

Total Money Spent for the day: $0

January 4, 2022

I call this day travel day. The day leading up to the Happiest Place on Earth, our vacation to Disneyland in Southern California. We started packing days before the trip. The night before our trip, we loaded our Prius with most of our luggages. We have 3 suitcases to check in. I checked in our flights and paid for 1 checked in bag. The other 2 suitcases were free using my Alaska Airlines Credit Card. Our flight leaves at 11:56 AM, boarding at 11:10 AM. We wanted to be in the airport around 10 AM, which means leaving the house by 8:45AM, at the latest. 

The alarm went on at 6:45 AM. My husband got up and prepared breakfast. By 7:15, I woke up the boys, changed them and had breakfast. By 8:30 AM, we left the house to my parent’s house. My father gave us a ride at the airport. I squeezed in between the car seats and luckily fit, so the 5 of us went to the airport in the Prius. 

My husband took our luggages while I unbuckled the kids. Just before we entered the airport, a lady wished us “good luck”, while my 4.5 year old started running towards the gate without us. There were some chaos in the beginning, since we didn’t know where to put our already checked in luggages. I printed out the tags, but I needed a way to tie it in our luggages. We briefly stand in line the kiosk to print our boarding passes and our luggage tags. Luckily, a lady working in Alaska was there. I showed her our printed luggage tags and she gave us the “self-tag” bag that we can clip on our luggages. She directed us to another line where we can drop off our luggages. My husband hauled our 3 luggages, while I carried our almost 2 year old (AHP) and our 4.5 year old (MBP). It was a lot easier once we checked in our luggages and headed towards security. The line was short enough and the boys cooperated, for the most part. We headed towards our gate, which included a shuttle ride. The boys were excited. MBP started counting down before the shuttle took off, which gave some giggles to other passengers. We had ample time before boarding so we took a bathroom break and refilled our water bottles, before going to our gate.

Luckily, we didn’t have to walk too far to get to our gate. We grabbed some chairs, and tried to entertain the kids. My husband got our lunch while I watched the boys. I took out the Ipad to entertain MBP, while AHP kept on running away. I offered AHP some snacks and finally took out my phone just before my husband came back. We ate our lunch and used the restrooms before boarding the plane. The airlines typically let you board early if you are traveling with kids, but I like to do the opposite and board the plane at the very end. This lessens the wait time inside the aircraft and hopefully less screaming and / or crying inside the plane.

It was an uneventful 3 hour flight. The kids did great. The folks behind even told us that they did really well. Yay! When we got to baggage claim, the driver from Lansky was already waiting for us, with my name and a cart for our luggages. I was so glad that I paid for this service. It was expensive but definitely worth it. He helped us load the luggages in the cart and pushed it while we carried the boys to the car. I checked the car seat and buckled the boys in. Initially, we thought of stopping by the grocery store, but decided not to. Instead we ordered our groceries from Instacart. We got to our hotel and MBP fell asleep on the drive. AHP on the other hand was wide awake and talking A LOT. He keeps pointing out different colors of the cars. 

We got to the hotel and I took the boys with me to check in. Our double stroller and bed rail from City Stroller were already waiting for us. This is another service that I’m so glad I paid for. It was super convenient and I’m so glad that I rented the bed rail.

We settled in the hotel room, which consists of a double bed and bunk beds. MBP was on the top bunk while AHP on the bottom. AHP usually sleeps in the crib at home, but there wasn’t really enough room for a crib. Luckily the bed rail worked out and the boys actually liked the set up. 

I ordered our groceries from Walmart via Instacart. Free delivery for 3 months were included as a benefit for new customers paying via Chase Freedom Flex card, which I opened to pay for our Disneyland Tickets months ago. We had dinner in the hotel while waiting for our delivery, which arrived around 7PM. For dinner, it was simple rice with sardines that we packed with us. Rice was cooked in the rice cooker which we also packed with us. We entertained the kids for a bit and put them to bed before 8 PM. When they fell asleep, I cleaned the dishes, took a shower and turned in to get ready for the big day tomorrow!

Total Money Spent for the day: $158.86

Airport Lunch – $67.37

Driver Tip (20%) – $20 

Instacart – $83.84