Disneyland and a Californian adventure

I want to preface this to say this is our favourite trip to date (April 2019) and I expect it will come in at least 2 sections as I have a lot of notes but there will also be a lot of photos so grab a cuppa before enjoying this one...

Saturday 17th October – Let the magic begin! Up at 1:30am for reference this is 5:30 pm on Friday 16th October at our destination. We showered, put food out for the cat loaded up the car and were on the road and buying coffees at McDonalds by 2:25. Caffeinated we drove to the parking at Bristol airport. Car dropped off we headed to the airport. Unfortunately we were about half an hour early for check in (should have stayed in bed!!) so we grabbed another coffee. Check in and security were a breeze then we had a little while before boarding our first flight so we had a bit of a wander and bought some breakfast at Burger king. Neither of us fancied regular breakfast things so we went for a burger – Crunchy cheese whopper (burger topped with deep fried cheese – I can’t recall which) and it hit the spot.

We boarded at 05:55 (21:55 in LA) and took off at 06:25. This was our first flight of the day to Amsterdam. Not a lot happened, we tried to have a nap but failed miserably. We were served a cheese sandwich which we weren’t fans of.

The sun is rising on our first day of vacation!!

I know that is a light on the wing and not the sun (my Carl thinks I think it was) I was just showing it getting lighter

Once we arrived in Amsterdam we had about an hour wait. We checked the automated machines for our next gate and headed over arriving around 0800 where we read until boarding time. Amsterdam is an hour ahead of the UK but I will keep it to UK timings so as not to confuse matters. We boarded at 0840 taking off at 0920 – Los Angeles here we come!!!!

The flight was uneventful. We tried to sleep

But it was a little too noisy. The food was ok, there were salted cashews and a drinks service, we both went for soft drinks. Then for the meal there was no option only a chicken dish, it was plane food so not the best but I will say the chicken had a really nice flavour. It came with a forgettable cucumber salad, bread roll and a nice lime mousse with berries. The flight was a long one so we also had a second service toward the end which had a tasty spinach flatbread and an ok tiramisu. Otherwise we read and watched a little on the TV.

We arrived in LA and were getting off the plane at 11:50 local time or 19:50 to us so this has been an 18 ish hour day so far.

Our LAX airport experience was the best we ever had! Within 30 minutes of standing up to get off the plane we had gone through the automated ESTA booths, had our ID checked, picked up our luggage and were seated on the bus for Alamo car rental.

We picked up our wheels – This trip was mostly things I wanted truth be told (although DH hasn’t done badly if you ask me) so I wanted to treat him to the car he wanted and we managed to get a convertible black mustang! ​

Obligatory photo of the temperature to make the folks back home jealous​.

Then we were on our way! I drove the first part from the airport to Walmart (up the road from Disney) I do most of the driving when we are together and Carl is a much better navigator. We picked up some essentials – beer, snacks and some toiletries I couldn’t be bothered to weigh the cases down with.

We picked up something different for us and we quite enjoyed these which was good as we didn’t know they sold Kona onboard!​

We actually ended up not drinking 2 of these and with DCLs new alcohol policy, which I will get into more a little later, we couldn’t take them with us so we left them in the fridge at the Best Western when we checked out in San Diego. Hopefully a hard worker got to keep them!​

See I told you essentials!! We were on vacation and don’t usually eat and drink like this. In fact 2 and a half of those packets of chips, half the pop tarts and more than half the cereal came home with us!!

Shopping done we couldn’t check in to our condo until 4 so we headed over to our chosen lunch spot

Don’t be fooled – he was happy happy happy. Just tired and is not a fan of my constant photos (although he really had ought to get used to that!!)

We were heading here:​

Our cousins love this place and based on that love we decided to give it a go. There was a point I nearly knocked it off the itinerary but I am so glad I didn’t! We think this may have been the best meal of the trip – it’s the one we still talk about. Circumstances will have helped it as we were hungry, we hadn’t had a decent meal for a while (our dinner on Friday was take away). And I am only talking about the food here – the service was really poor but the food made up for it.

Side note; we parked at the Garden Walk multi storey right behind the cheesecake factory. For those travelling from the UK there are no payment stations like you would find here, instead you will pay an attendant when you reach the exit. We paid about $3 I think.

We decided to share an Entrée then have a cheesecake each.

Honestly the best sandwich I have ever eaten – the Chicken Parmesan with Sweet Potato Fries served with ketchup and a tasty marinara sauce​

I am already looking forward to my next US trip just for this sandwich!

Now the cheesecakes were a little large and rich for us – we would have been better off if we had shared one of these too as we couldn’t quite finish them. Carl chose the White Chocolate and Macadamia ​ and I had the Smores Galore

I always thought I was a sweet tooth kinda girl but it turns out I am now more savoury. Next time it’ll be a sandwich each and a cheesecake to share.

Once we were full we headed to our condo, unloaded the car, took some photos (sorry, should have taken these BEFORE unloading the car! Excuse mess…)

Also excuse darkness. I didn’t put the lights or flash on as to my eyes it was light enough (and I was a little tired so didn’t really think about it)

So all unloaded and things put away we each had showers. By this time it was 5:30 so the 24 hour mark since we got up! But we weren’t quite finished yet. We chilled out for a little while watching some TV and had a nice hot cup of tea before leaving around 6:30 to head to the Honda Center

Before we left we thought about catching a bus or getting a taxi and having a beer at the gig but by the time we were ready we would have been late so I decided to drive. I think it was about $20 to park. BUT beers were about $12 each so we saved ourselves some money.

So why did we go to the Honda Center???? We were going to see one of my favourite bands….

The Foo fighters!!!

I knew they were going to be playing a little while ago but it was sold out. Well my wonderful DH noticed a couple weeks before the trip some tickets were up for resale so he bought them. They were cheap seats (for more than they probably were originally) but you only live once and we thought it’d be a pretty cool start to our vacation!! This was my 2nd time seeing them, the first was actually my first ever gig when I was a teen so it was really nice for me. It was DHs first time.

I didn’t take my camera but DH took some videos on his phone (not the greatest quality) and some photos

We had a cracking time and it really set the vacation up on a great note.

But we didn’t make it until the end unfortunately, we saw over an hour. We were starting to get a little tired and I really did not like the idea of leaving at the same time as everyone else and getting stuck in traffic so we left early for a quick drive home.

Back home I got a bag ready for the following day and crawled into bed at 22:30 – a full but fun 29 hours after I got up! ​

Destination Disneyland and a Frozen Experience

Day 2 did not start as planned! The parks were opening at 8 and we were supposed to get up at 7, we didn’t know how long it’d take to walk to the parks and we wanted time for showers etc. Carl set his alarm for 7:15 (which I apparently agreed to?) and my clock was still on UK time.

We were ready to leave by 7:45. We had to pick up our tickets at the turnstiles. We were in the park by 8:05 so not bad at all!!!

Can you guess who had which ticket?

Our first port of call was one I had been very excited as I am a HUGE fan of the Nightmare Before Christmas….

It’s Scaaaaaaary…

Most of my ride photos didn’t come out very well so I wont subject you to them but this is my fave with an effect from the camera​

This version is so so much better! I loved it. I am glad we got on there as a walk on first thing as it was very very popular (understandably).

Next up is actually our favourite ride of any we have ever been on and it is our favourite version over the WDW one…

Splash Mountain which was a walk on

Everybody has a laughing place​

After Splash we went on an adventure with Pooh Bear​

Then to another favourite. Now I am sorry America but I do think the Paris version may be my overall favourite of the 3 I have been on. I just love the overall theming of the area..

... although I wouldn’t mind doing a little more research...

I didn’t get any photos, I just sat back and enjoyed. After this we picked up ​

Then, after a productive start, it was time to head over to Plaza Inn for breakfast with Minnie (the only character we didn’t actually see but that was ok, I’m not her biggest fan)​

We decided we didn’t want (need) any more food so didn’t hang around for Minnie and Eeyore (Carls fave Winne The Pooh character)

Full enough we walked over to Space Mountain to pick up some fastpasses by which time our fast passes could be used for Indi.

Quick pic en route

I really enjoy this ride! The Indiana Jones in Paris is an outdoor rollercoaster which is good but I do prefer the one in California. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think it is the same as Dinosaur at WDW? But the theming is much better here!​

Our next plan was Thunder Mountain but it was down when we got there so instead we headed to Big Thunder Ranch which was nicely decorated for my favourite season and Dr Do – little got to meet some new friends​

I do really like this little area and it’s a shame it will be going in the very near future to make way for Star Wars. I love Star Wars but, in my opinion, it just doesn’t feel right in Walt’s park. I completely get it at Hollywood Studios, i can see the fit. I guess time will tell though, maybe I’m wrong.

Sorely needing Caffeine we headed toward fantasyland and sat in village house where I had a coffee and Carl had a coke. Was nice to sit down as tiredness was creeping in. It was now 11:20 (I know because I updated my notes whilst drinking ) The park had gotten pretty busy by now, in fact I don’t think I have ever been in a busier park than this day.

After our break we had a little wander around fantasyland all the rides had fairly big queues so we kept going into toontown​

Our next stop was

Which we enjoyed.

Then we left Toon town and headed to a Disneyland Staple​

The regular queue was 45 minutes so, as you sit one behind another and there is no picture, we figured we might as well go single rider and we were on only 1 bobsled apart and within 10 mins. Was a bit more rattely than I remember – hurt my back a little.

Next stop was Buzz – I am appalling at this game I much prefer Midway Mania. I do like that they get the scores the other way around on the pictures though

Then did a little window shopping before our Space Mountain return. I quite liked the Ghost Galaxy overlay just something a little different. Once we arrived back on Earth we hot footed it over to New Orleans Square for our late lunch reservation.

After a lot of research I knew what I wanted – Pomme Frites and the 3 cheese Monte Cristo which I had with a Diet Coke

Do you remember what I said about my new found unsweet tooth? Well the sandwich was just far too sweet for me. I ate it and I’m glad I tried it but I don’t need another. The Pomme Frites however were delicious and I will just order a bowl of those next time.

Carl had the Mardi Gras Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries which he enjoyed

After we settled the bill we headed straight to the park exit, do not pass go, do not collect $200 you gotta get somewhere....

We were heading back to the condo to pick up the car and head over to the Honda Center. I had a little bit of an annoying experience here. We queued for about 20 minutes to get in the guy then asked me to empty my bag so he can checks it’s interior to only then decide “no backpacks” – I don’t have a problem with the rule, the rules are the rules, but I have a problem with the fact I had spoken with a couple personnel and been passed by several and there was no mention then I had to empty it for no reason!!....So we headed back to the car to chuck it in and back to queue again!

Anyway that saga over we could kick back and enjoy the game. Now I am neutral, I do not support either team and this section will be my opinion only (don’t want to upset anyone) I think Minnesota Wild dominated and actually deserved the win but the ducks got their first win of the season – 4-1. We had been to an LA Kings game a few years earlier and the atmosphere was so much better at Kings and the central screens were broken so we couldn’t see any of what the commentator was talking about. Again I am a neutral spectator, Carl is a Hockey fan and he had a great time and that’s why we were there. It was still a good experience and I would go to another game. Anyway we do have a couple photos –

We then drove back home arriving around 8:30. We had planned on going back to Disneyland as it was open until midnight but a few factors stopped us – we were a little tired, how packed it had been when we left and that it was too late to get a decent spot for the parade or fireworks.

Instead we chilled out in the hope we would have a little more stamina to make the most of tomorrow. I did some clothes washing from our first few days and we had our first beer of the trip

When we were lying in bed we could hear the fireworks which was fun, couldn’t see them though unfortunately. I think we were asleep by 10:30.

A Californian Adventure Managed to get up at a more usual time this morning – 06:45, showered and had a cup of tea (yes very English) and some cereal. I know I know, lucky charms aren’t a very grown up breakfast. It’s a throwback to our childhoods, they stopped selling this in the UK quite some time ago so we can only get them when we come to the US and it has sort of become a tradition now.

Breakfast was a little more leisurely than planned as we had hoped to get there for opening but we actually didn’t leave until 07:55 oops. We were in California Adventure by 08:10.

The first port of call, naturally, was for​

This was our first time visiting DCA with Cars land and we did not want to miss it. I then took a few photos of the area – the theming here is fantastic, it feels as though you have actually just walked into Radiator Springs!!

I didn’t take a huge deal of photos and, quite frankly, the internet holds much better ones than I could take

We then headed to my favourite Disney Vista​

Of course I love the castles and walking down main street USA but I just love this sight

And on into Paradise pier where California Screamin was a walk on so we rode twice

Then Toy Story Midway Mania was 30 minutes so we hopped in line​

See, this is a much fairer contest than Buzz is (although I still lost) I also find this more fun!

Next up

Just kidding

Mickeys wheel of Terror – when we rode this in 2010 I did not like it. AT. ALL!!! This time however, I quite enjoyed it. The seats seem to have changed and gotten a little deeper meaning there was something more substantial to hold onto. Still not sold on it being a “fun” wheel though.

We then came across 2 walk on rides that we don’t remember doing before the first…

Silly symphony Swings AKA Carls new fave

followed by the zephyr

After our airborne adventures we didn’t stay on land long as we headed under the sea

Then over to Grizzly Peak Rapids

Next we queued a mere 30 mins for

Nothing compared to the WDW queues!

By this time it was nearly 11 so we headed back to Radiator Springs but before our race we picked up

For this evening as we knew we wanted to ride in the dark too!

We got pimped up by Ramone and very nearly won the race

We had a look in the shops

I quite liked the sign and could think of a few places it’d look good in our home but it was a bit too large to get home

Another productive morning complete we decided it was time for a rest but not caffeine this time – something a little more refreshing so we headed to

Where we decided to go for local Beers, Carl had the Anaheim HefeWeizen and I had the Anaheim 1888 and we had a snack Like a good blogger (well I started out well…) I updated my notes whilst Carl tried to decided the next step...

We enjoyed the beers and the pretzel but the cheese was not to our liking unfortunately. But we were refreshed so we headed out…​

We walked through

Our aim was another of our favourites

But first Carl wanted to play…

Tower of Terror was only a 25 minute wait and enjoyable as always.

We then had a look in a few shops before strolling to our lunch ADR at Wine Country Trattoria for the World of Colour package. We had tried to eat here last time but it was closed, then we weren’t going to this time until I decided we would be doing world of colour so thought the fastpasses would be good.

Here is the menu for your perusal​

First up there was Focaccia bread and we were brought our drinks, Carl opted for a Karl Strauss Beer and I had the California wine flight We both had Minestrone soup to start – we are definitely soups over salads kinda people. It was ok but I have had better, presentation could definitely be worked on though, messy bowls will never do!​

Then Carl had the Lasagne, Lasagne his is favourite dish and he did enjoy this one​ I had the crab Gnocchi which I quite enjoyed but it was hard to taste or find the crab

Then dessert was brought out each of us had Tiramisu (not that great) Panna Cotta (yum) a Macaroon (so-so) and a lemon puff (I thought I’d like this one the most and expected it to be refreshing but it was a little sweet) ​

The meal was enjoyable overall, maybe it’d be better when ordering from the regular menu? The thing we really didn’t like was the service – the worst we had all trip and really we should have complained but we couldn’t be bothered to take time out of our day for that. The server didn’t really seem interested in spending any time at our table, just brought what was needed but the thing we least liked was each course was brought out when we were halfway through the previous one. Now that’s just rudeness. We weren’t eating slowly by any means and it was not overly busy so bringing our pasta out before we finished our soup etc was unacceptable. Had I known service would have been so swift I certainly wouldn’t have ordered a wine flight which Carl helped me finish as we didn’t feel comfortable or welcome to stay to long after we’d finished our meals. But then she took aaaaaaages getting our World of Colour fast passes!

Anyway we left and moved on from our only negative Disney experience and headed to the 2:20 showing of Aladdin. I really enjoyed this and the Genie was very funny. It’s a shame it is making way for Frozen I understand it is a very popular film, I also enjoyed it a lot, but Disney seems saturated with it. Anyhow…

We followed this up with Monsters Inc. which only had a 10 min wait and was a nice little ride.​

I forgot to mention throughout the day we had been heading back to Buena Vista Street to see if Oswald was out for photos but we never did see him. One such time we happened to arrive at the same time as the Red Car Trolley News boys so we stayed to watch the show about following your dreams and Walt Disneys journey to California

Then it was time for a caffeine fix

Tastes even better in a Disney cup

We then walked through the​

where we had a little sample whilst watching some bakers hard at work

We slowly made our way over to Grizzly Peak for another ride on the Rapids whilst it was still hot enough to dry in a reasonable time. The ride was down but we decided to hop in the queue in the hope it’d be back up soon.

Then uh oh – the worst thing anyone who likes to take photographs can see – dead battery!!! This is a fairly new camera for me and I haven’t gotten around to buying a spare yet although this does last a lot longer than any I have had before. There was no way I was watching WOC without my camera so a decision was made and we jumped out of the queue and sped back to the condo.

We were back at 4:57 according to my notes. Since we were back we decided to take showers and get changed and had some cold soft drinks. Now I think my husband chose wisely as he would be annoyed waiting for me if he had to but we left the condo at 5:30 so only 33mins after we arrived we were back in the park in no time and met the tail end of the parade so we slowly followed until we could branch off

Our destination you ask? Well it’s one of our favourites and it’s very rare – can you guess??

Then walked onto Carls new fave

We considered getting a beer but the queue for that was longer than the rides so we passed. It was nearly time for our evening racing at Radiator Springs so we headed back…

You might be able to make out the people around the tyres at Luigis. Well, little did we know that RSR had been down for a couple of hours and that was the back of the fastpass queue!!

SO… we thought we would give another favourite a last ride and then come back

Unfortunately the wait was 50 minutes so instead we thought we’d try the queue for RSR. At this point they had closed the regular queue as the park was closing soon so it was just fastpass returners and single riders. It only ended up being about 30 minutes of waiting

We picked up a water on our way out of Radiator Springsand headed to our WOC fastpass return where we arrived around 7:45. We were offered the wet or “dry” zone and we were at the top of the stairs just out of the wet and into the dry. Turns out it didn’t matter as the heavens opened and it poured down most of the show. We weren’t too bothered, it was quite refreshing and we knew this was our last thing of the day and it wasn’t far home.

So what did I think of WOC? I LOVED it (even in the rain)!!! I would go so far to say it is the best show I have seen of this type and I even got a little teary at points I thought it was beautiful.

Anyway, enough talking…

Feeling grateful for Mr Disney we joined the masses and exited. Taking a few photos on the way​

We went into the World of Disney but it was very busy so we carried on. We were going to go to Trader Sams for a cocktail tonight as it’s the only time we could really fit it in but we were a little tired and a lot wet, Downtown Disney was busy on top of that so we just headed home, dried off and got into comfy warm PJs and cracked open a Kona all by 9:30. A most wonderful day! I haven’t been to WDW for a while so my memories are fading a little but I am fairly certain DCA is my favourite non magic kingdom park….​

Our final Disneyland Day!

Usual getting up routine – I am not going to tell you we showered every morning but please know we did. I won’t mention it passed this point but please don’t think that meant we stopped showering every morning!!

We left the house at 7:40. The intention was to pick up some beignets and coffee from Ralph Brennans Express on the way in but they didn’t open until 8. Shame really as there are a lot of people around before that. Oh well.

As soon as we were in the park we went straight to Star Tours which had a 10 min wait.

We haven’t been on this since the new “storylines” (it hasn’t been updated in Paris…yet…) and I thought it was really good!

Then I lost at Buzz again

Since we had a beautiful blue sky, I took some snaps of the castle

We then waited for Frontierland to open for our last must do ride

This was a walk on, I think we were on the second train of the day! I will say the best one of these is definitely at Disneyland Paris where you go through the tunnel at the beginning.

After our wildest ride in the wilderness we decided check out the Haunted Mansion queue..

It was only 20 minutes and we knew it was popular so we jumped in

..before heading to Splash mountain which was another walk on

I really like Churros and had pretty much been looking forward to one at Disneyland since we booked so I bought one for breakfast

Smelt delicious, looked yummy, tasted like cardboard…..

I was so very very disappointed. So we replaced it with our first ever

Much better!!!

We did a little shop browsing – I hadn’t seen a lot I wanted to be honest which was disappointing. The only thing had been a Darth Vader dress but I wasn’t 100% sure. Nothing bought still we headed to pick up a Space Mountain fastpass – return time 11:30-12:30. Whilst we were waiting we went to

the single riders queue and walked straight on!​

We still had a bit of time to kill before our fast pass and there was only a 20 minute wait for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Turns out this ride is a little longer than expected we got off at 11:50 and had a reservation at midday. No time for Space Mountain so we gave our fastpasses to 2 ladies, I hope they enjoyed their ride!?! Then it was time for lunch and after no breakfast and a disappointing churro boy were we ready for this!!!

Our destination?

Soon to be extinct…

We were sat at a table with a young family from Canada whose company we enjoyed and we liked the entertainment – again it’s a shame this area is going

The chicken, ribs and beans were delicious! As it was an all you can eat kind of set up we ordered extra of those. The cornbread was a little sweet for our liking (I’m starting to notice a trend here…) and the slaw was nice but as Carl doesn’t like it we didn’t need anymore. The nice thing we learnt is any uneaten food gets shipped out as animal feed so doesn’t go to waste.

It was quite hot today and we had done almost all of what we wanted so we decided to have a little break from the park

On the way out we noticed a free photopass photographer in front of the castle so stopped

Unfortunately Carl is squinting in every single one of them!

Looked through Downtown Disney and had a wander around the Grand Californian, looks a very nice hotel, I think we could definitely stay there! I was quite impressed by the cake, look at the detail..

I also really loved this door

Carl found some time to watch some champions league football

We then went back to the condo, picked up the car and drove to Walmart to buy some wine for the cruise. DCLs alcohol policy has recently changed – I know most of you will know this but there will be some reading who don’t – It used to be that you can take any kind of alcohol onboard and pretty much as much as you could fit in your carry on – the stipulations it had to be in the carry on (not checked luggage) AND it was not supposed to be consumed in public areas. We had never taken advantage of this before but as we were going on a longer cruise we were going to take advantage this year. However, just a couple months ago it changed to 2 bottles of wine 750ml or smaller OR 6 bottles of beer per adult over 21. You can then bring the same on in each port you visit. There were a lot of very upset people, didn’t really matter to us we’d just budget a little more into our onboard spends. However, the only thing I think that does need a rethink is this allowance is the same if you are on a 3 night or 14 night cruise. There have been a few occasions in recent years where the Wonder has not been able to visit various ports and with more days at sea I’m sure it wouldn’t be too horrendous for them to adjust this just a little for longer cruises. This is the reason we couldn’t take our 2 beers with us when we checked out in San Diego (well technically we could have and they would have held them until we got back but it seemed pretty pointless for 2 bottles of beer)

ANYWAY (sorry about that) we bought 2 bottles of red and 2 of rose to have in the room when we get back from excursions we don’t have expensive tastes and tend to prefer Californian as they are a little fruitier than European wines.

Shopping complete we spent a little time at home and did some more washing so everything was clean before leaving

Excuse feet

. Around 5 we decided to head back to the park…

… but we took a little detour

We sat outside as it was a beautiful evening, unfortunately we were sat against the wall (near the door) so got missed a few times in favour for newcomers who came and sat in the obvious view of the cocktail waitresses. So eventually I grabbed someone and we placed our orders. I had the Krakatoa punch and Carl had the Shrunken Zombie head

Naturally we went for the souvenir Tiki mugs. They were both really yummy BUT Carls tasted a lot stronger than mine so I made the right choice!

After drinks Carl decided it was time for a snack so we headed here

He bought himself the Original 1762 but we ended up sharing it (I had only wanted a bite but it tasted so good! I don’t think he was very impressed)

We decided to not walk all the way to the park, we’d done a lot of walking already, so we had our only monorail ride which takes you to tomorrowland

We checked out Space Mountain but it was a 60 minute wait so it looked as though we wouldn’t get a second go, instead we headed to Buzz - I don’t really like this ride but we did it 3 times because DH likes it (I’m far too good to him!!)

We headed to check out Haunted Mansion passing this beauty

The queue was quite long so we headed to Splash with its 15 minute wait – we love this ride and it always has such long queues in WDW! There isn’t one in Paris so we miss it quite a lot!

You may notice in the picture Harry the monkey behind me. He is sort of a family mascot, after several trips to WDW we realised a lot were looking the same so one year we thought we would take Harry and take pics of him for something a little different. Since then he has travelled the world with us and the idea is that if/when we have children we can use these to make up stories of his travels. He’s not as photographed as he used to be but he’s still there!!

Anyhow, most of the rides were busy but there was one we hadn’t ridden for years that we suddenly really wanted to –

The 1 or 2 photos I took didn’t turn out great so I won’t upload them here but we enjoyed the ride, loved all of the jokes.

At this point our thoughts turned to the parade. Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule and didn’t really want to spend 3 hours sitting waiting for the parade which we overheard a lot of people had done for good spots. It was all pretty crowded and whilst we would have liked to see it parades aren’t the most important thing for us so resigned ourselves to making our way to the exit…

On the way we went through the shops and did a little shopping this time – picked a jumper my sister had wanted and a pin for myself. However, as we exited the emporium we noticed a couple spots on the steps of City Hall so we checked it out and stuck around for the parade!! We’re glad we did as it is possibly one of the best parades we have seen. I will share a small selection of my photos

It got very crowded very quickly after the parade ended

So we sat on the now vacant bench and let the masses move whilst we decided our next step. We contemplated the fireworks but with the hundreds of people up main street we knew we wouldn’t get a great view and from what I have read / seen it looks similar to a show we had seen in Paris earlier this year so we decided to make our way out of Disneyland for the last time (this trip). This was a little bittersweet as it was the last time we would be at a Disney Park for some time but there is so much to look forward to!

As we had to walk through Downtown Disney which was the quietest we had seen it all trip we made a stop here –

So I could get my new Christmas ornament, we get one every trip, and I bought myself a dress which you will see a little later in the TR

Wanted to take this on the way pass since we passed it every day and it was our last bit of this version of Disney for a while

We were back at the condo around 10:30 I did some more clothes washing so we could take all clean clothes with us and we chilled out with some of our Konas and got packed ready to leave.

My feet and lower back were very painful but it is all so very worth it – we LOVE Disneyland!! I will note here that there were a few people from our cruise group who had also been to DL before the cruise and they had said the customer service wasn’t as good as Florida and I believe one even went as far to say it was terrible and they wouldn’t go back. I can honestly say our experience was the exact opposite of this (apart from maybe WCT) – everyone we encountered was pleasant, interested in talking with us and things were run very well. It also felt genuine. Sometimes, in WDW the happiness and politeness of some of the staff seems very forced and we didn’t have that in California – every CM we encountered genuinely seemed happy to be there. So, always take every review you read, especially the negative, with a pinch of salt. We had an excellent experience and were so very happy but on the same day, in the same parks, there were people who didn’t and were unhappy.

Couldn’t wait to board the cruise and put my feet up….it’s getting closer….

Moving on​

I had not had a great nights sleep, kept waking up with a very sore throat EEEK. I am putting it down to going between air conditioning to the hot weather outside and dehydration rather than actual sickness.

Before we left Carl stripped the bed and put our used towels in the washing machine as per the instructions (I like vacation Carl – he’s more helpful ;-)) whilst I got us all packed up. I will also mention he had a bowl of cereal but I was saving myself…

We were out of the door by 8:30 and headed toward the Laguna Beach area – because we are super cool we wanted to get some photos of our car for the trip.

We were the only convertible with the top off so we assume everyone knew we were tourists! It was hot for us.

Then continued along to our next stop.

Carl was a project engineer (now manager) at a nuclear power plant (and a total geek) so just HAD to get a snap of this on the way

I keep trying to persuade him to look for jobs ;-)

Another tradition for our US trips is Carl replenishing his wardrobe at a Vans outlet store (so much cheaper than here). I had seen there was one at the Carlsbad premium outlet which is where we headed. It was so peaceful when we arrived, hardly anyone around – the opposite of the last few days.

First though we needed breakfast and I had done a little research and settled on Ruby’s Diner for a very enjoyable breakfast

We quite liked this place, the food was tasty and very filling and the service was good. I had black coffee and the cinnamon roll French toast with bacon and sunnyside up eggs. Carl had a coffee milkshake and the multigrain hotcakes with bacon and scrambled egg

This was the best breakfast (and cheapest) of the trip. I was glad I hadn’t eaten last night or earlier in the day as I was able to enjoy and eat my whole breakfast. Carl, on the other hand, couldn’t finish his!

Here’s a link to their website in case you chose to check them out (you should )

We then went shopping (in one shop) and DH picked up 2 pairs of jeans and a new pair of shoes so he was happy.

Back on the road we headed to San Diego. We arrived at Alamo around 12:30 and the drop off was quick and simple and we were on the bus to the airport in no time. The journey was 10 mins and we were at the terminal and walking over to the hotel shuttle pick up point.

UH OH – no phone I had left it in the car door!!!! I can’t believe this, we checked the car over but I had forgotten I had taken it out of my pocket to drive. Ran back to the bus and the driver Rod was so helpful, he called the depot for me so I could let them know where I left it (luckily we had a photo with the number plate on) by the time we were back I just had to pick it up at customer service and get back on the bus…phew!

Back at the airport we had 4 options – walk to the terminal to use a pay phone to call the hotel to let them know we had arrived, Use the mobile phone, hope another guest arrived and made the call or get a taxi. Honestly we could not be bothered with walking to the terminal with our luggage so that was out. So I thought “how much will it cost really” well I used the number they provided and was told number out of order. Tried again in case I had made a mistake – still out of order. Tried a second number to be told I had no credit (I am still on pay as you go) well those 2 unsuccessful calls cost me $27.00!!!!!! Which is why we are going to buy a US sim the next time we visit!

We decided on a cab which was only $15.00 including a tip. Should have just gone for that first.

We were staying at the Best Western Bayside which was nice, we liked the location and it was a fairly reasonable price. It was all a little beige though haha. When we arrived the room wasn’t ready but I had a plan for that! We did the check in and left our luggage in the office and headed to Little Italy with 1 goal in mind

Let me give you an insight into our next few days. On researching “things to do in San Diego” there were a few things that stood out – Sea World (I’m not the biggest fan), the Zoo (again I’m not a huge fan of zoos and didn’t really want to spend our limited time walking around one), Balboa Park – which we did make it to and craft beer. From what I understand San Diego has a big craft beer scene and some are apparently must dos. We like beer – not to get drunk - we just like tasting different types, trying “weird” combinations and experiencing different atmospheres all whilst being refreshed. So I devised a plan that had us visiting different breweries and bars, at the same time we would be covering a lot of mileage, seeing the city and enjoying a cold one! So had I did a lot of research into the best ones we could get to with only walking (and a ferry ride but we’ll get to that tomorrow) and devised our own craft brewery tour and we just loved it! In fact we would really like to go back with some friends / family to do it all again!

Anyhow, first stop was Ballast point which is considered one of the Golden trinity in San Diego. Carl had the Sculpin IPA “Bright floral hop flavours of apricot, mango and lemon” I had the Wahoo White “Witbier with orange peel and coriander” Generally I am not a huge fan of wheat beer so I don’t know why I ordered it – it think it’s the hint of coriander, however I enjoyed this one and Carl enjoyed his

After our refreshing brews we walked a mile uphill it was 82 degrees (28 Celsius) which is a little on the hot side for me to be honest, there was no breeze but at least it cooled a little in the shade. We were quite amazed how low the planes were to the houses which were in the flight path

We were heading to

We bought a lemonade and bottle of water and sat by the fountain for a little while enjoying the peace and tranquility

Then we walked, downhill this time, to our next stop

We both had one of the own brews but I can’t remember what – Carl enjoyed his more than I enjoyed mine. We did get chatting to the barman who was recommending places to visit, most of which were on my list for tomorrow so I was quite proud of myself!

We then headed toward our hotel to get into our room

The fresh remote made us laugh!

As you can see it’s a little brown and bland but it had the things we hold most important – it was clean, comfortable and had a decent bathroom. The view made up for the bland room anyway

The pool we never used

We were room 705 in case anyone is interested.

I then had the most glorious long soak in a hot bubble bath while Carl watched some hockey then we switched. I felt so relaxed after that. Another peak out on the balcony before we headed back out

Do you remember the sore throat? I was still getting it on and off, mostly if I didn’t drink for a while so I expected it was dehydration more than anything. To be on the safe side though we stopped in CVS and picked up throat sweets along with a case of water and some muscle rub – my heel was starting to hurt a lot with all this walking! I really wish I had a fit bit or something as I am interested to know how much we actually walked this trip!

Anyway, we headed for dinner and we had a reservation at the Melting Pot. This was a new restaurant for us and I only heard about it through another TR here. I can’t for the life of me remember which one but thank you whoever you are!

We weren’t hugely hungry and didn’t want to go for 4 courses, if we had we would have been stuffed and not enjoyed it as much.

We ordered our drinks, I had

He had

Our first course was, of course, cheese fondue. We opted for Cheddar – Aged Cheddar, garlic, mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce, lager and pepper which is all mixed in the fondue at the table. DH isn’t a huge fan of anything too garlicky which we told our server, he didn’t look to put too much in but there was a distinct garlic taste. We asked to upgrade to also have Italian meats but they never came (we weren’t charged) and we weren’t overly bothered. To dip we had bread, Apple, carrot, broccoli and Cauliflower. It was quite nice but next time we will have one of the other flavoured ones.

Our second course? Well there was only one choice really – Chocolate fondue!!!

We chose S’mores – Chocolate, marshmallow, and graham crackers flambéed tableside

To dip we had pineapple, banana, strawberries, Brownies, cookies, rice krispie bites, oreo covered marshmallows, graham cracker covered marshmallows, graham crakers and pound cake. I liked the pound cake and the fruits but the rest was too rich. We have decided if/when we go back we would have cheese fondue and one of the entrees. Overall it was a very nice meal and we had just the right amount of food for us.

We then walked through the Gaslamp district and along the seafront

Back to our hotel where we arrived at 9:15. Feet aching, we’d walked around 9 miles since we arrived in San Diego I decided to sit on the side of the tub soaking them in the bath for a while before applying muscle rub and crawling into bed and catching up on notes. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!​

Exploring San Diego​

I was up at 8 and started sorting our bags ready for tomorrow, carl was up a little later and we headed down for breakfast. What a difference a day makes! Yesterday we had the best breakfast of the trip, today the worst. There was a hot and cold buffet, the pastries were dry and seemed a little stale like they had been left out for hours uncovered. The hot choices were sausage, scrambled egg and potatoes but it was a little bland, the sausages were ok. My favourite thing was the toast!

We headed down to Broadway pier to catch the 10am ferry to Coronado

We walked from the ferry port to the beach on the other side. It was so peaceful and really nice to walk along the 1 straight road we followed. I might be wrong but it seemed to be a really beautiful place to live. If/when we make it back to San Diego I wouldn’t mid spending a little more time here.

I had read somewhere before the trip that the beach here was considered the 2nd best in the USA – I am sorry I cannot remember the source or where was first – so we wanted to check it out!!

We couldn't resist a paddle, it was a little chilly but it was hot out so it was nice. We were very grateful we are currently able to travel any time of the year as we do not have children yet so no school constraints. It meant everywhere was so peaceful with few people around!

Then we went for our first craft brewery stop of the day. On the way we saw this very laid back tree

Our destination was the Coronado Brewing company

I had a flight of all their main beers L-R Coronado Golden, Orange Avenue Wit, Islander IPA, Mermaids Red and Blue Bridge Coffee Stout. I liked them all actually but I think the red was my favourite. Carl had 2 pints in the time I drank this but unfortunately I have not noted what they were. I can tell you he enjoyed them so check the place out.​

It was a nice bar and they had a nice looking food menu, Carl picked himself up a cap and we were on our way.

We caught the ferry to the convention center this time. Walked by Petco Park​

On our way to our next stop​

I had another flight (L-R Mission Blonde, Shipwrecked IIPA, Holiday Ale and Peanut Butter Dark Seas) Again I liked them all but if I had to choose a favourite it would have to be the Holiday ale as It tasted of Christmas Carl had a pint of the El Conquistador​. They also had 2 new casks on Watermelon Shipwrecked and Maple Bacon Porter. We decided to have a taste (well I just bought them whilst Carl visited the bathroom) Both tasted good but the watermelon was my fave – refreshing!

In my research there were 2 bars that came up as being recommended to visit. Our next stop, based on this, was the Tivoli bar and grill. This is allegedly the oldest bar in San Diego and a bar that served Wyatt Earpe back in the day

We were so grateful to be exploring on a weekday! Sorry my notes aren’t extensive for today. I asked the bar tender what she’d recommend and she recommended 2 Ballast point. Despite have tried their already I felt I should go with one of her recommendations. Carl had something different which was another from the golden trinity.

After this we headed to the other “must visit” which was The field Irish bar which was all ready for Halloween

We had visited Dublin twice earlier this year and loved it. In honour of being in an Irish pub and with memories of Dublin we decided to go for an Irish beer and chose Harp. We also had something to eat. I had a grilled porter cheese sandwich which chunky chips and Carl had a pancake with bacon and cheese

On the drink menu were drinks we don’t do over here – Black and Tan (Guinness over Bass) or Half and Half (Guinness over Harp) – these reminded us of our first visit to Dublin (BTW, if you have never been I can recommend it, we had 2 fantastic weekends there!!!) , we were sat at a bar talking with the manager who had finished his shift and was having a few drinks with his brother (he started buying us drinks so we stuck around). An American came to the bar and ordered a half and half – well none of the barmen or us had ever heard of it so the American explained. All of the barmen had a laugh and basically told him they wouldn’t ruin good drinks so it was one or the other. It was all quite funny, the American customer thought so too. So folks, it might be worth not ordering your mixed beers in Dublin…

I realise you will be thinking we are drinking a lot of beer. We did a fair amount of walking and drank a lot of water so we were fine.

Our final brewery stop was Karl Strauss

I had the Oktoberfest which was good and I wasn’t there when Carl ordered so I’m not sure what he got.

This was designed to be our last stop as it was close to our hotel – about 5 minutes – so after his one we headed back. We had walked just over 6 miles today, with the heat, the beer and the previous long days I really wanted a nap. Carl didn’t so he was left with instructions to wake me up at 7:30 as we had a dinner reservation at Hard Rock Café at 8:30…..

….I drifted into a blissful sleep leaving him watching Hockey…

…. I woke up at 9:30 with him asleep next to me! HA! Oh well, neither of us were hungry so we hung out in the room, I repainted my nails and finished getting us organised for our big day tomorrow.

We really enjoyed San Diego, it had a nice vibe, and wish we had a few more days. We have a couple friends and family members who we think would like it too so hopefully we’ll get back soon and maybe with some companions. I would have liked to spend more time at the beach and in Coronado generally. We did see most of the city by foot. I realise I didn’t take many pictures but I just wanted to soak it all in so didn’t have my camera out much. If we had another day I would have taken quite a lot more! ​

Up next we board the Disney Wonder!!