After I took my middle children to both the orthodontist and the dentist and got Michelle to and from her cello lesson and tennis class, it was time to take my oldest and youngest on Kate’s birthday bash! Kate wanted to go to Disney for her 16th birthday but I had convinced her that both Hubby and I could take two cars and drive a bunch of her friends to the newly renovated Casa Bonita instead. Well, CB isn’t open to the public yet soooo we ended up planning a spur of the moment trip to California after all! Since Natalie had such a hard time with me going on Hubby’s last minute business trip I asked Kate if she could join us. Of course she said yes and Natalie was terrific about going with the flow and letting Kate lead the way. In fact, our flight started off with Natalie needing her inhaler because Kate was making her laugh so hard. (Then ended in tears because as we starting to descend a tooth began causing Natalie immense pain. It went away after we landed but dang, that was weird. Made me wonder if she was cutting a molar in the air.)
On Wednesday we woke up super excited to begin our trip at Disney’s California Adventure. First order of business? Obtaining Rogers the Musical VIP Experience tickets. Thanks to Jordan’s advice we went to the correct location just as the park officially opened. And let me tell you, that joke from the tv show Hawkeye makes one great half hour of live entertainment. Even when there was a glitch and Skinny Steve has to start his scene again… and again… someone from the audience yelled, “Hail Hydra!” and made so many people laugh. The show was great from there on out and honestly we were disappointed when all the shows for Friday were canceled because we were very willing to watch Rogers again. Grateful we got to see it at all, though. With how well received it has been I would be surprised if it doesn’t get extended past the August 31st end date. P.S. When I asked Natalie what her favorite part of the trip was she replied with, “Rogers the Musical!” Enough said.
Since we were going to Disneyland in July I decided to purchase Genie+ when we bought our tickets. Boy, did that help with the heat and the crowds! We calculated this saved us HOURS of waiting in line and it turns out DCA has lots of places to hang out in air conditioning instead like The Animation Building with Turtle Talk With Crush and Sorcerer’s Workshop or Mickey’s Philharmagic or eating at Flo’s Cafe.
We got to see Avengers Campus for the 1st time and I must admit, Guardians is our favorite part. It was fun to see the characters but you either couldn’t wait in line or the line seemed long so it was really just luck if you got to interact with them. The only show we watched the entirety of was the Dr. Strange one. It was nice but besides the Thor cameo it was just a place to sit on the ground for a while. We left feeling like we got to do lots of neat things but glad we would be coming back for another day.
Thursday was our one and only day at the original park, Disneyland. We were ready to be there all day and take full advantage. Genie+ was amazing in helping us do so. We were able to ride ALL the rides we wanted, have an amazing lunch at Cafe Orleans complete with extra Mint Julep to go for Kate & I, and be amazed by the fireworks near It’s A Small World. (We also paid the extra to Lightning Lane Rise of the Resistance since Natalie had never ridden it before & I’m glad we did because we never even made it over to newly redone Toon Town with all the other things we were doing.) It’s so fun to notice the differences between attractions that are in both California and Florida like being surprised by the Pirates of the Caribbean drop being bigger and Space Mountain have double rows instead of singles. At one point we realized the last time Kate was at Disneyland was when she was Natalie’s age and we were there with cousins. Such fun memories! And if Kate waited that long again to return she would be a full fledged legal adult!
On Friday we returned to Disney California Adventure for our last day in the parks. We decided to sleep in and prioritize the things we didn’t get to do on Wednesday, which were Grizzly River Run (which we did twice - once standby in the morning and Genie+ in the evening), eating at Pym’s Test Kitchen (where we got to watch the Dora Milaje seated in the shade while we ate), and ride Radiator Springs Racers (which we paid the LL $ for to ensure we were able to ride since it had broken down in the heat on Wednesday). We were able to repeat some favorites like Guardians of the Galaxy (twice, since Web Slingers went down and gave us an all experience pass) and try new things like the swinging cars on the ferris wheel. We were totally afraid we were going to vomit so it took courage to get on that ride but we were fine — just scared by just how much those cars swung! We found a great place to eat dinner in the shade with plenty of tables near Goofy’s Sky School and be in a good place to watch World of Color from the side. We were happy to have fulfilled our Disney wish list and were sooooo tired!
Saturday we took our sweet time waking up and getting ready to go to Huntington Beach. It was a full 13° cooler at the coast than Anaheim. At first there was some cloud cover too and we were so comfortable we forgot to reapply sunscreen… until Kate noticed Natalie’s shoulders turning pink. And we found out the hard way that at that point you’re already burned — you’re just trying to keep from getting worse. Even with Kate’s really bad sunburn all over and Natalie’s burned shoulders (I had a long sleeved rash guard on so I was fine), we were so glad to spend time by the ocean. Kate and Natalie braved the frigid waters while I walked around or listened to Prince Harry’s book, Spare, while I was watching our stuff. (I cannot recommend that book so won’t say anything about it.) We all agreed there is something magical about large bodies of water, especially the ocean. And Kate saved the day when it was time to go back to the hotel. Usually I use Lyft but it wanted 4x as much to take us back than the amount of money it took to get there so Kate suggested I download Uber and check there. She was right! Their price was the same as getting there and we had a wonderful driver. (But when I checked both for the airport the next day Lyft was cheaper. Huh.)
Sunday’s flight prices were less expensive to the point it was cheaper to spend another night in the hotel than fly home on Saturday. So Saturday was super chill and then on our last day we ate brunch at Storyteller’s Cafe inside the Grand Californian. Wow, that hotel is magnificent. I had looked up the price but it was almost 4x more than the place we stayed. We sure enjoyed finding the 5 hidden Mickey’s on the HUGE cake. I’m still amazed Natalie found the hardest one. I could have been there for hours and not found it. Brunch was amazing and we left stuffed. We got to see Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale & Pluto. It’s was Kate’s first time there and they even gave her a birthday cupcake to go when she said she was full. So sweet. Then we hung around Downtown Disney for a bit and it was time to go home.
I am still amazed by what a great trip we had. Easy bag check, security, and flights both directions. The only attraction that was closed that we wanted to ride was Soarin.’ We got to experience everything we wanted to at least once. We ate great food, laughed, and screamed. I am truly grateful Kate wanted to do this to celebrate her Sweet 16. Happy birthday beautiful, talented K! We love you and wish you the best year yet!
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