34. Disneyland Trip Review

[00:00:00] Coming up, it's a deep dive trip review and we are heading to the West Coast to talk about Becky's special trip with her adult daughters to not only Disneyland but something extremely special, extremely unique, and extremely exclusive and Disney related that she got to do. Stay tuned.

[00:00:20] Hey there, everyone. Welcome in to another episode of the Moms Behind the Magic. I'm your host, Allie. I am here today with only Becky and that's because we have another trip review, this time in the reverse. We did this after my spring break trip when I took my Disney cruise and y'all M&Ms loved it. You were telling us to give you more trip review content, that it was very helpful in envisioning what you wanted to do for your vacations.

[00:00:45] And I love that we can kind of highlight some different destinations that we do that are Disney related or otherwise, honestly, maybe in the future. But I have to say before we dive in, good morning. Good morning. And also not to put you like mega in your feels, but when this episode airs, I'm pretty sure both of your girls are about to head to college and you're going to be house of three to house of one for many, many months. And what date did they leave? When are they leaving?

[00:01:14] They're needing to get an early move in date. So our fingers are crossed that they're going to be able to move into their apartment ahead of time because of band camp starting at UCF. So you really are going to put me in my feels really. I know. This episode is all about those girls, really, and this trip that you took with them, which we will talk a lot about. But yeah, by the time our M&Ms are hearing this, I bet there are a lot of parents out there or grandparents out there, people listening, M&Ms that can relate to what you're feeling right now.

[00:01:44] I am very far from this day, right? And I can't imagine how rewarding and exciting it is, but also very bittersweet. And I know that you're really excited to just have some one-on-one time with Laker. But I remember when my brother went to college. I like laid on my dad's office floor in the middle of the night and cried to Good Charlotte's Good Ridden Song or whatever. Wait, so you were sad your brother was leaving for college? I was. Yeah, we weren't like, we're really close now, but we weren't super close then. It was a big age difference. He was a boy, I was a girl. I don't know.

[00:02:13] But I don't know. It's just so weird when he left. And I remember crying to that Green Day or Good Charlotte? Green Day? It's Green Day. I think Green Day, yeah. It's definitely Green Day. It's definitely Green Day. And I definitely am nervous about it. We were in Ohio and we were sitting at the kitchen table. You guys were such gracious hosts. But we were in our planning conversations and just bonding and all of the things. And just out of the middle of nowhere, I started sobbing.

[00:02:39] And it was talking about the fact that specifically McKenna is leaving. I've already been through it with Mace. Mace has been in college for two years. So I was a mess when Macy went to college. I remember. In fact, when we dropped Macy off at her dorm and she was only moving about 30 miles away, but we wanted her to have that full dorm life experience where she was learning to take care of herself, feeding herself, doing her own laundry. We wanted her to have that like growing up moment, even though she was only 30 miles away from us.

[00:03:07] We pulled out of that parking lot and Sean and I both just looked at each other and started sobbing. The girls are moving in together in Orlando. I'm so thankful for that. It's going to make sure McKenna is completely skipping the dorm life. She's going straight to having a full on apartment with her sister, with her sister. They every day are like, let's go to the thrift store and find decorations for our apartment. It is. It really is. It's going to be priceless for them.

[00:03:36] But what my biggest concern is, is not at all about her. Kenna's going to be great. So prepared to be out there. Macy was too. She was such a good like early young adult. I worry that Kenna is just so independent. What if she doesn't want to come home and spend time with the family? And yeah, she's such a busy person. And this summer is really the first time in her entire life she's ever had her own time to do what she wants with. Because she's always had dance. When we were in Utah, she lived the dance life that your dancers live every day where it's constantly going.

[00:04:06] Then when she got to high school, she was in color guard. And then to the point that she became the color guard captain. At this point, she like lived at the high school. She had more than a full time job. She had the full school day, but then would be there until eight, nine o'clock at night. Basically every night of her high school experience. So it's just, yeah, it's nice having her home this summer. I'm, I'm nervous to go drop them off in Orlando because it is three plus hours away. And that's the farthest they're going to ever have been. Of course, Macy did her Disney college program.

[00:04:35] And so maybe that was a warm up for what we're going to be doing in a month. Y'all are going to be going to Disney. We already know. Allie, this is a new thing for us because we are diehard Utes fans. And now Kenna's going to be on. I had no idea. Kenna's brand new information. Kenna's going to be on the color guard. Mace may be in the band. We are still waiting to find out how that's going to shake out. But McKenna's going to be performing at every home football game. And it's about killing us that we don't get to go to everyone.

[00:05:05] Because we have things here in South Florida, specifically Laker. Laker gets to have mom and dad for a while. So we're going to have kids performing both in Central Florida and South Florida. And how do we not be there to watch both of those situations happening? Does her school play the Utes? They do. They're in the same conference. And it's home? They actually don't play this year. It's on an off-cycle year. So because there's more than 12 teams. This is why I don't follow college football. It doesn't make any sense.

[00:05:32] It's very similar to conferences in Colorado and the NFL. But no, they won't play the Utes this year. They do play BYU, which is University of Utah's biggest arch rival. But Kenna's a really big Utes fan too. So do you think that you could wear UCF stuff, but then like a Utes bracelet or hat? It will have to be like a nod to it. Kenna very much is a huge Utes football fan as well.

[00:05:58] Well, we ask our nephew who lives in Utah, goes to school in Utah, whatever. We're like, what do we do? Because we're diehard Utes fans. We're going to have to cheer for UCF. And we actually really love UCF. It feels very much like a University of Utah feeling. It's not the SEC feeling. Like Stacey loves SEC specifically. That's not our vibe. That's like... We're Big Ten up here where I am. Yes. SEC is its own little kind of breed of football. And that's not us.

[00:06:28] Cheer for Utah during the football game, but cheer for UCF during halftime. Yeah, that sounds fair. Maybe that's what it means to you. I do. I do really hope. We have so many great universities right up here where I'm from. I would love it if my kids go to a big college. If they go to UC or OSU, which are two big schools here with like great dance teams and awesome football programs, that would be so fun. I didn't live that life. My university was so small and definitely we were like the pioneers. We definitely didn't have... That was our mascot.

[00:06:58] We definitely didn't have a football team. We were not in a conference. I think I would... Wait, you were the pioneers? Yeah. Interesting. So lame. But I think I would have liked my college experience more with that. One, I'm so in my feelings about this whole situation. I know. Well, let's shift. Let's shift because here's what we're going to do. I'm glad we talked about all that because as people are listening to this, that's what's going on in your world. You probably got their early move-in date. If not, they're moving in this week, right? So it's what's happening in your world. You got to take this awesome trip.

[00:07:28] Just a quick overview. You went to Disneyland. It was just you and two adult girls. Yep. The boys stayed home. You got to do some really spectacular things. Of course, went to the parks, stayed good neighbor. Yep. And did a Disneyland Studios tour. So a lot that our M&Ms probably have never done or experienced, but I think a lot want to. I've been talking to so many people recently that want Disneyland, that want to go.

[00:07:54] And especially if you love Disney World, it's, I always say being at Disneyland is like you're standing on Main Street and you're in another dimension. It's like, okay, I know where I am, but it's just different enough that I feel like I'm in a different universe. Right? Yeah. Especially if you're coming from Disney World being like foundational for you. Disneyland was home park for me for the first 35 years of my life. So this was like going home for us. This episode of Moms Behind the Magic is brought to you by BabyQuip.

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[00:10:16] You give me quick answers for these and then we'll dig into like meatier stuff, okay? Oh, okay. Okay, first... You make me nervous. Describe this trip that you took with the girls in just two words. Perfectly unplanned. Ooh. Wow, you really did that on the spot. And I think that's really telling for what's to come because you cannot do that with Disney World. Correct. Correct.

[00:10:46] You cannot. What was... Not even dabble with unplanned. Oh my gosh, that's giving me anxiety to even think about. Exactly. Oh, did you see I brought my Disneyland mug today? Oh, I love that. Yeah. I love that. What was the biggest goal you had going into this vacation with the girls? So it was McKenna's senior trip and I just wanted to make sure they got to do everything that they wanted to do.

[00:11:13] However, I'm on a podcast that talks about Disney and so I wanted to make sure that we were also delivering things to advance our conversation. About Disney with moms who dream about Disney. So I really wanted to hit all of the things at Disneyland that a lot's changed in the last seven years since we moved to Florida. So we were really leaning in on let's make sure we're doing all of the new things while also letting the kids live in their nostalgia because they really grew up at Disneyland and I wanted them to go back and relive those moments.

[00:11:43] How long had it been since your last trip to Disneyland? 2019 was our last trip to Disneyland. So it had been right before you moved. Literally. Yep. I think I've talked about it on the podcast before that we do a lot of one-on-one trips with our kids. Like rather than doing a birthday present, we take them on a trip one-on-one, either Sean going with one of them or I'm going with one of them. And in 2019, McKenna was turning 11 and she wanted to go see Frozen, the Broadway musical because that's when it was coming out.

[00:12:13] And that was a huge ask for her. Tickets in New York were unheard of because it had just opened. You couldn't get tickets. I'm like, we could go to New York and see Frozen on Broadway or Frozen is also quote on Broadway at Disneyland. So what if we do a trip to Disneyland to see Frozen on Broadway, but in Disneyland? Because the Disneyland trip was cheaper than going and seeing two tickets to see a brand new opening. Frozen, the musical. Did you just take her? Yep. Was it just me and McKenna was our last trip.

[00:12:42] Sean and I went in December of 2018 though, as well. So we, we literally were like regular at Disneyland. Yeah. How long had it been since Mace had been there? About June of 2018 would have been the last time that Mace had been there. So not too long before that. Yeah. Were you worried that anything would be disappointing now that Disney World is your home park? Yes. I was very nervous about the castle because you all, every time you say,

[00:13:08] baby castle, never in, never have I ever called it baby castle in my entire life. Uh-huh. However, for the last seven years, little castle offspring for the last seven years, I have been going to magic kingdom on the regular and Cinderella castle is so majestic and beautiful and big.

[00:13:34] And I walked in and for the first time in my life, I saw baby castle. I was like, this is underwhelming. Really? Yes. That's actually so crazy because that castle, I feel like for like Disneyland home park people, it's the hill they die on. Like, I think most people would never say what you just said. And I'm glad you said it because I think most people are like, it's the most beautiful original and it is, it is original and beautiful.

[00:14:01] But yes, when Cinderella castle becomes part of your orbit. Yes. And to be fair, I don't know that the average person is going to Disney world as often as we go to Disney world. And so I just see Cinderella's castle. What makes you think that? Yeah. I don't think people go to Disney world monthly, but I try to keep that lens on that just because that's my experience doesn't mean that somebody that goes once every couple of years is going to have the same experience.

[00:14:27] And in this case, walking in and seeing something that felt like home for so long. Once I got up to the castle, that's a different story. But turning that moment you turn on main street. It's tough. It really is. That's what started getting in my head. Yeah, it's true. I always ask people that move to a new city. Okay. So let's say you moved from Cincinnati and you're a big Bengals fan, right? And then you move to Miami, right? And you live there for 15 years.

[00:14:54] I always ask people, I'm like, so are you a Dolphins fan or are you a Bengals fan? You know what I mean? Like, do you root for your new or your old? And if they played each other, who would you root for? You know what I mean? And can you take that deep rooted fandom out of you when you move cities? Right. I'm like, I think Bengals will be no matter where I live. Right. But maybe not. If I moved, I live somewhere and I was immersed for 20 years or something. So it's interesting. Is Disney World really your home now? It's a really good conversation.

[00:15:22] I'm really excited to dig into it because it definitely did do some switches throughout the three days we were in the parks while we were there. We were there for almost a week, but there are things that absolutely lived up to it. And then there's some other things that I'm like, well, that's unexpected. Okay. Yeah. All right. All right. One more question. Did anybody have, I kind of mentioned this, solid must-do things. And were they new things or were they things that were rooted in nostalgia for you? Must do with seeing Galaxy's Edge.

[00:15:51] The last time that we were there, Galaxy's Edge was on the verge of opening. Like it was built, you could see it, but you couldn't go in it. And so we definitely wanted to compare the two of those. Otherwise, I had to get into what I would consider off the page is what I call it. It's where the drawing is. It's where the massive posters are. It's not even- Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's not a ride. In California Adventure. In California Adventure. Like that is one of my very, very favorite things.

[00:16:20] We had to see- You used to be able to meet Anna and Elsa in there, I think, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. That thing is still there. It wasn't open when we were there because we were there later in the day. But yes, absolutely love that area. That's probably one of my most foundational with my little kids because that would be where I would go to nurse my babies because it's getting you out of the sun. It's getting you out of the heat. You can sit there and you're just surrounded by what I would consider like Disney magic in the dark with post-movie posters.

[00:16:49] It's just like very smuddy to me. I don't know. And then of course we wanted to, we really wanted to see the nighttime, both the parade, Paint in the Night Parade. Yeah. And that's going away. And the World of Color. I know. I know. Yeah. And the World of Color in California Adventure. And then of course the root of all of my Disney-wise is Fantasmic. Mm-hmm. And I personally love the Fantasmic in Disneyland more than Disney World's Fantasmic. However, that's the conversation too. So. Yeah.

[00:17:18] Did you get to see it while you were there? No, because they only run it every couple days, which is devastating. And we were there during a party season. They were having the Disney Channel nights while we were there. And so they were basically closing Disneyland Park early, almost every day that we were there. Yeah. That's one huge thing with Disneyland to know, right? When you're planning. And we're going to shift now into the planning conversation.

[00:17:44] Because one thing is that these special events and parties are happening way more often at Disneyland. They just are. They do the coolest things. But it does impact what's going on. And the nighttime shows are not always airing. They're not all always happening. And it's very, very different. And that Paint the Night Parade, I'm so glad you got to see it. I saw it a year ago. Mm-hmm. And it's absolutely incredible. And I'm so glad that my family got to see it because I'm devastated that it's going away. It's like so, so good.

[00:18:14] I can't believe it's not going to be embedded. I agree. I wish so badly that they could have it at Disney World. It's actually pretty massive. Like that Mack truck. Yes. I cannot believe that they found a way to fit that big of a float down the streets of Disneyland. Because Disneyland is just so tiny. Like everything's so squished together. And that parade, honestly, like I love all things Disney World parades.

[00:18:42] But I, and I will say I don't want this to just be a Disneyland, Disney World conversation. Because Disneyland stands. And I was going to say that. I was going to say that too. And we're going to dig really deep now into your trip at Disneyland. But it's hard on the surface not to at least explain expectations, right? This is not about comparison. But naturally, I mean. It's true. It's true. They're two very similar things. They're two different things, but they're two very similar things.

[00:19:07] And so like with Paint the Night Parade, I love Disney World's parades in general. But Paint the Night Parade might be the best Disney parade that's ever existed. It's, it's amazing. I agree. I can't believe they're getting rid of it. If you can make it to see it, it's ending soon. I have, I booked three families this summer for Disneyland specifically because they wanted to go through that parade. That's how, like, it's really amazing. Um, and I feel lucky to have seen it. All right, let's talk.

[00:19:37] Let's dig into planning and really teach our M&Ms a little bit about this process that you went through for Disneyland and, and, and specifically because you went with two adult children, which is, is different, you know, it's different part of the conversation. First resort and hotel choosing when it comes to Disneyland is very specific. Why, why'd you choose a good neighbor hotel instead of one of the onsite options? Good question. So Macy at the time was doing her Disney college program.

[00:20:05] She gets Disney discounts when she, when you're a Disney employee, you get Disney discounts. And so we really were considering, should we stay at Disneyland hotel, Grand California? Like which of the Disney hotels should we stay at? Or should we save the money and stay across the street? Oh, this is one of the things I was going to say. I forgot. When we moved to Florida, we had calculated how many days we had spent in Disneyland.

[00:20:32] I started when I was five, but Sean didn't go to Disneyland until our honeymoon. So at this point, 23 years ago, but we married 23 years. We've been married for 23 years. Good Lord. I know. Well, we calculated how many days we had spent in Disneyland and we were coming up on an actual year around 300. That's crazy. Five days we'd spent in Disneyland resort.

[00:20:58] Combined, combined, combined, like across all trips because had Sean ever been without you, you had a lot of tallies at him, but had he ever been without you? He had not ever been without me. And I only went to Disneyland twice without him previous to this trip. I went when I was five and then I went when I was 18. Oh no, I went when I was 12 as well. So three times without him before we got married. And then we went on our honeymoon, went constantly since then. And we were always taking like five to seven day Disneyland trips.

[00:21:28] We were not, let's go to Disneyland for a day or two. We were committing and going for a good amount of time. When you're going from Utah, we would drive most of the time. So we spent a lot of time in Disneyland. Okay. Why did we stay good neighbor? Yeah. Why did you stay good neighbor? So we stayed good neighbor probably out of habit first and foremost. We have stayed at basically every single hotel down Harbor Boulevard. If you don't know Disneyland compared to Disney World, Disneyland is a very different type of bubble than Disney World.

[00:21:57] From Disneyland, you can actually get to the parks quicker from some of those good neighbor hotels right across Harbor Boulevard than you can from the Disneyland Hotel, for example. Yeah, it's true. I mean, I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and our walk was definitely farther than some of those across the street options. The reason that we chose to do that was a couple of reasons. One, McKenna. This was McKenna's senior trip. We are totally raising Disney adults. Can I just say that? When we say, what do you want to do with a Disney?

[00:22:26] Segway, listen to this. Because you know I teach dance. This is just making me so happy. I always have at least one student that tries to make me just feel so old and so... I have no idea what I'm talking about. And there was this one years ago. She always made me feel so like, oh, you're such a Disney adult. I was so lame. Would you know she now works for Disney. She is married. She's taking an adult Disney cruise with her husband. And I was like, oh, look at you, Disney adult. I was like, this is your karma for making fun of me.

[00:22:56] Yes. And you have an entire industry of Disney adults that you have created. Let's just be honest on this situation. I really do. So we're raising three Disney adults. And McKenna, when we said, senior trip, do you want to go on a cruise? Do you want to go to another country? Like we've taken our kids to a lot of countries. She's like, I want to go back to Disneyland. She's like, I want to go feel the nostalgia. I want to see if it's the same as what I remember. Like all of those pieces. She was 11 the last time she went. So those are definitely two different eras of life.

[00:23:25] However, she is going into, she wants to go into film production. So her very favorite film is La La Land. So she really wanted to lean in and go visit the La La Land recording sites. She wanted to go into Hollywood. She wanted to do those other things. And so for the purpose that this was not exclusively a Disneyland trip, we need one needed to have a car and two needed to have the ability to go beyond the Disney bubble.

[00:23:52] If Disneyland was her, was her reason why, like her only reason for the trip inside of the, the quote, Disney bubble at a Disneyland resort hotel would have probably been it. But we saved quite a bit of money by staying at a neighbor hotel. The, the good neighbor properties are affordable. A lot of them will come with complimentary transportation or like we said, they're close. A lot of them will have complimentary breakfast. You know, some of them have water parks, rooftop pools.

[00:24:20] Like there are circumstances where you can save a lot and get a lot. And so it makes sense why you chose to do that. And you never regretted that decision once you were there. Once you saw the other hotels, were you ever like, uh, I wish you were staying there. When we were pulling into the parking lot for the first time, we drove past the Grand California's drop off point. And I was like, that would have been cool. However, what was to come, everything else we did on this trip.

[00:24:47] I'm glad we saved the money to be able to do the other things that we're going to do. Yeah. Okay. How many park days did you plan? We did three park days, uh, hoppers, always hoppers at Disneyland. Can I just say if, if there's any place to do hopping, it is at Disneyland. Yeah. Because why? We counted. It was like 76 steps from one park to the other. Yeah. And they are not just that everything is just so close.

[00:25:15] Even within the park, you could probably go from the back of one park. That's exactly what I was about to say. To the back of the other park, probably closer than the front of Epcot to the back of Epcot. I don't know if that's actually true, but I wouldn't. It, it's probably not exactly true, but it's probably also not far off. And it's exactly what I was about to say. You, you know, 25 minute walk, maybe from the back of one to the back of the other, you know, I mean, it's really like it's, yeah. Yeah. I padded that.

[00:25:41] I padded that because I'm a slow walker and I got small legs, but yeah, somebody, somebody better than me, maybe more. Uh, okay. Three day park hoppers and added lightning lane or not. Cause that you can do that at Disneyland. We added it for one day and we did some individual lightning lanes. Like we definitely mixed it up. I wanted to experience it with all the things because one, we were trying to make this happen in a very tight budget. We did the planning very, very last minute.

[00:26:08] Uh, in fact, I remember we were recording an episode and I'm like, Hey, I'm going to Disneyland in like two weeks or something. It was so, so last minute. We thought we were going to go in the summer. Turned out we went in April and we ended up having one of the three days we did lightning lane. And then we did some individual lightning lanes as well. So easy to use at Disneyland. What was your first? So easy. What was your first lightning lane grab in each park? Oh, do I remember that?

[00:26:36] We definitely did. Our individual lightning lane was for the Radiator Springs racers. Uh, actually our first one we went on was Soren. I don't know if that was strategically the best choice, but Soren had a long, a longer line and it was one of the rides that the kids really wanted to go on. Yeah. Um, and then of course, Incredicoaster was on there as well. And then I think our last one was the Web Slingers because we had not done the Web Slingers ride either.

[00:27:05] And McKenna died hard. Just started hurting thinking about it. I'm sorry. I feel that so much in my core because it literally is you're slinging your arm and not, not just that, but Web Slingers actually had a malfunction while we were on it. So we got to go on it twice. But by the end I was like, I don't know if I enjoyed going through this twice. My arms are literally exhausted. I went numb and I was like looking at that.

[00:27:31] I was like, ah, I was like completely out of my mind. Like I can't do it. Were you putting your fingers like the Spiderman? Yes. Yes. Ah, yeah. It was really hard. Anyway, you should do that ride, but just be prepared. And well, and a tip for that. We, we did it as our first one because we thought the line was going to be long. We could have walked on that ride. We did not need a lightning. The secret's out about the arms. At one point I was like this.

[00:28:01] It was really hard. Oh my gosh. I believe only people could see what you were doing. They can. I know. I know. I'm so excited. Oh my gosh. So if somebody had never been to Disneyland, by the way, for lightning lane, just pro tip, you should be definitely at Disneyland prioritizing Indiana Jones, which is the biggest shock of my life. When I rode that ride, I had no idea how much fun I was in for. And that line was consistently 90 minutes.

[00:28:30] Like the entire day we were there, it was over the summer. And that is the, that is like Disneyland's best kept secret. Or maybe it's not a secret. And I was just out of the loop. But luckily we rope dropped it. And the only reason it wasn't even for strategy because I'm, I'm terrible. And I didn't research well enough before. It's not the lightning lane we grabbed and we were passing it. And my son was like, I want to ride that. And I was like, all right, let's go. We rope dropped it. Luckily, because the line was 75 minutes by the time we got off and in 90 minutes starts

[00:29:00] the day, lightning lanes were gone. And we were scream laughing. It was so much fun. We, that's actually the first one that we got. Once we started with our lightning lanes in California adventure, hopped over to Disneyland and we did get a Indiana Jones lightning lane. And that was a game changer because of that outside line. Indiana Jones ride line is crazy wild. Like so much of the line is outside of the tunnels.

[00:29:25] And I don't know if they do that strategically, but we basically walked past all of those people. And I was feeling a little bit of like that VIP tour moment where you're just walking past all these people who are just standing there looking at you like, uh, space mountain always gives me that feeling. However, like really strategy for lightning lane at Disneyland is very different than strategy in my opinion, than strategy at Disney world.

[00:29:54] One, you're not getting them ahead of time. And two, I'm so sad that we wasted our pick on, or our early morning one on the Spider-Man ride because we literally could have walked straight on and been in the exact same place. And I should have grabbed my lightning lane a little bit earlier because if you're at Disneyland in those early rope drop hours, you're not getting in early, but rope drop hours. Yeah. You really can walk right on pretty much any ride you want to, which is really, really different.

[00:30:23] Everything is just so much smaller. Like the crowds are smaller, even though they look busy, it's manageable for sure. Yeah. Perfectly unplanned, right? Yes. Uh, I want to know if somebody has never been to Disneyland, how many park days should they be doing? My own personal opinion is three. I think that three day park hoppers would be my own personal recommendation. I know there are people who are in the camp of two. I think two will leave you potentially wanting a little bit more.

[00:30:52] I think you could do it in two, honestly, but I think that three is perfect to dedicate a day to Disneyland, dedicate a day to California Adventure, and then spend your time just getting back and forth to do everything that everyone wants to do again. And that's very doable in Disneyland. Yeah, I agree. Um, I would say three day hoppers with lightning lane or a four day base is acceptable, but you got it. Like two is just not going to be, I mean, not for me, it's just not enough. Yeah. There are a lot of people who are in the camp of you can do half days and yes, you can.

[00:31:21] I would say three solid days. If you have the money and the time and you want to have that true, like Disney experience in Disneyland, a four or five day would be like perfect. That's what we always did was a five day ticket when we were growing up and our kids really do feel like they grew up at Disneyland. Let's talk about some impressions on Disneyland. You can answer these a little rapid fire as well. Um, what was the first time you thought you were back in these parks, right? You hadn't been in so long, but you love it. What was the first time you were like, yep, this is Disneyland.

[00:31:52] Pixar pier was that moment. It was coming over that bridge, seeing what my kids lovingly call the will of death. I'm sorry. Let me just rephrase that for M&M's. She, the wheel, the wheel, not the will, the will of, you better be drafting your will. If you're getting on the wheel of death. The will of death is like so different. It took me a second. I just did it like the what?

[00:32:22] The will of death. Oh my gosh. The wheel of death. The wheel of death is what she was alluding to. I, I personally love the Ferris wheel. I do too. I was, I have the best memory dying laughing with my mom on that Mickey fun wheel. Yes. And it's a Pixar one now, right? They, it's all of the things are themed Pixar. Yeah. But it is. Is that the wheel of emotion or is that something else? What do they actually call it?

[00:32:51] We just call it the wheel of death. We actually call it the will of death, not the wheel. The will of death is crazy. But we were in a, I want to call it a cabana. It's not a cabana. What would that be? It's like a gondola. We were in our, our, we were in our ride with strangers. And if you're in there with strangers and you choose to be in one of the slidey ones, you are going to bond. You're going to have trauma that you are going to have to decompress with these people in the future.

[00:33:21] Even if you like make it through the first 10 minutes of the ride, because it's pretty long. It can be, I don't know, maybe it's only a couple of minutes, but by the first time you start sliding, all of a sudden your best friends and you're crying and you're laughing and you're doing all the things. I was, I was pregnant when I wrote it and I'm like, should there have been a warning? Was, was said babies flipping in your, in your belly during that time? I can't imagine. Oh my gosh. Okay.

[00:33:49] Um, oh, but do you, wait, when I turned that corner and got on Pixar Pier, we saw Buzz standing there kind of by the Incredicoaster area. And I was like, this is Disneyland because we saw characters roaming. And then we had the most perfect moment we could have ever had, because if you know Kenna, which I don't know that I've ever shared this on the podcast, but Kenna loves Luca. Luca is Kenna's show. I love Luca.

[00:34:19] We have never seen Luca. We walked over past the Incredicoaster just to see how long the line was. And Luca walks out in front of us and we got to go and meet Luca. I was one starstruck because I've never seen Luca in the parks too. Like we're on Kenna's senior trip. And it was like, this is one of those moments that you can't plan. I used to have a DVD player in my car, you know, I don't know anymore.

[00:34:48] They don't really make cars with DVD players anymore. It stinks because it's great for my kids. And we used to have Luca on all the time and I couldn't even drive and listen to the last scene on the train. Oh my God. That music. And like, I, I would be just driving. My kids would be mindlessly watching and I would be bawling. Like listening to that music. And oh my gosh. Oh, what a movie. I need to go watch that again. Which park did you leave with like that one won my heart?

[00:35:16] That's such a hard one because I have different answers for different reasons. But it actually confirmed for me that California adventure holds my heart in Disneyland. What was the biggest difference having adult girls at Disneyland rather than your young children at Disneyland? Freedom, freedom from having to do potty breaks. Adult girls don't pee. They do, but we all, we all put pee on schedule. With the strollers.

[00:35:46] Oh my gosh. The strollers in Disneyland. There are so many strollers and they are just everywhere. Yeah. Walkways are so small. And I was just like, I am so glad that I'm not going and getting a stroller in this moment. Yep. Instead of small, let's just say it's charming. That's fair. It's charming. The little streets are, those little streets are quaint and charming. Okay. Mother-daughter trip. Mm-hmm. Yep. Is that like the thing that made this the most special? Sorry.

[00:36:15] Mother-daughters. Daughters. Yeah. I think it was the perfect blend of getting to just be present with the two of them. Like this was celebrating McKenna graduating high school, but it was also celebrating Macy graduating from her Disney college program in Disney World. Yeah. So both of them were going through like big moments together. And I knew that I was never, oh my God, I'm going to get emotional about this. Oh.

[00:36:44] I was never going to get those moments back. Yeah. And I've watched them grow up at Disneyland. I've watched them grow up moving across the country. I've watched them, they've been to 18 countries across our beautiful world. And I think they're at about 35 states that they visited. It felt like this moment of seeing their childhood kind of get a bow on it, if you will. And Disneyland was seriously like the perfect way to do that.

[00:37:13] And it truly like breaks my heart that Sean and Laker didn't get to be there with us. Yeah. It also is something different. What I tease about our traveling on one-on-one with our kids is Sean and I are each other's favorite person. And the kids know that, but if they go somewhere with mom and dad, it's mom and dad and the kids. And in this moment, Sean got a week at home with Laker that it was just him and Laker.

[00:37:40] And I got a week with my girls where it was just me and the girls. And it was just about that. It didn't have to be about bills. It didn't have to be about schedules for practices and rehearsals and college classes and all of those things. And we got to plan some really cool things while we were on this trip. In fact, we were getting on the list for some college things, literally sitting in the town

[00:38:05] center of Toontown that was just like, this is life. We are lifing at Disney and I couldn't have chosen a better situation for that. Amazing. And I know Stacey did something similar with her two youngest boys when her absolute youngest graduated a few years ago. And she felt the same about that trip. Like she has five kids and she has a husband, but she just took them. And I know she holds that trip really. I want to do it. You'll get there.

[00:38:34] Don't wish those years away. Oh, I am not. I am not. Yes. Who planned the most of the trip? Was it you or was it them? I would say Kenna is my planner. Other than me kind of giving them the reins of what it is we had like financially, what kind of budget we could deal with. I guess that would be I planned the travel. They planned the days.

[00:39:00] So as far as where we're staying, what we want our dynamics of getting a car and which days do we want to spend in Disney versus going up to Los Angeles, Hollywood area. Those were kind of two separate things. How many? Well, actually, I'm going to segue into that in a second. But before we do, did you make any game time decisions at Disneyland or did they make them all? I made a couple, mostly things that were just best practices that I was like, you can't mess this up. I'm just going to do it.

[00:39:30] I'm going to guide you there. And they're not going to, but that was... Which one of you consistently picked the next ride or did you like take turns? Oh, I just take control over that because that's my Disney planning brain. And they're very chill and willing to go with the flow. So I was in control of Lightning Lane. Definitely. Which one of you spent the most money? Oh, Macy. Definitely. Because Macy had her Disney college program. She has big kid money or not big kid money. She has grown up money. She had like a real job, full-time job.

[00:39:59] And so everything that she wanted while she had her Disney discount, she was like, and that, and that, and that. Who wanted the most snacks? Kenna. And she is plucked from the tree because she's like, this is a perfect little picture, mom. Yeah. Yeah. You, you with your kiddos on teaching them that they need to have the perfect view from their, from their room. I know. And like, I've also, I'm seeing my kids be a product of the family that they're in.

[00:40:27] We went to see, we went to see the Lion King of Broadway in Cincinnati with a big group of dancers because we did a piece to one of the songs from the show. And so then we went to see it all together, like 50 of us. My oldest got herself dressed that day. We did not help her at all, which is great. I mean, she's definitely of age to that. She does all the time. But when she came out, you know, she was in the cutest little ensemble. She had this like undershirt that was like a different print that didn't match this cheetah

[00:40:55] vest, but like it was the right aesthetic together. Right? Like she did such a good job. She did such a good job and she found notes to play to be Lion King. And later that night, one of my, one of my best friends was like, oh, she picked that outfit out. And I was like, yeah, I had, you know, she just walked out of room like that. And she goes, girl, she knows what family she was born into. This is true. This is true. Like she, yeah, she, she knew how to dress as a theme. It's a nurture versus nature. Yes. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

[00:41:24] How many days, let's segue a little bit. How many, you spent three days in the parks, which was what we talked about the best to see and do everything, which you did do. Yep. How many days did you go into Hollywood count like down into LA and is one of those days, the day you did the studio tour. So it's a multi-part question. And did you break it up between park days or did you stack them? How was it arranged? Good question. We started at Disneyland park.

[00:41:51] Macy was actually only there with us for four days, three nights. And Macy was really about being there, being in the parks, et cetera. So we started with those three days. Macy did spend, um, obviously the day at the Disney studios with us as well. So I guess we were there for four nights, five days. Macy was not there for our last night. We started in the parks, did our three park days, and then had our day in Walt Disney studios.

[00:42:21] And then Macy flew home. And then Kenna and I extended one extra day and spent time in Hollywood, Los Angeles, the greater Los Angeles area. We were not just in Hollywood. Yeah. Do you think that it was difficult to be all the way in Anaheim and go up there multiple times? Would you have split it differently if doing it again and stay up to work? Because, you know, people think it's maybe closer than it is because with traffic and things, it can be like an hour drive. It is. And that's specifically why we chose the way that we did.

[00:42:49] We actually did the day we went up to the Walt Disney studios, went back to Anaheim to stay the night. And I would not do that again. It is definitely, I think we were in the car almost two hours that day because traffic, even if it's only 20 miles away, it's like an hour of driving away. And we chose LAX. There are lots of airport options in that Orange County area.

[00:43:16] When I was growing up, we flew into Long Beach often or when the kids were growing up, I should say. That's part of what makes Disneyland different is you are just not in a Disney bubble like you are in Disney World. The traffic is absolutely a part of the conversation no matter what. Yeah. Interesting. I think that's a piece I really didn't know how you arranged that. And I wondered, and you confirmed, I wondered if that was difficult. Yeah. Our last night we did stay up in Los Angeles and I wish we would have done that for two nights. Right.

[00:43:46] Yeah. Okay. Let's talk about this tour first. I don't think many M&Ms know about it. Tell us what it is and, and how you got to do it. So the Walt Disney studios tour is where the magic happens. It's where animation happens. It's where essentially the foundational pieces of Walt Disney production is housed is in Burbank, California. If you have been to Hollywood studios recently, it is animation courtyard.

[00:44:15] Pick up that studio in Burbank and drop it in Hollywood studios in Florida. That's what it is. It feels exactly like it. It is actually not open to the public. When you're there and we are touring, we are walking among people who are Disney animators. They are Disney production assistants. They are, they are the people who are making the Disney content, just living their normal lives at the Disney studios, making Disney magic happen every day.

[00:44:41] So Macy was on the Disney college program, which if you don't know what that is, it is an internship program that is hosted by Walt Disney world. Mostly you can be at other places and you go and work for Disney part-time full-time. Macy was working 40 hours a week and she was working on the festival of fantasy parade, doing the costuming in magic kingdom for a year.

[00:45:07] At the end of it, she had the opportunity that Disney cast members can go, go sign up to tour the Walt Disney studios in Burbank, California. Of course you have to be a cast member to do this, or you have to have a reason like a production reason to be doing this tour. There's definitely people doing it all the time. However, they sometimes open it to beyond those, those limits.

[00:45:34] If you are part of D23, that's the club, right? If you're part of D23 once in a while, they open it up to D23 members can purchase it. So Macy signed us up. We knew that her time as being a cast member was going to come to an end. And so it was like this perfect, perfect little opportunity to sprinkle in an exclamation point on what was an amazing year of her life getting to be a cast member. It's so cool. How many stops were there and what were some of the most memorable? Oh gosh.

[00:46:03] Okay. Uh, my favorite stop was Walt Disney's. I want to say the archives were really cool. We got to hold one of Walt Disney's actual Oscars, but probably the most memorable thing was one, the very beginning, um, standing on Pluto's corner. They have a Pluto's corner in Hollywood studios as well. The most memorable thing I will take away from it was getting to go walk through Walt Disney's actual offices.

[00:46:32] It is a suite that they have reserved. Is it roped off? Nobody's using it, right? It is roped off. Nobody's using it. They have pristinely saved every single thing in that space. Um, you get to walk through it. They do have it roped off, but you get to kind of tour. They gave us a bottle of water from the fridge where he would keep his drinks. Like it. So cool.

[00:46:58] It was walking through a memory of America and talking about like little nuances that you wouldn't know. Like that Walt Disney had his office here and then you couldn't see over to, to his brother Roy's office, but his was one lower. And it was because Walt wanted to be able to see into Roy's, but Roy, he didn't want Roy to be able to see into his office. And so just like nuance. I wonder why. I don't know, but nuances that you couldn't know unless you go and experience it.

[00:47:27] That, that was like hauntingly cool to see the people who have gone through there. Also walk the halls that, you know, like Robert Downey Jr. Has walked these halls and so many foundationally Disney tied people. The Marvel studio section was amazing, but those would be my two biggest pieces. I think. Wow. Were you in a big tour group or was it just the three of you? Just the three of us. So you had a tour guide and just the three of you. Yep.

[00:47:56] And it was amazing. Every other tour group that we saw. And I think that this is because they max it out. You can only take up to eight people in a tour group. Most people kind of look at it as let's split the cost and, and bring as many people as we can. We were like, I would rather this just be intimate. It was the three of us in our tour guide. So you can choose. You could choose. It's an up to kind of like a Disney VIP. Like you're paying the same rate, whether it's one person or it's. Gotcha. Okay.

[00:48:26] And it was worth the cost. It was worth the cost. Yeah. It was amazing. Was it emotional? Yes. Pulling onto the lot and seeing the sorcerer Mickey hat on the animation building, walking the, they have this section that allows you to see, it's called the Disney legends Laza and seeing all of the Disney history kind of timestamped in this space. It's like the hand or the stars, but it's their handprints from all of the Disney greats.

[00:48:56] It's kind of one of those, like, is this real moments? Yeah. What was your biggest surprise while you were on the tour? How normal it was that people like, I know we talk often about the ABC commissary in Hollywood studios and the cafe that we went and had lunch at there. These are just people doing their jobs. Like people don't realize growing up when McKenna said she wanted to be a film in film, she wanted to do like producing or whatever.

[00:49:24] One of our friends made a comment that was like, that's just what people who couldn't make it as an actor do. One, I hate that, that mentality because the Disney production, the cast members, the people who are animating, these are people just doing their normal job. Just like we all do our normal jobs and you can do those kinds of jobs and they exist. It's just those who go after them versus those who fear making decisions to chase passion.

[00:49:51] So it was really cool to see these chefs and actors and Abbott Elementary. Like we got to go see where the filming sets were for these real life things that we see on TV all the time. And that's all you did that day. How long was the tour? Uh, the tour was 90 minutes, so it wasn't super long, but then we extended by like, they don't kick you out of the lot. You can go and kind of do some wandering on your own. Wow. I didn't know that.

[00:50:19] And, and then as long as you're not being disruptive, of course, we don't get to go into big buildings, but you can go anywhere. Knock, knock. Can I come on set? Yeah. Yes. It was, it was amazing. We spent probably a good six hours ish on that part of our day and then extended it into Hollywood and going and seeing the, the Hollywood sign. And okay. So it's not all you did that day. That's the day you, so that was like a studio day altogether. Yeah, very much.

[00:50:47] So you hike up to the Hollywood sign or did you just kind of? No. In fact, we saw it from two vantage points. One was from the main Hollywood strip where you go and see the walk of fame and the stars, which is actually spread across all of Hollywood. Oh yeah. Um, we saw one. Yeah. The stars are, stars are everywhere. They are. I mean, they, people, I think have a misconception of that. They're really all over. It's not, we went to essentially the same places that, is it, is it the Grauman's theater? Yeah.

[00:51:17] Grauman's theater is where the, the actual imprints are. Yes. And that we did go and do that. But then of course we walked to the hall of star or the hall of fame where all of the stars are. We saw the Hollywood sign from there, but then Kenna actually, Kenna and I, because of her title, La La Land, we went up to the Griffith Observatory and saw the Hollywood sign from there as well. So a whole other conversation. Do you have any really good food in LA? Oh my gosh. Uh, well I would say our most memorable food was in Disneyland.

[00:51:46] Disneyland's food. It's just happy. It's just happiness. It's so different than Disney, Disney worlds, but we, they had like, you're going to make fun of me for saying it wrong. I don't even want to say the word. Like Bira. Yeah. Go ahead. Bira. What is it? Like Bira tacos. Bira. Bria. I don't know. I don't even know what you're trying to say. Well, people will know what it is. I'm just saying it wrong. They have a grilled cheese sandwich that has like pulled pork on it. And then you dip it in like a juice.

[00:52:16] They have the macaroni and cheese in a sourdough bread bowl. It's just so much good food. So much good food. And our favorite things that we were so looking forward to going back for is the chimichangas in Disneyland, the corndogs, the churros. Yeah. The corndogs and the churros. Yeah. That's like the, those are like the ones. Or the beignets.

[00:52:39] Like we had so many of those beignets over by the train and where Tiana's is in New Orleans Square. New Orleans Square. Yeah. And they had a mint julep. They had like a julep cocktail. I had so many of those. They were so good. So good. Oh my gosh. Okay. Any other memorable things about LA, Hollywood, Disneyland, things you want M&Ms to know you did or that you loved about your trip?

[00:53:05] I think things that I loved was the intimacy of Disneyland. I think I keep using the word small and I think that that's a disadvantaged word for us. I said charming. I know. And it's charming, but I would really even say it's intimate. Like it is very, very small. Toontown. If you are a Disney world person, please go spend time in Toontown. Oh my gosh. That is Disney world needs to get on board with something more aligned to Toontown than

[00:53:34] what we get in the storybook circus area. So much. Yeah. Uh, and there are, there were things that were also some disappointment. Like if you love feel her magic in Disney world, just skip it in Disneyland. You'll be okay. It is disappointment in that. Well, I haven't, I haven't seen it in either. So there you go. Oh, Ali, we are going to fix that one day. I know we're going to make it happen. Okay. We're gonna take a quick break and then I have two little mini games for us to play. Okay.

[00:54:03] Uh, we're going to visit our friends like us and our friend like me segment. Uh, listen to our fellow friends out there in social media, give them a follow, give them a join. They are doing wonderful things and connecting with wonderful people like you. So find them in today's show notes, listen to what they're all about. And then I've got our games. When is the best time to go to Disney? That is the question everybody is asking in between managing crowds, cost, weather, exclusive events, and more. It's a lot to think about.

[00:54:30] And our friend Kayla is offering a free guide. That's right. It's included when you join her Facebook group, visit family vacations with Kayla, Disney universal cruises, Hawaii, and more where you are going to learn not only when the best time to visit Disney world is, but when is the best time to visit any of your vacation destinations? That's Kayla Nix at family vacations with Kayla, Disney universal cruises, Hawaii, and more on Facebook or in the link in today's show notes. Okay. Back.

[00:54:59] I want to do a blind ranking. And the way we're going to do this is I'm going to talk about different areas of Disneyland. Okay. I'm going to pit them against each other quickly. And then as you eliminate one, I'll keep the winner and put it against something else. And we'll figure out without you thinking too slowly what your favorite area in all of any Disneyland park is. Okay. So Disneyland. And California adventure, all the parks. The Disneyland resort. I'm going to give you two options. You're going to pick one. The winner will move on to the next round.

[00:55:28] And we'll keep going until we find out. This is going to be hard. This is going to be hard. Okay. Okay. We got to go fast. Are you ready? Okay. Yes. Main street or New Orleans square? Orleans square. New Orleans square or fantasy land? Fantasy land. Fantasy land or tomorrow land? Fantasy land. Fantasy land or adventure land? Fantasy land. Fantasy land or frontier land? Fantasy land. Fantasy land. Fantasy land or galaxy's edge?

[00:55:56] I still think fantasy land. Oh my gosh. Fantasy land or radiator springs? Oh, Ali. How? How do you think we do this? Radiator springs, but I really want to say fantasy land. Well, which one is it? Radiators. No, fantasy land. Oh, really? Yes. Really? Okay. Fantasy land or Pixar pier?

[00:56:26] Oh, I still think I choose fantasy land. That's terrible. This is wild. Fantasy land or Avengers campus? To hang out in? I would say, I'm still going to choose fantasy land. That is terrible. So fantasy land is your favorite part of anything Disneyland. Parks. Disney resort. As a land? I think I have to say yes. There are so many rides and I have so many core memories there.

[00:56:55] The dark rides are so uniquely Disneyland and there are so many of them. There are individual things I like about every single one of those lands better than fantasy land as a whole. But if I'm choosing a land that I want to go spend two hours in, I'm going to ride hop fantasy land. That's crazy. It's crazy. But hardly any rides there except lightning lanes. And so we found ourselves waiting.

[00:57:18] Well, that's strategy in that space because if you are spending your morning hour there, you could spend an hour and a half in fantasy land and hit ten rides in an hour and a half because they are literally like ride hopping from one to the next. The theming is not everything. But sitting in that little tiny... It is. It's small back there. Like sitting in the little cars, getting in the boat and going and touring the storybook. It is a lot of really... The storybook. Yes, I love that.

[00:57:48] It's a lot of really cute, different rides. I get it. It's just like I said, charming. And you know what? Today's magic word for all you M&Ms will be charming. Oh. All right. Ready for the next game? You shocked me with that one. I did not know that Fantasyland was my favorite. That was fun. That was a good little game. People are going to be so mad at me. I know. Well, I'm just... I'm not mad, but I am very surprised. Yeah. Like I'm surprised too. All right. Finish this sentence.

[00:58:16] The sentence starts no matter what with if you're traveling with adults. Okay? Okay. You're traveling with adults. This is Disneyland related. Okay. Book. Fill in the blank. Dining reservations. Skip. Do I say Fantasyland? No, I can't say Fantasyland because that is so Disneyland. Skip. Oh my gosh.

[00:58:44] Skip Philharp magic. Skip character meet ingredients. I don't know. No, Luca. Budget extra for... Snacks. Don't stress about... Scheduling. The good neighbor hotels are worth it if... Time in the park is your number one priority. Love it. That was really great. Anything else you want to say about this trip? Oh, just get yourself to Disneyland.

[00:59:14] It is so different and it doesn't have to be the stress that planning a Disney World trip is. It's just magic. Yeah. All right. Here's my final question. I hand you a plane ticket to Disneyland right now. You get to go next month. Mm-hmm. What would you do completely differently? Hmm. I would probably choose to stay at a Disney owned property. I do...

[00:59:43] I did miss the Disney bubble because walking across Harbor Boulevard pulls you out of the Disney magic. It does. Yeah. You have people who are trying to sell you bubble wands and like it is... You save a lot but you lose a little. You do. You lose some of the magic. Mm-hmm.

[01:00:10] So you also must have purchased tickets a little differently because it's all or nothing if you buy a three-day ticket. If you are buying them same day, is that the case? Oh, you bought yours same day. Yeah. We bought them individual days. Yeah. Not like adding it to your ticket ahead of time. Right. That's what I'm saying. So you never added it to a ticket. You bought it day of. Yep. Right. So just for anybody that is confused because I was kind of trying to figure out how you did that. You don't have to add Lightning Land every day.

[01:00:39] If you want to use it every day, add it to your ticket ahead of time. If you don't want to use it every day, you can buy it there. So it's not, you know... And the benefit of adding it ahead of time is you know the price up front. If you wait until day of, your prices on things are to be determined. Yeah. I think that that's probably it. I would probably give myself more time, honestly. Yeah. Three days was great but I probably would have loved to have five, honestly, if I had the time and could have made it happen. Truly.

[01:01:08] Well, that was so fun, Beck. And I know people are loving trip reviews. This one was emotional and fun. And I hope everybody gets a lot out of it. And I hope it inspires our M&Ms to really plan something special and unique. Maybe venture out to Disneyland. But the more you know, you know, the more you'll go. Yeah. That is going to do it for us on another episode here on The Moms Behind the Magic. And until next time, we're sending you tons of fun, love, and joy. Hashtag FLJ. And we'll see you real soon. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

[01:01:38] You know what I didn't say that maybe Stacey can put into the last notes? Go ahead. Is that Disneyland is the perfect little kid park. Like, I think if you're going with a baby or toddler, which we recently talked about, Disneyland might be it. Yeah. It's a perfect. And BabyQuip. You could get BabyQuip in Disneyland too. Yes, you can. Tell me what. Make your life easier. It really is so good for little. It really is. Awesome. Awesome.