Tag: Disney

Disneyland Tips

Disneyland’s Merriest Nites! Everything You Need to Know!

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For the first time, Disneyland is offering guests an exclusive, after hours event for the Holiday Season. Here are the most important details that you need to know if you plan on attending this year or if you are considering buying tickets in the future.

Your ticket to Merriest Nites grants you entry to Disneyland Park (not California Adventure) starting at 5:00pm. During that day, other guests can still remain in the park, so this will be the most crowded time. All rides, attractions and food options will be open during that time, an important note, since Galaxy’s Edge, Toontown and Critter Country close at 7:00 pm. At that time, the Park will officially close for anyone who is not attending the event. From 7:00-8:00pm, party guests can go on rides, make mobile orders for most restaurants, and check out the exclusive photo spots (although only some photo locations will have characters or PhotoPass photographers available until 8:00pm). Once 8:00pm hits, guests can enjoy attractions with significantly shorter wait times, meet rare characters, purchase party exclusive food items, and choose from a variety of entertainment. All Photopass photos are included with the ticket, but food, drinks, and merchandise are a separate cost. The event runs until midnight.

Ticket prices range from $165-$175 per person. So the big question is, is this event worth the cost?

In my opinion, the answer depends on your expectations and goals for the event.

RIDES: Are you hoping to ride nearly every attraction in the Park with little to no wait? This party is the perfect way to do that! 

While the most popular attractions like Haunted Mansion Holiday and Peter Pan’s Flight had 10-15 minute waits (compared to an hour or more during normal operating hours), all of the attractions we visited had no line at all. If you take advantage of the time before the event starts, you should have enough time to enjoy most if not all of the attractions which are closed during the event (Smuggler’s Run, Splash Mountain, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Gadget’s Go Coaster, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and the Disneyland Railroad).

CHARACTERS: Would you like to take photos with and speak to rare characters? This party is fantastic for character fans!

This event featured many characters who had never been seen before in Disneyland, including Scrooge McDuck and Goofy as Marley from Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Sandy Claws Jack Skellington, Hans and the Duke of Weselton, Santa Stitch and Lilo, as well as other characters in special outfits or photo backdrops. Compared to events in the past, I found the PhotoPass lines to be organized and efficient. Cast Members worked hard to ensure that guests were ready to take their photos and photographers quickly snapped 2 photos per group to keep the lines moving. I also noticed many more photographers on Main Street USA and near the castle, offering guests more options to make the most of their PhotoPass.

MUPPETS: Are you a Muppet fan? Would you like to see the Muppets perform in person? This party is incredible if you love the Muppets!

Several times throughout the night, the Muppets (yes, the REAL Muppets) perform a Christmas carol sing-a-long at the end of Main Street USA. All of your favorite characters make an appearance, including Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie, Pepe, Sam Eagle and chickens!  While the voices and music are pre-recorded, the talented puppeteers are cleverly concealed within the Disneyland Omnibus. The performance includes witty Muppet humor and high energy dancing from all of the characters. It honestly felt like watching a Muppet movie in person, and I loved every minute of it. As a big Muppet fan, this was the main reason I attended this event, and it was worth it to me to see this show three separate times throughout the night. If you are a casual Muppet fan, I still recommend watching the show.

How does this party compare to what’s offered at Walt Disney World?

In the past, I have been able to enjoy Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and an After Hours event at the Magic Kingdom. While the short ride time and rare character experiences were very similar, the biggest difference is that the Disneyland version does NOT include any food or drink items. While the options have been modified in 2021, both Magic Kingdom parties included unlimited snacks and beverages in various forms. In contrast, the Disneyland event only offered food and drink options that were an extra cost. While some of these items were event exclusive and delicious (the dipping chocolate and waffles from Jolly Holiday Bakery was fantastic), you still were required to pay extra for them.

The other main difference is that the Walt Disney World events included an exclusive fireworks show and parade, while Disneyland only had their Christmas Fantasy parade which runs during normal park hours in the Holiday season.

Ultimately, you’ll need to decide which after hours event meets your family’s goals for your trip! As a local Disneyland Magic Key Pass Holder, I felt like this event was an extra special treat and a festive way to celebrate moving back to “normal” after a tough year. The Muppet performance was enough for me to justify the cost of the ticket, but I know that’s not the same for everyone.

If you’d like to watch a full video of the Muppet’s Christmas Caroling Coach, please check out our new YouTube channel HERE: In A Magical Mood

Uncategorized

Oogie Boogie Bash: Tips and Tricks!

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Oogie Boogie Bash is a separately ticketed event at Disney’s California Adventure, which offers five very special features which make it very different from a normal day in the theme park. 

First, there are themed Treat Trails throughout the park where guests essentially trick or treat for candy, snacks, and even some fresh produce (packaged apples, grapes, etc.)

Second, villains and other rare characters can be found around the park, both in the Treat Trails and at separate Meet and Greet locations. This year’s event featured three brand new characters to the parks: Cruella from the newest live action film, Sid from Toy Story, and Agatha from Wanda Vision. 

Third, the Redwood Creek Challenge trail (essentially a national parks themed playground) is completely transformed into Villain’s Grove, a walkthrough experience with lighting effects, sounds, music, and even fragrance.

Fourth, a special Halloween show (Mickey’s Trick & Treat) and Frightfully Fun parade are available only to guests during the event.

And fifth, since this is a low capacity ticketed event, the ride times are significantly shorter than they would be during a normal day. In fact, most rides have no line at all, guests can simply walk on without waiting.

The big question is, how do you make the most out of your tickets, which range from $124-$169 per person, comparable to a full day ticket?

Pick your priorities! Are you there to see all the characters and take photos? Photopass is included with your ticket, so there are many specially themed photo opps available. Are you there to ride as many rides as possible? Even the newest attraction, Spider-Man WEB Slingers offers a standby queue and is available to all event guests without needing a virtual boarding pass. Are you trying to collect as many treats as possible? There are 9 different treat trails to explore!

Before you attend Oogie Boogie Bash, you need to choose what is most and least important to you so that you can maximize your time. It is a 5 hour event, and the time goes fast! 

For our family, we decided that we wanted to collect as many treats as we could carry, watch the special entertainment, and visit Villain’s Grove. Here’s how we did it all without stressing or running from place to place all night: 

Tip 1: Dress up! It’s so much fun for the characters and Cast Members to interact with you when you have a unique or creative costume. And if you dress up like a character’s enemy or ally, be sure to play along. 

Tip 2: Visit Villain’s Grove during one of the two parades of the night, when the line is short. Even for children, this walkthrough experience is incredible, with subtle nods to Disney villains in a slightly spooky but not overtly scary way. Breathtaking visual projections are accompanied by beautiful music and other effects, it’s a unique and can’t miss part of the evening.

Tip 3: You can visit a Treat Trail as many times as you like! Each trail offers slightly different treats, so if you find one that offers your favorite, go through it again! And again! 

Tip 4: Wait for the ride queue times to go down! The lines will get shorter and shorter as the night goes on, so enjoy other things until rides are walk ons. If you’re not interested in watching the parade, that is the best time to jump in line for a popular attraction.

Tip 5: Watch the 2nd parade for a better selection of seats. We were near the beginning of the parade route and had plenty of empty space around us when the parade started. The later showings of Mickey’s Trick & Treat in the Disney Junior theater also had smaller crowds. 

Tip 6: Bring bigger bags! The small bags you are given when you enter the event will be full after 2-3 treat trails, so you’ll need a backpack, bag, or maybe a stroller to carry all your goodies home. 

If you have any questions or want to share your own tips, let me know!

Travel

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Express and Suites (Anaheim, S. Manchester Ave)

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Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Anaheim

Even though we are locals to the Disneyland Resort, we decided to spend a couple days at a hotel to make our return to the Parks a little more special. If you are looking for a hotel that’s walking distance to the Disneyland Resort, clean, quiet and high-quality, then the Holiday Express and Suites on S. Manchester Ave is perfect for you. 

Our room with 2 Queen beds and a sofa pull-out bed

The hotel only offers a valet parking service, which we found to be convenient and quick. It took us about 10 minutes to walk from the hotel to the entrance to the Disneyland Resort on Harbor Blvd. The room itself featured two queen beds with an additional sofa bed, offering space for up to 6 to sleep comfortably.  My favorite features were the spacious mini fridge and the Keurig (good coffee is essential to my morning).There was also a microwave, very helpful when you’re traveling with kids who demand snacks at all hours. I was also impressed that a white noise machine was in every room, ironically we had brought our own machine from home, it was even the same brand. Some rooms are freeway adjacent (which can be said for many of the hotels in the area), and the provided Dohm white noise machines will really drown out that background noise.

Keurig machine, mini fridge and microwave all in our room

We all found the beds and pillows to be comfortable, which helped us rest up for our big 12 hour marathon day at Disneyland. The shower tub included wall-mounted shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

Clean and modern bathrooms

The only thing we found mildly disappointing was the included breakfast, but as for many things, you can blame Covid. Normally, the hotel stay includes a hot breakfast buffet. While the hotel did provide other options, they were not the best for our family. Our breakfast was a bottle of water, granola bar, fruit cup, packaged breakfast pastry, and a frozen Hot Pocket (which could be cooked in the room’s microwave). It was a good assortment, but didn’t provide juice or other drinks for my husband and daughter. I assume that they’ll bring back their normal buffet as soon as policy allows.

Our hotel provided breakfast, which didn’t offer as much variety as their normal buffet.

The walk to the Disneyland Resort is quick and easy. More importantly, you walk past a Mimi’s Cafe, Panera Bread, and McDonald’s, which offers you many options for food throughout the day. 

The Disneyland Resort and Downtown Disney are only a 10 minute walk from the hotel!

I would say that for the cost and convenience, this hotel is a great option for those families who want a clean and comfortable place to sleep. I would highly recommend this hotel for your next visit to the Anaheim area.

Disneyland Tips

Everything You Want to Know about Avenger’s Campus

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Avengers Campus in California Adventure

You don’t need to line up at 6am to get in!

There are 2 ways to get into the land. First, you can get a boarding pass for Web-Slingers, the amazing new Spider-Man themed attraction. You can try to get one at either 7am or noon, and it seems like you’ll have a better chance at noon.

If you’re not able to secure a boarding pass at noon, keep an eye on the stand-by line to enter the land. Usually by the late afternoon or evening, the line has disappeared.

Spider-Man’s Meet and Greet is just inside the main entrance to Avengers Campus

There are Avengers literally everywhere! 

If there’s a character you’re hoping to find, just wait a few minutes. Spider-Man’s meet and greet is just by the land’s entrance, and be sure to check the Entertainment part of the Disneyland app to find out when he’ll be testing out his new suit’s aerodynamics! Keep an eye on the new Headquarters, we saw Black Panther scale the building, Black Widow kicked some bad guy butt, and even Iron Man and Captain America posing for photos. We also spotted Thor, Loki, and the Dora Milaje as we explored the land.

Keep an eye out for Spider-Man testing his new suit’s aerodynamics!

Try the food!

Chicken Shawarma from the Shawarma Palace Too

Don’t worry about the reviews, just order what sounds good to you! We really enjoyed the Impossible Spoonful with plant-based meatballs in pasta and the chicken shawarma, both had really nice flavors and textures. Our side of tater tots came out cold, but they were still good. My husband also ordered a side of the candied bacon, which he said was incredible, if you’re a bacon fan. We tried the beer flight from the Tasting kitchen, which was an average assortment of beers. Honestly I just wanted the adorable board and cups.

Pint-sized Pints Mini Beer Flight from Pym’s Tasting Lab

Tip: Walk over to the seating by the Hyperion Theater, there were tons of available tables both times we checked!

Impossible Spoonful from Pym’s Tasting Kitchen (includes miniature fork)

Be ready to get some sun! It’s very sunny, since those new trees haven’t grown in yet (except for the Hulk tree, of course)! Bring a hat and sunscreen, and be prepared for some heat!

There might be a reason that this tree is Hulk-sized compared to all the others

Skip the WEB Suppliers store inside the land and check out Studio 17 instead. This much larger and spacious store is just next to the Monsters Inc attraction. They have all of the same merchandise, with a little more elbow room. 

Mysterious forces have warped the ground near Dr. Strange’s Sanctum

And I saved my best tip for last, Spider Bots! If your little one is begging you for a Spider Bot to take home and you’re not ready to pay $80 for one, there is a smaller, simpler model available for $25! You’re welcome!

Little ones will love this smaller (and more affordable) Spider Bot!

Have a great time on your adventure!

Disneyland Tips

Returning to Disneyland: What to Bring and My Biggest Tips

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The Disneyland Resort is now open to everyone!

You’ve waited so long and you’re finally heading back to the Disneyland Resort! Things have likely changed a bit since your last visit, but there are some simple steps that you can take to have the Best Day Ever!

You probably pack snacks and jackets, but these 4 items will make your experience even better.

Mickey Balloons are a classic souvenir

Be sure to bring:

1. Stick sunscreen: These compact sunscreen sticks fit easily into a purse or pocket, plus you can easily reapply throughout the day without getting your hands sticky or spraying aerosol onto everyone downwind. Bonus: it’s the easiest way to apply sunscreen on the faces of wiggly little ones. 

2. Battery Charger: Between mobile ordering food, checking ride times on the Disneyland app, and taking photos, your phone battery may run out quickly. Bring a charger that can be used multiple times throughout the day, and be sure to charge it before you leave home!

Bring your own water bottle!

3. Bring a water bottle: Don’t buy overpriced water bottles! You can find water refill stations and drinking fountains throughout the parks, plus quick service restaurants will gladly give you cups of water for free. 

4. Alcohol-based hand sanitizing wipes: We are all very conscious of keeping clean right now! I use these wipes to clean our hands before we eat, wipe off tables or chairs with mysterious sticky residue, and clean our faces after messy treats. They also work well to clean your phone or sunglasses.

Okay, so now that you’ve packed the essentials, here’s what you can do to try to make the most out of your day now that Fast Passes aren’t available and everyone in the entire Park wants to eat lunch at the same time.

The newly refurbished Snow White’s Enchanted Wish is one of the most popular attractions.

1. Go on the most popular rides at the beginning or end of the day: 

It sounds simple, but the first hour and last hour that the parks are open are the best times to hit up those lines that you know will stay long all day. I recommend deciding which big attractions your party can’t live without, and which ones you’re willing to wait in long lines. At Disneyland, we chose Snow White and Peter Pan first, because we knew that those lines would only get longer (and move slower) as the day went on. For our last hour, we hit up Splash Mountain (which only took about 15 minutes) and dashed into the Haunted Mansion queue 2 minutes before the park closed. Yes, as long as you are in line for an attraction before closing, you’ll be allowed to ride! At DCA, we rode Soarin’ first with only a 15 minute wait, then hit up Grizzly River Run before that line became unbearable in the heat.

Enjoy Grizzly River Run early on a hot day!

Line times will fluctuate throughout the day, but you will notice that the most popular attractions will stay long consistently. Prioritize your favorites, because it’s nearly impossible to ride everything and have enough time to eat without the help of Fast Passes.

Don’t wait too long to order your Mickey Beignet’s from the Mint Julep Bar

2.  Plan your Mobile Orders early:

Speaking of food, be warned that most restaurants offer Mobile Ordering, and the prime time slots do fill up quickly. The day before you visit the parks, I suggest checking out all the menus on the Disneyland app. Look carefully, because your favorite menu items might not be available right now. Plan out your meals and snacks before you go, then put in your Mobile Orders once you’ve entered the Parks. I suggest planning for a morning and afternoon snack, as well as lunch and dinner. The great thing about Mobile Orders is that you can try to modify your order time if you change your mind, and if you don’t want your food at all, you won’t be charged if you don’t pick it up. Keep in mind that things change frequently, so be prepared to be flexible. For example, the Tropical Hideaway was only offering a standby line for orders but was full when we tried several times to get Dole Whips. They had also taken baos off the menu, much to my disappointment. Luckily, Mickey Ice Cream Bars were a delicious alternative.

A Mickey Ice Cream Bar is always an easy treat to find

Note: For Avenger’s Campus, you can only order an hour or two ahead of time and are required to be inside the land before placing a Mobile Order.

I hope these tips are helpful! Please remember to be kind to the hardworking Cast Members during this difficult time, when rules and regulations are changing constantly. 

Have a magical trip!