Day 4- Tuesday!

Today the park hours shifted to off season so the regular opening time wasn’t until 10 (so early entry was at 9). Which was great because we got to sleep in!!

The kids were bouncing off the walls though because today we got to do Carsland!!!! We had walked through but not done any rides and the couldn’t wait. The main big thrill ride (Radiator Springs Racers) never had a stand by wait time of less than 75 minutes so you either needed to be first in line in the morning (as in RUN to it) or get a fast pass (but the line just for the fast pass were often an hour too).

Our plan was to run. Lol. We got in line at 8:30 and were 3rd at our turnstile. When the gates opened we booked it but there had to be about a hundred people in front of us. I had read a tip online that if you keep to the right you will get ahead because the cars come down the road (Lightning, Mater, etc) on the left and all those people will merge over but if you are already in the right then you can go fast. It worked!!! There were maybe 20 ahead of us but each car held 6 so it went fast. It was a fun ride!!

Kids LOVED it! By the time we got off the ride the wait was already 45 min so there was no way we were riding again. We did do the Flying Tire ride (just like the classic DL flying saucer ride)- you get in and the air turns on and your tire hovers. You have to lean/shift your weight to get your tire moving. We all found it easy (and we got it going fast) –I was with Aidan and Matt and P rode together. Us grownups just put our arm around the kid to make sure we all leaned the same direction. It was a bit like bumper cars too- you could crash another tire:) We also rode Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. Kids LOVED it. It’s really fast, spinning and lots of jerking. Matt and I both had hurt shoulders afterwards but the kiddos thought it was great!

After that we walked around and met a couple characters (more autographs!) and Piper wanted to ride California Screamin (no way for Aidan though). Poor thing though- her and Matt rode and she ended up with a he red bruise all down her spine. She was over the height requirement but just got thrown around in her safety seat! She also got a little queasy going upside down. During that time Aidan and I rode the huge ferris wheel (I am NOT a fan of it but sucked it up for him).

We wandered a bit more around DCA then went to get an early lunch in Carsland. We tried Flo’s diner (made to look like a gas station outside). Decent food and the kids got cute Lightning lunch boxes. We found the hidden patio area of the back (most sit out front or on the right side) and the Racer ride goes right by it so the kids were super entertained all through lunch.

We initially were planning on going to the beach the next day but the kids needed a break from the parks (we did too) so we checked Alamo and switched our reservations for today! We finished lunch then headed back to the hotel to grab towels and change. Off to the beach we went!

We went to Huntington Beach and it wasn’t too crowded which was really nice. Kids loved how big it was we all enjoyed just laying around for a cpl hours. Piper even found a pressed penny machine on the pier! Aidan didn’t care. He gave Piper his book and change:) She by this point has almost filled up an entire book!

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Hyatt Regency hotel and I checked in there. I am doing a boudoir shoot there tomorrow and we needed a non Disney modern hotel to do it in. This one was perfect. Close to us and my hair/makeup gal and not too far for Sarina to drive from LA. I ran in, got checked in, made sure the room was good and then jumped back into the car with the family.

We went across the street and ate at Red Robin before heading back.

After returning the rental we got into Carsland right at dusk when they do the lighting ceremony. They play the Shaboom song from the movie and one by one all the shops/rides come on. It’s really authentic to the movie and so cute. We rode Maters a cpl more times and the kids got snacks from Cozy Cone. The park closed at 8 so we headed out and let the kids swim for a bit at the hotel before bed. Another great day!

Day 5- Wednesday!

Today was super early for me (but not Matt or the kids) as I had my morning boudoir shoot. I got up at 5, left by 5:10 and was in my other hotel room at 5:20 (just cabbed it down). I got all my stuff together and took a shower. With my hair so long it takes forever to dry so I gave myself plenty of time before Sally (hair/makeup) showed up at 6:45. She was right on time and we got to work. Sally is great, we have a lot in common so it was fun to chat the whole time. Sarina showed up at 8:45 and we started! Luckily I’m not shy so the aspect of prancing around in my underwear wasn’t a big deal to me. I was however really concerned about being too over the top (pornish) or not me when it comes to my face. Sarina’s style is really natural and that was perfect for me! It was a fun cpl of hours and we wrapped up around 11:30. Sarina was actually headed to Disneyland to meet a friend so she dropped me on the way- so sweet of her! My pics have been blogged (just a handful of her favs) at : http://sarinalove.com/orange-county-boudoir-mrs-j/ - warning- although no nudity it’s def not suitable for work! I think every woman should do it for themselves. A very empowering experience!

I got back to the hotel around noon, tried in vain to get all my eye makeup off and met up with the kids. They had gone into DCA that morning and rode Racers again, and Mater’s. Then headed back to play in the pool most of the morning:)

At this point I desperately needed coffee and was SO thankful that in the time since we had been last, a Starbucks had been put in. The building doesn’t even look like a SB so it’s cool in that way. Very understated. But yay for coffee!!!!

We took some photos with our photopass card ($69 pre order and it you get as many pics as you can take, all ride photos [which are $15 each normally!] plus all character dining photos [$30 each normally]- it was a great deal and we used it esp for rides and character dining).

We took pics at the Partners staue in DCA (sup to be Walt when he first showed up to CA in the 1920’s). We all acted crazy, then the kids tried to recreate the statue, then Matt and I took one alone. At this point Chip and Dale wandered in the pic and crashed it lol. Pretty fun. They were on their way across the road to start their own line so the kids followed them over there to take pics. P loves the Chipmunks! One lady in line behind us asked whether it was Alvin or Simon hugging Piper. It took a lot not to say anything lol.

We also got pics in front of the Carthay Circle fountain and building and we snapped a shot of the red car trolley that goes around DCA.

We wandered back over to Disneyland and convinced Aidan to ride Space Mountain. I was kind of freaking out for him but he’d done so well on other fast rides this trip. He LOVED it!! The lady was so sweet when we pulled up to exit and let us ride again even though there were people waiting. NEVER had that happened before. Disney is pretty rigid on their rules. Aidan even put his hands up for the pic!

We headed back into DCA for a late lunch. Matt I and got Mediterranean skewers (very good) from Paradise Grill and we carried our food over to the outdoor seating at Pacific Wharf area. Matt went to grab margaritas while I got Piper a bread bowl (with soup) and Aidan a turkey sandwich from the café there.

Then we did Toy Story mania (a fav of ours) since the line was short. Piper in line was funny. Her and her many faces…

We then went back to the hotel to change shoes and back out to DCA (right outside our hotel private entrance) to Grizzy River Rapids. They change the water level in the summer plus add way more geysers and spray features so the ride was way more intense then we have had it when we go in the late winter. It was fun but I got drenched. I actually had to wring out my hair!

We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit then headed into Disneyland to ride Pirates, Bug Thunder and some other rides In that area. We had dinner at Café Orleans for the first time too. Their specialty is the Monte Cristo (meat/cheese or 3 cheese). P and I split the 3 cheese, Matt got the meat one and Aidan got a kids meal. My sandwich was so heavy (but good) it was essentially a deep fried grilled cheese (with brie in it, my fav!) then dusted with powdered sugar and comes with a berry puree to dip. Sounds weird but it was good. Only thing is, it comes with 4 sandwiches. I ate 2, P had 1. Matt had 2 plus a few bites. So much wasted!

We managed to get back into Carsland at 7ish and we sucked it up and got in line. It was insane. 65 minute wait time posted (though it was more like 50). The longest I have ever waited for any ride ever (we always do 20 or under but typically it’s more like 10 and under) but the kids really wanted to ride at night. It was miserably hot even at night the kids were troopers.

We got off racers right around 8 (when the park closed) so we headed back to the hotel where the kids played in the pool (and Matt and I had a cocktail). Then off to bed.

Day 6- Thursday!

So today was our family photo shoot with Sarina! I adore her and we get along so well- I was so excited to have her shoot us:) For those of you that forgot she did mine and Matt’s honeymoon pics and did my boudoir shoot earlier this week. We were so excited to have photos of all of us as a family since the wedding. The kids were all really excited too- esp Piper who watched her on worst cooks.

We were meeting her at 9 (when we could get into early entry) outside La Brea in DTD so we had plenty of time to get ready. It was already so hot (and bright) so it was going to be a challenging morning keeping the kids’ energy going and finding shady spots to shoot in. We decided to use our early entry in DCA (we had put Sarina in our room [obv she wasn’t actually staying with us] so she would have a room key and could get into early entry with us. The couple hours that we shot was so much fun.  Here are our favorite proofs- keep in mind these aren't color corrected, edited, etc.  That will take a couple weeks once we pick our favorite ones!Thanks again to Sarina!  Her site is: http://sarinalove.com/disneyland-family-session/

We got done at 11 (and ended at out hotel lawn) so we went up to change, rest for a few then off to our Princess lunch at Ariel’s Grotto in DCA.

Piper was excited to see all the Princesses and get all their autographs. Aidan was a good sport about being there and when Cinderella paid extra special attention to him (showing him how to be a “Prince”) I think it made his day lol. We finished up there then headed back towards the hotel so Matt could grab our spray bottles/fan (needed! It was boiling!) then over to Disneyland we went.

Kids ran into Chip again right away! Then we rode Space Mountain again (twice), Buzz, Tarzan’s treehouse, Pirates and Big Thunder. We looked through a lot of shops this afternoon too.

We had earlier tried to see Merida but her line was really long so we asked her cast member when she would be back and they said 3:45. At 3:35 we popped over and we were first in line! Piper was SO excited. Merida was sweet and afterwards Piper got to shoot a bow and arrow. Aidan tried too:)

Then we headed back to relax for a bit before our date night! It was so nice to have another one this week. We dropped the kids off at 5 and headed out. It was def a pain tonight though, because Disneyland closed at 5 tonight for a companywide Cast Member party so everyone went over to DCA. We walked into the new Carthay Circle restaurant and went to the lounge which was really neat. Very 1920’s and a lot of memorabilia up on the walls.

We each had a drink then headed off to Wine Country Trattoria for wine tastings and light food. Well the wait was crazy and we were a little hungrier than we thought. We then tried the Cove Bar but that was crazy busy. So we left DCA and went back to DTD and went to our go to place- Uva Bar. It’s a great outdoor bar and has really good Italian appetizers.

We got good white wine, flatbread, cool little tacos (can’t remember what was in them but it was unusual) and sweet potato fries to share. It was nice to just sit for a while!


We picked up the kids around 7:30 and booked it over into DCA before they closed (at 8) for some ice cream at the new Ghirardelli’s shop. It was so good- I think I only ate 30% of mine before I got full but everyone else finished theirs! We walked back to the hotel with our treat and then let the kids swim some more at the pool before bed.