Our Trip Up the Coast

We started our trip on Monday, June 22nd by heading to Disneyland. I have been looking forward to going to Disneyland with Mark for YEARS! We started talking about it on our first date (5 years ago) and it just never worked out because of our crazy schedules. When Mark started planning our trip up the coast I was THRILLED when he said he wanted to go to Disneyland first. We got on the road early so we could check-in at our hotel and then take the shuttle to Disneyland. We made great time and our room was ready early! YAY! We took our bags to the room and headed for the shuttle.

This is our YAY-WE-ARE-GOING-TO-DISNEYLAND face

When we got to Disnelyand we had some issues with our backpack because it was too big to fit in the medium sized lockers and the large lockers were sold out. Mark was a trooper though and carried it around all day. We headed to look for a Fast Pass of any ride that had a super long line. We rode a few rides then headed to lunch at the Blue Bayou (which is inside the Pirates ride). If you've never been it's definitely a MUST at least once. It's a little pricey but you are going to spend a lot wherever you go in Disney and you might as well sit in a cool place with a great atmosphere. They bring you rolls and your choice of soup or salad. We both went with soup and Mark had the roasted chicken and I had the salmon. Everything was delicious!

We ended up going on Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, Toy Story Mania, and Star Tours. We went on every ride that we wanted to except for Space Mountain. The line was super long all day!

CRAZY hair!

We only ate at one other place in Disneyland because we had brought some snacks (carrots, apples, and little packages of almond butter). Whenever I'm at Disneyland it's a must to stop by the Dole stand near the Tiki Room to get a Dole Whip. This time we opted for a Dole Whip Float. So delicious! If you haven't had a Dole Whip it basically tastes like pineapple frozen yogurt. It was especially yummy on that super hot day.

Around 6:00 we headed over to California Adventure. We had reservations at 6:40 at the Wine Country Trattoria. We decided to check out the Radiator Spring Racers first to see if we could get a Fast Pass. This is one of the newer (if not the newest) rides at California Adventure and there is always a long wait. Unfortunately, all the Fast Passes were already given out for that day. Bummer! We checked out the craft beer stand and walked around until it was time for our reservation. We ended up getting a Caprese salad, some other appetizer that I can't remember haha, and lasagna to share. It was super good! I was so glad that we made reservations for lunch and dinner because it gave us a nice place to sit down and relax for awhile. You can make them 60 days in advance and I would recommend doing them as far in advance as you can because all the times go quickly. I'll link the reservation page here.

After dinner we decided to bite the bullet and wait in the VERY long line to go on the Radiator Springs Racers. Thanks goodness we had our books to pass the time. Yes, we are those weirdos who read books at Disneyland lol. The ride was such a blast! It's my new favorite ride for sure!

Look at this view!

We also headed over to the Little Mermaid ride, which was Mark's fave (just kidding). It's very much a little kid ride but it's so cute and I love the music. At this point it was getting late and California Adventure was closing. We wanted to see the parade at 11:00 since it was the 60th Anniversary parade and was supposed to be amazing. Mark camped out at a spot on the street and I got ice cream, because I obviously needed another dessert lol. The parade did not disappoint. The colors and the music made me feel like a little kid again. Such an incredible experience that I won't forget any time soon!

The day couldn't have been more perfect! I'll post more soon about the rest of our trip!