California Trip 2023 - Disneyland/California Adventure Park

We arrived at the Disney Californian Grand Hotel on the afternoon of day 3. We chose this hotel as we wanted to stay close to the parks and use the early access that staying in a Disney hotel gives you.

We checked in and hung around the pool for the afternoon. For dinner we headed to Downtown Disney for food and a little browse around the shops before hitting the parks the next day. We ended up going to Splitsville for dinner most nights as they had availability, quick service and a varied menu. Some of the other restaurants booked out fast and there were long lines for walk ins.

For our park tickets we chose to do the 2 day Park Hopper ticket which allows you to jump between Disneyland and California Adventure Park. We also chose to get Genie+  which allows you to skip the long lines on some of the rides. (It's replaced the old Fast Pass system) It was so worth it!

You really need to download the Disney app which gives you all the information you need to plan and get the most out of the parks. From park maps, to ride times, character greetings, showtimes etc

You also need to make a park reservation when you book your tickets.

We started off our day in California Adventure Park and our favourite rides in the park were Cars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Grizzly River Run and the Incredicoaster. So fun! We went on these multiple times.

In the afternoon we switched over to Disneyland and our favourite rides were Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn Bobsleds and the Millenium Falcon. 

Disney were celebrating Halloween and 100 years while we were there and the decorations and vibe were amazing. It was such a fun time to experience.

Our second day was a blend between both parks again.We felt that 2 days were perfect for us.

The days at Disney are busy with lots of walking so make sure you wear comfortable clothes and shoes!

Let me know if you have any questions!

California Trip 2023 - Newport Beach/Laguna Beach

 We're just back from our family trip to California and it was so great to have that time as a family and revisit some old favourite places and discover some new spots.

We landed at LAX, grabbed the shuttle bus to Avis to hire a car for the trip and drove the hour to Newport Beach. We checked into the VEA hotel in Newport Beach for 2 nights to check out the OC.

We were blessed with amazing weather throughout our whole trip so it was great to soak up the sun, recover from the flight and get on California time.        

Across the road from our hotel was Fashion Island. A great mix of restaurants, shops, Starbucks etc. There was also a Wholefoods where we stocked up on water, snacks and fruit.

We drove to Newport Pier, checked out Lido Marina/Village, ate at Malibu Farm, admired the cute houses. We also hired a boat from Balboa Island and it was great to sightsee from the water.

On day 2 we drove to Laguna Beach to have a look around. The views along PCH from Newport to Laguna Beach are beautiful! We walked through the town and admired the beach from Heisler Park. Stunning!

There is also a great Shake Shack at Crystal Cove State Park.

Amazing views as well.

We had a great time exploring the OC and on Day 3 we drove to Anaheim to check into our Disney hotel.

On the way we had to stop at Walmart and Target so Noah could check out the American lollies etc!

We checked into Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and I'll share more of our Disney stay in another post.

Let me know if you have any questions?