A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to take a mini-vacation as a family. It couldn’t have come at a better time, since we’ve been really busy lately and really needed some time to just be away & enjoy some family time. Between wedding planning, work, and daily life, we haven’t had much time to connect lately and so we took a much needed road trip to Disneyland!
There’s a whole lotta nothin’ between Vegas & Anaheim.
On Friday, we picked up Justin from work {it’s on the way to Cali} & headed out to our hotel, the Hotel Menage. It wasn’t exactly a luxury hotel {No mini-bar?! But I wanted a cold Snickers..}, but it was really close to Disneyland & it was clean & had the bare essentials, so it was just fine. They also have a really good breakfast buffet, something that matters a lot to us when we travel!
On Saturday morning, we woke up & got ready. We headed over to Disneyland & Shane immediately wanted to find some of the rides we’d looked at on the computer the day before. First we went on “The Rocket Ships” {Shane’s name}:
Then we made our way to Dumbo the Flying Elephant. Shane loved Dumbo & cried when it was over! {Don’t worry, we got back in line later & went again.}
I got photo bombed by an elephant.
Then, Shane decided he just had to ride the The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride next, which was all the way across the park. &Since the only maps we had were on our phones, which couldn’t hold a signal, it took us awhile to get there. &The best part? Once we got there, Shane freaked out & didn’t want to ride it anyway. Sigh. {Yeah, I totally rode it by myself.}
At least on the way we found some pretty friendly ducks & Shane watched them for a solid twenty minutes while we tried to get un-lost.
I love that you can see Shane’s shadow in this picture as he watches the ducks.
He decided he wanted to ride the Astro Orbitor {rockets} again, and afterwards we stopped for lunch at the Tomorrowland Terrace, where Shane got to watch the Star Wars Jedi Training Academy. He’s never seen Star Wars but knew that Darth Vader was a bad guy, so he wasn’t so sure about it at first. But a few minutes in, he got really into it, and then he was sad when it was over!
After lunch, we caught the end of Mickey’s Soundsational Parade, something that Shane remembered & loved from our last visit. He was bummed that he missed Mickey {his favorite &the first in the line-up} but loved the rest of it!
We rode a few more rides after that, including the Carousel {twice}, Dumbo again, and the Jungle Cruise. After the Jungle Cruise, we stopped for our first-ever Dole Whips. If you’ve never heard of them, they’re these delicious soft-serve pineapple sorbet treats & you can get them by themselves or as a float on top of pineapple juice as well. They are even more amazing than they sound, which is why the line to get one rivals any of the rides at the park. They’re worth it though!
As we enjoyed our Dole Whips, we suddenly heard the familiar music for the Soundsational Parade- and we caught it from the very beginning this time! As much as Shane loved the rides at the park, I really think that the parade is his favorite thing about Disneyland. &I can’t blame him, as I apparently loved it as a kid too.
My dad & I watching the parade at Disney World {circa 1991}
Once we stopped in the gift shop {of course!}, an experience you can read more about in my guest post on the YesVideo blog, it was time to head back to our hotel. Shane was sad to leave the park, but definitely tired & ready to go to bed. We made a pit stop at Chick-fil-A for the first time since we always hear about them & don’t have any locations here, and Justin totally fell in love.
Once we got to the hotel, Shane barely took his shoes off before he fell asleep! We woke up Sunday morning, stopped at the hotel’s restaurant for breakfast, and then headed home. Shane got sick on the ride home so that was rough, but the rest of the weekend was just as magical as we’ve come to expect from Disneyland!
It was so nice to take a weekend admist the chaos to make some family memories. While Shane only wanted to go on four different rides {about a million times each}, and we got lost & he got sick the next day, the main things that we will remember are the smiles when it was our turn to go on a ride, the feeling of the air on our face as we spun in circles above the crowds, the amazement in his eyes as characters he recognized walked past, and the many hugs & “thank you’s” that showed us just how truly happy Shane was for the experience. At his age, there’s no telling whether or not Shane will remember this trip when he’s grown up, but I know I’ll never forget it.
Have you ever been to Disneyland?
Note: I would like to thank YesVideo, who provided a stipend to cover a portion of this trip & allowed us to make wonderful memories as a family.

Mumseword says
oooh every holiday to Disney is never mini!! looks like you had super time!
Theresa says
Sounds like you had a wonderful time!
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
I’ve been to Disneyland several times and I can’t wait to go with my son.
Courtney says
I so want to take M!
Kathleen says
What a blast. We have been to Disney World a million times, but never Disneyland.
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes says
Aww — poor guy — so sad to hear he ended up sick on the way home. 🙁
Stefani says
I LOVE Disneyland. I took my daughters a couple years ago and want to go back.
Leilani says
Ive been to Disneyland 5 times in the past 3 years. It’s the most affordable “vacation” for us.
Vanessa: the queen of swag ! says
A mini vacation is any vacation at disneyland for sure.
Lolo says
So fun! Love the photo of you and your Dad from when you were little.
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
How cool that you live within driving distance! Hopefully next time, you’ll remember where everything is & won’t get lost again! I’ve never been to either Disney, but maybe someday. 🙂
April Golightly says
I miss Disney. Cannot wait to go once the baby is born. 🙂
Anne says
I was at Disneyland once, but it was 30 years ago, so I don’t remember much! I’d love to go back.
HilLesha @To the Motherhood says
I’d love to go there someday! 🙂
Katie says
We LOVE Disneyland! We took our first family trip there last November, however I’ve been there about a dozen times myself. My daughter also loved Dumbo and the Astro Orbiters!
Jenn @therebelchick says
It looks like you had so much fun!! I’ve always wanted to do to DisneyLand!
Elaina- A Time Out for Mommy says
I’ve been to Disneyworld but never DisneyLand! I want to visit one day!
Dee @ Cocktail with MOm says
Seems like so much fun. I would love to visit Disneyland one day.
Kathy says
I miss Disney Land! Hopefully we can go sometime.
Mellisa says
What a fun vacation.
debra pearlstein says
I loved Disneyland. So glad you had a great time!
Colleen says
Sounds like it was a blast (minus the sick episode) this is one reason I love living in FL we can always hop on the road and go to Disney.
Lisa says
How fun!
Night owl mama says
one day I hope we’ll be able to take the kids
Ty @ Mama of 3 Munchkins says
Sounds like fun!
Meghan @JaMonkey says
What a great throwback picture
Tammy says
We usually go to DisneyWorld or on Disney Cruises but we went to Disneyland once when our daughter was just shy of 4 years old. That was before the California Adventure park (they were just building it at the time), so it was the perfect size for a pre-schooler. Just enough to keep her busy, but not enough to overwhelm her. I’d like to go again since it’s been 13 years since we were last there.
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
One day I’ll visit Disneyland too. You guys sure made the most of your trip!
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
Disney is so magical!!
Jennifer The Quirky Momma says
My kids really want to go to Disneyland! One of these days we will make the 18 hour drive, but not this year.
Marcie W. says
Ah, the infamous drive from Las Vegas to Southern California. I have been on that road at least once a year since age 2. It looks like you all had an amazing time!
Jenn says
Fun! Wish we lived within reasonable driving distance of WDW or Disneyland.
LyndaS says
I wanna go! Unfortunately, it is too far to drive so I guess we will just have to go to Disney World. 🙂