Waking up after a rain drenched prior day we had our fingers crossed for nice weather. Southern California delivered, as it so often does. With plans to head out to the Little Corona Del Mar Beach in the afternoon, we were up early to get some park time in. Emily was dead set on us all getting up before 7 a.m. (WHO IS THIS and what have you done with my wife??) for extra magic hours at Disney’s California Adventure. We agreed to her request and stumbled out of our hotel room with time to spare.
Early Morning Magic Hour at Disney’s California Adventure Park
We kept up with our morning tradition of a first stop at the Radiator Springs Racers FastPass distribution. We wanted to make sure we got a return time in the morning before our afternoon adventure. The FastPass distribution was unfortunately closed for extra magic hours. We continued onto Cars Land to see which attractions were operating. Emily and the boys saw that Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree was up and running so off they went. I happily took photos from the sidelines for that ride. We were then able to secure Radiator Springs Racers FastPasses later in the morning.
After a quick spin through Cars Land we headed over to Monsters, Inc. to visit our pals Mike and Sully. The Monsters, Inc. ride is a relatively chill taxi cab ride through Monstropolis. Even dad can handle that one. After stepping off Monsters we made a beeline for A Bug’s Land. With tomorrow being our last day, and Bug’s Land closing later this year, we wanted to get our fill. We rode all four of the attractions in Bug’s Land. I partook in Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train and the bumper cars. Emily took the boys on Francis’ Lady Bug Boogie and Flik’s Flyers. You could tell that the realization of this being one of our last chances to visit this land was setting in.
Indiana Jones & Pirates of the Caribbean – Disneyland Fun
Maximizing our extra magic hour at Disney’s California Adventure Park, we made a quick exit and headed over to Disneyland Park. Since it was still early we shuffled over to ride the boys’ new favorite, Indiana Jones Adventures, followed by Pirates of the Caribbean. Although getting everyone out of bed and ready to go early isn’t the most fun, it does provide benefits when you get in the parks early! It is amazing how much you can see before the rest of the world wakes up! We stopped in a few shops after our rides and then hustled across the park to Tomorrowland to catch the Monorail to Downtown Disney. I love the fact their Monorail drops off and picks up inside Disneyland Park.
Surf’s Up Character Breakfast – Paradise Pier Hotel
Emily had booked us a late morning character breakfast at the Paradise Pier Hotel. The monorail stop at Downtown Disney put us in the perfect location for a quick stop at the LEGO store prior to our walk to breakfast. We wanted to check and see if Sawyer’s LEGO set had arrived but unfortunately it hadn’t. We took the quick stroll over to Paradise Pier Hotel and arrived just in time for our 10:50 breakfast reservation at Surf’s Up! Fun tip: Emily read that if you book a later reservation at a character dining, not only can you parlay that meal into two meals in one, you also tend to get longer and more quality character interactions.
I have to admit, character dining is not always my favorite event. It ends up being a little stressful and disjointed trying to eat while capturing photos/video of the characters. This breakfast however was really fun. The breakfast was hosted by Stitch, Minnie, Mickey, and Daisy, who visited our table numerous times throughout our meal. Sawyer absolutely fell in love with Stitch because he was so silly. Stitch was always trying to prank Sawyer when he came to our table. Daisy also delivered the boys a couple of pins that they got to open. Our favorite part of the entire experience was when we got up to leave and Stitch literally tackled Sawyer to the ground and tickled him. Sawyer thought that was so funny. Oh yeah, and the food was good too!
Back to Disney’s California Adventure Park
After finishing our delicious breakfast we headed back to the Grand Californian Hotel for a quick pit stop. The weather was warming a bit so we dropped off our sweatshirts and the few items we purchased and were back out the door. It was our return time for our Radiator Springs Racers FastPasses, and we didn’t want to miss out. We moved on to plan B after finding out that the attraction was down for the time being.
Fun at The Redwood Creek Challenge
We had yet to visit the Redwood Creek Challenge Trails during our visit. The boys have always loved exploring the rope bridges and riding on the tire swings. It ended up being the perfect activity for the time that we had. We climbed and bounced around the rope course. The boys took a few turns on the multiple slides throughout the land. They also tested their skills at the rock climbing wall. Sawyer was still a bit young to conquer the wall but Hunter gave it a great effort. We finished up with a few swings down the tire rope swing. They boys were apprehensive at first but once they tried it again, they loved it!
With a little time to spare we tried to cram in a few things before our afternoon adventure. We met with Oswald at the front of Disney’s California Adventure Park. Right before we got in line, we purchased Hunter a slushy. He ended up spilling half of it on the ground seconds after we got it. Oops. Always love seeing $7 of slushy on the pavement. Oh well! Next, we hustled toward Carthay Circle and arrived just in time to see the Newsies Trolley Show (technically, the Red Car Trolley News Boys Show). Ever since we started coming to Disneyland the Trolley show has been a favorite of ours. Finally, with time running short, we grabbed some popcorn and churros and headed back to the room.
Little Corona Del Mar Beach
Our only planned venture off of Disney property was our late afternoon trip to Little Corona Del Mar beach. Emily had done some research on great places to see tide pools. The forty minute drive out to the beach was lined with fancy cars and expensive homes. The weather was a tad chilly but the sun was out which was our number one priority.
We found a place to park and walked down a path that curved from the street a couple hundred feet down to the beach area. The location was beautiful, providing many picturesque backdrops to photograph during golden afternoon hour. There were several engagement and prom photo sessions going on around us. We timed our visit to arrive at low tide, allowing us to explore the many tide pools containing a lot of sea wildlife. The boys had a blast climbing around and exploring the sea life and rock formations. Next time we would definitely bring footwear to climb on rocks as it did a number on our feet. (Be sure to check out all of our photos from our beach visit in the slideshow at the end of the post).
Drive and Dinner at Dukes
Following our beach experience we had dinner reservations at Duke’s, a recommendation from my coworker. The restaurant was 30 minute drive up the Coastal Highway and Hunter could not have been more excited. We took our time driving out of the beach neighborhood to admire the beautiful waterfront mansions that lined the Pacific Ocean. Hunter is into cars and we saw a ton of fancy cars on the drive up the coast. The highlight of the evening for Hunter was seeing an Aston Martin, his new favorite car. We are also fans of the Tesla cars which were as common as Toyotas out here.
Dinner had a ton of promise as the restaurant was located right on the water near the Huntington Beach Pier. The temperatures dropped pretty dramatically as the sun set so we were excited to step into the cozy restaurant. We sat in this little back room which had a great water view, although there wasn’t much daylight left. Unfortunately, they were training a new kitchen staff so the food took an hour and was average at best. Sawyer was wiped out by the the activity that day and ended up falling asleep before the food arrived. The waitress was very apologetic and comped a round of drinks, Sawyer’s uneaten pizza, and the Hula Pie dessert that they brought out for Hunter’s birthday. The dessert was really amazing!
Back at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel
Emily carried Sawyer to the car and we drove 35 min back to campus, eager to get into our pajamas. When we arrived at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, Emily carried Sawyer up to the room while I parked the car. After fifteen hours of running around and having fun, we were ready to crash… and we did!
Little Corona Del Mar Beach Photo Slideshow
