Bubbly Charm: December 2019

Welcome back to the next installment of my "Guide to Disneyland!" In today's post, I am going to be telling you all about the things you must do during your next trip to Disneyland.

Quick disclaimer, some of these specific things are only for Christmas, and some things they change for different times of the year (for instance, the parades change to match the season). I hope that this list will help you in some way shape or form, even if it just gives you an idea of what to look out for when it comes to entertainment in Disneyland.

There are so many musts when you travel to a new Disney theme park. Since we only had one day for Disneyland, we did not visit Disney California Adventure, so everything I am going to share will be for Disneyland Park only.

Also, if you haven't read my first post, you can read that right here.

1. The Parades
Since it was the Christmas season, we were able to watch the famous Christmas Fantasy Parade on Main Street. The parade marches through at 3:30 PM and 6:00 PM. We attended the 3:30, and guests began choosing their viewing locations around 2:15. We stopped and got our ice cream and found a spot at 3:15, but by then our options were pretty limited. We lucked out and ended up having a pretty amazing spot (no one was standing in front of us), but to avoid this happening to you, my best piece of advice is to find a seat as early as you can.

If you have time, you must go to a parade. The floats, performers, princesses, and music are all so magical.

[Photo: Sarah]

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

2. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Pandora: The World of Avatar in Animal Kingdom is my favorite Disney park addition. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, however, is pretty spectacular in many ways. The detail in the architecture, the music, the food, and the attraction (Rise of the Resistance just opened in Disney World but won't open in Disneyland until January 2020) each transport you to the village of Black Spire Outpost on Batuu.

While Pandora is still my favorite addition, Galaxy's Edge is so realistic and the technology that Disney continues to develop and present is beyond mind-blowing.

TIP: When going on Smuggler's Run, look for Hondo Ohnaka on the queue. He looks like a real person but is only an animatronic.

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

Hondo Ohnaka [Video: Bubbly Charm]

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

3. it's a small world Holiday Lighting

If you are in Disneyland for the holidays, you 100% must attend the lighting of it's a small world. There is a little pre-lighting show that starts just before 5:15, with the lighting being at 5:15, so I recommend getting a spot around 4:50, but we were able to get one at 5. You also definitely need to go on the ride, because they decorate the entire attraction for Christmas. This is probably my favorite ride to look at and admire in Disneyland.

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

4. Sleeping Beauty Castle Lighting

Here's another Christmastime-specific must-do, but I can't help it--Disney parks at Christmas are too amazing!! The castle lighting in Disneyland is very simple, yet extremely impactful. There are two lightings, one at 7:30 and the other at 8:30. We went to the 7:30 one and found the perfect spot at I believe 7:25. I don't recommend doing this because it does get pretty packed with viewers, so try to get there at the latest 15 minutes earlier. Now, you may be wondering if the castle is lit prior to the "lightings," and the answer is yes, it is. The castle gets lit at dusk, but for the lighting ceremonies, they turn the lights off. I won't post the video on here, in order to keep it a surprise, but I will post the pictures of how beautiful the castle looks afterwards.

Me in front of the castle [Photo: Sarah]

Sarah and me [Photo: Sarah's phone]

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

[Photo: Sarah]

5. Take pictures!!!

If you are spending the entire day at the parks (opening to closing), and you love looking back at photos, definitely try to take as many pictures as you can. We were there from 8 AM until 10 PM (park closing was at midnight), and I took over 600 pictures. I made sure to take pictures of everything during the day, then went back through the park and took pictures of everything at night. I'll post some of my favorite pictures below!

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

Sarah and me [Photo: Sarah]

Me [Photo: Sarah]

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

6. The Fireworks

During Christmas, the fireworks show is "Believe... In Holiday Magic." This fireworks show begins at 9:30 PM, and we found a spot at about 8:45, so we were waiting for quite some time. For a prime spot, stand either in front of the castle, or a towards the right (in the direction of Tomorrowland). We were too far left (in the direction of Frontierland) and some of the trees were blocking most of our view, but it was still beautiful.

"Fantasmic!" is a show in Frontierland at 9:00 PM and 10:30 PM. Since that show is 27 minutes, if you want to see that and the fireworks, go to the 10:30 Fantasmic! showing, since the fireworks are only about 15 minutes. Getting a good spot for the fireworks is very hard, so you'll want a lot of time beforehand to reserve your viewing location.

[Photo: Sarah]

This wraps up my part two guide!! Stayed tuned for part three, where I will be talking about my top ten favorite attractions! Until next time, everyone!! CLINK! xx

I know it has been quite some time since I have last seen all of you, but I do come bearing some fantastic travel tips for your next trip to Anaheim's very own Disneyland.

I lucked out with this trip. My best friend told me one week prior that she had to go to Marina Del Rey for work and wanted to know if I wished to tag along. Free trip to California?! DUH.

No trip to Los Angeles would be complete without eating at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurants (I will write about those in my next post), getting some burgers from In-N-Out, and, of course, spending a day in Disneyland (courtesy of my friend, Sarah).

I originally drafted this post with all of my tips in one article, but it seemed a little long because of how many pictures I have. I decided I was going to separate the sections into different posts: 1. Food, 2. Must Do, 3. Favorite Rides, and 4. Visiting Tips. Here, I am only going to talk about the amazing food we had. So, with that all being said, let's dive into my "Guide to Disneyland!"

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

FOOD

One of my favorite parts of going to any Disney park is the amazing food and drink options. Going during the Christmas season added so many seasonal treats to our list of things to try. Unfortunately, our bellies can only hold so much, so we barely made a dent into my must-haves, but we were sure to make wise decisions.

1. Mickey Shortbread Cookie

This Mickey frosted shortbread I believe is available at any of the Disneyland bakeries, but we got ours from Pooh Corner in Critter Country (located next to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and across from the entrance to Splash Mountain). This was technically our breakfast, but boy was it a good pick. If you can't tell from the picture, the cookie is humongous, so we got one and split it. This is also the perfect take-home snack for those of you who like to go home with a bunch of Disney treats!

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

2. Pizza Planet

Sarah and I were both craving pizza (even though we had our cookie probably only about an hour before). We each got a slice of the bruschetta pizza with a side of breadsticks and mac and cheese (which was a kids meal so it came with the milk, applesauce, and clementine). The pizza was delicious, but if I'm being completely honest, the breadsticks were a little dry, even with the marinara. It was a very good lunch, though, for two girls who were about to pass out from hunger... okay, a little dramatic.

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

3. Sundaes from Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor

As we were getting ready for the Christmas Fantasy Parade on Main Street, Sarah and I decided we wanted ice cream to snack on during it (I swear, we must have only been thinking about food the entire trip). Gibson Girl, which is located on Main Street, has the best ice cream in Disneyland.
Sarah's (the top one) is the Peppermint Holiday Sundae that has peppermint ice cream, chocolate sauce, crushed peppermint, and served in a chocolate-dipped waffle bowl. I went with the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae that has vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and chocolate chip cookies. Mine was SO tasty, and I even had a bite (or three) of Sarah's and hers was also amazing. If you're craving ice cream at Christmastime, definitely head for that special peppermint sundae.

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

4. Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Funnel Cake

OKAY GUYS. Now THIS is how you do pumpkin. I first heard of this from Jenny Flake from Picky Palate and disneyhungry on Instagram. Available at Hungry Bear Restaurant in Critter Country, this funnel cake is topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and pumpkin pie topping along with streusel. Hands down, this is one of the best treats I have ever had in any Disney food location. The line is long at Hungry Bear, so I recommend ordering in advance. Although, if you don't, this treat is definitely worth the wait.

[Photo: Bubbly Charm]

I hope you all enjoyed the first post of my "Guide to Disneyland" series. Part two will be up tomorrow, and is going to feature my "Must Do" list with my favorite parts of the day. Leave your favorite Disney park snacks in the comments below! Until next time, everyone! CLINK! xx

Pages

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Guide to Disneyland: Things You Must Do

Monday, December 23, 2019

Guide to Disneyland: Food!