As residents of Orange County, our options for local skiing are limited.  Last weekend our family had the opportunity to ski at Mountain High because I won tickets.  Unfortunately, I was not confirmed for tickets until 10 p.m. the night before and did not read my e-mail until that morning at 6:30 a.m.  After a mad scramble to borrow ski pants for n from a nearby friend, we were on our way.

The drive is easy from Orange County.  It only took us about an hour and fifteen minutes, and there is no windy mountain driving.

When we were fifteen minutes away, this was the view out of our window.  It seems impossible that there is a ski resort near by.

Then you turn a corner, and it seems a little more plausible.  There was a snafu in picking up our tickets, and a lot of frustration ensued as the crowds grew larger.  Thankfully, the blogger that I won tickets from was gracious in helping me over the phone, and eventually everything was straightened out.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgfSL2KF-DW/?taken-by=derek.cal

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgfS4JhlOJK/?taken-by=derek.cal

This was the second time skiing for both k and n, and they did not want to take lessons this time.  I am pretty sure they are already better skiers than me.  It really is better to learn to ski as a child as opposed to as an adult.  They were able to get a lot more runs in, even though we had a later start.  I would definitely recommend getting there as soon as it opens to avoid long lines at the ticket booth and rental hut.  Our lunch was overpriced and mediocre, which I guess is to be expected when there are not many options.  I witnessed an employee threaten to kick out one family because they had a full-on lunch spread that they brought from home, including a hot pot and noodles.  (I guess it is ok to bring food from home if you eat outside).  We lucked out because it snowed the night before.  D was happy to get his annual ski trip in.

As I wrote about yesterday, we bought a MaxPass at Disneyland for our visit on Lincoln’s birthday.  We left at 7 a.m. to be ready for the 8 a.m. park opening.  Arriving early is key to maximizing your Disney visit!  Here are some pictures of our visit.

Our first ride of the day was the Matterhorn Bobsleds.  I liked this ride better when the seats were not separate for every rider.  It is still fun, though!

I still enjoy Space Mountain.  The FastPass totally spoiled us as we were able to ride two times with barely a wait.

We did the Mountain trifecta–Matterhorn, Space and Thunder.  Splash Mountain was closed, but the kids do not like big drops anyway.  After riding Thunder Mountain three times, D made the realization that it was this ride that he remembers being scared of as a kid, not the Mine Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm–ha!  The final time we rode it was at night and it had started to rain.  That added a whole new dimension to the ride!

We went on the Jungle Cruise.  Unlike last time, n knew that the animals were fake-haha!

We found a local Hawaiian restaurant that sells Dole Whip, but k says it tastes better at Disneyland!

D waited in this crazy Starbucks line at the Market House on Main Street to buy me the Disneyland Starbucks mug.

And oh yeah, he wanted to buy coffee for himself too.

“Hello?  Who’s there?”

Tarzan’s treehouse

It’s so cute when the dolls come out of the It’s a Small World clock.

Riding the Mark Twain riverboat.

We had a sneak peak of the new Star Wars Land.

This time we brought sandwiches from home for lunch.  We had a corn dog and some skewers from Bengal’s BBQ for our mid-afternoon snack.  Dinner was a hamburger and chicken sandwich from Tomorrowland; not impressed.

We waited for almost and hour for Fantasmic, with intermittent sprinkles.  Then, with twelve minutes until the 9 p.m. start time, it started to pour down on us!  We made a mad dash for the exit, along with hoards of the other unprepared tourists.  It was still coming down as we were on the tram and in the parking lot.  I was super sad to miss the show, but I guess it all worked out for the best since it was a school night and we were able to be in bed at a more decent time.

We went to Disneyland for the second day of our two-day pass on Lincoln’s birthday.  We decided to try out the Disney MaxPass for $10 per person (so for our family of 4 = $40).  I know that for some people, spending $40 would be nothing, but you know that I had to do some research beforehand to see if it would be worth it.  I read a few online reviews and decided to go for it.

The official Disney description of the Disney MaxPass can be found here.  Download the Disney app and once you are inside the park, you can purchase the MaxPass through the app.

Disney MaxPass offers two main benefits: 1. PhotoPass and 2. What I call “Enhanced FastPass”.

MaxPass Benefit #1: PhotoPass

With the PhotoPass, you can have the official Disney photographers take pictures of your family.  You then have the photographer scan your phone and the pictures then “magically” appear on your phone a few minutes later.  The best part is that you can download these photos for up to 45 days after your visit so you do not have to do it while you are inside the park or even that day.  This perk was really appealing to me because it is rare that we take the time to have someone else take a picture of all four of us together.  Also, when we are in the parks we usually only use our iPhones since we do not want to lug around another camera.  However, I was disappointed in that we only saw photographers in the morning in front of the castle, mid-morning with Captain Jack Sparrow and at night in front of the castle again.  On the app, there were several photographers listed as being throughout the park, but we did not see them!  Our kids were not interested in taking a picture with Captain Jack, so we basically only took pictures in front of the castle.

How did they make it look like we were the only ones there in this picture?  The photographer took 5-6 shots each time, so that was nice.

Another daytime castle pic, just to give you an idea of the different shots…

The PhotoPass also includes ride photos.  However, the only ones we saw were the ones for Space Mountain.  Just take a picture of the code on your picture right after you ride, and you can enter the code later on the app at home to download the photos.

Look at cute little n holding on for dear life!

D hamming it up for the camera.

MaxPass Benefit #2: “Enhanced FastPass”

The main benefit of the MaxPass is that it allows you to schedule FastPasses through the Disneyland app on your phone.  FastPasses are a wonderful invention for Type A planner types like us.  For certain popular rides, you can grab a FastPass that gives you a return window where you can go through the FastPass line and bypass the “standby rider” line.  In our experience, we were able to go on rides within 5-10 minutes using FastPass while the standby riders were waiting for up to over an hour!  With regular FastPasses, you must physically go to the machine located near the ride to obtain a FastPass.  With MaxPass, you go to the app and click on the ride you want to schedule a FastPass.  With regular FastPass you cannot obtain another FastPass until you use your current FastPass, or until your return window starts.  With MaxPass, you can schedule your next FastPass as soon as you enter the turnstile of your current FastPass ride (or until your return window starts).  This was a huge timesaver, as we were basically able to have a FastPass at all times during the day without any gaps.

These were the rides we were able to experience during our day at Disneyland:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (3x); MaxPass
• Space Mountain (2x); MaxPass
• Matterhorn Bobsleds (2x); MaxPass
• Star Tours; MaxPass
• Jungle Cruise
• Tiki Room
• Star Wars Launch Bay
• Buzz Light Year Astro Blasters; MaxPass
• Mark Twain Riverboat
• Winnie the Pooh
• Pirates of the Caribbean (I wish they had MaxPass for this one.)
• Haunted Mansion; MaxPass
• Indiana Jones; MaxPass (We should have been able to go on this ride a second time, but it was experiencing technical difficulties during our scheduled FastPass time.)
• Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin; MaxPass
• It’s A Small World
• Autopia
• Tarzan’s Treehouse (I do not really count this as an “attraction”, but included it since we had time to do it.
• We also had a Fastpass for Fantasmic, but it started to rain so we did not stick around.

That is over twenty attractions!  I must confess, I do not know the average number of rides that is possible on a given day at Disneyland.  However, the day we went seemed pretty crowded.  Although we went on a Monday, it was Lincoln’s birthday, so a lot of kids did not have school.  My estimate is that we were able to ride about five more rides than we would have without MaxPass.  The following is my cost-benefit analysis for the MaxPass for our family:

$40 = $10 (pictures) + $6 x 5 “extra” FastPass rides

To me, the MaxPass was worth it in our situation.  We only go to Disneyland every few years, we stayed the entire day and wanted to maximize our time.  It was nice to be able to ride the roller coasters multiple times.  The MaxPass probably would not be worth it if you do not plan to ride the roller coasters or if you have an annual pass and only stay at the park for a few hours at a time.  Looking back, I would have been more diligent in my search for the park photographers so I could have had more photos taken.  One more tip would be to be sure to keep your phone on airplane mode most of the day and use your paper park entrance tickets to scan into the FastPass lines (instead of your phone) since the Disney App drains your battery pretty quickly.

I hope our experience helps you to decide whether the Disney MaxPass is worth it for you!

I had been holding onto a Disney gift certificate that I won from last year, waiting for a good opportunity to use it.  I was waiting for Disney to announce their “deal” for Southern California residents that usually happens in the beginning of the year.  Meanwhile, D has been wanting to go to Disney California Adventure for a while so he could check it off the kids’ list.  k went when she was two years old, and n had never been before.  How sad that we live so close, yet hardly get to go since it is so expensive!  So, at last, Saturday was the day!

How is it possible that we spent sixteen hours, door to door at Disney California Adventure?  Well, I will show you our itinerary!  Since it was supposed to open at 8 a.m., we left a little after 7 a.m. to make sure we had enough time to park, go through security, and take the tram.  At least we did not have to buy tickets there since I had purchased them online the day before.

In the morning, when you first arrive, everyone is in a good mood and excited for the day.  Even the tram ride seems fun!

I am glad we had a cast member take this picture.  It is our only family shot of the whole day!

In the morning, we attempted to follow a touring plan that I had found online.

• First, we grabbed our Fast Pass tickets for Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Then we rode Soarin’ Around the World.  The kids kind of knew what to expect since we did a similar ride last summer in Vancouver.

• Next we grabbed our Fast Passes for the 9:45 showing of World of Color.
• Then we went on ToyStory Mania!  After that we obtained Fast Passes for Radiator Springs Racers.

• Then we rode the Guardians of the Galaxy, fka Tower of Terror.  After riding that one, I declared that “Once was enough for me!”, but D really liked it.  I think we had not really adequately prepared n and he was a little shell-shocked.

It does not look like we were having as much fun as everyone else–ha!

• We went on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree.  This was my first time seeing Cars Land, and it was pretty impressive!

• Next we did Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters.  I like the “dance” that the cars all do at the end.

I like noticing all of the Disney details, like the tire topiaries…

…and the Radiator Springs trash can.

• We had a mid-morning snack at Cozy Cone Motel.

Bacon Mac & Cheese in a Bread Cone.  The bread was not that great; the concept was better than the execution.

• We watched It’s Tough to be a Bug!
• Finally it was time for our Fast Passes at Radiator Springs Racers.  This was my favorite ride of the day!  Definitely get a Fast Pass for this one, though.

The 3 + 3 rider configuration is a little awkward since you basically always end up sitting with single riders.  The cars are spacious though, so our personal bubbles stayed intact.

• I really wanted to make the noon showing of Frozen at the Hyperion Theater.  I had to make a quick stop to grab more Fast Passes for Radiator Springs at night along the way.  We ended up power-walking and they almost shut the doors on D after the kids and I were already seated.  Luckily, they let him in and we were reunited.  The show was done really well and lasted longer than I thought–about an hour!  This was a good resting time for us.  It brought back memories of the theater production we saw onboard the Disney Wonder.
• We ate lunch at Pacific Wharf Cafe.

Broccoli cheese soup and potato soup in a Boudin bread bowl and took it easy after our somewhat rushed morning.

• We rode The Little Mermaid.
• We went on Silly Symphony Swings.  This was n’s first time on a ride like this, and he liked it!
• We watched Turtle Talk with Crush.
• We waited in line for Monsters, Inc., but there were technical difficulties they stopped the ride and we left.

I know they are trying to make the park less California-specific, but I hope they keep this waterfall!

Both Grizzly River Run and California Screamin’ were closed that day.  We knew that beforehand, though, so it was not a major disappointment.  Check online before you go!

• We went on Goofy’s Sky School.
• We ate a corn dog from Corn Dog Castle.  Tip: ask to have the corndog by itself (it comes with apple slices or chips) and save $2!

• We did a little window-shopping in Downtown Disney and ate at Earl of Sandwich.

• We stopped by Starbucks for an Americano (mostly for D) and a Vanilla Steamer for k and n.  It is crazy how crowded all of the Starbucks locations are at Disneyland!
• Cars Land takes on a whole new aura at night!

• We used our second Fast Passes for Radiator Springs so we could ride it at night.  Our car ended up on the alternate track, so that was fun.

• We rode on Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train just because we had time to kill before World of Color.
• We went on Soarin’ Around the World One more time even though we did not have a Fast Pass.  The wait was about 35 minutes, which was our longest line of the day–not bad!
• We queued up for World of Color around 8:45 even though the show was not set to start until 9:45.  I am not sure why there was not an earlier showing that night. At this point, D was wishing that he had brought a warmer jacket.  n was able to stay up and actually did not fall asleep.  We were able to find seats at the front of the first elevated section along the pier.

World of Color has been around for a while now, but this was our first time watching it.  The lights/water/fire effects were quite impressive, but I think Fantasmic! is still my favorite.

Of course, no amateur iphone pictures could do the show justice.  It is something that you just have to experience for yourself.  The show ended around 10:15.  By the time we left the park, took the tram, found our car and arrived home it was just after 11 p.m.  It was an exhausting, but fun day.  Now I need to plan our upcoming day at Disneyland!

Our annual pass to Legoland is coming to an end so we decided to sneak in one last visit.  I told the kids this might be the last time they go until they bring their own kids!

We arrived before it opened, or so we thought.  It seemed like they had already let people in the park.

The lines were minimal, so we rode on the dragon roller coaster two times in a row.

One ride we had not done in a while is Skipper School.  D looks a little nervous handing over the wheel to n!

It is nice to see all of the Christmas decorations.

We watched the Lego Friends Christmas show.  I was pleasantly surprised the cast actually sings (not lip sync).

The snow at the end was a nice surprise, although k does not seem too impressed.

Too bad Legoland does not have sledding anymore!

We also did a quick walk through the aquarium.

On Saturday we had free tickets to the UCLA Women’s Basketball game through k’s basketball league.  We invited my parents since my dad is a UCLA alum and an avid UCLA sports fan.

It was Nikkei Appreciation Day, so they honored a couple of pioneering Nikkei women basketball players.

The game was pretty exciting.  UCLA trailed in the beginning, then pulled ahead.  Baylor brought it back to a four point differential, but UCLA kept the lead through the end.  According to D, UCLA was ranked #8 and Baylor was #3.

k had fun sitting with her teammates.  However, they were not enthusiastic enough to make the Jumbo Tron.

One of k’s teammates participated in a half-time contest.  She did not win, but it was close, and I am not sure the other competitor completely followed the rules.

The alumni band was there.  We heard the official marching band outside practicing for the UCLA-USC football game that night.

This ended up being practically an all-day event due to horrendous traffic.  However, we were home just in time to watch the Cal v. Stanford game (us) and the UCLA v. USC game (my dad).