Wow, I can't believe how old Izzy is. I was reading your Aulani trip report last year. We live in Florida and have been to WDW hundreds of times over the years and did our first trip to
Disneyland back in June. We LOVED it.
Oh, yay, I'm glad you loved Disneyland after visiting WDW so often! I loved that whole familiar-yet-different aspect. All the novelty, but still feeling like your happy place. Can't wait to go back!
Good to see you back on the TR . Omgoodness life can take some big turns and derail you for awhile .Love seeing Izzy's reaction to her late night cookie sugar rush.
Thanks and it sure can!
So good to see you again the other day.
And, yeah, that was a little bigger bedtime snack than normal for her...
So glad you are back and happy to see you enjoyed your time in France! We are planning a similar trip next summer with time in Paris and Disneyland Paris of course! If I recall correctly, I believe you said you were staying at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile? That’s where we are staying using free Hyatt points, so if that was correct would you mind sharing your experience there? We are also saying at the Disneyland hotel so excited to see that was great too.
Hi! Yes, that's just what we did! Between both of us getting the Hyatt cards and bonuses, we had enough to stay 5 nights free at the Hyatt Regency Etoile! We were on the 31st floor and did NOT have an Eiffel Tower view, but it was still a great view. They actually offered to try to switch us after our first night (it was full that night), but we never had time to pack up and move rooms, so we let it be (free rooms don't include the view rooms, but they seemed willing to accommodate anyway). Room was nice and updated since they remodeled recently. Small, but that's normal in Paris. We had a nice pull-out couch they made up for Izzy. There's a Starbucks in the lobby if you need a snack/drink. We did room service once and it was fine, nothing special. Fridge in the room, but no microwave. The hotel is attached to a mall and that mall has a grocery store and other places to find food, so that worked for breakfasts. The mall has a metro stop in it as well, which was really convenient. The location of the hotel isn't necessarily in the center of the action, but I liked that it was well connected and felt safe and easy to get to and from wherever we wanted to go. Let me know if you have more specific questions, though, I'm just spewing out random thoughts.
The Disneyland Hotel will spoil you for life! I still can't get over it. The hotel itself is fine, but nothing I'd get overly excited about. But the location is amazing. We went through security when we arrived...and that's IT. Free valet parking (we had a rental car) and we basically just lived at Disneyland for a few days. Our room was on the first floor and we just walked down the hall, out a door, over to the gates, then into the park. I ran back to the room once to drop off our jackets and use the restroom and I was back in the park in 5 minutes. Can't do that at WDW or DLR! Be sure to bring breakfast, though - it is hard to find anything to eat in the mornings there!
We had so much fun, and I was really happy to get to spend some time in a Disney park with you and your family! I loved how well Izzy and Landon got along.
Izzy looks so young in these photos! My goodness, it's hard to believe your DL wasn't that long ago.
Happy you guys got a waterfront table, even if it was next to the kitchen.
Now that you have been on three versions of Big Thunder, which one is your favorite? The fan in me is curious!
Great family photo.
The photos from Paint the Night looked awesome. Looks like a more modern, fun version of MSEP.
But what a bummer that the fireworks didn't run that night.
Izzy and Landon were so cute together. True DIS-kids - feeling like they've known each other forever, just like DIS-adults often do. It was so great meeting you guys and hanging out and letting the kids play!
I know, Izzy looks so tiny in this DLR TR - time goes so fast and they grow so much! Ugh, Big Thunder - that's hard! I think I said something to you about loving the Paris version and I really, really did - it felt different and faster and wilder to me. But I can't wait to visit DLR's again because I remember being blown away by the special effects in it and need to see it again. And of course WDW is the classic that made me fall in love with BTMRR as a kid. I'm leaning towards DLP as favorite, though.
Paint the Night looks like so much fun! So does Izzy's cookie - haha. Can you remind me of what time of year you were there?
Haha, both were really fun! Yes, we were there in February. This next trip is in August. I'd say much hotter, but it was an unusually warm streak when we were there in Feb, so we'll see. We liked going that time of year, but this August trip is spurred by a wedding, so we couldn't choose the dates this time. I'd go back in Feb in the future, though.
Fun to hear more about your trip! I am still kind of sad that I didn't get to see Paint the Night on Main Street. I still hope I get to see it while it's at California Adventure! I'm sure it is that much more fun to Disney with her now that she's tall enough to ride pretty much everything!
I'm so out of the Disney loop lately that this actually was helpful to me because I was confused about the PtN dining package being in California Adventure when I remembered seeing PtN in Disneyland - now I understand!
I hope you get to see it! And, yes, I love that she's tall enough to ride most things and that she LOVES the thrill rides. After baby swapping for a few years, it's so nice to be able to ride as a family!