After an eventful Disneyland Travel Day, we awoke to the comfort of our Disney’s Grand Californian hotel room. Today was a special day for the family, Hunter’s 11th birthday! As with all of the birthdays in the Hayes household, it was guaranteed to be filled with excitement! We were excited for Steakhouse 55 breakfast, dinner at Storytellers, and tons of time playing in the parks!
Tuesday, March 20th – Hunter’s Birthday
Marking the first time in family history, Emily was the first one to arise on a vacation day. Knowing that we had a full slate of activities for the day she hopped in the shower and got ready. Hunter awoke shortly after to the surprise of the birthday themed hotel room. Hunter was most excited for the table of presents that lay in front of him on the hotel desk. Although he opened most of his presents at home, Emily brought a few things to make his actual birthday special. Being the thoughtful mother she is, she even brought a couple things for Sawyer to open. They got some pajamas, a few little toys, and a couple of Disney gift cards for souvenir shopping.
Disney’s California Adventure Morning
Disney’s California Adventure was calling and we were excited to answer the call. We packed our day backpack and headed through the Disney’s Grand Californian entrance into the park. We were surprised how empty the park upon entering. Hunter’s top priority for his birthday was riding Radiator Springs racers so we made a beeline for the Fastpasses. Our aggressive morning routine yielded us Radiator Springs Fastpasses between 9:20 and 10:20 a.m!
Having secured our golden tickets for the morning we strolled to Cars Land at the back of Disney’s California Adventure park. Cars Land definitely had a different feel as the majority of the morning visitors had congregated in the land. We admired the building details as we strolled through the land. Hunter, still wearing his birthday Mickey Ears, agreed to have his photo with Tow Mater. Tow Mater even sung Happy Birthday to Hunter, just as he had done on our Hunter’s 9th birthday! The boys also got their photo with Mater’s buddy Lightning McQueen.
With plenty of time until our Radiator Springs Fastpasses, we walked over to the Paradise Pier section of the park. This area is another one of our favorites as there are a few rides that are chill enough for us all to partake in. The four of us hopped a ride on the Golden Zephyr, which is a relatively calm spinning ride that flies you around above the park. Emily took the boys on Goofy’s Sky School, which is a little too much for my delicate stomach. We finished off our Paradise Pier visit with a couple of rides on the Jumping Jellyfish.
It was finally time for the featured morning activity, Radiator Springs Racers! When we visited Disneyland in 2016, the boys fell in love with this ride. They had been talking about getting back on the ride ever since we left back in 2016. The ride certainly delivered as Hunter and Sawyer had an absolute blast. Great way to get Hunter’s birthday off to a great start!
Steakhouse 55 Breakfast – Disneyland Hotel
After enjoying our early morning in Disney California Adventure park, we were all ready for a late breakfast. Hunter requested his birthday breakfast be at one of his and Emily’s favorite locations, Steakhouse 55. This cozy eatery is located across the property at the Disneyland Hotel. We enjoyed our morning walk through Downtown Disney, against the crowd heading into the parks. We needed to hustle a bit but made it just in time for our reservation. Not exactly sure why we were worried as we almost had the restaurant to ourselves.
We placed our orders, struggling to select from the amazing menu. Hunter and Sawyer both ordered the Chicken & Waffle breakfast with a hot chocolate to drink. Emily’s mouth had been watering all morning looking forward to ordering Eggs Benedict I went out of my comfort zone and ordered the Pork Belly Chilaquiles. This was basically eggs with tortilla chips and salsa. To finish off our breakfast, our server brought Hunter a Mickey dome dessert to celebrate being 11!
After breakfast Hunter asked to swing through the LEGO store on our way back to the resort. With gift cards burning a hole in his pocket, he was ready to do some shopping. He found a set of race cars that he wanted and that fit his budget. Sawyer wanted a superhero set that the store didn’t have in stock. They encouraged us to stop back later in the week to see if it came in one of their shipments.
Disneyland Park – Afternoon Fun
With the late morning weather warming a bit, we returned to the room to drop off our sweatshirts and LEGOs. The visit wasn’t long lived as we were back out again on our way to Disneyland Park. During our time at Disney’s California Adventure a cast member told us about the new MaxPass. The MaxPass allows you to book Fastpasses via your cell phone similar to Walt Disney World. The main difference being that you can only book same day Fastpasses. The MaxPass also includes all of your photos taken that day by PhotoPass. We decided that Hunter’s birthday would be the perfect day to test it out.
Our first stop at Disneyland Park was our pre-booked FastPass at Haunted Mansion. Haunted Mansion has become of our our favorite rides at Magic Kingdom in Orlando. The ride at Disneyland has some slight differences which makes it unique enough to ride. Following Haunted Mansion we hustled over to our next FastPass at the Indiana Jones attraction. Hunter was excited about the ride in theory, but when we were waiting in the queue line his excitement waned. He finally summoned his courage and was extremely happy that he did. Sawyer also loved the attraction as it was his first official ride requiring him to be 46″ tall.
Afternoon Snack & More Fun – Disneyland Park
Riding the high of the Indiana Jones attraction, we were ready for an afternoon snack. The Bengal BBQ was awaiting us as we exited the attraction. Emily and I shared some beef skewers and the boys got grapes, Cheetos, and pickles. It was during our snack time that Emily broke some devastating news to the boys. Earlier that day Emily discovered in her social news feed (thank you Kyle Raser) that Disney announced the closing of A Bug’s Land in late summer. Hunter was absolutely crushed that his favorite land (and thus ride, Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train) was going away.
After snacks, and a few tears, we continued on with our afternoon. We wanted to make the most out of our MaxPass so we headed to the Hub for some photos. We ping ponged between different photographers getting multiple photo backdrops. Emily secured a FastPass for her and the boys at Matterhorn. I happily sat that one out, capturing a time lapse and enjoying a churro. I think the ride was a bit more intense than they boys were ready for. Although Sawyer loved it and was ready to return, Hunter was fine being one and done on the mighty mountain.
We cruised over to Autopia for a competitive spin around the track. The boys’ favorite part of Autopia is being able to drive Mom and Dad around. We gripped the sides of our respective cars and hung on for dear life! Thank goodness they can’t get their licenses at 11 and 6 years old! As we were getting off the ride it started to sprinkle. This was our cue to head back to the room, but not before getting a few more family photos along the way.
Chill Time & Dinner at Storytellers Cafe – Disney’s Grand Californian
We returned to the room and enjoyed some time off of our worn feet. Hunter eagerly tore open his new LEGO set and got to work building during his break. Sawyer was happy flopping down in front of the TV watching Disney Junior. It was a much needed break from our active morning and afternoon.
Our break took us to our next activity, a 5:30 dinner reservation at Storytellers Cafe. Conveniently, the restaurant is located in the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. A quick walk downstairs and we checked in and were ready to eat. We were greeted by our friendly server, Yoko. After reviewing the menu the boys we fired up (pun intended) for the build your own pizza option. Emily, feeling the California vibes, ordered the corn chowder and avocado toast. I selected the shrimp pasta that was speaking to my stomach.
The boys received their pizza doughs and bowls of toppings at the table. They assembled their pizzas with just the right mix of toppings for their tastes. Yoko swung by and picked up the pizzas and whisked them back to the pizza oven. The cooked pizzas arrived with the rest of the food and we enjoyed our delicious dinner. For dessert Hunter ordered a chocolate chip cookie skillet (yes, it was as good as it sounds)! They followed up this dessert with the complimentary birthday cupcake to sing to Hunter.
Evening at Disney’s California Adventure park
After dinner our intention was to ride Buzz Lightyear at Disneyland Park, but unfortunately it was down. Instead, we agreed to enjoy the evening at Disney’s California Adventure park. Our first ride took us to Monstropolis with Mike and Sully. The Monsters Inc. ride is a slow dark ride attraction perfect for the Hayes family. We exited the ride and walked past a new area that has Marvel character meet and greets. We took the opportunity to meet with Captain America, vowing to return for other characters during our stay.
Our next destination was A Bug’s Land, armed with our newfound knowledge of its closing. Emily took the boys on Francis’s Ladybug Boogie, which makes me want to lose my lunch when I watch it. The boys were nostalgic as we walked through the land remembering all of our fun visits.
The grand finale of the evening was a visit to the newly renovated Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout attraction. Previously Tower of Terror, the ride was converted to Guardians in 2017. Being fans of the movie, we all agreed to go through the pre-show and determine who would continue on after that. After waffling a bit, Hunter decided to skip out on the attraction. Emily and Sawyer continued on. I don’t believe Sawyer knew exactly what he was getting into because he looked a bit shocked on exit. Emily said the people in their row kept checking on him for his reaction throughout. He said he loved it but he is in no hurry to go back!
We did a bit of shopping at the merchandise location at the Guardians ride before heading back to the resort. Sawyer wanted one last churro for the day which we provided for his bravery. Overall an amazing day around the Disneyland Resort. Happy 11th birthday Hunter! From Steakhouse 55 breakfast through our last photo at Disney’s California Adventure, we had an amazing day with you!
