Chapter 2. I Just Need to Make a Quick Call.
Time to go to Disneyland!
We called the same guy who Sherry had booked the airport ride with and asked him to get us someone to drive us down to Disney, except this time we specified we did not need a party bus. He set us up with Zalman, who was from Brooklyn, and drove us to Anaheim in his suburban. The ride was about an hour. Tzvi was on calls for most of it. Finally we drove through the magical gates and pulled up to the Disneyland Hotel, home for the next three nights.
We checked in but our room wasn’t ready so we changed into bathing suits and went to the pool. There are four different pools and one has these great waterslides that are monorail themed. We swam for a while and went on the slides. We also ordered a drink and some food. The girls had pizza and Tzvi and I shared chips and guac. It was a perfect afternoon for me and the girls. Unfortunately Tzvi was on a call for most of it. I guess this is a good time to explain that Tzvi has been working on a big project that supposed to close at the end of the month. It’s pretty bad timing, but there was nothing he could do about it, so we knew he was going to have to work a lot on this trip. A lot of the afternoon calls were actually about trying to get his client to delay the project (not just because he wanted to save his vacation, but because he actually thought that was in their best interest), but it didn’t seem like they were going to do that.
Around 4pm we got our rooms. The rooms are very nice and spacious have that Disney magic. The headboard even lights up and plays ‘When You Wish Upon a Star.’ We quickly changed and showered and headed out for our evening in Disneyland. Tzvi was on a call for the entire walk through downtown Disneyland, and when we finally made it to the entrance we had to stand around waiting for him to finish before we could scan our tickets and enter the park. It felt like money going down the drain every minute, but I guess he was making money every minute he’s on the phone, so it all evens out.
We headed straight to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where the girls had a princess makeover scheduled. Madeleine wore her Elsa dress, but Hallie had said she was too old for a costume. Though of course once we got there she saw the Moana costume, which is a crop top, and decided she wasn’t too old after all. It was such a nice experience. First you shop and then they take you into the salon where they do your hair and nails and makeup. They were really turned into princesses and loved the pampering. It was so nice, it just took forever. By the time we were done, our kids had turned into princesses and day had turned into night. Also, at the end you take photos, and our photographer was Jonathan from Gaza, Palestine. First time I’ve seen that in Disney.
Finally it was time to do some rides. We started with Matterhorn, which is Tzvi’s favorite ride and is best at night. Hallie liked it but was scared of the Yeti. Tzvi took the girls on tea cups, which Madeleine has been waiting for and talking about for weeks. She had the best time. We did Small World, and the Carousel. We were all ready for fireworks but then found out that they only do them on weekends, and instead do some Halloween projections. How pathetic. I know I say all the time how Disney World is superior to Disneyland, but this is next level.
It was so hard because we wanted to be in the park but also wanted to be able to be up the next morning, so we headed back and got the kids to bed. We hadn’t actually eaten yet, so Tzvi stopped at Black Tap in Downtown Disney and got veggie burgers and a massive cookie milkshake. As usual when he’s really hungry he overordered, so he also got fried brussels sprouts and teriyaki broccoli. We sat on the floor of the room and ate. It was great. Then we went got into bed. I’ve been watching the same episode of the West Wing for three days now, because I keep falling asleep. Tzvi stayed up and finished the episode for the third time, and then did work until he passed out on his keyboard.
Tuesday morning we woke up at 7am and actually made it out by 8am. Tzvi was on a call before we even made it to Downtown Disney security. It’s such a schlep to get from the hotel to the front of the park. Usually you can take the Monorail but it’s down for renovations.
We got a nice photo in front of the castle and then went for breakfast at the Plaza Inn. It was Minnie and Friends, so you take a picture with Minnie and then the friends come to the table. We saw Chip and Dale, Daisy, Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore (who’s the cutest). The breakfast is fine – typical Disney fare with Mickey waffles. You’re really paying for the characters.
Then we started our day. We went on a bunch of rides – Alice in Wonderland (Tzvi was on a call while we waited the 20 minutes on line), Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway, walked through Toon Town (Tzvi took a call from Mickey’s house), Roger Rabbit. Then my parents and Kira finally showed up around noon and met us at Buzz Lightyear.
We wanted pizza for lunch, but they didn’t want to give Kira pizza so they went to look for a tuna sandwich. We met up after lunch and all rode Haunted Mansion together, which has been rethemed for Halloween and is great but broke down while we were in the dining room with the ghosts spinning. Hallie loved it but started getting freaked out after a while. After that we rode Pirates, which broke down as soon as we got into the boats so we had to sit there for a while, but it was okay because Tzvi used the time to make a call. Then Tzvi sat and took calls while the rest of us did Small World (again). Then my parents left. At 4:30.I’m not saying we rearranged our Disney schedule only to get 4 hours (including multiple bathroom breaks) with my parents and Kira in Disneyland, but I’m also not saying we didn’t.
Finally we went on Dumbo, which Madeleine had been asking for all day long. She had the best time. Then we did Big Thunder and Madeleine actually went on, which was amazing. It was the most roller coaster like ride she’s ever been on. She was so scared but also loved it.
Tzvi took the girls on Jungle Cruise and then we met up with my friend Jessica, a fellow Disney addict who had just gotten to the park. It was great to have two Disney adults come together. We tried to recreate a photo we’d taken at Disney World years prior, but this time with our kids. It didn’t work, but it was a special moment.
We left the park around 630 and headed out. We were so hungry and basically falling apart. We were supposed to eat at a Mexican place in Downtown Disney, but I went to check it out and there was nothing on the menu for us to eat, so we went for Italian food at Naples instead. Good thing because we haven’t had enough pizza and pasta on this trip. We ordered way too much food, including a full size pizza. It was all pretty good.
We went back and put the kids to bed and started getting ready for tomorrow. We had planned to all wear a different Inside Out character shirts that we bought on Amazon specially for this trip, but when I was looking through the suitcases I discovered I had packed everyone’s except for Madeleine’s. I ran out to world of Disney to try to find a replacement for her but they had nothing so unfortunately we had to scrap that plan. #momfail.
By 10pm it was late enough on the east coast that Tzvi’s calls had stopped, so we decided to go get a drink at Trader Sam’s, the tiki bar at the hotel. We were seated at the bar, which is always an experience. There’s thunder and lightning and depending on what you order they do different things. We ordered a drink that was basically a huge bowl of rum and fruit juice with two long straws. The bartender lit it on fire and then did a whole show. It was fun and a nice way to relax at the end of an exhausting day. We went back to the room and I tried to finish the West Wing episode again. Tzvi did work until he fell asleep.
We woke up early the next morning. We had no breakfast plan so we grabbed breakfast from the hotel café and then walked over to California Adventure. No surprise, Tzvi was on the phone as we entered the park. We walked in and headed straight to Cars Land and rode Radiator Springs, which is always great. The line took longer than we expected so Tzvi had to push his 930 call with his client to 945. We actually got the photo pass guy to take a photo while Tzvi was on the call. The guy was like, “he’s on the phone” and I was like “that’s the point.” He didn’t get it, so I said, “It’s a work-cation.” He found that pretty funny. Tzvi was on the phone for a while so we did a Halloween Mickey and Minnie story time, which was fun, but at the end they gave out gummy candies we couldn’t eat. Then Hallie, Hadar and I did Guaradians of the Galaxy (the old Tower of Terror). Hallie was amazing and even put her hands up. I didn’t go on that ride until I was 17.
For lunch we went to this really good spot on the Avengers Campus called Pym’s Test Kitchen. I’ve never seen Antman but I guess the point of the movie is that Michael Douglas (Pym) is a scientist who figures out how to shrink and enlarge people (like Paul Rudd) and things. So the whole restaurant was shrunken and enlarged foods – we had a giant pretzel and a really good pasta with impossible meatballs – they gave you one normal sized meatball and one huge meatball, and the pasta was regular sized rigatoni with tiny rigatonis stuffed inside of it. We also had a huge $8 chocolate bar that had brownie, nougat, caramel, and even peanuts, but I had to get it because how could you not.
We spent the afternoon doing more rides. Hallie went on Incredicoaster, which goes upside down. I won Toy Story, of course, as I always do. Madeleine did the huge swings, which was really fun. I was so impressed with the girls and how they did their rides. They were great.
While we did all of that Tzvi found an outlet somewhere and sat on the ground charging and making calls and sending emails because he had run his battery down to 5% in only half a day.
For dinner we had a reservation at the Wine Country Trattoria. We had to wait a bit, and then we finally sat down around 7pm, which is 10pm in New York, and Tzvi is like, “ok, I can finally relax and enjoy dinner because it’s late in New York and the calls have stopped.” He even ordered a beer. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Hallie starts coughing. It was like the Saturday night coughing and she wouldn’t stop. So we had a very quick dinner and then Tzvi and Hallie and Hadar walked back to the hotel so Hallie could nebulize. Dinner was actually very good – Tzvi had fettuccini alfredo with salmon, I had salmon – but it was just so stressful.
Hallie nebulized and showered. Turns out it was too late in New York for calls, but not for emails. Tzvi did about a half hour of work on his laptop and waited to see how Hallie did. She was totally fine so he left her with Hadar and came back to the park. I think we tired Hadar out.
While Tzvi was gone, Madeleine stayed with me and we did more rides. We rode Monsters Inc, Inside Out, and did the Jellyfish again. We stayed for the World of Color Show but it seems like it’s impossible to get a good view unless you pay for it, so we couldn’t see much. We left the park and walked through Downtown Disney, stopping for an ice cream cone at Salt and Straw. It was good, but Madeleine was losing it. We were all losing it. We were exhausted.
We woke up Thursday morning, packed up and got ready to check out of the hotel. Tzvi had started emailing, getting ready for another day of work. And then, at 8:48am he received an email from his client saying that they had decided to delay the project a few months and wanted to regroup after the long weekend. Well, that was nice for our final two days of vacation, but it would’ve been nice if they’d made this decision three days earlier.
We made it to our 930am character breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen, the restaurant at the hotel. It was a great buffet – they had everything. An omelet station, Mickey waffles, French toast, pizza, Caesar salad and soft serve ice cream. They also had Minnie and Pluto and Chip and Dale. We told them it was Tzvi’s birthday and they brought a cupcake with a candle and sang to him. Fun last breakfast.
After that there we walked through Downtown Disney and did some shopping. Before we knew it, it was 1pm and the driver came to pick us up. It was very sad.
On to the next hotel!