Solo Christmas Trip 12/10/21 - Trying out Genie+!

[Jaina]

Since I went in November, and I'm going in early February, and since December is SO BUSY, I was going to skip this month, and maybe do a solo trip in January. But I was sad about not being there for all the Christmas decor and excitement, so my DH just booked me a flight (with Southwest points) so I could be gone less (one night and like 36 hours vs two nights and 7 hours of driving on either end) and still get to enjoy all of that. So I'm calling it my Christmas present (because a day at Disneyland during Christmas by myself is way more exciting than most things, especially without the 14 hours of driving!).

And I was hoping that Genie+ wouldn't come out before then, but I guess that hope is null. Oh well - we'll find out how it goes, especially NOT getting there at rope drop, which is weird for me. I'll be flying into SNA right at 8 AM, getting an Uber to my hotel (America's Best Value Inn and Suites) to drop off my bag, and then walking in. I'm hoping to be there by 9:30, 10 at the latest. Then I'll stay until midnight hopefully (1 AM AZ time after getting up at 5:30, ugh!) and park hop til I drop! I have a reservation at the Magic Key Terrace, but I think I'm going to drop it so I can mostly try seasonal stuff instead...

Pictures from my last solo Disney-at-Christmas trip in 2019, when I got to see the Candlelight Processional!

 

[abbeyroad6282]

I love this and how supportive your husband is. I am excited to read your TR. I always enjoy your reports. We have some similarities. I have 4 kids and often do one-on-one trips with them. I either drive (from Reno) or fly for just a day or two. I totally understand the benefit of cost savings for one night hotel stays! My son and I did a 1-day Christmas trip this past Sunday the 5th so just missed Genie Plus. I am doing my first solo trip since 2017 February 5-6 (half day each day, flying on points). Enough of my rambling haha! I am super curious about how your experience solo is and with Genie plus in play. I hope you have a wonderful time and I am excited for you!

 

[Jaina]

I love this and how supportive your husband is. I am excited to read your TR. I always enjoy your reports. We have some similarities. I have 4 kids and often do one-on-one trips with them. I either drive (from Reno) or fly for just a day or two. I totally understand the benefit of cost savings for one night hotel stays! My son and I did a 1-day Christmas trip this past Sunday the 5th so just missed Genie Plus. I am doing my first solo trip since 2017 February 5-6 (half day each day, flying on points). Enough of my rambling haha! I am super curious about how your experience solo is and with Genie plus in play. I hope you have a wonderful time and I am excited for you!

I totally would have done another half day if my Believe pass wasn't blocked out on Saturdays right now! That would have been super fun, and I'll probably do something like that on another solo trip sometime this summer. I've done that driving too. (I think that's what I did for my last December trip, actually) How long is your drive from Reno? 6-7 hours seems long, but it's a lot better than the 8-9 it always was growing up, when I lived more southeast than I do now. I will be there February 5th-6th (with my sister and two SIL's) too! That's my next trip after this one.

 

[noodle73]

A day at Disney is the best Christmas present! Are you planning to buy G+? Very excited to see how it goes!

 

[Jaina]

A day at Disney is the best Christmas present! Are you planning to buy G+? Very excited to see how it goes!

How could I not, just to check it out?

 

[abbeyroad6282]

I totally would have done another half day if my Believe pass wasn't blocked out on Saturdays right now! That would have been super fun, and I'll probably do something like that on another solo trip sometime this summer. I've done that driving too. (I think that's what I did for my last December trip, actually) How long is your drive from Reno? 6-7 hours seems long, but it's a lot better than the 8-9 it always was growing up, when I lived more southeast than I do now. I will be there February 5th-6th (with my sister and two SIL's) too! That's my next trip after this one.

Hi! Hope you're having a great Disneyland day today! Can't wait to read all about it!
Reno is about an 8-9 hour drive from Anaheim. I love the first half of the drive on US 395, so beautiful but I do not love how long it is or driving the L.A. freeways.
My son and I flew into LAX last weekend, had gotten great nonstop flight deals, but getting from the airport to our motel was more than I wanted to pay (there are almost no nonstop flights from Reno to SNA but I still think we will go that route next time we fly).
Anyway, if our solo trips ever overlap, maybe we can meet up and do a ride together or something. Have a great day!

 

[Jaina]

Hi! Hope you're having a great Disneyland day today! Can't wait to read all about it!
Reno is about an 8-9 hour drive from Anaheim. I love the first half of the drive on US 395, so beautiful but I do not love how long it is or driving the L.A. freeways.
My son and I flew into LAX last weekend, had gotten great nonstop flight deals, but getting from the airport to our motel was more than I wanted to pay (there are almost no nonstop flights from Reno to SNA but I still think we will go that route next time we fly).
Anyway, if our solo trips ever overlap, maybe we can meet up and do a ride together or something. Have a great day!

It was a good day! That is about what the drive was when I was growing up, and it's a long one. I don't feel like much of our drive is beautiful. Mostly desert, and then California freeways, which definitely keep me on my toes! But we don't have to go through the LA area at least! I don't think it would be worth it for me to trade the 6-7 hour drive to fly into LAX, with how much a rideshare or renting a car would be.

 

[Jaina]

#013220
Jumping right in, so hopefully some people can get some value from this. It seems like conditions change so rapidly in the parks!

My alarm was set for like 5:20 for my 7:30 flight (no bags to check, and about 15-20 min to the airport - everything was ready to go, so I thought I could get ready in 15 minutes!) but unfortunately I woke up almost an hour before my alarm, and couldn't get back to sleep. I knew this could be a long day, but at least I had time to get ready, right? That was nice, because I was planning to put my makeup on at the airport, but this way it was one less thing to lug with me! I left the house about 5:45 (yes, 3 of my kids were already awake, the little crazies) and got to the airport (Sky Harbor in Phoenix) at 6:05 AM.

Security was no problem that time of day on this Friday, so I had plenty of time to wait for my plane. I had scored an early boarding group (in the A's for Southwest) so I was hoping to get a seat close to the front so I could get off and get to Disney faster! You all know that every 5 minutes counts in the first part of the day! I got a seat in row 5, and our flight was busy but not full, so no one in the middle seat. That's always nice. I had gone back and forth about scheduling an Uber or a Lyft, but didn't know what time for sure I'd get in and find the pick up spot, so I finally decided to just take the day as it came. I'm glad, because I would have schedule it for like 8:20 to be safe (I was supposed to arrive at 7:55 local time) and I ended up getting one for the same price as the pre-book would have been, at most like 8 AM. I usually talk to the driver, but I got a little warned off of that after my last trip from SNA to Disney that was more like 30 minutes, and I heard the driver's whole sad current-life-state. It was a little awkward. This time I chose to just be silent and thank and tip them at the end, and it was a lot better for me, personally.

I was dropped at my hotel, America's Best Value Inn & Suites. It's on Katella just past the Wyndham where I stayed with my husband before. Totally different class of hotel, but the price was right ($107 total I think, for just one queen bed) and the walk wasn't bad. The guy at the window/desk (they don't really have a lobby) was friendly and took my luggage for me to hold, asking me about when I'd be back. "11? 12?" Haha. He didn't give me a claim check or anything, which made me mildly nervous, but I decided not to worry about it. I didn't have anything irreplaceable in my bad, but I'm pretty fond of the luggage itself. DH got it for me for Mother's Day last year:

At 8:16 I headed down Katella towards the ultimate destination! The walk was less than 15 minutes, and I was going through the turnstiles to CA at 8:30.

I wasn't sure the best thing to do at this point, but knew the lines for RSR and Guardians were already crazy, and since I started at Pixar Pier the last two trips, I decided to go to Soarin' first (after saying hi to Pluto!) The line was just barely on the outside of the hangar, but it still took more than 15 minutes to board. I got put in B3, which I don't remember riding in anytime in the last few years. I usually finangle for B1 when I'm riding with people who've never been on, or haven't been in a long time. The feet were distracting, but the view and perspective was decent otherwise, unlike the side of A or C. I rode at 8:49 AM.

I had been looking at my app (when I had service - Soarin', remember?) trying to figure out how to purchase Genie+, but even though my app was updated, it wasn't giving me any options for that. Hmm. I decided to head over to Guardians, which said 25 min (it had said 45 when I walked in) and got in line. Liar. It was a full 60 minutes, and probably my longest wait of the day! I rode at 10:05 AM. When we got up there, only 2 elevators were running, which had affected the wait time some I'm sure. It was a good ride, but once again there was a lady happily maskless in the picture, so I couldn't download my pic later. :-( I haven't scored a Guardians pic since they re-instituted the masks-indoors requirement. Sigh. Still, Guardians remains my favorite ride at CA!

Well, I had been in the park over an hour and a half and only ridden 2 rides, which was an inauspicious beginning. However, I had finally figured out how to purchase Genie+ (I literally had to go to the map, click on a ride, and click on the LL, at which point it gave me the option) and had booked TSMM for between 10 and 11, and I had also mobile ordered the Creamy Pesto Alfredo Cone at the Cozy Cones (holiday offering) and I was -starving- at that point. I had only had a Built bar at like 7 AM that morning so far, and had done a lot of walking. I noticed how cute the flora is around the Cozy Cones. I've never noticed before how they chose things that all have orange blossoms, some of which do look like little cones almost!

The pasta was super good, but just a little bit of spice. I had never had one of those bread cones, and it was just okay. I took a few bites of it. Would eat the pasta again, though I won't be back during Christmas this year. I also touched base with my little brother (he's 23, married, and they have a baby, but I was almost 16 when he was born, so he'll always be "little" to me!). He was visiting the parks for 3 days with his wife's family, and it just happened to be one of the same days I was there! That happened on our last trip too, with one of my other brother's family! Anyway, they had gotten a little lost walking in (they said they couldn't walk up into Downtown Disney from the south walkway? Disney had it blocked off?) and got a late start, so were just coming in at 10:30.

 

[evilmommie]

So fun! Love all of your pics!!!

 

[Jaina]

So fun! Love all of your pics!!!

Thanks for following along!

 

[Jaina]

My brother and SIL weren't sure where they were headed first, so I went over to Pixar Pier to use my TSMM LL. Carsland decorations were, as usual, a treat!

I enjoy Toy Story, but not enough to wait more than 5-10 minutes for it by myself. So LL made it so I still got to ride. Plus, with the 3-D aspect and the spinning, I usually feel just ever so slightly nauseated afterwards. On the way over I checked out some of the Festival of Holidays offerings and tried two cute baby macarons from Kayla's Cakes. Cookies and Cream and Pecan Pie, I think. They were good, but I don't think that macarons are my preferred sugar-delivery system. LL was about 5 min for TSMM at that time of the day. (10:40)

While in line I booked a LL for Goofy's Sky School. I would have gone on IC since I was right there, and I'm sure the line wouldn't have been -too- bad, but it was down much of the morning every time I checked. I went on the Silly Symphony swings on my way over to Goofy's, and waited about 15 minutes for that one, surprisingly, and an extra 5-6 minutes to get going. They seemed to be doing something extra with the tandem swings that was taking forever. That one also makes me a touch dizzy, but I still love the feeling of flying so much I usually ride it anyway. I was enjoying the beautiful cool weather and actually getting to wear my new Christmas sweatshirt. I tend to run hot, and often can't wear jackets/sweatshirts a lot.

I headed over to Goofy's, but when I got there, the LL looked like it would take 5-10 minutes, and there was only one person in line for single rider, so...

I canceled my LL after I rode, which allowed me to book my next one even though I hadn't signed in. I couldn't decide what I wanted to use though. I wanted to wait until later for Guardians, and I was on my way to meet my brother, so I just waited. After being used to using Maxpass constantly (without the one-ride-each limitation) I always had 1-3 Maxpasses waiting! My brother's extended family had had a stressful morning, so he had offered to keep the baby and get her to sleep (she's 4 months) while my SIL rode with her family and little nieces on Monsters, Inc. The line they stood in was seriously long though. We had fun visiting and just relaxing from like 11:45 to 12:45 while we waited for them. It took them about 45 minutes to ride Monsters, Inc. The standby lines on the "little" rides often seemed a bit out of proportion to me that day.

We met back up with them and caught the random holiday character parade (super short) that I didn't know was happening. So that was fun.

I continued to hang out with them while they decided what to do. We attempted RSR, but it was confusing trying to figure out who was going to go on the ride and who would stay with the baby and the 3 year old niece. Five of us headed into line (I told my brother I must love him - it said it was 90 min at 1:00 PM...) but my brother and I were kind of behind the grandpa, uncle, and niece, and we were like... um, let's do single rider, then we can be back that much sooner to hang out with the non-riders! So we jumped in single rider and waited like 10 minutes. (1:10 PM) Our cars raced each other, and I won, haha. There was a sweet mother and younger teen (I think) special needs boy in the front seat with me, and he was so nervous yet excited. At one point after the race he was holding his mom's hand on one side and had his arm through mine on the other. I was glad he enjoyed it and that it wasn't quite too much for him. His mom was so great at helping him know what was coming and at reassuring him.

When we got back the set of people who were -going- to wait in line had decided against it because they saw the standby line jump to 120 minutes when they were barely in it, and the 5-year-old just wasn't up for anywhere near that wait. So they had all ordered at the Cozy Cones and were waiting for food. After much discussion, my brother and SIL ordered too, but then had 30 minutes before their window opened, so I went with them and my baby niece to ride Ariel, which was walk-on. (1:45 PM) Yay! Good old Ariel. It's kind of the worst when it's a 20 minute wait there but whoever I'm with still wants to wait that long, haha.

I was ready to not sit around trying to decide what to do, even though it was very nice to see them and hang out for a few hours. (I'd already seen them 2-3 times in the last two months) I booked an immediate LL return on Incredicoaster (which was finally open) in case it was closed later again, and we parted ways.

 

[Jaina]

Yay Incredicoaster! I love it (and Guardians) the most in CA. I got in my Lightning Lane line at 2 PM and was riding by 2:06 PM. Always so much fun! I don't remember how long the standby line was, but it was outside the normal queue according to the picture. It was also one of the only times of day it was warm enough that I wanted my sweatshirt off. At least until I was ready to ride.

I was ready to hop over to Disneyland at this point, but wanted to take a roundabout path and see more stuff. The Christmas Decorations over by Grizzly River are the cutest! Also, as I was headed pass the little shops as you exit the airfield area, I spotted this churro. I'm a big fan of pecans, and maple, and churros, PLUS I had this gift card with the exact price on it (so obv meant to be) and I decided to try it. Probably one of my favorite churros I've ever had, mostly likely due to my preferences. Zero regrets! And this was one treat I was okay not having anyone to share it with.

And time to enter Disneyland! It was 2:40 when I entered. I had a Lightning Lane for Space Mountain starting at 2:50, but enjoyed my walk over there, and seeing these little cuties:

I entered the Space Mountain queue at 2:48 and was boarding 15 minutes later. (Lots of that was just walking through). Love me some Space Mountain! I also grabbed a LL for the Matterhorn for 3:10 after I scanned in. I rode that at 3:20.

I think I had an immediate return LL for It's a Small World Holiday at that point, because I rode it at 3:34. I enjoy the holiday version of Small World so much! It's not something (holiday or not) that I ever feel like riding more than once a trip, but it's usually enjoyable once.

It's kind of crazy how early it starts getting "sunsetty" that time of year - these pictures were taken at 4 PM!

I also caught a cute photo op with Eeyore and Pooh. I have said it before, but I actually enjoy these interactions a little more than the close ups with characters. They have room and freedom to play and be silly, and it's so cute. (And less awkward, haha)

I had a most delicious dinner at the Plaza. I wasn't quite hungry enough for a full fried chicken meal without sharing it, but I really wanted fried chicken. So I got a kid's portion and a nice big garden salad, and it was perfect!

Such a beautiful time of evening! (About 4:30 PM) This is also when I rode one of my favorites, the Carousel, and if you've read any of my other trip reports, you know I'm always super excited when I get to ride my friend Jingles! That last picture was my FB profile picture through the rest of December.

 

[Jaina]

I walked over to New Orleans Square (so beautiful!) and used G+to ride the Haunted Mansion, which made it walk on at 5 PM. I don't love the HM, because spooky is not my thing, but I can always appreciate, and I enjoy the brighter overlay of TNBC. As always, the gingerbread smelled amazing. The hitchhiking ghost effect was not working.

Since I was close, I mobile ordered a seasonal dessert I'd been wanting to try, and went to ride Winnie the Pooh, which is one of my favorite dark rides. It was completely walk on, and I was on at 5:15.

I ordered the pumpkin cheesecake funnel cake at the Hungry Bear, and this was the main time it pained me to be by myself, It was SO good, especially with the ice cream, and it was so sad to have to throw almost half of it out (or risk making myself sick). Sad day! The pumpkin filling was probably my least favorite part, but it added nice flavor in small doses.

I was ready to hop back over to CA to ride a few things, and enjoyed the beautiful views on my way out. For some reason they were routing some Main St. traffic around the back. (Construction? Temporary busy time? Was the parade going? I have no idea a few months later) and I got to see the back of Walt's apartment (the access part) which I don't remember noticing before, even though I've walked back there before. I also took a moment to appreciate a few classic posters in the walkway. (Though it does pain me to call this Splash Mountain poster "classic," since I was a kid when it opened...)

Over at CA (just past 6 PM) I took a moment to get a couple Photopass pictures of myself with the tree. This cute magic shot showed up.

I just took a walking tour of a few areas to see their nighttime decor (Carsland, then through Pacific Wharf, and on to Pixar Pier) before I got in the single rider line for Incredicoaster. I always love to ride it in the day then at night as well if possible. Sorry the pictures aren't great quality. I'm never up for lugging a DSLR around with me, and I can only use that on auto anyway. My husband is the photographer (skill-wise) in the family. I'm all about just documenting the memories.

While we waited in the single rider line, there was a little bit of commotion and excitement when Jojo Siwa and her entourage (she was there with a bunch of little pre-teens and some adults as well) were walked through our "line" by their plaid and rode right in front of us. They were acting pretty hyped up. No one tried to talk to them or bother them, but it caused a minor stir. None of my kids have been into her stuff, but I recognized her, and the girls behind me were pretty excited. The ride was, of course, great. I waited 20 minutes in the single rider line, and rode at 6:40.

As I walked over to Carsland, there was a really cool Jewish music group playing by the Wine Country Trattorio. I took some video, because they were having so much fun, and I enjoyed listening/watching for a few minutes!

I really enjoy riding the smaller Carsland rides at night, so I took a spin on Mater's (waited 10 minutes and rode at 7) and Luigi's (waited 16-17 min and rode at 7:20). Not quite as fun alone as with someone, but still enjoyable, and fun to do the Christmas overlays again.

Even with the LL that I had saved for Guardians, it took 30 minutes in line to ride Guardians at 7:56. Always worth that wait though! I swear I haven't been able to download a picture for that ride since the reinstituted masks at the end of July though. Someone always has their mask off in that big of a group!

Time to BACK over to Disneyland! I wanted to get a spot for fireworks!

 

[momtohms]

My hubs and I were there the same day! I totally had to zoom in your pics to see if we appeared in the background (we didn’t, lol) - but maybe we unknowingly passed each other at some point. Too fun!

Love your report! I’m going completely solo in June and I can’t wait!

 

[Jaina]

My hubs and I were there the same day! I totally had to zoom in your pics to see if we appeared in the background (we didn’t, lol) - but maybe we unknowingly passed each other at some point. Too fun!

Love your report! I’m going completely solo in June and I can’t wait!

That's so cool! I'm guessing we did, because sometimes I see the same people 4-5 times in a day! Have such a great trip in June! I'm not sure when I'll go solo next, but I'm guessing maybe Dec or Jan.

 

[erinch]

Hoping you will finish this report!

 

[Jaina]

Hoping you will finish this report!

You and me both! (I think I will... I have a trip coming in a week and half that has my attention right now!) Thanks so much for letting me know you'd like to hear more!

 

[lwanthony]

You and me both! (I think I will... I have a trip coming in a week and half that has my attention right now!) Thanks so much for letting me know you'd like to hear more!

Poke Poke...... the cliff hanger of good fireworks viewing is killing me! Did she make it? Were they awesome? What did she eat after??? Help a brother out, I am losing sleep worrying about how things turned out!

 

[Jaina]

Poke Poke...... the cliff hanger of good fireworks viewing is killing me! Did she make it? Were they awesome? What did she eat after??? Help a brother out, I am losing sleep worrying about how things turned out!

Oh, wow. Um, I have no idea if I did or not! I'll have to look back at the pictures and see what happened next! All of these trip reports kind of stalled out when Imgur stopped linking images for a really long time and I didn't realize it was working again. So that's exciting news! My life is super duper busy at this point, (but not too busy for Disney trips...) but just for you I'm going to wrap up this trip report! Give me an hour. ;-)

 

[Jaina]

Okay, since realizing that Imgur is working again, and knowing that at least one person still reads trip reports (),let's wrap up this trip, at least what I can tell from my picture trail...

I re-entered Disneyland by 8:15, but I think there must have been some kind of magical Christmas projection thing that happened before fireworks, because at 8:20 PM this was my view:

It's rarely hard to get a partway decent spot for fireworks when you're solo. There are so many little spots you can just slide into. Were the fireworks at 8:30? That seems early... I'm so confused! Everything points to that being right, but some of the data on my pics confuses me. I have screenshots that with the time that point to that being right though, so we're just going with it...

After fireworks I definitely had a corn dog from the Red Car Trolley, and then I used a LL to ride Autopia. (Which is kinda fun-ish. Mostly nostalgic) I won't wait for that one, even when the line is short, unless I have a small child who's excited about it, but with almost no wait, sure!

After that I got in the Space Mountain single rider line a little after 10 (I haven't tried that since they brought it back; I haven't had a single trip in a bit, but I'm headed there Thursday and Saturday this week! (Doing Friday with friends!) and was on within 15 minutes.

Rode Star Tours with a LL at 10:15-sh, and got another LL for my favorite Disneyland after-dark ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. (Wow. One-day-Disney-me-before-I-turned-40 is hardcore...)

I finished off the night in one of my favorite places for that: Fantasyland. I love all the happy lights and shortish (sometimes walk-on) rides that late, and it feels brighter and happier than being in the darker areas of the park, helping me feel less tired, I think.

Absolutely love the Small World lights at Christmas time! (And all the lights, of course...)

Last treat of the night, because who doesn't need ice cream at almost midnight?

I do have a little video from it, but I don't know if I can pull out enough that's watchable. We'll see if that happens.