Feb 1

Feb 1 Xmas at Disneyland

The most wonderful time of the year to be at Disneyland is definitely during the holidays. I love how Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, It's a Small World, and a handful of other rides and shows are "holiday-fied" and out of the ordinary. But let's be real. The best part of going to Disneyland is for the food! There's delicious food all the time at Disney no matter if it's the holidays or not, but there's also special and unique holiday food items only available for limited time. I picked up this cookie at Marceline's Confectionery in Downtown Disney prior to entering the park. Exhibit A: This gigantic Mickey ear chocolate chip cookie dipped in chocolate. I stared at this cookie for the longest time before finally pulling the trigger. Should I really be eating something so sweet? Do I really want it? Should I pay $5+ for one cookie? After much thought and consideration, the answer was yes. And boy was it worth it! I'm actually drooling over this cookie right now. It was so gooey, soft, and life-changing. Best chocolate cookie ever. Here's a peek at all the holiday caramel apples they had on display.

Jungle Cruise became Jingle Cruise for the holidays. The staff even changed the storyline of the ride.

It was finally time to put some real food in my body. I had to get a steak gumbo in a sourdough bread bowl from Royal Street Veranda. It's grab and go place so it's a great place to go when you don't want to have a formal sit down dinner. $9.99 is actually pretty affordable considering how filling the meal is. Two people could share an order.My friend ordered the same bowl with clam chowder, which was equally as delicious.

Here are some of the other holiday specials from Royal Street Veranda.So many things sweets!A peek at the Xmas Haunted Mansion. The kiosk right outside the Haunted Mansion has this must-buy Zero popcorn box. His nose even lights up. I really loved the new Baymax light up balloons. At this point, I was feeling a tad thirsty so I stopped by the Mint Julep Bar to get a mint julep. For a quick snack, I picked up 3 sugar powdered Mickey beignets from the Mint Julep Bar for good measure. I had to stop by and watch some caramel apple making goodness! And for all your Frozen fans, there are a slew of Frozen themed treats scattered throughout the park. At this point, I took a walk to the Grand Californian Hotel to check out the 500 pound larger than life gingerbread house. It was huge! This picture doesn't do it justice. I wish I took a picture of myself in front of it for reference. I was too tired to think straight unfortunately. The castle was gorgeous at night as usual. It's been awhile since I've been back to Club 33. They completely remodeled the entire venue. I'd love to go back in the future. But until then, I'll settle for Hong Kong. I'm leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow and taking my nephew to Hong Kong Disneyland. It'll be fun to check out all the food and special treats out that way as well. My friend and I ended our Disney night with some oxtail pho! This was better than any Disney meal. Pho Lu is open later than your typical pho eateries. It's crowded until the time they open til the time they close at 1 am. Pho Lu's oxtail sets a high bar. Their oxtail literally falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. I recommend going to Pho Lu anytime you are in the Orange County area. It's one of my top pho picks.