Friday, December 28, 2018

SoCal day 2

We had lunch at Brodard Restuarnt. Looks like they moved locations. The original spot was located in an Asian shopping plaza. It was a hole in the wall spot, but now it's in a much nicer venue. I prefer the old location cause they already have Brodard Chateau which is a fancier version.



Grilled Pork Spring Rolls. It's what they are known for.

Ribeye Rolls with lime chili fish sauce. I didn't try it, but John and Son really liked it.

Coconut Shrimp Rolls with spicy sweet chili sauce. These were okay.

Bo Bia Rolls (Chinese Sausage & egg) these were average.

Beef Stew with baguette. John and Robyn seem to have liked this.

Duck Bun- these were okay. The buns were a bit too soft and kind of fell apart in you hands.

After lunch we headed to Porto's to pick some baked goods to bring back home. Glad they opened a location closer to Disneyland.



We headed back to Downtown Disney to look for some souvenirs. There were a lot of crows that day.


We stopped off for some drinks at Uva Bar & Grill

The Perfect Michelada

John said it was the best Tamarind candy straw he has had yet.

White Sangria

Jalapeno Cheese Pretzel with pizza sauce. OMG! this was delicious.



Stopped by to check out the newly remodeled Disney Store.


Classic Churro and Strawberry cream cheese Churro. It tasted like the Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar.





Who eats a churro like that?

On stage performing was the San Andreas Sisters.




Eventually we made our way to Trader Sam's.

Looks like they have a new souvenir cup for the Piranha Pool which was already sold out.


Safari Swizzle: Rum, fresh lime juice, mint, and organic agave nectar, Angostura bitters

Shipwreck on the Rocks: Bourbon with muddled lemon and mint, with agave nectar.




Didn't really do much, but the day went by quick.

That ends day 2

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Disneyland in December

Did a quick trip back to SoCal in December since we had an extra day left on our hopper tickets from October.

It's was early in the morning and Jaylyn wasn't having it.

The remodeled World of Disney has opened. I was expecting major changes, but didn't notice anything different other than decorations.

We headed to DCA to try out the food from Festival of Holidays.


This year they were offering Sip and Savor Pass to regular guest. In the past they only offered it to Annual Pass holders. It's $54 and get you 8 items (except alcohol)  at any of the Festival of Holidays kiosks. Works out to about $6.75 an item. I wouldn't use the pass for anything priced less than that.

They have a map & menu of all the Kiosks. There's also a Tasting Passport where you can get a stamp at each Kiosk (no purchase necessary)

We started with Roasted Turkey Slider with Cranberry Sauce. Tasted like a Thanksgiving sandwich.

Holiday Stuffing Mac & Cheese. This was okay.

This time around, we focused eating and riding kid's rides.

Beef Pot Roast on a Potato Roll with Horseradish Cream & Merry Cherry Pineapple Punch


Jaylyn just relaxing as she gets fed and pushed around the park. Must be nice.


John saw someone walking around with a Michelada and he wanted one. So we sought it out.

Winter Mchelada with Modelo Negra & Brown Sugar Rim. John was expecting Tajin, but this worked well surprisingly.



Jaylyn passed out after eating some chips.



Freshly toasted chocolate chip cookies.

They also have other cookies available.


We've walked by the Adorable Snowman Frost Treat many time. I've always wanted to try their soft serve, so we finally did. Got the Pixar Pier Frosty Parfait: Lemon Soft Serve with Blue Raspberry Swirl. This was delicious....and now I will have to get one every time I visit. It looks super sweet, but it's not.


The one dish we were really looking forward to was Braised Pork Belly Adobo with Garlic Fried Rice and topped with pork rinds. This was fantastic

Took a break from eating to go on the Monsters Inc ride. I forgot this ride was in the park since we rarely venture to the back corner where the ride is located.

Back for some more snack. Chorizo Queso Fundido. This was good also.

Shrimp & Grits with Andouille Sausage. This was okay.

Jaylyn loves bubbles. John figured out that you can just attach the bubble solution directly to the bubble wand.


We visited all of the Kiosk and got our stamp of completion.

We went back to get some more Pork Belly Adobe cause it was so good.

Watched the Frozen show.

After we headed to Disneyland.





Had to get a Hand Dipped Corn Dog. This time around they had premium dipping sauces available for purchase. Bacon Ketchup, Pickle Ranch, & Honey Mustard.


Jaylyn got her silhouette cutout. Which I have seen many times, but have never gotten it done. I had no idea that it was all done free hand which is really impressive and takes about a minute to have done.

While Jaylyn was getting her silhouette done, Tammy and I went to get our fortune from Esmeralda's Prophecy at Penny Arcade. We both got different fortunes but ended up with the same magic numbers. I thought maybe all of the cards had the same magic numbers. So we waited for the next person to buy one and notice that they had different numbers. Coincidence or Luck?

Abuelita Frozen Hot Chocolate.


We headed to Toon Town so Jaylyn can run around, but she fell asleep when we got there.


We were going to line up for It's a Small World, but the parade was about to start and it was a bit chaotic in the area. So we decided to ride Autotopia.

Jaylyn wasn't tall enough. So we headed into the Star Wars Launch Bay.

Lots of cool Star Wars movie props.


Jaylyn ran into Bobe fett and she kinda froze.


You can also meet Chewy, Rey, & Vader also.



We made our way back to It's a Small World.






After It's a Small World we headed to Jolly Holiday Bakery for some snacks.

Toasted Cheese Sandwich and Tomato Basil soup

I think this is the toasted Ham & Swiss.

John loves the DIY Elote. It's buttered corn with a DIY Elote pack, which contains mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and Tajin. I brought one back home from the trip and it's amazing. I can see why John like's it so much.

Our view of the Holiday Fireworks from Jolly Holiday seating area.


After the fireworks show John and I went in search for some more corn. The first cart was sold out so we had to head to cart in Frontier Land.


Instead of walking our way back to Downtown Disney we took the monorail. I haven't been on the Monorail in over 20 years. I remember riding it as a kid.

Headed back to our hotel to sleep. It was a long day.
That's it for day one. Tomorrow we shop and eat.