Down the Coast to the Happiest Place on Earth
Disney road trip may have been one of the most epic trips we have done so far! We both had the summer off and decided last minute we were going to do a road trip to California Disney. We had 4 days to plan before we left and it was the perfect combination of preplanning and planning on the go. We decided that we only wanted to drive for about 6-7 hours a days and that’s how we based our places that we went to and it worked out great! The first stop we made was Cannon Beach, Oregon and we loved it so much we decided to stay their on the way back as well. We used the Expedia app which was super convenient as it help plan out our itinerary as we went. We stayed and the Tolovana Inn and the Inn at Haystack Rock. They were both great but different vibes. Tolovana was hotel vibe on the water, just on the outskirts of town and the Inn at Haystack Rock was a mini cottage just down the road from the beach. The town is super cute to wander shops, however we mostly spend our time at the beach. We would stock up on snacks at this cute little corner store within walking distance of Tolvanna Inn before we went to the beach. It also had great homemade pizza there! We will definitely book another trip to Cannon Beach as our vacation destination!
Day 1- Cannon Beach
After we left Cannon beach, we headed down the coast. The beaches are beautiful and as you got further south the beaches were less and less populated which was amazing. The small towns along the way were quaint and cute. We made our way to Gold Beach which is just North of the California border still in Oregon. We spent the evening and continued our way to Santa Rosa where we stayed but unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures that day which I regret as the Hyatt Regency Somona Wine Country Hotel we ended up staying in was gorgeous after a Motel 6 debacle. Ya win some and lose some.
Day 2 & 3- Gold Beach & Santa Rosa
Day 4,5 and 6- We made it to Disney!
Day one at Disney was so magical! The weather was hot and our daughter was the ultimate trooper. She was up super early every day. We took a break from the park from 2:00-3:30 ish everyday to try and beat the heat with our hotel pool. Then back to the park until closing every night!
We bought 3 day passes to Disney which we felt was the perfect time frame for us and our 7 year old daughter. This allowed us enough time to fully explore all of Disney in 2 days and then we were able to use the 3rd day going back to all our favorite attractions and rides. The Disney app was super convenient and I would definitely recommend purchasing the lighting lanes where you can book times for all the hot spot rides. This made navigating the park areas a little easier as you had a bit of a time frame to fill in by doing some of the other attractions and smaller rides while waiting for your lightning lane time on the hot spot rides. The app also gave you a good indication on wait times and access to purchase food which helped avoiding major lines as well as avoiding a “hangry” child.
Our greatest joy was living through the eyes of a child. The dazzled looks pure happiness of exploring Disneyland was such a delight for us to see. One of the greatest joys was that we decided to spend the money and allow our daughter to shop at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (even though we know we could have bought similar dresses elsewhere for WAY cheaper). Watching this experience was like living our a real life fairy tale. To see your child truly feel like a princess was just as joyful for us as it was for her. Look at that smile!
The Night Shows
The night shows were spectacular and true magic was witnessed as you got to see all the Characters come out. Disney offered 2 night parade times and 2 fantasmic water shows a night. We felt the best rotation was to do the fantasmic water show park first and then make our way to the last parade of the night. We liked this rotation because the last parade offered fireworks at the end it was a great view from the Disney street. The fireworks came out just over the castle offering the perfect “classic” view of Disney. Then we were actually closer to the exit to leave as there were a lot more people that came out to the night shows and it felt very congested. If you decided to do the Fantasmic as your last show of the night, I would recommend taking the Disney train back to the exit as opposed to navigating walking through the crowds.
The Characters
7 years old was such a beautiful age to take a child to Disney as the Magic of Characters was in full force. We spend a lot of time at the “Royal Hall” meeting the characters which was a cool experience to meet them all individually. We met a lot more characters but didn’t feel the need to post all the pictures lol.
Day 7- Pismo Beach
Pismo Beach was my favorite Spots and Hotel from the whole trip and we stayed in some pretty stunning areas. Everything checked the box in this small town. We stayed at the Vespera Resort and the hotel was absolutely spectacular. The area was great. We had access to the boardwalk from the hotel. Right down to the décor, details, finishing and cleanliness were so well cared for and thought out.
The Vespera Resort - California
Day 8- Bodega Bay- California
The Lodge at Bodega Bay was so relaxing. It was in a very rural area so it was super peaceful. The restaurant was delicious. The pool and hot tub had spectacular views. There was multiple fireplace options to sit at and relax whiling watching the perfect sunset. When we left Bodega Bay we took the number 1 highway north and it was really intense. Just a heads up. It was over 3 hours of winding, switch back, cliff side roads which I felt a little stressed about. Our daughter was a great road tripper for being the car a lot and that road almost did her in. I can honestly say I probably will never drive that section of highway again, however, my husband loved it and wants to come back to drive it in a sports car.
Day 9, 10-Brookings and Cannon Beach once more
We did a night at the Best Western in Brookings which was right on the water. We caught a lovely sunset and basically just slept and continued to Cannon Beach again. This time we booked a little cottage call the Inn at Haystack Rock which was a block away from the beach. It had a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and a murphy bed in the living room which was perfect for the 3 of us. It was a great location to walk to the beach and to town. We spend a bit more time wandering the town to check out some of the cute shops. I would definitely want to go back to do a multiday vacation there. By this time we were ready to make the last stretch of our trip to get home sweet home.
