Visit Los Angeles: Thanksgiving Day at Disneyland

When we first planned our Thanksgiving weekend trip to Los Angeles, Disneyland wasn’t even on the agenda. But a few weeks before our flight, the idea of spending a holiday at the Happiest Place on Earth started sounding really tempting. The only dilemma: Should we go on Thanksgiving Day or brave the crowds on Black Friday?

After scanning the internet for advice, the consensus was clear—Thanksgiving tends to be less crowded than the day after. So we made a spontaneous decision, bought Park Hopper tickets, and committed to spending Thanksgiving at Disneyland… even though we were landing that morning on a red-eye.

Because we’d already booked a great hotel deal near LAX (and didn’t want to give that up), we took an Uber to Anaheim so that I wouldn't have to worry about driving back to the hotel late at night. The ride cost $79 to Disneyland, which felt worth it for the convenience.  After landing, picking up our rental car, and dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed straight to Disneyland and arrived just before 9 a.m.

The entrance lines looked daunting at first, but we managed to spot a tucked-away queue that no one else seemed to notice. Five minutes later, we were inside—and the magic began.

From there, the day was a whirlwind of rides, treats, and holiday cheer. At one point, we even had our own version of Thanksgiving dinner: sharing three giant turkey legs because, honestly, you can’t go to Disneyland without getting a turkey leg!  We didn’t get to do or eat everything on our list, but it didn’t matter. Disneyland is always special, but during the holidays, it becomes something extraordinary. The Christmas décor, the festive music, and the holiday parade could put even the Grinch in the holiday spirit.

Check out the photos to see what we rode, where we wandered, and what we ate.  It was an unforgettable Thanksgiving, and now I totally understand the hype about visiting during the holiday season. I already can’t wait to go back next year!

Disneyland's 70th Celebration D Glow Cube

We LOVE the popcorn at Disneyland (we even stashed some to snack on for the plane ride home)

The Lightning Lane Multi Pass included unlimited downloads of Disney PhotoPass

Churros are another one of our favorite snacks at Disneyland

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance - we bought Lightning Lane Single Passes to bypass the 85 minute standby line.

Chicken Tenders Plate from Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree

Classic Cheeseburger

A Christmas Fantasy Parade (3 PM showtime)

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough at night

California Adventure

Thanksgiving Dinner!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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Visit Anaheim: Craft by Smoke and Fire

We wanted to go out of the Disney Bubble to eat lunch, so we ended up at Craft by Smoke and Fire.

We went around 2pm, and there was only one other table occupied.

Chef's Asparagus Fries

We all loved the Asparagus Fries,  They were tempura-style, and so light and crisp!

Prime BBQ Quesadilla

We didn't order the Quesadilla, but ended up getting it complimentary (have no idea why - the server just said it was complimentary).  It turned out to be one of my favorite things I ate at Craft.  The brisket was really tender, and the "Comeback Sauce" had a nice kick to it.  

3 Cheese Mac & Cheese Side

Wagyu Baldwin Burger

Shrimp Tacos

Brisket Tacos

Texas Style Smoked Brisket Half Pound + Side of Garlic & Herb Mash Potatoes

Smoked Meat platters come with cornbread and pickled onions.  

Loaded Buffalo Chicken Flautas

I had the Flautas for my entree.  They were fried nice and golden, but the chicken filling was quite dry.

Despite that, everything else I tried was great, and the service was great too!

Craft by Smoke and Fire
195 W Center Street Promenade

Anaheim, CA 92805

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Our Experience with Lightning Lane at Disneyland Resort

I didn't hesitate to buy Lightning Lane Multi Pass (available for a number of rides) and Single Pass (available for Radiator Springs Racers and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance) for rides we wanted to go on while at Disneyland Resort (prices and availability vary by date for both pass types).  It was my first time using Lightning Lane - the last time we visited Disneyland the MaxPass was in place, but it was the same concept.  

After reading through numerous FB groups and blogs, I tried my best to maximize our Lightning Lane usage, and I think I did well.  

Basically, you can book only once you (and all members of your party) are in the park.  You can only book 1 Lightning Lane every 2 hours, or you may book once you use your pass. 

Immediately upon entering I booked a Multi Pass ride, and throughout the day I kept track of when I could book another Multi Pass ride and checked redemption times to make sure there were no conflicts.

The only downside to Lightning Lane is constantly monitoring times or being on your phone.

To redeem, simply scan your ticket via the app, or scan your MagicBand+ at the Lightning Lane entry.

There are numerous tips and tricks that people offer, but here are mine:

• Always refresh your Tip Board in case earlier times open up.  Several times I was able to snag an earlier time and I could modify a Pass.  This also helped when I needed to modify to a later time (eg when we took a break and went back to our room - we ended up taking a longer break than we thought so I had to get a later time for a Pass).  Modifying the times do not affect the 2-hour window of selecting another Pass.
• Set your alarm to obtain another Lightning Lane at the 2-hour mark, where applicable
• If a ride breaks down while you are on it, waiting in line, or during your redemption time, you will be given a Multiple Experience Pass good for that ride, or any other ride specified on the pass.  This happened to us twice:
• On Rise of the Resistance, the ride broke down, so we were given passes.  I noticed, however, that the Cast Member was having trouble scanning our MagicBand+ and / phone, and he had a hard time viewing his unit from the glare of the sun.  Luckily, I checked my account as we were still in the area and noticed only 3 of us (out of 5) had passes.  I went to a different Cast Member and told her what happened, and she scanned the other 2 into our account.  
• Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (a new-to-us ride), broke down before we got in line, but during our 1-hour redemption period.  When the ride opened back up, the wait was only 10 minutes, so we decided to just go standby and save the pass for something else.  We ended up riding that same ride again with our Pass later that night.
• If you leave the parks (eg go back to your hotel to nap) - you can book / modify Passes.
• Review "My Day" for your ride and dining times so you don't miss anything, and this is also where you can find the Multiple Experience Passes as noted above.

By the end of the second night, we had already ridden everything we wanted to, and we didn't need to secure any more Lightning Lanes.

The first day we rode 20+ rides, including a few repeats.  The second day we rode 15+ rides, including a few repeats (we also took a longer midday break).

Definitely get the Lightning Lane Multi Pass to reduce your wait time, especially during a peak attendance day.  If you are still on the fence, you can wait until you get into the park and see how standby lines are as the day progresses (since we went during Spring Break, we bought passes ahead of time) .  

And of course, Single Rider lines may be an option for you as well for certain rides, should you not wish to fork over $ for Lightning Lane passes.

Get up to 8% off on Disneyland tickets via Klook through 11/15/25.  Use code DLTCAL8 at check out! (affiliate link)

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Visit Anaheim: Pixar Place Hotel

We usually stay at a Good Neighbor Hotel when visiting Disneyland Resort, but for the first time, we stayed at a resort hotel - Pixar Place Hotel, and it was primarily to get Early Entry (which I will blog about later).

We reserved two rooms because we need two bathrooms, but one room can easily fit 5 with 2 queen beds and a sofa-day bed.  I called Customer Service to get guaranteed connecting rooms.

We arrived before noon, and one of the rooms was ready so we were able to check-in.

A note on payment - if you've read about the Disney Gift Cards and transferring to one for up to $1k since only one can be used - that's actually incorrect, as the team member was willing to take multiple cards that I hadn't yet transferred to one.  

Cleanliness is taken seriously!  I loved that they offer hand soap - something we usually bring on our own to hotels.

As you can imagine, there are Pixar touches everywhere.

We had connecting Standard View Rooms, from which we could see Disney California Adventure.  At night, we could even watch the fireworks at Disneyland, as well as see some of the World of Color show at Disney California Adventure.

There were lots of places to charge your tech (and your MagicBand+).  There was a mini fridge, and I love how easy it was to put the sofa-day bed back into a sofa (I never saw a sofa bed like it before - you just flip and unzip! 

Excuse the wrinkles - I took the pic after it was slept in.

You can also go to the pool deck to watch the fireworks.

The pool was undergoing refurbishment while we were there, but they do have a Pixar Shorts Court, where you can Play foosball, shuffleboard, and more!  

There is an atrium on the second-floor with art. 

And there are character appearances!  

Noise wasn't an issue except for the surprising sounds of kids running through the hall at 11pm (why do parents allow their kids to do that?).

Everything you read about the inefficient "smart" elevator system is true.  It's one of those systems where you press the floor on a touch pad and you are designated a specific elevator to enter (vs pressing the up or down button and going to whichever elevator opens up).  

I'm sure it cost a lot of $ to implement, so I don't know if anything will ever change with the elevators, but guests will just have to grin and bear it.  There was one time during our stay where I saw a team member guide people to the correct elevator, and although the waits weren't exhorbitantly long, the elevator system is far from perfect. 

To access the amusement parks, we were able to go through the Grand Californian to get to Downtown Disney to get to the main entrances for DCA and Disney (more on that in a future post) and there is also a separate DCA entrance just right across the street from the hotel.

I loved Great Maple, the sit-down restaurant inside Pixar Place.  

Parking was never an issue.

The rooms were pricey, as expected, but I thought it was worth it to experience.

Pixar Place Hotel
1717 Disneyland Dr

Anaheim, CA 92802

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