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Sip Trips #255: Disneyland Desires

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To begin the month, the Sip Family set off for another trip to Disneyland, looking to enjoy all the festive decorations, treats and even drinks the resort offers during the Christmas season. Here’s what we got up to over our weeklong stay in Anaheim:

Upon arriving, we did a quick shopping stop at Target, procuring supplies for our stay. I grabbed the White Claw Surge Variety Pack, featuring Lime, Blood Orange, Cranberry and Blackberry flavours, all at a whopping 8% ABV per can. I also picked up a bottle of Mr. Pibb, looking to try the competitor of my precious Dr. Pepper.

With Ma and Pa Sip taking the Sipplings out for a Christmas train experience, Mrs. Sip and I were afforded a date night. I decided to take us to the City Center of Anaheim, which presented an abundance of neat options. We started our crawl with dinner at Craft by Smoke & Fire, which I had often seen recommendations for on Disneyland Facebook groups. There, I had the Mile High Loaded Fries with Baldwin Burger (smash burger) toppings, paired with a Villains Hazy IPA.

While searching for my next hopeful stop, we stumbled upon The Packing House, which is a really cool food hall venue, filled with great places to eat and drink. While my intention was to check out The Blind Rabbit speakeasy, we weren’t able to get in. Instead, we had a cocktail at the BXCR Underground Bar, which looks like a train boxcar. I tried the C-League, containing mezcal, cucumber and cilantro. Mrs. Sip, looking for a caffeine pick-me-up, went with an Espresso Martini.

Across the street was Unsung Hero Brewing, where we shared a trio of beers in the Propeller Head Amber Ale with Coffee, Chocolate Snowball Imperial Blonde Ale and St. Nick R. Doodle Imperial Blonde Ale. I liked seeing all the old action figures that made up the façade of this location.

On our way to what was supposed to be our next stop, we came across the Broken Spirits Distillery, where Mrs. Sip had the delicious Ghost Host (mezcal, St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, hibiscus, lime juice) and I had the Ella Baila Sola (tequila, curacao, lime juice, tamarind-infused agave, chile de arbol tincture, tajin rim). The theming at this place was so cool, with all the Haunted Mansion-esque elements.

Our final stop was Villains Brewing next door. Here, we shared a pint of We Will Never Financially Recover from This Red Ale as we walked around the sprawling facility, enjoying all the art and decorations that highlighted the movie villain motif.

Throughout our days in Disneyland, we used our Festival of Holidays pass to try a number of savoury servings. These included: Braised Pork Belly Adobo, Beef Brisket Slider, Chorizo Queso Fundido, Holiday Pizza (not available on the pass), The Holiday Duet (Al Pastor and Savory Kugel Mac & Cheeses), and Spicy Cajun Loaded Fries.

We also dove head first into as many sweet treats as we could possibly handle. Among them: Cinnamon Bun Pretzel, …Don’t forget the Milk & Cookies, Fluffernutter Churro, Red Velvet Mickey Waffles, Elf Mickey Shake, Ookie Wookie Cookie, Holiday M&M’s Éclair, and Cookie Dough Yule Log. The final two items were available on the food pass.

For this trip’s Drink Around DCA: The Revenge, we had to hit as many locations throughout the park, rather than one in each land for one day. Here’s what we achieved over our stay:

  • Award Wieners – Seaborn Blood Orange Cinnamon Margarita
  • Hollywood Lounge – Spiced Pomegranate Cocktail, Seaborn CranMerry Lime Margarita, Keg Craft Berry Sangria, Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale
  • Pym Tasting Lab/Kitchen – Slo-Brew Cali Squeeze, Sierra Nevada Sunny Little Thing
  • Cozy Cones – Second Chance Brewing Frosty the Hazeman IPA
  • Flo’s Diner – Noble Ale Works Pink Lemonade Seltzer, Brewery X Fender Bender IPA
  • Sanfransokyo Cervezia – Karl Strauss Golden Stout
  • Magic Key Terrace – Sea Witch, Mystical Magical
  • Sonoma Terrace – Craftwell Hibiscus Lemonade, Craftwell Prickly Pear Margarita
  • Mendocino Terrace – Red Wine for Mrs. Sip
  • Bayside Brews – Brewery X Spiced Sangria Seltzer, Rincon Reservation Road Rez Dog Hefeweizen
  • Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta – Brewery X Huckleberry Seltzer
  • Lamplight Lounge – GameCraft Red Ale, bottle of bubbly for Ma and Mrs. Sip
  • Smokejumpers Grill – Berry Pomegranate Paloma
  • Festival of Holidays – Study Break Peppermint Mocha Hard Seltzer, Salted Caramel Brownie White Russian, Kern River Winter IPA, Cranberry Christmas Mule

Almost each day of our visit, we had a notable dining experience on the schedule. First up, was the Magic Key Terrace. I went with the Sea Witch (Raspberry Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Blue Curacao, cranberry juice, Sprite) cocktail on secret menu. To eat, we all did the Prix Fix menu, in order to get preferred seating to that night’s World of Color show. My feast consisted of the House Caesar Salad and Roasted Half Chicken, both of which were good and plentiful. The kids’ meals, on the other hand, were disappointing. Miniscule servings throughout despite a $44 price tag. Only two orange wedges and a tiny cup of yogurt for starters and a small plate of pasta for mains, as well as no toppings for vanilla ice cream desserts. We did have very good service from Quiana, who tried her best to remedy our disappointment in the kids’ servings.

Next up, was a surprise reservation opening up for Storyteller’s Café and the Mickey’s Christmas Carol Feast Dinner. It was very cool getting to have a Scrooge McDuck character experience, as he has long been among my favourite Disney characters. The buffet included a very diverse lineup, with the Sip Advisor filling his plate with broccoli crunch salad, chicken strips, beef tenderloin, homemade potato chips, and teriyaki chicken, while my beverage of choice was the Stereo Brewing IPA. My only disappointment here was the dessert options. Nothing really spoke to me, aside from the chocolate chip cookies, but by the time I took both kids to the bathroom, the plate was gone, only to be replaced with gingerbread and lemon options. The ice cream selection was also odd, with mango and passionfruit sorbet being available, rather than good ol’ vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

A couple days later, we were at Lamplight Lounge. My combo included the GameCraft Red Ale and Charbroiled Cheddar Burger with Bacon. I really loved the garlic parmesan fries that accompanied my meal and we all enjoyed being out in the California sun, watching the happenings of the park going on around us.

On our last park day, to celebrate Ma Sip’s birthday, we feasted at the Blue Bayou. I repeated my meal from my and Mrs. Sip’s wedding anniversary lunch in August, once again enjoying the Karl Strauss 70th Anniversary IPA and Monte Cristo sandwich. Our seats this time weren’t as good as the last, but the ambiance was still enjoyed by the group.

One other note from our vacation, this was the first of our trips where we struggled to get a reservation day we wanted. I maintain it’s messed up we pay so much for our passes and can only get four days at a time. There should be a cap, but four seems too little. It was also odd that we were able to book eight days over spring break and six days at the end of August with no issue, but a Tuesday in early December was trouble, while every single day around it – including the Friday – came up as available while we tried for the elusive Tuesday. You had to wonder if it was some kind of glitch. As we were leaving the park after closing, Mrs. Sip finally landed the reservation, so all ended well, but we basically spent a good chunk of the day each constantly refreshing the page, hoping to get our booking in.

That wraps another very eventful stay at the Disneyland Resort, where you feel a vacation is needed as you return from one. It was awesome family time together and worth every early morning to late night stay!

Sip Trips #250: Disney Discoveries

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For this special 250th edition of Sip Trips, I’ll taking a look at the Sip Family’s expedition to the Disneyland Resort at the end of August. Here’s what we got up to over a fun, albeit expensive visit:

First of all, Mrs. Sip did a fantastic job researching our flight and hotel deals for this foray. Somehow, the more days she added to our trip, the cheaper our rate became. Therefore, we ended up spending eight nights at The Anaheim Hotel, which is among our favourite places to reside outside the resort.

Upon arriving and settling into our room, we were all in need of a bite to eat. So, we made the short journey to Tony Roma’s. There, I got my usual Chicken Tenderloin Platter, which comes with six delicious chicken tendies, accompanied by fries and coleslaw. My beverage of choice was the Offshoot Relax Hazy IPA. On our next trip, we will have to take advantage of the restaurant’s ‘kids eat for $2.99’ on Mondays deal.

Next up was procuring our supplies for the stay. I can’t believe how much better the pricing was for our items at Walgreens versus CVS. Among the provisions gathered over our vacation were the Truly Berry Mixed Pack (Blueberry, Wildberry, Cherry, Strawberry Lime) and Vizzy Vibrantly Tropic Mixed Pack (Pineapple Mango, Papaya Passionfruit, Strawberry Kiwi, Blueberry Pomegranate). I have to say I enjoyed the Truly case better than the Vizzy one. I was also able to finally try Dr. Pepper Blackberry, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I first saw the product on our Spring Break journey, but never got my hands on it.

On our first day in the parks, Mrs. Sip and I shared a selection of beers, including the Two Coast Hefeweizen, Unsung Carina Hazy Double IPA and Karl Strauss
Oktoberfest and Windandsea Wheat. The latter two were relished while splitting some excellent Quesabirria Tacos on the Sanfransokyo Wharf. In need of some dessert – as well as a treat for the Siplings – we grabbed a Choco Smash Bar from Pym’s Test Kitchen, while adding another brew, the Sierra Nevada Sunny Little Thing, to our tummies.

One of the reasons for the timing of this trip was to celebrate my and Mrs. Sip’s 13th wedding anniversary, with the day spent visiting some of the resort’s most decadent dining options. First, looking for a morning beverage, we got a walk-up spot at the Magic Key Terrace. There, Mrs. Sip ordered the Black Pearl (a Long Island Iced Tea spinoff, with Chambord added to the concoction and Sprite subbed in for Coke) off the park’s secret cocktail menu. I went with the Harland Hazy IPA, which was quite refreshing as the temperature began to rise.

Next up was lunch at the Blue Bayou. This visit evoked memories of the first time Mrs. Sip and I ate there in 2004, two years into our relationship. Back then, we were students on a budget and split an order of crab cakes as our meal. This time around, we feasted, Mrs. Sip enjoying a pair of glasses of wine, while I finally tried the Karl Strauss 70th Anniversary IPA. My meal was the delicious Monte Cristo Sandwich, among my favourite dishes at the resort, complete with truffle potato chips and a yummy roasted fruit salad. To complete the meal, we ordered the Doberge Cake (“layers of pumpkin spice sponge, chocolate whipped ganache and salted caramel buttercream”), which was scrumptious.

For dinner, we popped into the Lamplight Lounge, where Mrs. Sip got us a table so we could enjoy the early World of Color show. I enjoyed my Cobra Hiss cocktail (Mezcal, Cointreau, cucumber syrup, lemon juice, agave nectar), prior to joining Mrs. Sip on the bottle of Les Jamelles Chardonnay she ordered. Not super hungry after our earlier lunch banquet, we shared the Charbroiled Cheddar Burger, while the whole Sip Family got in on the Bananas Foster Donuts for dessert.

The next day, our drinks included the SLO Brew Cali-Squeeze (while munching on a family favourite Quantum Pretzel), as well as the Rincon Reservation Road Rez Dog Hefeweizen, Haunted Horchata Cocktail and 21st Amendment Citrus Wheat Ale. That night, we took advantage of Denny’s ‘kids eat free’ on Tuesdays deal, with the Sip Advisor having the Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich.

While we hadn’t planned to visit Oga’s Cantina, trading off Boy Sip for rides Girl Sip refuses to do saw us end up at the Star Wars-themed hotspot. Best of all, we were both able to simply walk up and be taken inside within minutes. We even ended up next to each other at the bar, despite entering at different times. Our server on this occasion, Anthony, was tremendous. Had it not been for a two-drink maximum and the price of those drinks, I could have stayed in the place for hours. Over our break, I had the Gamorrean Ale (Red Ale) and Coruscant Cooler (a delicious Manhattan variation), while sampling Mrs. Sip’s Bad Motivator IPA and Jet Fuel cocktail (Bourbon, Chile Liqueur, Pomegranate Liqueur, White Grape Juice, Lemon Juice). I really love the Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur in that drink and have to get my hands on a bottle sometime, despite it not being available in Canada.

The next day, we executed my Drink Around California Adventure itinerary. Given we had largely drank beers in the park up to that point, I decided we should share a cocktail as we traversed each land of the park. Here’s how we spent the day boozing it up:

  • Grizzly Peak – Green Apple Lemonade Cocktail (vodka, green apple lemonade, cherry-flavored popping spheres, raspberry sauce drizzle)
  • Hollywood Land – Celebration Cocktail (tequila, rum, vodka, glittery blue raspberry lemonade, Sprite)
  • Avengers Campus – Molecular Mule (Seaborn Cucumber Ginger Mule)
  • Cars Land – Strawberry Paloma (tequila, strawberry syrup)
  • Terraces – Craftwell Peach Mojito
  • Sanfransokyo Wharf – Jamaica Tequila Cocktail (tequila, hibiscus tea, lime juice, agave syrup)
  • Pixar Pier – Spiced Sangria Seltzer
  • Buena Vista Street – Scotch Mist

Our route was completed at the Carthay Lounge, where I had what was noted as Walt Disney’s favourite drink. Even if that claim is bullshit, I had to do it, enjoying my serving of Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch on the rocks. We also orders the Carthay Sopes with duck, which were very good. One other excellent meal we had during our drink challenge was the Sanfransokyo Clam Chowder, which Mrs. Sip insisted on and I’m so glad she did!

Following the indulgent drink circuit, the only drink left on the board I wanted to try was the Blood Orange Paloma Seltzer. I tried to make good on that the next day, but a long line and pre-order wait time blocked me from trying the beverage.

We tried to visit Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel, but there was a three-hour wait to get a seat on the air conditioned inside. As a result, we travelled back into the Downtown Disney district and got a table very quickly at Ballast Point. Mrs. Sip and I ordered the Pumpkin Cream Ale from Mother Earth Brew Co. and Prince of Bavaria Festbier from Black Plague Brewing, respectively. To eat, I tried the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich, which I loved, thanks to all the flavours, particularly the interesting black truffle coleslaw.

Back in the park, we had servings of the Karl Strauss Aurora Hoppyalis for me and Enegren Oktoberfest for Mrs. Sip. These bevvies made the very long line for Grizzly River Rapids much more tolerable, while also numbing us to the deluge of water we were about to experience.

The Disneyland Halloween Treats menu was released right before we arrived. While I feel it’s way too early for that season, I was definitely going to take advantage of some of the eats and drinks. In particular, we worked our way through a number of the seasonal churros, including: Halloween Town Mayor (smores-like), Celestial Chocolate (Dubai chocolate), Straw-batty (strawberry filled chocolate) and Fluffernutter (marshmallow and peanut butter). The Fluffernutter was the best of the bunch for me, restoring my faith in churros, which I’d come to find to generally be mid at best. We had most of these treats for breakfast because… you know, parents of the year and all!

We also tried the Pumpkin Cookies with cream cheese icing, which were good, but not worth the hour-long lineup to get them, as well as the Monster Funnel Cake, which was another fantastic way to start a day!

For our final meal of the trip, we went to a local Red Lobster, where I had my typical Sesame Soy Salmon Bowl and Blue Moon Wheat Ale. This was sandwiched between letting the kids do some Magic Quest time at the nearby Great Wolf Lodge.

That wraps our Disneyland expedition. September will be full of activity, including all the birthdays our family has throughout the month, along with a getaway for Mrs. Sip and I to Las Vegas to celebrate a friend’s 40th!