After two consecutive days of thrill rides and entertainment at Disneyland and California Adventure, we decided to slow down for some much needed rest and relaxation at the Disneyland Resort which until today we had not been able to enjoy.
Finally, I’m the One Who’s Sick
Given how everyone aboard our PapiMobile had gotten sick at one point or another in the trip, it was just a matter of time until I got something too. On the 30th day of our road trip, a bad cold came upon me and it threw me down for the count. I could not get up from the bed to the degree that ordinarily my kids would take the opportunity to make fun of me by taking pictures of me sick since I’ve done it to them. Alas, my children and wife felt so sorry for me that they not didn’t photograph me but they even gave me some much needed feet massage. Sans PapiBlogger my family went about the Disneyland Resort and the pool as well as to Downtown Disney’s movie theater and restaurants.
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is the first resort of Disneyland but it’s much larger than it used to and has several hotel towers that are modern with very comfortable, elegantly furnished rooms, a state of the art pool and play area for kids and a selection of restaurants that varies from grab-n-go food to upscale. As with the slightly higher end Grand Californian, the Disneyland Resort is within walking distance of Downtown Disney and the theme parks of Disneyland and California Adventure.
My kids and wife were craving water so on the day I stayed sick recovering in the hotel they went down to the pool and the jacuzzi and spent most of the day cooling off by the pool.
Storyteller’s Cafe
In all of yesterday’s craziness about our big day at the California Adventure I almost forgot to mention that Disney treated us to a special family lunch at the Storyteller’s Cafe, which is in the Californian Resort. The Storyteller’s Cafe is the Disneyland counterpart to the The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom and serves an all you can eat buffet style Character breakfast with Chip & Dale and Pluto.
From left to right: Me, Jorge Sotelo (Executive Pastry Chef), Jonathan, Angela, Elena, Briani and Alejandro Plasencia (Restaurant Sous Chef).
The Disney folks gave our kids a wonderful gift basket filled with toys that included a Goofy Darth Vader, a Tinkerbell doll, a Tron cycle and more.
Following lunch (we ate the BLT sandwiches), we were met with an array of incredible deserts prepared by Jorge Sotelo, the restaurant’s executive pastry chef and brother of noted Latino radio personality El Piolin. As part of Disney’s commitment to diversity and in recognition of the large percentage of Hispanics who visit Disneyland annually, Disneyland Resorts is grooming a growing number of Latino chefs like Sotelo for senior chef positions.
Shopping
My wife took advantage of the fact I was passed out to go shopping in Downtown Disney. By the time she returned to our room she had bought something The World of Disney (souvenirs), LEGO Imagination Center (Legos), Sephora (beauty care), Sanuk (shoe store)
Road Trip Tip of the Day
Even if you’re not spending your road trip days in a Disney resort pool or a beach you need to pack sunscreen and lip balm. We always schedule some pool and/or beach time on our road trips so this is obvious to us but it’s not obvious to everyone. Less obvious but really important if you are going to be in dry, hot climates is to consider packing nasal gels. Both my daughter Elena and I have had minor nose bleeds and the nasal sprays are critical to help keep our noses moist.
Jonathan monkeys around the DIsneyland Resort by pretending to fly like Tinkerbell.
Noticias Newswire 
