Scout’s Age
23 months
Most Important Gear
Baby carrier
Itinerary
Day 1
Fly into LAX (3.5 hours)
Aunt Patty’s - outdoor fun at a lovely, hilly, horse ranch
Grocery shopping for the Airbnb in Topanga Canyon
Day 2
Breakfast at the Airbnb
Tuna Canyon Hike
Topanga Lookout Trailhead Hike
Day 3
Christmas morning! Presents and breakfast at the Airbnb
Malibu Lagoon beach hangout
Christmas dinner with the family
Day 4
Check out of the Topanga Airbnb
Hanging out with family in LA
Head do Anaheim for Disney (1.5 hour drive)
Check-in at Anaheim Marriott
Day 4
Breakfast at the hotel
Disney - All day!
Chinese take-home for dinner on the way back to the hotel
Day 5
Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen
California Adventure - All day!
Day 6
Good old McDonald’s on the way to LAX
LAX to home! (3.5 hours)
Best of the trip
Malibu Lagoon - free and open on Christmas!
Disney and California Adventure - no surprise, but these places are perfect for kids
Disney FastPass and PhotoPass - saves a ton of time at the parks
Tuna Canyon Hike - awesome views of LA from 1,500 feet up
Our Topanga Airbnb - a peaceful and green oasis 15 minutes from the city
Trip Story
Continuing the Fay Fam tradition of spending Christmas away, and considering we had a very expensive travel year coming up (GAP YEAR), we went with the old standby of Southern California. It was an easy choice since it has an endless amount of things to do with kids, and it’s where most of my family lives.
PART I - Los Angeles
The trip started off with a super easy plane ride from DFW to LAX. Since this was going to be Scout’s first flight in a few months, we made sure to prepare. Our strategy this time was to offer her plenty of distractions that would last the 3.5 hour flight:
Sticker Books! (simply, books of stickers)
Brand new toys to open on the plane
Old iPad with new games
Pretty much the whole flight she fiddled and played with very little fussing. Plus, she actually started using the fuzzy headphones made for kids. These are cool because they have a max volume which is quite low, that way you don’t have to worry about accidentally destroying their ears.
Right when we landed we went straight to my Aunt Patty’s house, which is a horse ranch on about 3 hilly acres. Their house is on the top of one of these hills and has a great view of the property. This was perfect for Scout since she loves being outside. Places like this will always keep her busy for hours. If your kids love the outdoors, it seems they will never get tired of being out there.
Aunt Patty’s Ranch, view from her porch
It wasn’t until we left Patty’s that we headed to our Airbnb in Topanga. Before we arrived to the house, we made sure to stop at the grocery store to stock up for the 3 days we’d be there. And, given we would be at this Airbnb for Christmas, we even picked up our traditional tiny Christmas tree.
By the time we got out of the grocery store it was super dark, so it wasn’t until the next morning that we could really appreciate how perfect the house was. I’ve been going to California for as long as I can remember (with the family and all) and have never properly been to Topanga. Turns out it is one of the most beautiful and quiet corners of the city! If you were just dropped in there, you would probably think you were in a mountain community of Colorado.
With a kid, the place where we stayed was wonderful. There was a small backyard for her to play in, horses to look at, and even a chicken coop that was accessible to guests.
One of the reasons we chose Southern California was because of the many different outdoor activities.
The first hike we did was Tuna Canyon, which is set in the hills above Malibu. This is a fantastic hike to do with a youngster (that was nearly 2 in our case). There really wasn’t any elevation to speak of, and the trail was quite wide, like about 4-10 feet wide the whole time. After about 20 minutes of walking we stopped at a vista point that provided for wonderful views of the Pacific ocean, Malibu, and the rest of LA from 1,500 feet up.
That same day we went to Topanga Lookout Trailhead. It’s not much of a hike, but it offers incredible views of Los Angeles. Because of a time crunch we decided to not do the actual hike and stuck with the lookout. It’s right off of a busy street so there’s not really anywhere for a kid to play. Awesome photo opp, but with a kid maybe the actual hike would be more enjoyable.
Jess and Scout at the Topanga Lookout Trailhead
The next day was Christmas day, which is so much fun to spend away from home. Even pre-Scout, this was something we had been doing - finding anywhere besides home to spend Christmas. It’s not that we don’t want to be home, it’s really just that we want to be somewhere else even more. The tradition continues with Scout.
It’s Christmas day, and that baby tree we picked up at the grocery store is in full Christmas mode, covered in tiny ornaments and surrounded by tiny presents. By the way, on presents, we typically either pack small ones before the trip, or pick some up at the city we happen to be in.
After presents we just lounged around drinking coffee and eating Jessica’s family’s traditional pastry - the Hog Log. I can’t recall the precise recipe, but it mostly involves flattened out croissant rolls with sausage on top. I believe cheese is involved, too. It’s delicious and has become a critical part of the Fay Fam Christmas tradition.
After opening gifts we took advantage of Southern California’s unlimited supply of natural activities by taking the winding road out of Topanga and into Malibu. Malibu Lagoon, specifically.
This was the second time we had taken Scout to the beach (see our Mexico post), and the first time she truly enjoyed it. Now that she could run and dig and explore, it was a totally different experience. With quiet beach, we as parents really just followed her for 45 minutes straight as she played and played.
Malibu Scout
PART II - Disney and California Adventure
We were both intimidated and curious about how our first Disney experience with Scout was going to go. Luckily for this leg of the trip we had backup in the form of Nana, Jessica’s mom. We picked her up on the way to Anaheim, and were happy to have here there!
Before getting into Disneyland, a couple words on the great hotel we stayed at - the Marriott Anaheim.
For a family with a kid, this hotel worked out very nicely. First of all, the size of the room was big enough for Scout to play around in during our down time. Secondly, it had both all of the food and drink option boxes checked - full service restaurant, a snack bar, and full service real bar. We were lucky enough to have a chance to relax at that bar thanks to Nana being there to watch Scout in the room. Finally, the hotel is pretty close to the parks - either a 15 minute walk, or a 7 minute shuttle ride. The shuttle stop is just in front of the hotel.
That first night after arriving we decided to stay in for dinner, so we just went to the restaurant on the first floor. It was delicious and they were extra patient with Scout who was not particularly pleasant for some reason. Given the proximity to the Disney parks, you could tell the staff was used to working with children. Our server even gave Scout a Minnie plush toy as a way to calm her down! They went above and beyond for sure.
The next morning we visited the snack bar before getting on the shuttle to head into Disney. It had foods for all of us - from yogurts for Scout, to bagels and lox for the parents.
Once you get to the park there are two lines to get in the actual destination (Disney or California Adventure): the first line gets you into the general Disney area. From here you can either choose between Disney or California Adventure - or you can stroll along the shops and cafes within the park’s walls. The second line to get into either Disney or California Adventure can take over 20 minutes. On this part I would just suggest getting to the first line early - at least 45 minutes early. In the spirit of maintaining trip momentum so the kids don’t get restless, you will be saving yourself at least 30 minutes of waiting.
Pretty much from the moment we get into the park, it is clear why Disney has reached their status of being a top park. This is not news, and it’s all been said before, but this place is terrific with kids. Maybe the best place ever to take kids. After seeing the characters (in plays, on the streets, in the restaurants, etc.), the cleanliness, and the attention to detail, I came away seeing Disney as what every other theme park is emulating. The fact that this place even exists as an option for parents to take their kids is wonderful. Our nearly-2-year-old was rapt for 10-hours/day, 2 days in a row.
Our favorite kid events in Disneyland:
Meet and greet with Mickey!
Storytelling at the Royal Theater - This is a small theater in the middle of the park where we saw an abbreviated version of Tangled. Jessica and Scout were able to sit down right in front of the stage
Mickey and the Magical Map - show led by Mickey who’s trying to figure out the rest of his map. Includes mostly characters from less-popular movies, but has a ton of dancing and visuals for the kid
It’s a Small World - countless animatronics in countless colors, all while “It’s a Small World” loops countless times.
Haunted Mansion Holiday - a really cool tracked car tour through an old mansion, with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. This one was a gamble given we were taking a 23-month old to a haunted house, but she ended up being really into it
We tried to make the Fantasmic event at Disney, but were pretty beat after 10 hours. Everyone was in good spirits, it was just time to head on back to the hotel.
A star-struck Scout
The second Disney day was for California Adventure, and we would recommend all the same as above - be early to get into the park - and make sure you have the Fast Pass app.
Before actually going to the park we had arranged for a breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen. This is a breakfast buffet that has a character parade every 20 or 30 minutes that goes by each table. Scout loved this!
We had purchased these tickets in advance, so we only had to wait in line for about 10 minutes. we would recommend the same since we saw the line was quite long if you didn’t purchase in advance.
Even our server was in character, speaking in a high-pitched Disney princess tone, all with a straight face. After about 10 seconds it hit me that this wasn’t annoying, but impressive. Even the servers at the restaurants are in character, and committed to bringing this fantasy land to life. It was silly for sure, but everyone was so serious about their role that you had to appreciate it.
After breakfast we waited in line to get into the California Adventure park, which I can say is at least as fun for kids as Disneyland. Even though the park’s big attractions are intense adult-level rides, there is still plenty to do with a young kid.
Our favorite kid events at California Adventure:
Disney Junior Dance Party - a dance party with a mix of real actors interacting with Mickey and friends on the screen. Scout’s not a big dancer, but still loved being in the middle of the party
Anna and Elsa meet and greet - family by family, we were able to get our own time with them as they lounged in a quiet corner dressed up like a castle. Scout was pretty nervous, given she was meeting her favorite characters. She soon acclimated and was able to get some good pics with them
Turtle Talk with Crush - probably my favorite performance/show between both parks. For those not aware, Crush is the sea turtle from Finding Nemo. The setup was putting kids in front of a giant screen that was made up like an aquarium. From there Crush would swim around to interact and talk with the crowd - and it was hilarious. Whoever was behind whatever wall doing Crush’s voice is a genuine comedian, super quick while having fun with the kids and teasing the adults.
Scout and her Frozen heroes
Some takeaways from Disney:
Firstly, we strongly suggest a baby carrier like what we use. It’s comfortable for the kid, and offers an alternative to being strapped in a stroller, which we also took. The best part of the baby carrier is that Scout could nap in it. On both days, first at Disney and the second at California Adventure, Scout was able to get at least a full hour nap while strapped in.
Maybe as important as the first - get the FastPass. This was an important part of why Scout was able to last for so many hours at the park - because we were able to maintain momentum the whole time. That is, because of the Fast Pass, we reduced our time waiting around idly to almost nothing. The main feature is that you can save place in lines while you check out other parts of the park. Besides this you can also order meals for pickup. On the first day we reserved a meal, which let us walk right up to the counter and pick up our food. If we hadn’t done that it would have been a 45 minute wait.
Scout riding in the carrier, just trying to be like mom
After Disney, it was time to head on home.
In our particular situation, we first had to return our car that was rented from an Airbnb-for-cars type company. This required us to go pretty far out of the way from the airport to drop the car off, then take a shuttle to the airport. Unfortunately this shuttle coincided directly witch Scout’s nap time.
Our hope at that point was that she would just take her nap on the plane. However, due to the configuration of the seats, Scout could not lie down. This really frustrated her, which put us down the path of a frustrating flight. She turned into a crying, yelling, twisty ball of anger. Somehow we did make it home with a shred of sanity.
Ultimately this was a small price to pay for an incredibly fun trip.
We shall see you again, SoCal!
