Entering the Hayao Miyazaki exhibit through Totoro’s tunnel with Joe Hisaishi playing overhead, I could have cried! When the tunnel opens up, you’re met by clips from Miyazaki films projected onto the walls. I had to remind myself that I could marathon the films once I got home (which I definitely did), and with great effort, pulled myself onward.

My favourite parts were the installations, anything related to Princess Mononoke (my favourite Studio Ghibli film), and the character design BTS. It was especially fun to see the various iterations of Kiki’s hair blonde, red, blue; long and flowing, tied down in pigtails; before settling on her brunette bob decorated with a red bow. Another cool thing I learned was that Miyazaki would write poems about his characters to convey their personalities to his animators, which were displayed on the walls of the exhibit.

Before leaving the museum, I popped by the museum store to grab the Hayao Miyazaki art book as a keepsake. You’re not allowed to take photos inside the exhibit (only the hallway outside), but it’s all documented in the book except for the installations — so still worth a visit, but not the end of the world if you couldn’t make it. I’m so grateful I got to visit this temporary exhibit twice before it ended, and now I’ll have this art book to flip through whenever I want! One day I’ll have to make my way to the Ghibli Museum, Ghibli Park, and Jiufen.

I was a bit apprehensive about making a trip to Universal Studios on the actual week of Christmas, but we had a friend to entertain! In the end, we had nothing to worry about, even without Express Passes. We arrived right when the park opened and hustled down to the Lower Level for Jurassic World, The Mummy, and Transformers rides — we’ll have to come back in February for the opening of Super Nintendo World! As you can see, Jurassic World was pretty much empty, probably because nobody wanted to get drenched first thing in the morning. We didn’t think that far ahead, but the shivers really added to the thrill haha. The Mummy was sooo much fun; we rode it two times without having to line up. By the time we got to Transformers, the lines started forming.

With the Lower Level complete, we journeyed up the escalators to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the Upper Level. I could have spent the rest of the day strolling around Harry Potter World — not even riding the rides (the Harry Potter rides are a bit tame and I’ve already done them in Japan anyway), just enjoying the shops and ambience. Shout out to the Fizzing Whizzbees! They’re bee-shaped milk chocolates with strawberry pop rocks and they’re SO good. I wish they came in cute keepsake tins, but I’d stock up on them regardless.

We probably walked in and out of Harry Potter World five different times, but we also went on other Upper Level rides (Kung Fu Panda) and saw some shows (Water World, Special Effects Show, Studio Tour). The park didn’t start feeling overwhelmingly chaotic until evening — maybe because of the evening light shows, plus the park started restricting the traffic to one-way only, so we had to walk in circles to get around — and that was our sign to turn in for the night.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Nothing like Disneyland on a Tuesday! My brothers and I arrived right when the park opened, and our only plan was to ride Space Mountain over and over until our friends arrived, but alas, Space Mountain was “temporarily closed” !!!! A bunch of friends had told me to plan an itinerary before getting to Disneyland, but I was swamped with school and didn’t have time, and I figured I’d just follow everyone else around after getting my fill of Space Mountain.

Thus, we were back to the drawing board. My brothers and I used our precious phone battery to look up potentially fun rides and studied up on how Lightning Lanes worked with the Genie+ Pass while waiting in random lines for random rides. By the time our friends arrived, we were pros. I’m so frickin prepared for the next visit 😉

Later in the day, Space Mountain finally opened and you better believe we hauled it over! It was the best ride of the day! I don’t think I blinked once and I have the tears to prove it haha.

We stayed at the park until the fireworks, sort of haha. In the evening, we bided our time shopping for souvenirs and resting outdoors at one of the cafes on Main Street with a perfect view. I got myself a soup and hot cocoa, and our waitress gave me a free refill and another full cup to go! I was absolutely stuffed but I mean… I couldn’t turn it down! In the end, the fireworks were cancelled because of the wind, which was hilarious because our friends have been trying to catch the fireworks at Disneyland for years but the fireworks always happened to be cancelled for one reason or another. Gotta love keeping the tradition alive!

On the shuttle back to the parking lot, my legs immediately turned to jelly, and walking from the shuttle to the car took all my concentration because I was sure they’d give out at any moment. Absolutely spent, absolutely well-spent.