Note: This post is part of an ongoing blog series called #costamesa365 where the author is striving to shop only* in her city of Costa Mesa, for a year.
Last spring, we became the proud owners of Disneyland Annual Passes.
They are the cheap ones, so we can only go on select weekdays – and then not-at-all for large swaths of summer and most holidays.
We actually didn’t end up going that often. Maybe 3 trips, total, this past year? So even before #costsamesa365, I was already 50/50 about whether we’d renew again in 2019.
Then, I just heard that with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening this summer, word on Main Street is the park will get SUPER packed. They anticipate turning people away at the entrance.
Whether that rumor is true or not, the park’s going to be crazy busy. Which means this introvert is hanging up her ears, for at least a year or two, as I wait for the hype to die down.
Are you planning to “lapse your pass” because of Star Wars? Share your thoughts in our Facebook Group!
So with our current passes expiring at the end of April, I wanted to squeeze in a final trip or two.
No problem. Easy peasy.
But, wait… aren’t I forgetting something?
Oh, shoot! #costamesa365!
Doh.
There are so many things I did not consider before taking the plunge into my shop-local challenge. I guess that’s the challenging part? The stumbling blocks that crop up as you’re attempting to mindfully modify your behavior?
But I am dedicated to giving #costamesa365 my best, so I figured, “Ok. Welp, D-land is off the table. Trip over.”
But then it struck me, “Wait! The passes are paid for. So as long as I don’t spend money, I can go!”
So crazy, it just might work. To make it happen, though, I’d need to plan ahead.
The morning of our visit, I woke up at 5:30am to pack. I took all my Costa Mesa-sourced groceries and produce and prepped enough sandwiches, salads, snacks, drinks and treats to feed an army (or just me my hubs for a full day at Disney.)
I didn’t pack anything for my kids for three reasons:
1) I am the only member of my family who is currently going HARD CORE #costamesa365. I wasn’t going to force anyone to do it. But I hope, through my example, that my family will eventually drink the Costa Mesa kool-aid.
2) We had no room in our bag after packing lunch for the grown-ups.
3) They love, love, LOVE eating at Pizza Port in Tomorrowland. So we just went with that.
Below is a quick pic I snapped of our lunch (foreground) and kids’ lunch (background) before we scarfed it all down.
See? I told you it was a lot of food. What can I say? Disney works up an appetite!
Fruit, veggies, salad fixings and hummus from Growers Direct Produce in Costa Mesa.
Tuna fish, bread, mayo and chips from Trader Joe’s in Costa Mesa.
Kombucha to wash it down from Fermentation Farm in – that’s right – Costa Mesa!
The food was delicious and held up well despite all the roller-coasters we’d been riding. (Shoving your lunch into Thunder Mountain footwells all morning can sometimes take its toll.)
As much as it was a pain in the astro-blaster to get up early and prep – and it was tough, at times, to push through the churro compulsion – my husband and I were stoked on the outcomes for two reasons:
1) We realized how great we felt, eating healthy food from home instead of indulging in treats all day. Like, literally, we’ve never felt so light and energetic at Disneyland. Usually I am dragging the second half of the day. I always thought it was the crowds and walking that tired me out – but now I think it was the food.
2) We loved supporting our town, even while spending the day in another! I felt like a stealthy, cloak-and-dagger Costa Mesan, living it up in Anaheim. 100% supporting my neighborhood food purveyors while still giving my kids the Disney day they craved.
So what say you, Costa Mesans? Willing to try schlepping a day’s worth of Costa Mesa munchies on your next visit to the House of Mouse? ♥
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*We will always start by shopping / looking in Costa Mesa, first. But if we really need something and an alternative is nowhere to be found in Costa Mesa, we’ll stray. Also, as parents, we’ve decided that certain kid-related things (mainly educational) will need to remain baked in.
