Theme Parks – 90s California Runner Mom

Things I Don’t Buy as Frugal Mom Part 1

Posted on July 24, 2023July 24, 2023 by teresamunoz91

My daughter and I live in Southern california, LA County to be specific. This means we live near three theme parks: Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Disneyland Resort (this includes Disneyland and Disney California Adventure also known as DCA). We go to the theme parks pretty often and I’ve learn what is good to buy there and what to avoid.

Things I Don’t Buy at Theme Parks as a Frugal Mom

Balloons- These can be pricey and I don’t want to be stuck holding them the whole day
Bubble wands- Also pricey and I know my daughter will break it after one or two days.
Popcorn Buckets- I don’t usually buy popcorn anyways and they are always coming out with new ones. If I bought every single one I liked, it would take up too much space in my home
Drink bottles- Same as popcorn buckets. These can also be a bit pricey and I don’t want to collect things that will just gather dust in my home.
Snacks like churros, popcorn, cotton candy aka things I can get most places

Things I Do Buy

Snacks that I can only get at that specific theme park or their specialty items
Pins- I don’t buy them every time, but every once in a while I do buy pins especially if there is something happening during my visit like the Boysenberry Festival at Knott’s Berry Farm or an anniversary at Disneyland
Lunch- I usually like eating a big breakfast before getting to the theme park and then I can splurge on one meal which is lunch.

Theme Parks

Knott’s Boysenberry Festival 2023

Posted on May 29, 2023 by teresamunoz91

I have been going to the Boysenberry festival every single year since it started. They always have so many yummy treats and drinks to try. this year I went three times and got a few things. here are the things I got and some of my favorites, along with some not so tasty things.

Some things I saw. I bought the bag and take it everywhere. Also bought some tasty boysenberry things to bake.

My first time going this year, I tried the bbq chicken wings, boysenberry sangria, beignets with boysenberry powder, boysenberry waffles, and boysenberry elote. Everything was really good, except the sangria. I never had that before and didn’t realize that it was made with wine.

The second trip to Boysenberry Festival I got boysenberry meatball pizza, bbq beef with grits, boysenberry latte, and boysenberry mango lemonade. The drinks were both so good! The food, not so much. The problem with the pizza was just that it was too cold. This was my first time eating grits and I wasn’t a fan of the texture or taste.

I regret not getting the cute snoopy plushie. On my last trip, I only got 3 things, the elote, boysenberry tea, and boysenberry icee float with soft serve. The icee float and the elote are two of my all time favorites and I try to get them every year if they’re offered. Can’t wait for next year, food is always great there

Events, Theme Parks

Knott’s Boysenberry Brunch 2023

Posted on May 29, 2023May 29, 2023 by teresamunoz91

Earlier this year, I went to the boysenberry brunch at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. I decided to go by myself because it was pricey. It was $72 before my passholder discount.

There were so many food choices and I love boysenberry so I was excited to try all the food. The buffet came with bottomless boysenberry mimosas. I normally don’t like to drink, but this was very tasty! My favorites from the buffet were the made to order omelette, boysenberry meatballs, boysenberry mashed potatoes, and the boysenberry cheesecake.

Overall the food was good, the only things I didn’t like were the shrimp and the fried bite thing, not sure what it was. All I know is that it wasn’t very good. Knott’s Berry Farm always makes really good food for the Boysenberry Festival and this buffet was as good as I expected. I just wish I had been able to eat more, I got full pretty quickly.

Theme Parks

Boysenberry Festival 2022

Posted on April 24, 2022April 24, 2022 by teresamunoz91

I’ve been going to the Boysenberry Festival at Knott’s Berry Farm since it started and I was so happy to go back! Here are a few of the food and drinks I tasted while I was there.

Took my daughter om my second trip to the Boysenberry Festival

Here is the tasting card for this year’s Boysenberry Festival

My favorite drink was the boysenberry icee float with boysenberry soft serve

Also got boysenberry BBQ sauce meatballs with mashed potatoes, elote, acai bowl, boysenberry pie bar, boysenberry rocky road brownie, and a boysenberry mudslide.

I’m pretty happy with my choices, everything tasted so good.

Got the boysenberry beef grilled cheese with fries on my second trip

Theme Parks

Which Theme Park Holiday Sandwich was the best?

Posted on December 27, 2021December 27, 2021 by teresamunoz91

Top one is from Disneyland, bottom left is from Knott’s Berry Farm, and bottom right is from Universal Studios.

This month I tried the holiday sandwiches from Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Universal Studios. The ones from Disneyland and Universal Studios were between $12.50-$13 and the one from Knott’s Berry Farm was $15.

Disneyland

I loved that the one from Disneyland had gravy on the side, so I could put some on each bite and the whole sandwich didn’t get soggy. I also like that it came with their homemade chips, those were pretty good. One complaint was the kind of bread they used. I think this was worth the price and I ate it all.

Universal Studios

This one didn’t have any cranberry, but the whole thing tasted amazing. I love the french bread they used for the sandwich. It was worth the price, I just wish they had included chips or fries with it.

Knott’s Berry Farm

This one was the most expensive one at $15. This one came with french fries. This was the biggest portion of all three sandwiches. My one complaint was that it had so much gravy that it made the bread very soggy. It would’ve been better if the gravy had been on the side like the one from Disneyland. I enjoyed this sandwich, but found the price too steep. Also, i couldn’t finish the whole thing as the portion was too much for me.

All three sandwiches were very good. However, my personal favorite was the one from Universal Studios. I would definitely get that one again.