We drove down to Seattle on Saturday morning to catch our flight to Los Angeles. The kids all did really well on the flight. They got a little stir-crazy by the end of the two hour flight but, otherwise, they were great. The boys enjoyed playing some video games on the backs of the seats in front of them. We arrived in LA at about 3pm, then had to get the shuttle to take us to the car rental place and then drove the hour or so to Anaheim. Our new GPS did a good job of taking us to our destination. The whole trip took us a while, though, and we didn't arrive until almost 7pm. So we made a quick trip to McDonald's, grabbed some dinner, and headed back to hotel to get some rest before our big day the next day.
We were up bright and early on Sunday, had breakfast at the hotel and headed out to Disneyland. My parents and I were last there in 1995 and James was there around the same time. Much of it is the same but there were many new things as well. But, once we arrived, all the memories came back. And it was so much fun to see the boys experience it all. We headed to Fantasyland first and got to go on all the original Disneyland rides - Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventure, Pinocchio's Daring Adventure, Sleeping Beauty's Castle. The kids' eyes (all three kids) were so wide - they loved it! We went on Casey Jr’s Train ride (the too too fain, as Adm called it). This one was Adam’s favourite, of course.
After Fantasyland, we headed over to New Orleans Square to go in the Haunted Mansion. Daniel had been asking and asking since the moment we arrived so we decided to see how they liked it. Daniel loved it! It became one of his favourite rides. Adam wasn’t thrilled with it but he wasn’t too scared. Then we went over to Pirates of the Caribbean. They both liked the hi-yas (as Adam calls pirates) and this ride became another favourite.
We then found a place for lunch and brought out our picnic of sandwiches. (We weren’t paying Disneyland prices for lunch!) Then we headed over to Adventureland to see the Enchanted Tiki Room. This was one of Gramma and Grampa’s favourite. Next was the Jungle Cruise with all its punny jokes. Then we went on the ride everyone loves – It’s a Small World! Despite what everyone says, I thought it was really cute. And the kids loved it. Sarah didn’t blink the entire time, Adam was bopping to the music and even Daniel was enthralled. The ride was great for another reason – all three kids fell asleep right after! So Gramma and I had a chance to do some shopping in Downtown Disney while the kids napped.
When the kids woke up, we left Disney for Subway to have some dinner and, after a bit of a break, went back for the evening. We caught the end of the Celebrate street party – there are no parades at this time of year but the street party was pretty fun. Then we went to see what was going on in Tomorrowland. Daddy and Grampa took the boys on the Autopia and they had fun driving the cars around. Then we went over to the submarines. I remember the submarines from when I was a kid and they were boring. But they’re pretty cool now. You get to watch computerized Nemo and the gang swim amongst the coral rather than the fake-looking 1960s plastic fish that used to be there!
We had stayed late Sunday night to watch the fireworks but, a few minutes before starting time, they cancelled them due to wind. I think the adults were more upset than the kids, though. Instead, we headed back to Fantasyland and Dumbo. The ride goes up and down and is controlled by the rider – Adam wouldn’t let me make it go high, though. “Low Mommy. Me tared (scared).” Then we went over to the Mad Hatter ride – the spinning teacups. Not exactly my cup of tea J, and it wasn’t Adam’s either. But Daniel loved it. I don’t think there were any rides that Daniel didn’t like! But, after a long day, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for the next busy day.
We got there soon after opening on Monday and planned to go to Mickey’s Toontown. But it didn’t open until 10am, so we did a few rides in Fantasyland while we were waiting. Toontown was perfect for the kids. They got to meet all their favourite characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto) and play in all their houses. I think the boys could have happily spent the entire day there. There was a kiddie roller coaster that both boys were able to ride. Daredevil Daniel loved it and Adam, who wasn’t so sure about it, rode it twice and regretted it the second time! Adam much preferred to play in Goofy’s backyard or visit with his beloved Minnie Mouse.
We ate lunch in Toontown and then wandered over to California Adventures, the new Disneyland park which is located where the parking lot used to be. California Adventures is geared more to older kids and adults with its thrill rides and Hollywood-type shows. We did go on Toy Story Midway Mania, which is a very cool 3-D ride where you play simulated midway games. The boys liked it but it was too difficult for them to play the games on the ride. After that, we split up from Gramma and Grampa for a while. They went on the big roller coaster while we went back to Toontown. Our time there was cut kind of short because Daniel got his finger caught in the swinging door of a garbage can. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the bandaids I had packed, so we had to go over to the first aid building. (There’s only one place in Disneyland to find bandaids, I think!) But the nurse did a great job cleaning Daniel up, took his little cut very seriously and he ate it up! Another nurse came to me to take down all our information – Daniel’s name and birthdate, address, where he got hurt. They all asked numerous times if the garbage can was broken – they really wanted to make sure we weren’t going to sue them!
We then met up with Gramma and Grampa again, went for dinner at a restaurant called Millie’s and went back to Disneyland. We went back to California Adventures and Adam promptly fell asleep in his stroller. So the rest of us took turns taking Daniel on the kiddie rides in the area called a bug’s land. They were cute but there were only a few of them, so we were ready to leave by 8pm.
Our last day started out pretty grey and rainy. We were lucky that the weather had cooperated the first two days, but we weren’t so lucky our last day. We started out by splitting up – Daniel, Daddy and Grampa went to Space Mountain to ride the BIG roller coaster while Adam, Sarah, Mommy and Gramma went to Fantasyland to the rides that were more Adam’s speed. It was good that we left the roller coasters to the last day or that would be the only thing Daniel would want to do! When we met up again, it started to rain a lot. Daniel was pretty upset about being wet and wanted to go back to the hotel. We knew he really didn’t want to, though, and decided it was time to have some lunch. A bit of food brightened everyone’s mood and, as we were finishing, the weather cleared a bit. So we went over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, another big roller coaster. Adam was quite happy just to watch Daniel and to play on some rocks – who needs rides! Daniel rode the roller coaster a few times and loved every minute.
The whole family went back to Fantasyland one last time to ride the classics again. Then we went to meet some princesses. Adam was quite enamoured with them - Snow White, Ariel and Cinderella. Cinawewwa was his favourite - he just melted into her arms as she whispered in his ear for over a minute! (I really wish I knew what she said to him.) He still talks about her and how piddy (pretty) she is!
While we were visiting the princesses, the rain started – I don’t remember the last time I was in such a downpour. I wanted to take Daniel on Space Mountain one time so we went over there and the line-up was really short. But, while we were on the ride, Adam fell asleep in his stroller and the rain picked up even more. With both Adam and Sarah asleep, we decided it was time to call it a day. But James and Daniel weren’t ready to quit, so they stayed while we rushed back to the hotel in the pouring rain. We were absolutely soaked and not very happy. Poor Adam woke up to find that he was just drenched. But James and Daniel had a great time and rode Space Mountain another four times or something like that! That will definitely be a memory that sticks with Daniel – hanging out with Dad at Disneyland in the pouring rain!
The trip home was pretty uneventful, except that the boys got to go in the cockpit of the airplane and touch a bunch of buttons. They thought that was pretty cool!
So there’s our trip to Disneyland. We had so much fun! Daniel certainly was the perfect age for all of it but I think Adam got a lot from it as well. Sarah wasn’t too thrilled, unfortunately. I think she got tired of being carried and bounced around and ended up with an upset stomach for a lot of the trip. But she did really well, all things considered. The adults all had a good time and came home with lots of great memories.
(I just had to include a picture of Sarah in her cute Minnie outfit. She spent the whole trip wrapped in a blanket in someone's arms so she didn't get many good Disneyland pictures of herself!)
There are a lot more pictures if you’d like to see them. You can find them at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154931&id=581855950&l=b6a2916225. There are a lot!
2 comments:
What a fun trip! I'm glad you guys had a good time. Your kiddos are growing so fast!
Such fun and excitement for all at Disneyland! What a wonderful opportunity for Daniel to get his fill of roller coasters, and for Adam to meet the girl(s) of his dreams! Sarah does look a little miffed at being bounced around so much but she'll be ready to roll in another couple of years - and we'll be ready then, too! Can't wait to see your other photos on Facebook.
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