Disneyland

Five weeks ago, I was sitting in book club and it came out that Brady and I had never been to Disneyland.  The next 45 minutes were dedicated to telling me all the reasons I should take my kids.  At the time, I thought, "Maybe someday we will," but somehow we went from someday to a couple weeks later.  Brady and I had planned to do a quick inter island trip around Spring Break, but since construction on our house was due to start any day, we bumped the trip up.  Brady can't go anywhere while we are building, and we didn't know when the IVF was going to start, so we decided to go for it. Only one week passed from the time we decided to go to Disneyland to the time we left for Disneyland.  It is hands down the most spontaneous thing we've ever done.

Unfortunately, we took very few pictures on this trip.  Kidding, obviously.  Look at the size of this post!

From Kauai to Honolulu, Kate cried and cried.  And cried.  When we landed it Honolulu (a whopping 35 minutes later), Kate suddenly stopped crying, pointed to the airport, and exclaimed, "DISNEYLAND!" 

This is Zac asleep prior to boarding our 10pm flight from Honolulu to LAX.  He is the best sleeper.  I did not realize what a good sleeper he was until I compared him with Kate.

We got off the red eye and when we walked out of the airport, Zac said, "It smells like Utah here!   I think this is Utah!"

We headed straight to IHop.  Zachary was so excited!  Sitting with his menu, he said, "I wish we could live here.  Can we please move here?"  I love that he wanted to move to LA for pancakes.  He wasn't just excited about the carbs, either.  When we got into the rental car, he asked if we could please take the car home with us.  "It's just so cool, and I like the warm A/C!"

Howard Johnson is officially the place I will stay from now until the end of our DL visits.  They let us check in at 8am (and upgrated us to a suite!), so Brady and Kate were able to sleep for a few hours.  I get overly excited (just like Zac), so we headed out to the hotel's Pirates Cove and played in the water.  It was 61 degrees, but you would guess by Zac's endurance that it was 85 degrees.  Good thing they had a hot tub.

There was a huge bucket at the top of the cove that filled up and periodically dumped water.  Zachary thought it was the coolest thing ever, after the rental car and IHOP, of course.

 Kate and Brady (finally) woke up and joined us.  Brady caught a yucky cold a week before the trip and it was sticking around, while Kate got sick the day before our trip.  It was unfortunate timing, but they both toughed it out.

 That night we went to Target (TARGET!!!) for the week's groceries, and then to Cafe Rio (CAFE RIO!!!) for dinner.

 Standing in line for our food:

Yes, Cafe Rio is this important to us:

Reading books together with Daddy.  Before he went to sleep, Zachary asked, "Is Disneyland on the island of California?"  I promise we are working on geography.

The next morning, we headed into the park.  It was chilly!  Zachary said, "I smell snow."  Nope, you just smell 58 degrees!  At the entrance, we were greeted immediately by Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter.  My kids had no idea who they were, but Kate was enamored anyway.

My friend Genevieve gave me a crash course on DL, which included handing me a bunch of Disney shows my kids hadn't seen.  We watched, "A Little Mermaid" first, and Kate refused to watch any of the others.  She watched it 4 times in a week.  She was so happy to meet Ariel.

The park wasn't busy, so we hopped in line to meet a few other characters.

Zac didn't care for the princesses (so he said, although I'm pretty sure he thought they were real), but he loved the Mickey Mouse clan.

The kids laughing at Goofy:

Goofy twirling Kate:

Love this sign:

Snapping another pic of our princess.  She showed her dress to everyone who passed, holding it out delicately.  Hilarious.

This happened several times on the trip--random foreigners snapping pictures with our little blondie.

First time to Fantasyland, and Dumbo was our first ride.

Kate was happy enough to meet princesses but sick enough to frown in pics with me:

On to Tea Cups:

Next came Zachary and Kate's favorite part of the day, Autopia:

We followed it up with what was surely Zac's least favorite part(s) of the day: Star Wars and Space Mountain.  Look at the pic on the coaster--you can see Zac just scowling next to Brady.

We went back to the hotel for the kids to sleep, and then back for the parade, a bunch more rides, and fireworks.  Kate loved "Pirates of the Caribbean," we loved Indiana Jones, and Zac hated all of it.

...except for the parade.  We all LOVED the parade.

The best part is having a two-year-old dressed up as a princess.  Kate got so many high fives, waves, and blown kisses throughout.

Find the white princess, haha:

Ah, diversity (Yes, I know, there's also Pocahontas, Doc McStuffins, and Mulan, among others):

Tinker Bell:

Seeing Mary Poppins was the most exciting part for me: I grew up watching this movie again and again.

Our first night with fireworks, we were in Adventureland instead of by the castle.  They were still cool, but we learned where we should be sitting for the next night.

The next morning, we were off to CA Adventure.  We started off in A Bug's Land, with perfect little rides for Kate.

A major highlight for Zac was meeting Mater and Lightning McQueen:

Then we took off for the park's most popular ride: Radiator Springs Racers.  So fun!!  Zac did this one willingly, and he did it twice.  He still wasn't sure if he liked it, but what a spectacular ride!

Kate and I met Flik while Zac and Brady were at Radiator Springs:

We rode carousels and took turns riding the best coaster in the park--California Screamin.  Zachary had zero interest in this ride, but Kate was freaking out when Brady and took turns to ride it.  "I want to ride the choo-choo train!!!" she cried with big. juicy tears as the coaster zipped by.  We found other distractions for her.

The best distraction was the ride Kate ended up doing 5 times during our trip:  The Little Mermaid.  Loved it!  She waved and waved, sang along, and blew kisses.

That afternoon, we had the kids sleep again, then spent some more time at Pirate Cove.  It goes against my still-slightly-Type A personality to spend time at the hotel pool when our Disney passes were active, but that's what Zac wanted to do, and it made him happy for the rest of the day.

We ate dinner and then went back for another night of fireworks and a few more rides.  This was the only night they got to pick a treat at the special treat store.  It took them 20 minutes to decide.  Don't worry, they ate about an inch of these ridiculous lollipops.

The next morning, it was crazy busy in the park.  We did manage to get a lot of character experiences.  This was Kate's favorite:

This was Zac's second favorite of the entire stay.  I love that he is six years old and still loves Mickey Mouse.

Ariel:

Every time she approached a princess, she first told them about her brother Zachary, who was either behind her or hiding in the eves.  "That's my brother, Zac.  He is 6.  I am 2.  My birday is in March.  I will be (holds up 3 fingers)."  We heard this same explanation given to each princess.

Cinderella:

Kate checked out every princess like this:

Kate said, "Mom, what's her name?"  Aurora.  "Awowa?  Wow, she is butiful."

We headed up to Toon Town and Zachary found a roller coaster that he loved, Gadget's Go Coaster.  Kate was big enough to ride it, too, and jumping up and down with excitement.  That is, she was excited until we were going down the first hill, when she burst into tears.  We got off the ride, and she said, "I don't like that wolla costa!"  She did not cry again the rest of the trip when she had to sit out rides for height requirements.

Zachary liked Go Coaster so much, he rode it again while Kate and I ran off to find another princess.

We found Mary Poppins again.  Ah, love her.

Next, we watched a theater production of "Tangled."  We all loved it.  It was the highlight of Zachary and Kate's day.

We headed back for the kids to sleep in the afternoon.  It was around this time that I questioned whether all of this was worth it.  Kate was still so ill, and Zac was getting bored by small rides but petrified of big ones.  I thought that maybe we should have saved our money for a backpacking trip to New Zealand.  It was okay, but not everything I wanted it to be in my kids' eyes.  I was also annoyed with how busy it was (I don't know how anyone goes in the summer!), and how pushy people were.  So many times, people pushed Kate out of the way to rush ahead to a line.  That was bizarre behavior to see!

On the way back into the park that day, I couldn't help but laugh and laugh.  Each time we entered, Zac ran as fast as he could, then slid head first onto every bench (and all the way off).  There was a bench every ten feet all the way into the park, so it was a lot of jumps and very entertaining for the people walking in with us.  It struck me as hilarious that Zac did not want to do rides, but he could throw himself hard at the ground again and again without so much as blinking.

Brady ran into the park earlier that afternoon to get some Fast Passes and also do a few rides.

When we went back in the middle of day 3, it all changed for us.  We made sure Zac understood that he didn't have to try anything he didn't want to, and Kate seemed to feel a little better health-wise.  We made sure to see more shows.  We had tried all the big rides for the most part, so we weren't anxious to get it all in.  We were relaxed and content.  We started off that evening with the Pixar Parade.  It was nothing as impressive to me and Brady as the Disney parade, but it was thrilling for Zachary.

Zac jumped up and down and said, "DAD!  It's the INCREDIBLES!!"

Toy Story:

We took turns "Soarin over CA" and then watched the fireworks from the castle.  I missed a magic moment because I took too long on the ride, and missed watching them with the kids.  Sad.

We hopped over to California Adventure to use my fast pass for Hollywood Tower of Terror (fun!).  Not the greatest call because it dumped rain on us.  We did get to pop in to Monster's Inc ride with no line, though, so the kids forgave me, I think.

During one of the kids' naps, Brady ran back to Target and bought Kate another dress.  It's crazy how much attention she got wearing her princess gown, and she loves to dress up at home.  She put on her new dress and said, "See my dress?  (Twirl.)  I am sooooo pretty."

The next morning (Day 4), we grabbed FastPass tickets for the water show, "World of Color," then did several rides.  The kids loved Toy Story Mania.

The night before, we told Zachary that if he did 3 rides, we would buy him a light up toy.  We made sure he knew he didn't have to, but he was so nervous and excited.  He woke up super early, ready to take on the challenge.

He first did "Goofy's Sky School"--not a big ride, but big enough to count.  He loved it so much, he agreed to do the ride again with me.

Next, he went for Materhorn's Bobsled.  He did this ride before with Brady and hated it, but he was excited to try it again.  He came out with a big grin, after "shooting the monsters with Daddy."

Park hours were quite a bit shorter that day, so it was wildly convenient that Kate took a 90 min nap in the middle of the day so we didn't have to go back to the hotel.

In the meantime, Zachary rode Space Mountain.  He was so pumped up (and anxious) in the line, he could not stand still.  He had already done this ride once, and it scared him to pieces.  Bounce, shuffle, bounce, jump up and down!  He got off the ride and immediately went to get his prize.  He was so happy and proud of himself!

After Kate woke up, we went to a show called "Mickey's Magical Map."  At one point, the real Mickey disappears into the map and becomes animated.  Zac was concerned about what was real and what was pretend the entire trip.  When he saw Mickey become animated, he jumped up and exclaimed, "SEE MOM!??!!!  It's REAL!  I knew magic was real!!"  Best moment of the trip with Zachary, hands down.

We headed over to the theater again to see Beauty and the Beast.  Another great decision.

The kids at front and center:

The kids did the rockets and Buzz again while I caught a couple rides.

Another round on the Tea Cups:

And off to Jedi Training!  We got there in plenty of time to sit on the front row.  Only a select number of kids get chosen, and the Disney staff tell you that you have to be enthusiastic, jump up and down, and beg to be chosen.  When I told Zac what he needed to do, he said, "But that's not polite!"  Way to go, little man, you are right, but do it anyway.  He was chosen!

Darth Maul is scary!  An older kid looked like he was going to cry fighting him.

All the kids were given Jedi training, and then had to pass a final test fighting either Darth Vader or Darth Maul.

Darth:  "Come to the dark side!"  Children:  "NO, WE WILL NOT!"

Graduation:

We watched the Disney parade again, and delighted in Kate's dancing and blowing kisses and happiness.  The characters obviously are trained to individualize Disneyland for as many kids as they possibly can.  They are so, so good at giving eye contact, waves, kisses, and attention to the kids.  Kate saw Ariel and said, "Merdaid!  My favorite!!" (more dancing).

That evening, we went to "World of Color"--a light and water show.  We had moderate expectations for it, but it was unreal.  Brady and I thought it was the best thing we saw the entire trip.

The last day was our Magic Morning, so we went to the park an hour early.  It was still nutso at Fantasyland, but we finally just stood in line for 40 minutes to ride Peter Pan (the longest wait time of our entire trip).

Kate got her Minnie Mouse photo op with her dress:

We waited in line to see fairies:

At one point, Kate was talking to a park employee.  She turned to me with excitement in her eyes, and shrieked, "Mom, he said princess and he meant ME!"  Ah, you beautiful, joyful little girl, I love you so much.

We took lots of silly pictures:

Tinks!

More Tea Cups and more rides on "Scary Hands."  Kate and Zachary watched a Disney Sing-along video before we came and they saw Snow White in the old school parade, with trees that had "scary hands."  Kate begged us to ride Snow White, and we obliged a few times.  She liked the bit of creepiness.

Critter Country:

We spent our last few hours in CA Adventureland.  Zac had a great afternoon.  He freaked out when he saw Jake...

...and when we bought some cotton candy.

...and when we did "Turtle Talk" with Crush.

...and when we went to Disney Junior Live! and saw the puppets from his (and Kate's) favorite shows--Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  I don't know if I have ever seen him so excited.  He was dancing all over the place.

...and he seriously considered riding California Screamin with us but bailed (I'm glad he did--that coaster is too much for most 6-year-olds, I think).

...and when he got to ride Goofy's Sky School 4 more times.

...and when we watched the Pixar Parade again.  Kate was sleeping, and Zachary got 11 personal waves from the characters.  It was fun to see him get so much attention.  Kate "hogs" a lot of attention when she is watching the parades.  

...and finally when he picked out his Disneyland souvenir.  We let both kids pick out one on the last day.  He sleeps with Zurg, and Kate dances around as Repunzel (picture of the hat above).  

Zachary said, "I want to stay in Disneyland forever.  We can just build our house by the hotel.  Or by Disneyland.  Can we please?"

I felt overly sentimental leaving the park, getting a little misty eyed and hoping I can remember these moments with the kids.

The plane ride home was long, but uneventful.  We love Hawaiian Airlines. 

Zac had Zurg buckled in next to him the entire way home, "so he stays safe."

We left California (after another trip to Cafe Rio, of course) so happy and content.  We loved all the time with just our kids and away from all the day to day responsibilities.  We left with thinking that it's time to save for our next trip in a few years while it is all still magical and real.