Prompted by friends who have done the similar experiences with individual kids, we decided to make solo trips happen with a parent this year. Zachary finished reading the Harry Potter series start to finish for the third time and wanted to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter desperately. We surprised the kids with their trips about a month before Zac and I were scheduled to leave. We also happened to score $240 roundtrip tickets to LA. Yahoo!
We have discovered alternatives to the red eye flight and it is worth every penny to sleep for a few hours in a real bed, even at a questionable hotel with bars over the window and a continental bare-bones breakfast served in what appeared to be a laundry room.
Universal Studios was up first, and we woke up three hours before we wanted to in order to get there at opening. Zachary smiles at these park opening pictures but actually, he was a ball of nerves and so anxious to get to Harry Potter.
Hooray, "finally" walking into Diagon Alley at 10:01am (exactly one minute after opening).
The sun was blinding and all he cared about was finding the shops.
He did take a few minutes to get on platform 9 3/4 and talk to the enthusiastic conductor.
Fred and George's shop, complete with extendable ears, puking pustilles, every flavor bean, chocolate frogs, gilly water, and other pranks.
Next up, Hogwarts Castle, where we waited in line for 45 minutes to ride on our broomsticks, avoid Dementors, dodge the Whomping Willow, and play quidditch. We loved the dialogue between the pictures, Professor Sprout's plants, the tracker for house points, and the invisibility cloak that hid Ron, Hermione, and Harry after they gave us directions.
Watching this performance and taking this picture were Zachary's least favorite moments of the day. I showed it to a friend who asked about the Pam Am girls behind Zac.
I told Zac we would get a Butterbeer around 11:00am and he watched the clock and got in line exactly at 11:00am. He enjoyed it, and I thought it tasted like barely diluted butterscotch syrup. $8 syrup at that.
Next ride: Flight of the Hippogriff. It was so short but fun!
I kept reminding Zachary to have fun. He was so anxious to shop and see it all. Each line and wait stressed him out a bit. The line that ended up being the most worth it was the show at Ollivander's. It was a 25 minute wait in the hot sun, but when Zachary was chosen out of the group to find the wand that "picked him," the sweat paid off. The first wand he flicked killed a plant. The second wand knocked down a pile of boxes. Bad choices for this wizard! The third caused him to light up, his hair flying backwards. It clearly chose him.
It's just that Zac didn't choose it back. He opted instead for Sirius Black's more intricate wand. The interactive wand was equally frustrating and fun--fun when it worked about 20% of the time. The coolest trick was opening up the gates and watching smoke emerge.
We caught the WaterWorld show which Zachary tolerated but he really just wanted to be back in the shops at HP. So, back we went! We rode HP and the Forbidden Journey another three times.
We saw Kung Fu Panda, Minion Mayhem, and a Special Effects show that had Zac in stitches, nearly in tears. We checked out Transformers and I did a single rider Mummy tour (my favorite in the park). We ended up back at HP, in the shops and watching frogs sing.
We did not spend the time taking good Diagon Alley shots at the beginning of the day and missed our window with the park closing early for a Halloween event.
Zachary was a little disappointed that there was no sorting hat for him to discover his house placement. He found one at a gift shop instead and of course declared himself Griffindor.
We did the CityWalk after park closing, watching indoor sky diving simulations, touring candy stores, and checking out $300 figurines from Game of Thrones. We finally decided on Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. My two favorite moments: catching Zachary eating his chocolate cauldron just before our wait was over while I washed up in the bathroom, and hearing him ask me why people like rock music.
He can't pronounce cauldron, calling it instead, "cal-dron." Inability to correctly pronounce words is one of the most endearing things about readers. (I am not one to talk. I still question if I'm saying "ambience" correctly.)
We drove an hour to our hotel, Zachary talking to me the entire way. The best part of the trip was having him to myself with all the uninterrupted reflections, comments, and little teaching moments. Zac has a huge personality and is generally so content with his life.
The morning came way too early again, and we rushed to get ready and down to breakfast. A sugary, carb-loaded breakfast is Zac's favorite component of any vacation and the Marriott Residence did not disappoint. He made himself waffles every morning.
We sped to the gates and waiting in security and ticket lines for 45 minutes. Zac was so antsy again to get on a ride. It was a good exercise in patience for him to stand and take these pictures with me.
First up: Autopia! He loved it but not enough to do it twice.
Space Mountain nearly killed him off for all roller coasters. It was Halloween-themed with eerie ghosts attempting to swallow us whole in the darkness. He said, "I will never do that ride again," and even though he said those words about a few different rides, on this one, he meant it.
I tried my hardest but he schooled me at Astro Blasters all three times.
Zachary's favorite part of Disneyland was posing for this picture (hehe):
Getting drenched on Splash Mountain:
I told him the sword was removable if he pulled hard enough. Ha!
I won't lie: I missed seeing princesses. This is the closest I came to a princess sighting.
I told Zachary I would pay for one treat a day. He asked for cotton candy at 9:45am.
After such an early start for the Hawaii-Standard-Timers, we decided to scoot back to the hotel for me to workout and Zac to rest and watch some 'Bama football. He was really excited to stop at the Lego Store on the way and could not believe the lego creations in there. He drooled over the $399 Harry Potter castle, trying to calculate how many years it will/would take him to save for it.
I tried to get him to pose with these girls, but that was a no-go.
Back to Disney in the afternoon for a parade, the Small World ride, Pirates, and Indiana Jones. It was my first time ever on Small World, and I loved the message of humanity by the charming and also creepy dolls. Indian Jones was a mistake--the snake trying to bite of Zachary's head was a close second to the fear inspired by the Space Mountain ghosts. Our fast passes bounced us all over the park and we tallied 15 miles that day without waiting more than 10 minutes in any line.
It cracked me up how uninterested Zachary was in the parade. He asked me, "Is it over yet?" six times.
You can take the boy out of Hawaii, but you can't take Hawaii outta da boy.
I had Fast Passes to see Fantasmic in close seats at 10:30pm, but Zachary rejected that idea, stating, "Mom, I really need my sleep." Instead, we watched them behind heads at 9pm, catching only the tops of fireworks and actions. Ha! I did make him stay and watch fireworks after the show.
Zachary loves sleep. He also commented that he is "a reader, not a gamer."
Day 3 started even earlier as we hurried to get in for our Magic Morning which turned out to be a misunderstanding. We had extra time to catch this fancy picture. Zac's face is full of dread and disgust even without knowing what animation they would put in.
It did lead to my favorite picture ever with him, though.
First up, Guardians of the Galaxy. I was terrified and screamed to Zac, "When will this ever end?" He teased me and said it was not scary at all.
We met new friends and chatted on the way to Cars Land, where we rode Radiator Springs 4 times and talked about how much Owen would love it there.
People walk around Disney with t-shirts about churros, so we tried one and decided they were ok.
Zac's favorite ride of the morning: Grizzly River Run. He was convinced the wheel in the middle turned the raft and he had control over who got splashed, and everyone in the raft believed it, too. He laughed and laughed.
The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail was a hit, too.
Toy Story Mania! My one and only peace sign flash. We are shaka people.
Nothing compared to his enthusiasm over the Incredicoaster, the newly opened, former "California Screamin'" ride. Zachary rode in 22 times in 24 hours, most of the time from the front seat. I had a fair amount of endurance but after 11 times, I was pau. Zac was also a good sport, watching a one hour "Frozen" performance with me, riding "Little Mermaid" to nurse my nostalgia, and "Soaring around the World."
In between all the flips and drops those two days, we stood in line twice for over 30 minutes (clarification: I stood in line and Zac did Incredicoaster) to eat snow-capped lemon ice cream from the Abominable, I mean, Adorable Snowman. My Disney t-shirt would mention this stuff, not churros.
Another cold run down Grizzly before we finished the night off with a couple more coaster rides and the "Paint the Night" parade.
The next morning, Zachary's number one request was to sleep in a little and have longer to eat breakfast. He claimed it was his plan to eat a little healthier but I knew the waffle maker would sing to him again. My breakfast v. his breakfast.
Waffles with whipped cream, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce.
My second closest encounter with a princess.
It cracked me up how delighted he was to ride tea cups. He did it on his own a couple times, too. My head did not stop spinning for 15 min afterwards.
I really wanted to do the Haunted House, and he willingly braved up and went with me. It was "Nightmare Before Christmas" themed and I loved how he snuggled up next to me the entire way.
At 11am he said, "All I want to do the rest of the day is ride Incredicoaster."
I read "Rebecca," listened to bands, and took pictures with Elasta Girl while he whipped around again and again.
The park employees were impressed at how fast he could scale across the rocks. Next time we are on the mainland, I want to take him to a rock climbing facility.
We ran over to Disneyland before it closed to do Indian Jones and Splash Mountain again before the Mickey Party started. Back at California Adventure, we did a last round of our favorites, a tie breaker on Toy Story Mania, and finished out the chilly night with dinner at the bakery. As we approached the counter, I asked Zachary what he wanted off the menu. "I want the bread bowl that is filled with soup--but without the soup," without a hint of irony in his voice. I nixed the idea and he opted for the Turkey Pesto Sandwich. Talking to the cashier, he requested it, "without the tomato, lettuce, or pesto."
Zachary could not stay awake on the way to the hotel by the airport and I had a chance to reflect on our little adventure. I was so grateful for all the moments--small windows of time I could talk about respect and kindness for others. It takes so little effort to be warm and courteous to others, and it's a big lesson to learn as a 10-year-old. We talked more about sexuality, his birth mother and father, drugs, friends, healthy eating, fitness, and gratitude. We had a 10-minute battle over applying sunscreen. He told me how much he loved his hair, how nervous he is about middle school and how insecure he feels playing basketball right now. I told him how much my feet bother me and how much I miss running. He empathized with me and repeatedly asked me, "What do you want to do?" when it was time for a new ride. I loved this so much.
Highlights according to Zachary:
- "I loved how realistic Harry Potter Land felt. Everything was magical but real. Displays in windows were moving and pictures moved."
- "I was kind of nervous in front of everyone when I was at the wand shop, but it was cool to find the wand that suited me."
- "Harry Potter Land was my favorite. I thought it would be bigger but I really liked it. The ride was awesome. It felt like I was actually flying and playing quidditch. I liked shopping there and buying my treats and legos."
- "The special effects show was scary and then really funny. They were good actors."
- "I liked being together. I learned a lot more about what you like. You like roller coasters but not the ones that just drop. You like scary stuff. You like characters and movie stars. You try to be friendly to people."
Disneyland makes me a little nervous. Everywhere you look, there are kids indulging in cotton candy and buying $30 souvenirs. On the other hand, it really does seem like the happiest place on earth for everyone but the toddlers who missed naps. Even the employees that are dressed to the nines in scorching hot costumes have enormous smiles. We plan to do another solo parent trip with Zac, but next time it will be with Brady and either an adventure trip or something cultural. I might be happiest outdoors, but this past week, I was having the time of my life with my oldest son. I'm so impressed with him--his willingness to enjoy life is infectious.
He was so excited to show off his wand and Harry Potter Quidditch legos to Kate when she got home from school that day. After a 2:30am HST wake-up, he stayed awake all day (even on the flight!) and played in a double-header basketball games until 9pm, his first games of the season. That went a long way toward relieving his basketball nerves and getting back into the swing of things.
Kate is next! She will be doing Disneyland with Brady in November!
