Disney Day 2

Owen woke up early, ready to cruise.  I offered him breakfast options and his reply was, "Whatever is fastest...and delicious."  He quickly settled on McDonald's pancakes.

Obligatory entrance photos:

First up: Autopia!  He was unconvinced this was worth his time and only thinking of Space Mountain, but our passes could not get us on first thing.

He loved it so much.

Next up: Space Mountain!  He was anxious and I had the nervous flutters for him again.  He was shaky when he got off the ride, but completely sold that this was the best ride at Disneyland.

Next, we went to fly a spaceship.  The group we were with let us be the pilots and it was a wild ride.  

"Mom.  Why do I have to take so many pictures?"

He heard another person talk about Haunted Mansion being scary so he was all in.  This was the trip to conquer all fear.  He liked it and asked 99 questions about ghosts.

Next up, Matterhorn!  This ride had the longest line of the day but he changed from Space Mountain as his ultimate favorite to the bumpy Yeti adventure.

We immediately exited the coaster and popped into Single Rider.

Back to Space Mountain, again and again and again.  Owen was usually covered up in the photos by hair but often got a nod by his seat mate.

Sometimes the line usher let us in together.

We decided to stay until fireworks that night at 9pm.  I asked him to consider taking a break at the hotel but he was dead set on "not wasting any minutes."  Mickey pretzels for lunch instead.

Love his little hands in the air.

He liked Rocky Mountain Thunder Railroad and that was a nice break after 5 rounds in space.

But we ended back there again and again.

We both anxiously waited our queued turn to ride Guardians.  We screamed the entire way up and down and it felt like such a party!  I finally understood the premise.

We hopped back in line for round 2, waiting almost an hour but it was completely worth it.

Indiana Jones!  Owen was so nervous but sure looks confident here!

He had zero interest in Fantasy Land and even less in the Toontown.  When we walked up, he immediately turned around and said, "Pass."

I convinced him to do Small World because it was a 5 minute wait and Space Mountain AND Matterhorn were temporarily closed.  He went willingly enough.  As we sailed in, I explained the premise.  I love this ride so much...all these cultures singing about their humanity and interconnectedness...

...but Owen was underwhelmed.

 Back to the Bobsleds. We ended with 8 rounds + 1 churro.

More outer space!

He asked me when the park closed and I told him midnight.  He begged to stay until the moment it closed.  I told him I would only do that if I could take a break from Disney at the hotel.  At this point, I was overcharged and needed to de-stimulate.  I ran a few miles while talking to Brady and while Owen relaxed on a weights bench, and then we took a trip to Mimi's Cafe for dinner before heading back to the park for 5 more hours.

This round of Autopia was one of my top 3 moments at Disney.  He laughed and laughed as I pretended to be terrified by his driving.

So many twisty coasters.  8th time in space!  Sweaty face.

Can't. Get. Enough.

For our 9th and final time on the ride, we sat in the back together and held hands.  

We rode Pirates multiple times and Owen drilled me on the plot before riding again and catching more details.  In the minutes before park closing, I dragged him with me to wave at Mickey.  He was so happy to be there and so satisfied, but apparently his love for characters starts and ends with stuffed animals.

That's a lot of steps in one day.

...for both of us.

Zachary sent Owen a picture of his Kaua'i find after Brady, Zac, and Kate ate at Keokis.  Owen laughed and laughed.  I definitely need to go find this in Owen's size.