Our California adventure

I have heard how magical and amazing Disneyland is, but never had the opportunity to go when I was younger and never made it a priority when I was older. Several months ago my Mom called and told me she had to go to Anaheim for a conference and offered to share her hotel with us and pay for one day at Disneyland. WHAT!!!! Totally unexpected and what an incredible gift! And just like that we were going to California. Because I had never been and I am cheap I thought we would go for the day and call it good, but after tons of research and talking to many people it became clear we should take advantage of the opportunity and tack on a couple extra days. And boy am I glad that's what we did.

 

We decided not to tell the kids we were headed to the most magical place on earth because we wanted them to be totally shocked out of their minds. That didn't go exactly as planned because when my Mom sat M down and told her what we were really doing in California M responded in her typical reserved fashion. Translation: There was no reaction. Seriously. Nothing. Nada. Zip. And we have it all on camera. I mean, what kid doesn't whoop and holler over hearing they are going to Disneyland in the morning. Answer: My kid. The boys didn't respond either, but they have a pass because they are 2 and 4.

 

Side note: If you are looking for a place to eat in Anaheim go to Thuyen Vien. It is a vegan/vegetarian/Vietnamese restaurant that was inexpensive, delicious, and filling. My mouth is watering just thinking about their food.

We got up bright and early on Saturday and headed over to Disneyland and it was exciting! The sun was up and shining and everyone was feeling good. Disney songs are playing overhead and I am pinching myself because I cannot believe we are here. There were the Mickey Mouse flowers in front of the train station and the iconic statue of Walt and Mickey and there was the castle that I've seen in every Disney movie ever made. We picked up our first time visit buttons and a birthday button for J. After we walked through the castle my Mom asked me what rides we wanted to go on first, but I was confused because I didn't see any. I had no idea all the rides were hidden so she had us walk through Sleeping Beauty's castle and when we came out we saw a line for Peter Pan. Steve suggested that one and what a perfect choice for the very first ride; the story of a child who never grows up. Isn't that what Disneyland is all about? 

From there we headed to the Matterhorn (my Mom remembered being stuck on it for an hour as a child) which my Mom, Steve and J rode while I took M and D on the teacups. This is when I realized D was in his element. That boy could not get enough. He squealed with delight and his eyes lit up as the teacups whirled around. I did not get dizzy once because watching him was pure joy. And then the ride ended and I realized we had created a monster. When it was time to exit he firmly grasped the center of the cup and refused to budge. I dragged him kicking and screaming (bruises to prove it) from the ride. We immediately got in line again and he was in absolute heaven and this time when the ride ended he was ready for me. He held on for dear life and repeatedly slammed the door shut all while screaming "NO MOMMY! I NO WANT TO GET OFF! YET (let) GO!" Hmmm...so early in the morning for such volume and vigor. This was a foreshadowing of the day to come because he screamed and clung to every single ride when it was time to get off. It was intense, but in a very twisted way made me happy because he was clearly loving everything about every ride. Of note: J screamed before every single ride and we had to drag him in and buckle him while he flailed about. We were quite the spectacle.

We rode:
Teacups which we already established D loved.

Storybook Land Canal Boats and enjoyed the humorous guide in a miniature land.

Dumbo which was one of J's favorites. D was still upset I pulled him off the teacups.

The Carrousel which was J's favorite.

Pirates of the Caribbean which I enjoyed, but was too exciting for the kids.

Tiki Room-turns out it's full of birds so I breathed deeply and reminded myself they were not real and meant me no ill will.

Indiana Jones which I totally and completely LOVED!

Splash Mountain which I rode by myself like the big girl I am.

Winnie the Pooh which the kids enjoyed.

Matterhorn which was M's favorite ride.

My Mom made sure we got good seats for the parade which was so fun to watch. We loved every second of it. Getting to see Anna, Elsa, and Olaf at the beginning of the parade made M's day. J could not believe he got to see Mickey in real life drumming up a storm.

Everyone was lagging after a full day so we decided to head back to the hotel, feed the kids, and get them to bed. But wouldn't you know as we were leaving, the ceremony where they retire the flag for the evening was just about to start so of course we stayed. It was grand and I was moved by the focus given to those who have served in the military. There was one person who didn't participate because she prefers to stay in the background, but my Mom served as an Army nurse and deserves to be recognized. She helped save lives and ease pain during a difficult time.

Honorable mention: Belle walked past a group of children and a six year old boy threw his arms around her waist and looked at her with the most pure adoration I have ever seen before exclaiming, "I knew you would come"! Not my kid, but my heart absolutely and completely melted.

You know why else my Mom rocks? Once we got the kids settled for the night she stayed with them while Steve and I went back to Disneyland. Just the two of us. On a date. Alone. We happened to show up just as the fireworks show started and I am here to tell you it was the most incredible fireworks show I have ever seen in my life! It is a story, coordinated to music, and then there is Tinkerbell. I'm telling you I cheered the whole way through. Absolutely magical.

Now a word about the crowd. I have never seen so many people in all my life. It looked like Times Square on New Years Eve. After the fireworks show we followed the crowd because fighting to go any other way would have been futile. We followed everyone to the Rivers of America where we saw people sitting down. We had no idea why so I asked a cast member. Apparently Fantasmic! was about to start and he recommended a little known place to go to watch it. We ended up having a front row view and it was awesome! I was blown away by the show and I will tell you when Maleficent lit the river on fire I screamed and waved my arms in uncontrollable enthusiasm. Amazing! 

After the show we headed to the Haunted Mansion which was set up as the Nightmare Before Christmas. We were told it was a must ride. And when that ended we had just enough time to run to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters before the park closed.

The next day we visited my Mom's cousin and his husband and enjoyed a lovely brunch with them. It was such a treat to be with them and they had gone out of their way to make food that J was able to eat. Then we headed to the beach while my Mom headed to her conference. We missed you!

Turns out M might have been born for beach living. She ran up and down the beach, splashing in the waves for two straight hours. She was in heaven and watching her laugh into the wind while she ran with her hair flying behind her was a beautiful sight. The boys did not like the ocean and for the most part stayed as far away as possible, but they loved the sand and spent the full two hours happily digging. And fact: there are a lot of pictures of the beach and not Disneyland. Turns out I am not coordinated enough to maneuver crowds, children, rides, and camera all at once.

After some serious consideration we decided to attend Mickey's Halloween Party. So the day of the party we showed up as early as possible and entered the park. Just as we enter we see Mickey walking down the street holding a child's hand and leading a parade of children. We all stopped and stared and then I did the only reasonable thing...I followed him. Steve hollered out at me, "Where are you going"? I yelled, "I'm following Mickey". It is how I imagine the story of the Pied Piper went down.

Our first day in Disneyland was a whirlwind and totally new and we learned a few things which we quickly applied. For instance we rode six rides in the first hour we were there and after getting candy in three lines, we rode rides while everyone else trick or treated. There was almost no wait time.

What we rode:

Pinocchio is a creepy ride, but a classic.

Mr Toad's Wild Ride is creepier. Is it a classic? (My Mom remembers being scared of this as a kid.)

Snow White is the creepiest and I laughed out loud when the ride ended from sheer surprise.

Teacups were still a D favorite.

Alice in Wonderland was so fun and the kids enjoyed it.

Matterhorn was still enjoyable for Daddy, but M liked it less because she was in the front this time.

Autopia was a blast. M got to drive and Steve's car died. Such fun.

Space Mountain was awesome. I loved everything except the flash of light at the end.

Astro Orbitor which the boys loved and M was frustrated because I didn't know how to make it fly.
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters was a J fave.

A couple memorable moments. Steve took M back to the Matterhorn. While we were waiting I took the boys to see Mickey's Magical Map which was crazy fun to watch. When Mickey appeared in real life after he had just been animated on a screen I just stared and blinked my eyes over and over. Pure magic. Now I don't like to carry my cell phone so I left it at the hotel and Steve and I missed one another after the show and ride. We had a few tense moments while we searched for each other. I should probably carry my cell phone. At least that is what Steve took away from the experience. 

My kids loved seeing the characters, but only from a distance. They were not interested in meeting any of them up close and personal, but heaven forbid we should walk past a character without stopping. So the only one we had any contact with was a storm trooper who went out of his way to fist bump my kids. Thank you storm trooper for your personal attention. We appreciated the extra effort.

By this time M had heard about the different shows and fireworks we got see and she requested to see some as well so off  we went to the Monsters University Scare Off. It was fun and fulfilled M's desire for theatrics. The Halloween fireworks were fun for her as well. She curled up on my lap and watched the explosions in the sky.

We got back to the hotel and were asleep almost instantly.

On our last day we headed to California Adventure. I was not expecting much, but let me tell you we had so much fun. There were so few people there that we walked on almost every ride.

Francis’ Ladybug Boogie- had more velocity than the teacups, but the idea was the same.
Flik’s Flyers- Gentle and enjoyable.
Tuck and Roll’s Drive ’Em Buggies- Did this several times. The boys liked this, but M was crushed when she was not strong enough to push the peddle by herself and ended up stuck alone in the middle of the fun.
Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train- All the kids loved this.

Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree- Thought the boys would love this. I was wrong. Not big fans.
Luigi’s Flying Tires- The boys thought this was fun. Again, M was not big enough to make it work by herself and she was left in a corner all alone.
Radiator Springs Racers- LOVED! LOVED! LOVED! D was too short to ride it and was devastated, but the rest of us rode it a couple times and LOVED it!
California Screamin’- Steve rode this alone. He said it was awesome.
King Triton’s Carousel- J's favorite ride. I lost count of how many times we rode it, but it was a ton.

Toy Story Midway Mania!- This was so fun.
Silly Symphony Swings- Steve and M rode this and liked it.
Goofy’s Sky School- M and I rode this and it was far more exciting than we bargained for. Hearing her holler in terror and joy makes me smile just thinking about it.
Jumpin’ Jellyfish- M and I rode this. I'm not a fan of heights, but she thought it was great.
Golden Zephyr- Again, not a fan of heights so I didn't look down, but everyone else loved it.
The Little Mermaid- Another fan favorite. This was such a cool ride.
Tower of Terror- Steve did this by himself and loved it. I took his word for it.
Monsters, Inc.- Whenever I say, "This never happened" to my kids they laugh because it reminds them of the end of the ride.
Disney Animation- Ursula stole my voice. Such a fun idea. And Steve and I learned who our true Disney identities are in the Beast's library. He is Winnie the Pooh and I am the Evil Queen. I never would have pictured them together...

The parade was wonderful and I loved it. So did the kids though you would never know from the picture. However, J's face lit up when he saw Lightening McQueen and Mater.

The night ended with Turtle Talk with Crush. There were only fifteen people in the room so J and I were able to talk to him. Well, J just sat there and I answered for him. Hysterical when Crush lists all 65 of his children's names. M laughed about that for days. And because of that she now knows all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Now a couple shout outs:

To my children: I am amazed by you guys. We were nervous about the long drive and purchased a speaker and iPad holder and downloaded movies to keep you guys occupied, but you never needed it. You slept, played, and laughed with each other. We did the entire trip electronics free and just returned everything when we got back.

To my little Brother and Sister-in-law: Thanks for letting us stay with you coming and going. We enjoyed being with you and loving on your sweet boys. I can't wait to smooch on them some more.

To my Mom: Thought you would like to see how D reacted when we dropped you off at the airport. He was completely heartbroken and missed you already.

And thank you, thank you, thank you for making this trip possible for us. It was wonderful and we are so grateful you offered this to us. What an amazing gift. Love you!