Through my life, I've been lucky to get to go to Disneyland many times. As a kid, there were the annual November trips for my sisters to dance, plus an occasional summer jaunt. Now even as an adult, my parents have kept inviting us all along for some good times. When you think that we qualify for a group rate just about anywhere we go, you get a better idea of how crazy we are!
Disneyland is called "The Happiest Place on Earth" because it does what few places can. It is so much more than simply roller coasters, rides, and parades. Every time, I am transported to the world of fantasy and imagination, seen through the eyes of an innocent child. All that sprinkled with a little Pixie Dust makes any trip to Disneyland wonderful, and certainly worth the shin-splints and sore feet that are guaranteed when you do Disneyland "Partridge Style."
**Warning: This is a LONG post!**
Day One: Arrive
I remember the old commercials for Disneyland where the kids are too excited to sleep before going to bed, and then it cuts to the parents, who are also too excited to sleep. That's a little how our house was. I was up around 4AM because I had to make sure our "super secret" Hawaii video finished compiling and burning to DVD to take on the trip and give to Mom and Dad once everyone arrived. Then we finished packing, loading, locking, and hit the road.
We caravan-ed with Amy and Scott and made pretty good time, arriving at the hotel around 3:30PM. After we got checked in, a little unpacked, and freshened, Brett and Stephanie had arrived (read
Ryan's blog for the story of his journey to Southern California). We gathered together and headed to California Adventure for some fun at A Bug's Land. About the time we were eating dinner, Mom, Dad, Kaley, and Chase made it to the hotel. Kaley and Chase joined us and then we made our plans for ambushing Mom and Dad with our Hawaii video. Fortunately, they called a family meeting.
Even though Ryan and Jennifer wouldn't be there, we decided it was the best opportunity, so after Mom and Dad's "welcome bags" we had them get comfortable and presented the video to them. As a side note, this was of our trip to Maui last year (actually we were there exactly a year ago). I got maybe a little too ambitious on this and it ended up almost 90 minutes long - possibly twice as long a family video as I've ever put together before. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was able to pitch in, but it was a big project.
Then it was getting later, so we got some of the kids settled down and towards bed. I took Katelyn with Scott, Bradley, and Bryson, and we went over to Disneyland to hit some rides in Tomorrowland. Katelyn loved Star Tours, since she's recently been exposed to the world of Star Wars. She also had fun on Astro Blasters and the Autopia. It was fun for me to just go around with her and let her be a big kid for a night, staying out a little later, and going on the rides with her older cousins. She was a trooper, even when her legs were too tired so I had to carry her back on my shoulders. We stayed until the park closed and then went to the hotel and to bed.
Day Two: Run
When you go to Disneyland, you better wear some comfortable shoes. We met downstairs in the lobby early by the fireplace to have a family prayer and then venture over to Disneyland. I don't remember all the rides we went on today, but we made it to a little of everything. I'll just say we didn't stop running for most of the day. Here are some highlights.
Toontown opened early, so we went there first. Megan visited Minnie's house. Both girls really liked Gadget's Go-Coaster, though neither know who Gadget is.
The girls' most anticipated ride was It's a Small World. (They listen to the song almost everynight on a single loop, and Megan sings and dances to it every chance she gets). They've recently updated Small World with characters from a lot of Disney movies, so that was fun for those who've seen it before.
As an end-of-summer treat for the girls, Cassi took them to get their toenails painted special for Disneyland.
Also in Fantasyland, we went on the Teacups. I rode with Katelyn, Megan, and Benjamin. This little video clip speaks volumes of how they felt about it.
Katelyn and Bryson must have the formula down, because they were both picked this time for Jedi Training. We dubbed Katelyn the "Hollywood Jedi." She kept on her sunglasses with her Jedi Robe for the whole training session.
The Autopia is a favorite of all the kids. I think Bradley probably drove the autopia 20 times during the whole trip. Megan certainly scared me with her driving skills! Her philosophy when you run into the guide? Let go of the wheel and laugh uncontrollably. Hopefully she'll learn a few more things over the next 13 years!
Day Three: Fly
Today was our first "Magic Morning" (early entry) day. We got to go in one hour before the normal park opening time. We made it to Finding Nemo (Ryan's and Brett's families' first time on that one) first and then finished off Fantasyland. Both Katelyn and Megan were tall enough and said they wanted to go on the Matterhorn, so we kindly obliged. I sat with Megan and held on to her tightly. Some of the kids liked it and some really didn't. Megan seemed pretty ok with it, except that she didn't like the "scary eyes." Adam got to see a lot of the Baby Care Center and his carrier in the stroller at Disneyland, but he didn't mind too much - as long as you picked him up every once in a while! I think this is also a good place to send a big thanks to Kaley and Chase for kind of "adopting" Katelyn for a lot of this trip. She and Megan both enjoyed a lot more rides because of their help.
Once California Adventure opened today, we headed that direction and saw a few "celebrities." Katelyn and Megan may have set a record of number of times on the Monster's Inc. ride in 20 minutes. There was no line, so we just kept running back on it. While in the Hollywood area, we saw the Aladdin show. It was really good, and the kids especially seemed to enjoy it - they were very well behaved.
We also ventured to one of the hidden treasures at California Adventure - the biggest treehouse I've ever seen in my life. Katelyn enjoyed the ropeline with Nathan several times. Katelyn and Benjamin also had some fun posing under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Day Four: Build
When Mom first brought up the idea for this trip, she wanted to go to a few parks. Most of us haven't been to Legoland at all or for a long time, so it seemed the perfect place to invade while we were in California. Before we drove out there, Mom and Dad made surprise arrangements for a fun character breakfast. We got to see Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, Minnie, Daisy, and maybe someone else I'm forgetting. Then it was off to Legoland.
Since we're so unfamiliar with this park, we decided to start at one end and work our way around, until it was time to go. In the end, we probably only saw half of the park, but I didn't hear the kids complain about that at all. They all had fun in the sprinkler areas, and in the bigger water play area (complete with pirate ships), not to mention the endless supply of Duplo/Legos to play with! The fire trucks were particularly fun for the big kids to race in - watch out for flying little ones!
After Legoland, we made our way back to Anaheim and got the kids settled for bed. After that, Ryan and Brett and I went back into Disneyland to unlock the secrets of the high scores on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. During one of our rides, it actually broke down. They had to turn on the lights and walk us all out. It gave us a chance to talk to the Cast Member about the secret spot on Zurg's chest that's worth a lot of points, and techniques for scoring high points. Because it broke down, they gave us a special "readmission" ticket - kinda like a super-fastpass we could use on any ride in the park. We chose Space Mountain, and by the time we finished, the Astro Blasters were back online so we went on it a few last times until the park closed.
Day 5: Celebrate
Today was kind of a free-for-all day. The goal was to get on any ride we hadn't been on yet. Katelyn came with me to ride the Grizzly River Run. She liked it, since she didn't get too wet. We saw the Celebration parade, and Katelyn and Megan got to go out and dance with it.
A trip to Disneyland wouldn't be complete for my girls without doing the Disney Princess Royal Walk. We were lucky to find Jasmine, Ariel, and Belle this time. We should have some pictures to hang on Megan's wall pretty soon. I have to say that that for all we did this week, the longest line we waited in was for the princesses. I suppose it's fitting.
After the Walk, we let the girls pick out a face-painting design. Then we went on Small World again - this time with Adam too - before meeting back up with everyone else for a final Disney dinner.
At the end of a trip like this, I like to look for signs of success or failure in the eyes of the kids. I think this picture of Megan on the Monorail (our last ride) tells the true story.
I'm grateful to my parents for making this crazy trip possible so we could all be together as a big family, and I hope that my kids are starting to learn why Disneyland really lives up to the title "Happiest Place on Earth!"
