The happiest place on earth! I agree. I LOVE DISNEYLAND! We've only been back two months and I already want to go again. I'm tempted to start planning when we can go again, but I guess we'll wait a little while :). Maybe.
I am grateful I have a wonderful planning husband who takes the time to look into everything we need to make the trip a success and stress-free. It truly was amazing and everything could not have worked out better. We went with Bryan, Jennie, and James in a rented mini-van. Kind of squishy, but it worked out okay :). We drove through the night on a Tuesday night and went to Disneyland on Wednesday the minute we arrived- no time to lose. We spent the entire day from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm at Disneyland. We took Emma on some rides that she loved, such as Peter Pan and Snow White. Emma also got to meet Rapunzel on that first day! We got to do a bunch of "big kid" rides for us big kids. We LOVED having the stroller pass option and whenever we go back we will never go alone. If you have another couple you're with, you can do the stroller pass and the second couple gets to go straight to the front of the line. It was wonderful. All day on that first day, Emma kept asking to go on Dumbo. That's all she kept asking for. But we just couldn't stand the idea of waiting for Dumbo.
The second day (Thursday) was pretty tricky in the morning. We had passes for "magic morning" where you get into the park an hour early. However, it looked like EVERYONE else had a magic morning pass too :). Not as special as we had hoped! But as soon as we got into Disneyland we booked it for Dumbo and got to be one of the firsts in line. NO LINE- It was great! We got Dumbo out of the way and never had to hear about it all day :). But actually, Cade and I really enjoyed that ride as well as some of the other little kid rides in Fantasy Land. The last time Cade and I went to Disneyland, it was just the two of us and so we didn't go on a lot of those kiddy rides by ourselves. This time was so much fun going on ones that we had never been on- such as Mr. Toad's, Alice in Wonderland, and the canary boats.
This second day, however, had to be planned out precisely :). We had one hour for magic morning where we enjoyed being together in Disneyland. But then Cade met up with Bryan and Jennie in the line to California Adventure so they could immediately go get a Fast Pass for Cars Land. I believe Cars Land just opened up last summer, so it was still incredibly busy and the Fast Passes run out within the first couple hours of the park opening. And if you don't get a Fast Pass, you have to wait almost 2 HOURS to get onto the ride! So while they were venturing to get those important Fast Passes, I stayed with the girls in line to see meet the Princesses! We were so excited- Emma and I. She could not wait to meet her princesses and the first in line were Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White. It was our lucky day! However, while standing in line, I realized Cade had the autograph book in his backpack and he was clear in California Adventure! So I called him and after getting the Fast Passes, He booked it back over (with baby James in the stroller) to bring us the autograph book before we got to the front of the line. He made it just in time. And now we have an autograph book that is Emma's first souvenier from her first trip to Disneyland. Cade definitely got his work-out in in just the first two hours of the day.
I was so happy Emma got to meet her princesses. She is completely obssessed and it was so magical seeing how happy she was to meet them. If nothing else, the whole trip was worth just that. And I will admit...I love the princesses too :). Maybe next time we'll do the character dining.
After meeting the princesses, the rest of day two was devoted to California Adventure. Our favorite "big kid" ride was definitely the California Screamin' Rollercoaster. Cade could go on that ride a dozen times in a row and not get sick of it! Emma's favorite ride in Cali Adventure was definitely Little Mermaid! We may have gone on it 4 times in one day because there was literally no line when everyone was waiting for World of Color to begin. That was very fun way to end our day in California Adventure. Cade and I had heard how amazing World of Color is, but we never went the time it was just he and I. We made that a priority this time and it really was amazing. Reese had fallen asleep and was screaming once it started, but I still got to enjoy some of it :).
The last day was a "do anything else we didn't get to or want to do again" day :). It was really low-key but great to have so we could feel like we did everything we wanted. We stood in line for more princesses and this time she got to meet Ariel and Bell. We finally found Jasmine in the park (after waiting 3 different times) and also met Mary Poppins and Bert. Emma was in heaven. The last day we did Finding Nemo- which I LOVE and also Reese and James loved it. James was excited the whole time. Especially about the bubbles :). The girls and I were done in the early afternoon and went back to the hotel for resting and swimming in the pool. Cade got some time to walk around the shops in peace. Something he enjoys doing.
It was just the perfect Disneyland trip. The kids were all perfect. Much better than we anticipated. They went with the flow and took naps in their strollers when they were tired. They slept great in the hotel because they were exhausted and they hardly ever cried or whined...I mean, we were in Disneyland! They loved all the rides and the excitment of everything. Another amazing thing is that there were hardly ANY lines at all. It was so wonderful. The longest line we stood in the entire time was 30 minutes for Peter Pan. All the other rides were about 10 minute waits. The weather was beautiful and we got to do all we wanted to and more. OH, and our hotel was literally right across the street from the entrance to the park. No tram rides, no long walk. It was out of the park and into our hotel room. It was the perfect Disneyland vacation and I CANNOT wait until we can go again!!!
Now for pictures galore!
This picture of James cracks me up. We drove through the night to Disneyland, but someone thought it was fun to stay up all night. He didn't cry a lot or fuss- he just wanted to play! He wanted to look at people and talk and laugh, but the rest of us wanted to get sleep. I lifted up his cover at one point and saw this cute little wide-eyed face!
Emma meeting her first princess!
James having a blast on the Finding Nemo Ride. Cutie.
The first night we watched the Soundsational Parade, but Emma was completely OUT. She wouldn't even wake up to wave to all her princesses. Oh, well...she was exhausted!
Emma so excited to go on Dumbo!
That concludes our Disneyland adventures. Much more to come in life I hope!
Now what could be better than that Disneyland trip, you ask?? Going to Santa Barbara in the same trip! When we woke up Saturday morning, we packed up and drove two hours to play with Sisten and Andrew in Santa Barbara. I sure don't like having her out of state. But...I guess if she is going to be out of state, it's really wonderful that she lives in such a beautiful and amazing place! We spent a lot of the time on Saturday at the beach and the girls surprisingly loved it! The first time we took Emma to the beach, she couldn't stand the thought of getting dirty and everyone being okay with it. This time both girls were okay with it and actually enjoyed it! We all had a great time! Sunday we spent time walking along the Pier and beach and enjoying the sunlight! We ate dinner all together and played some games. Monday we went down town and walked state street and went to the old capitol. Bryan and Jennie had never been to Santa Barbara so it was all new to them. I feel like a pro now :). We had fun just catching up with Kristen and Andrew and of course Jaxon! It is a beautiful place and it was so much fun to see them!
Reese just chillin' with Daddy :).
Cade showing off his manly skills and only bringing things up to our room one time.
