We left our house by 8:30 and were there by 9ish. It was the whole gang: me, Steve, Grandma Smith, Nana, Papa, Karley, and her husband Jon. Before we entered the park, Anna was kind of enough to snap a group photo. As we entered Main Street USA, I was surely, probably the boys too, on visual overload. I wanted to walk but also take photos too. It is obvious there is too much to do and see in one day, BUT so exciting. I don't know what I was thinking but I surely thought we could spend just enough time at Disney and then make our way home for afternoon nap. By 10ish I was thinking what in the world was I thinking...half day? We spent most of the day at Disney and it was so much fun. We were thankful to have our own personal tour guide, Karley, to help plan out what she thought the boys might like; she did a super job.
The whole park was decorated for Christmas and what an amazing job the staff at Disney did...wow! I cannot possibly imagine how much time it takes to decorate for the holiday season. The temperature was just perfect...sun and 70 degrees. But as soon as the sun started to go down it got chilly quickly. For visiting on a Friday it was still packed, but not as packed as it might have been if we went on a weekend day. I think on average we waited in lines for about 30 minutes and the boys were GREAT the entire time--not one peep, not even a small peep.
We started our day touring Fantasyland. Our first visit was Snow White. Snow White was a lot of fun. We were most excited because the boys are finally at a height where they are able to sit next to an adult without having to sit on someone’s lap, which happened here and there.
Our next stop was to ride on King Arthur's Carrousel. The boys really LOVED the Carrousel so much that we eventually went again. I never seen Zach smile so BIG before. He really enjoyed it as Jack did.
After the Carrousel we decided to go on the Storybook Land Canal Boats. The boys really liked the boat ride. This boat ride took us near other areas of the park so we got to check other rides that we wanted to take the boys on.
Our next stop was on a ride that should be on the "must stop to ride" list, the Mad Tea Party a.k.a the tea cups. Jack went with Karley and Nana while Zach went with me and Grandma Smith. I thought it was a hoot spinning around.
From there we decided to make our way to Mickey's Toontown. As soon as we entered the park the boys made a mad dash for the fire trucks. It was not a ride but they were able to get in the fire truck and pretend they were driving. It was so awesome to see them having so much fun! Our first ride was the Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. We had to split up either in two's or three's but for those that want to visit...don't feel bad if you miss Roger Rabbit. It was fun of course to experience but the ride was blah.
As we made our way out of Roger Rabbit I could not believe that it was already 11am. They boys started to eyeball my backpack and were nibbling on crackers, so we thought we better head over to have lunch. It was great because we jumped on the train; our first ride of many during the day. We headed over to Frontierland for grub. I believe we ate at the Stage Door Cafe since they had toddler friendly foods. Although there were other areas, and since we live so close to Disney, we will be better prepared for next time since our first trip was a little overwhelming. We just didn't know what to expect and wanted to take time exploring! After lunch we went over to New Orleans Square and went on Pirates of the Caribbean. This was an awesome ride. It was all by boat and inside was sort of dark. I think we all loved it except for my baby boy Zachary. He sat in front with Nana and Papa. The ride starts up a hill and then we quickly go down...crashing into water. Because he was in front and it was dark, that it must have spooked him a little since he got splashed a little. I was three rows behind him and he was passed back to me and snuggled with me the entire time. I LOVED every minute of it. He would take a peak here and there as dogs were barking off to the side, but for the most part he kept his head buried into Mama. Again, I LOVED every moment of it. :)
Afterwards Steve and I took the boys over to Adventureland and walked all the way up to Tarzan's Treehouse. Karley followed us so she could snap some photos of us with the kiddos. Thank you Karley! I am usually the one behind the camera so it is always refreshing to have me in some of the photos with the boys. After the tree house exhibit, we parted ways with Karley and Jon. They were going to watch the early parade. We were told the Jungle Cruise was fun since the boys are into animals. I am happy we went when we did because we had the funniest tour guide, Emily, ever. I mean she puts some the most popular comedians to shame she was so funny--seriously folks...that funny and all in good humor. She really enjoys what she does and obviously has a lot of fun.
Afterwards we decided to make our way over to let the boys drive some cars. We went to Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Autopia. The boys were actually tall enough that they did not have to sit on someone’s lap. I drove with my mom...I thought we were going to pee our pants from laughing too hard. These cars were very ancient, not designed for taller people, and lacked power steering---crash, boom, bang. Steve went with Zach while Papa drove around with Jack. It was a hoot, but will pass the next time we are there. After driving cars we wanted to see Disneyland from high above. We got in line for the Disneyland Monorail. That was really neat, but location/seating plays a big part. :) I think we then decided to take the train all the way around the park, which was exciting. By this time the sun was going down and started to get chilly and not to mention I think we all were getting tired. I could tell the boys were exhausted since they walked a lot. Just as we were making our way back to Main Street USA, our train engineer asked us all to get off the train due to a burnt out headlight. HA. We had to get off and stand back in line waiting for the next train. I think Steve's dad said this was surely a good idea gone badly...taking a trip around the park. Oh well. The boys loved riding the train, checking out all the displays, and lights.
As we were getting off the train, the next parade was starting and it was even more crowded. I noticed most families will come in the evening to watch the parade and see the fireworks display so that will be next on our agenda. I am happy we live so close to Disneyland. It will be great for us to spend a little more time at the park, and also, can go in the evening to watch the fireworks.
As soon as we got back to our car, I could tell the boys were pooped as we all were. Sure enough 5 minutes into our drive they fell asleep. As much as I knew they would be tired, I was hoping they would not fall asleep. They probably could have slept all the way through had they not woken up once we got home. They fussed for a little but a little food in their belly and reading bedtime stories did the trick.
The boys had a blast as we all did and I look forward to many more trips to Disneyland. I created a photo album presentation of our adventures at Disneyland. Enjoy!!
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Love,
Julie
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