Disneyland! I have to confess that I love Disneyland even though I think that maybe I should not. It's synthetic and over priced and crowded (if you go during Spring Break. I know, we're geniuses) but I love it anyway. We went twice in quick succession several years ago but Caitlin was too little to remember it (or require a paid entry. That part was awesome). Five is such a great age for a first time Disneyland trip- Dylan was 5 for his first visit- so it seemed like the age to take Caitlin as well. On our trip we spent two days at Disneyland but we split up the days with a beach day in the middle. And our first day in California was spent at Legoland. But since this is a backwards accounting of our recent history I am starting with Disneyland. Also I am combining the two days in to one post. Why? Well because there really isn't enough material to cover each day separately. I knew at the time that I was not taking very many photos. Since my kids run screaming when I try to photograph them (I know, Mom. It's karma, right?) I made the conscious choice to not attempt very many pictures and just enjoy the trip. Well as fun as that was at the time it makes me sad to have so few pictures and really no good pictures of such a fun trip. And that was a very long preamble to this... my blog post about Disneyland. (drum roll)
We arrived at Disneyland around 9:30 because we're just not the kind of people to set an alarm for 5 am and wait at the gates for an hour in order to be first in line when the park opens. I am sure those people have awesome stories about getting on to rides before the long waits. Whatever. We headed straight for Space Mountain- Dylan had very fond memories of
Space Mountain. Luckily,
very selective fond memories.
This was what my kids found themselves compelled to do in every line- sit on the chains. Well, there are no benches in line so where else is a young, able bodied child to rest his/her weary legs? By the end of the trip I had given numbers to the things I kept repeatedly asking the kids to stop doing. Number 1 was "Don't sit on the chains." So, in honor of the trip, "Hey Dylan and Caitlin. #1!"
Riding the carousel was a top priority for Caitlin. I am sort of surprised we got away with riding it only once. This carousel is all horses, except for one long bench for losers who get on a carousel but don't ride a horse. Or, so we joked as we waited in line. I was trying to make sure that the kids got horse near each other and also making enemies by accidentally lifting Caitlin up on a horse someone else had kind of sort of already chosen. By the time I got everything figured out there were no horses left. Guess where I sat?
Dylan read in a book that the purple tea cup is the fastest. I have no idea if this is true or not, but he was so happy that we got a purple cup. The ride operator announces that running for the cups when the gate opens is not allowed. So Dylan speed walked to the purple.
Caitlin really wanted to see Tinkerbell. Apparently she isn't a character who wanders the park. There was a one hour wait to stand in line and meet her. I thought that after 15 minutes or so she would lose interest and we would leave but she waited the whole hour and was happy the whole time. We talked about funny names for the different fairies and played 'I spy'.
Then we met Silver Mist.
And finally we met Tinker Bell. Caitlin got to talk to her for a little bit and then take a picture and give her a hug. She was very pleased with the end result of the long wait. If she's happy, I'm happy!
The first night ended for Caitlin after the fireworks. Caitlin was so enchanted by the show that she gave Ken a big hug and said "Thank you for bringing me here!" After that I took her back to the hotel. She fell asleep as I was carrying her to the hotel shuttle. Dylan and Ken stayed a little longer but because the shuttles are so full after the fireworks I waited in line for ever and we ended up getting back to the hotel pretty close to the same time.
On the second night we stayed for the fireworks again and told the sleepy kids that we might as well go one a ride or two before attempting the shuttle. Here are Caitlin and Dylan on 'Small World' as we waited for the park to clear out a bit. Caitlin's last ride of the night was 'Snow White's Scary Adventure'. Have you ever been on that ride? It has one appearance of Snow White and then the Queen in her old lady disguise jumps out at you over and over again. Maybe not the best choice for a 5 year old's last ride, late at night, when she's super tired. I was really afraid it would give her nightmares. But it didn't so I guess it all worked out in the end. Dylan and Ken went on Star Tours again (Or something.) and then came back to the hotel. The next morning we packed up, visited the La Brea tar pits, had lunch at In 'n' Out, and flew home to Seattle
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