Hotel Room
I think the hotel room was my favorite thing. What does that say about me??
We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. Quite honestly, this was me living out a childhood fantasy. (Who are those people, I would wonder, who get to stay at the Disneyland Hotel? I could not imagine anything more wonderful ... or unobtainable.) It helps that they had an awesome military discount.
We booked a regular room, but when we arrived we were upgraded to one of the penthouse level suites with a balcony and everything. It was heaven. When I saw how big and nice and immaculate and comfortable the room was I nearly died of happiness. And it was so ... so ... well-appointed. Yes, "well-appointed" is the right way to describe it. Also, did I mention is was big? And immaculate? And comfortable? Yeah, I pretty much never wanted to come home.
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| Everyone looks out from the balcony over to Disneyland, where you can see the Matterhorn. |
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| View of the pool area (including the monorail water slides) |
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| Mary checks out the bedroom. They loved the headboard, which lit up and also played "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes"--but all in a very tasteful way. |
We were even able to watch the fireworks from our room! (Which came in handy because we were having trouble staying up late enough for them. In fact, the night of the fireworks we put the kids to bed and then woke them up just as the show started.) The fireworks were very cool. And I loved sitting on the balcony watching them in our jammies. (Though the kids will now say they loved the fireworks, for the record, they were crying and begging to back to bed. But we made them stay up!! Well, at least until we grew tired of the whining.)
California Screamin'
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| David after our ride together on the California Screamin' |
On our very first morning David and I went on the California Screamin' roller coaster together. Roller coasters were so important to me growing up--and going on my first upside-down roller coaster was HUGE for me. I was so happy to share that experience with David, to be with him when he did his first loop on a roller coaster. So fun! We screamed for joy! It was great. (I thought it was a really fun roller coaster. It was clearly designed to be FUN rather than to be wet-your-pants thrilling, and, to me, that's a good thing. Roller coasters should make you smile, not grimace.)
Pixar Parade
Again, I have to thank Greg for dragging us to this parade. I admit I was kind of tired and grouchy by this point of the day. But the parade was so joyful that it completely rejuvenated me! The best part was watching how much David and Mary loved it. I think one of my very favorite moments from the trip was seeing how David's face lit up when he saw Mater at the end. It reminded me that he is still my sweet little boy.
Meeting Alice
One morning we ate breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen, which gave us the opportunity to meet lots of characters, as they mingled with guests throughout the restaurant. (I did not anticipate how fun it would be for my kids to meet characters on our trip. They were so excited to get autographs and all that. It was very sweet.) I loved meeting Alice. She was wonderful! She sat right down and talked to us. Her voice was spot on, and she was perfectly in character. The way she interacted with the kids and us, asking great questions and giving meaningful responses, was delightful. On our trip, it was fun to meet the characters, and Alice was definitely my favorite!
Autopia
I went on this three times with the kids. What is great about it is that with the switch rider pass, I could bring both David and Mary with me (usually you can only bring one rider with you). But all three of us would squish in a car, and it was great.
The best ride was our third, when we slipped on while we were waiting for the monorail to reopen. Here is what made it so great: We were very first in the line of cars at the loading zone when the ride broke. Granted, it was crummy sitting there waiting for the workers to fix the ride. But once we had the all clear, we took off ... and there was no one in front of us! Because it had been momentarily closed, the track had been cleared ... and it was like we had the whole thing to ourselves. There was no one in front of us to get stuck behind!! Mary was driving, and she was cruising. It was so fun!!
It's A Small World
Yes, I totally loved this ride! (And not in an ironic way.) Is that lame? Am I lame now??
It was our last ride of the day. We had just watched the Mickey Mouse Parade, which was wonderful, and then we rushed up to It's A Small World. I think it was so fun because we were all together. (Because of the different ages and interests of our kids, there was a fair amount of splitting up for this and that.) We had enjoyed the parade together, and then we went on this ride together. It was dark, so we didn't have to stand in the sun to wait, and the line went super fast, and then the ride was just fun together. Of course, Sara LOVED it! (As you can tell, we all adore Sara and automatically love what she loves.) I guess it was fun to share that classic Disneyland experience with my family. (Oh my gosh, it is really long, isn't it? The never ending ride.) Afterwards we walked back to the hotel with the song stuck in our heads. So classic.
Friday Morning on the Little Mermaid Ride
Friday morning at California Adventure was wonderful. We were there for the early admission hour, but we skipped Cars Land--which is where everybody was--so we had our run of the whole park. David and Greg went on the roller coaster four times! Meanwhile, us girls went on the Little Mermaid ride. There was no one else on it, so we didn't even have to get off to ride it again. Sara loved it, and, like I said before, we all love what Sara loves. I loved my morning with my sweet girls. (Later, during that early hour, the kids also got to do Goofy's Sky School a couple of times and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. And meet Lightning McQueen and Mater. And meet Donald Duck. It was a delightful morning.)
Splash Mountain
David, Mary, and I went on this twice in a row, no wait! It was really fun. (Greg refused to ride--he doesn't like rides that get you wet--so the kids were all impressed that I would ride something Daddy wouldn't.) Mary especially loved it. I really enjoyed the opportunities to go on rides with both David and Mary together. (Like Autopia and Grizzly River Run and Soarin' Over California.)
I am going to assume you already saw the really terrible Splash Mountain picture.
Jedi Academy
Yes, this makes another list. It was awesome! I loved watching David.
By the way, you can watch David fight Darth Maul HERE. (It's very low-quality. Sorry.)
Belle
Yes, this makes my list too! The best was the moment when Belle entered the room and Mary realized she was going to meet her favorite princess.
Winnie the Pooh
My favorite moment? The same as everyone else's! When Sara saw Winnie the Pooh!
My list could go on and on. It was a great trip.
