Disneyland

A few days ago, Scott got a wild idea that we should just go to Disneyland. We have been waiting to go so our kids would be old enough to enjoy it and we would have energy enough to do it.
I was ready to give it a shot, so we booked the hotel.
I picked up Scott from work on Wednesday, we drove straight to LA, went to Disneyland on Thursday and then drove home Friday morning. It was a quick trip but surprisingly doable and it was SO MUCH FUN. Way more fun than I expected. I haven't been there since I was a young kid, so a lot of it was new for me. And experiencing everything with the kids made it one of the best days ever. We had a blast.
Upon entering the park, we headed straight for Cinderella's castle (Good advice, Emily!) and did all those rides first. The weather was perfect and after a couple of rides, I think the kids really started to have fun since they knew, now, what the day was going to be like.
Of course Elliet spotted the large Carousel in the center and immediately exclaimed that she wanted to ride the horses. She picked hers out particularly and grinned so big the whole time.






Then one of my faves, the teacups! The music is all quirky and flutey and spinning around and around makes it hard to control the giggles.
The first thing Scott said when we sat down was "Ok- no crazy spinning... just nice and easy..." but Elliet and I had another idea.
Then we spread all over the park. We never repeated a ride. The kids lasted really well walking all by them selves. It was fun checking out old memories.
I certainly remember 'Small World'. How can you not? They drill that song into your head over and over again. It's like a subliminal message from the government that you'll get called on a secret mission, hear that tune, and have a mental breakdown and destroy all things in sight.
But despite the relentless tune, I must say I quite enjoyed the whole 60's aesthetic that still remains. Cool designs and artwork inside as well as the outside. Sort of Alice in Wonderland, too.
As a Halloween freak, I have been told many times how great the Haunted Mansion is at this time of year. It did not disappoint. Loved the decorations and everything. I do need to go back and see it in it's normal form, since that was a ride I do remember well from my wee years.
The creativity they put into it all was amazing!
Scott took Elliet on a faster ride and she thought it was fun, so we decided to tackle the Matterhorn. Yes! Another old favorite as a kid, but I didn't think we could do it with our little ones. The crazy thing is this was the first time we encountered our outnumbered issue- only one or two riders per car. What were we going to do? We asked Elliet if she would ride by herself and she said she would. So I put her in the car in front of me and had Sadie in my lap. Then I realized that she was in the FRONT CAR of our whole train. I really started to worry now. I tried to talk fast and explain what was going to happen, that "it would be fast and a little crazy, but fun... here are the handles you hold on to, I'm right behind you!", etc. etc.... then it started. Oh man, I was nervous. And guess what?! She was great! She called out a couple of times and thought for sure I had damaged her, but by the end of the ride, she was like, "That was fun! It was a little spooky and scary but I was brave!". Does that invite a big hug, or what? I was so proud of her. She is such a big girl.
We ended up staying the entire day. Amazing the kids lasted that long, and even kept their good moods for most of it. We stayed long enough to see the parade at the end. The kids love that- kept shouting out the names of the princesses and other characters. Sadie's little waving hand was so cute! And a byproduct of living with girls is Luke being just as infatuated with the princesses as them. So he thought it was swell.
You'd think upon returning to the hotel that the kids would be wiped out. Not ours! We ate dinner and finally forced them to calm down by laying with us on the beds while Scott and I watched the Office. Then they were out cold in 5 minutes. It was a GREAT DAY!