disneyland adventure

Last fall at the parent meeting, it was announced that the dance teams would have the opportunity to perform at Disneyland! It was required for some of the older teams, but optional for my daughter's team. She begged to go and after much discussion we finally agreed that since it was so close to her birthday, she could choose this trip instead of doing a party and presents this year.  Since we already had a family trip planned for this year, we decided not to take everyone. It would just be L and me. But she's amazing and asked if her little brother could go too! Their birthdays are a week apart and he is obsessed with Mickey Mouse. She wanted to take him to Disney and see his face when he met Mickey and share this experience with him. She promised to do her best in the fundraisers and was so excited about the idea that we couldn't help but say yes! Now with taking little Z along, we decided Grammy would have to come too!

So on Wednesday evening, we raced down the canyon, arriving at the airport just in time. The flight was great. We grabbed Wendy's on our way through the airport and immediately boarded the plane. We sat in the very first row with Z sitting on the aisle. He generously offered french fries to everyone as they passed, winning himself lots of smiles and laughs. As the lines slow down and got backed up he became impatient and rather comically urged people on. The flight was uneventful and the kids did great. We landed at LAX and began a rather rough evening. Our Uber driver didn't speak English. So instead of the predicted 22 minutes til pickup, it was a full hour. (He didn't follow his GPS which was on at an annoyingly full volume and kept getting rerouted) And then instead of the 50 minute drive to Anaheim, it was 80. So we arrived much later than planned and found our hotel to be definitely not what was described. The dance team would be staying in the new Hyatt house. But because we had decided to arrive a full day early, we had just gotten inexpensive room nearby at the discovery inn. The online pictures are probably 10 years old and it's definitely not in near as good of shape as we had expected. The room was cramped and worn but it was after midnight and the beds were clean, so we crashed.

Confession: I don't know how to sleep in. At least not well. And definitely not at Disney!!! I'm the one awake at 6am bouncing on the bed, begging to go play. So by 7am, we were all awake, dressed, packed and ready to go! We walked to the Hyatt house and checked our luggage so we were free to spend the day at Disney. We walked to Disney, made it through security and got in line for a magic morning entrance by 8am, having been told that with a 3 day park hopper, we could have one magic morning entrance, regardless of what hotel you stay. Turns out this is only true if you buy directly through disney and our tickets were bought through the travel agent who organized the dance team. So we had to step aside and wait an hour. And it had begun to rain. I was a little grumpy.  Not the best start but it would turn out to be an amazing trip!

We got into Disneyland, wandered down main Street and waited for rope drop. (This was on my bucket list because I thought they did a program or announcement with Walt's voice. Nope, nothing. Just "ready, go".) And we headed to FantasyLand.

We immediately met Peter Pan (Z was more interested in the "horsies" behind him) and rode Peter Pan's flight, mr. Toad's wild ride and Pinocchio. It actually didn't go well. These are some of the oldest rides and the older style was rather overwhelming. They're very loud (and L is very noise sensitive) and twisting with abrasively bright colors shocking your senses. (Although she did like Peter  pan enough to want to do that one again) We much more enjoyed some of the outside rides like Casey's circus train, Storybrooke canal and the carousel! We rode It's a small world and that was a huge hit! Z loved the animal topiaries, bouncing up and down and squealing about the moose and reindeer and bear. L especially loved finding the princesses in each of their lands (something new since I last rode it ten years ago).

Then we spent our afternoon in Toon Town. We rode the go coaster, which was so fast and fun, and Roger rabbit ride. We ate lunch, met Pluto and Goofy, ate popcorn and explored the playground. We went through Mickey's house and got to meet him!

Next we headed for Tomorrowland. As we waited in line for Nemo Submarine, Z fell asleep on my shoulder. So I passed him off to Grammy and she snuggled him while L and I went on the submarine voyage. That too has changed a lot since I was a kid. I was a little disappointed but L loved it! We went on autotopia, and L was thrilled that she got to drive! Z was still asleep so L and I shared a churro and went on Buzz blasters without them. And just as we were getting off he had woken up so we went again and took him with us!

We made our way over to Critter country and jumped in line to meet characters. L had been wearing new no show socks and they were giving her blisters, so we ducked into a gift shop and bought us matching Mickey socks. We joined Grammy and Z just in time to go meet Tigger! Z was so excited and animated and ran right to him. He smothered him with hugs and loves and chattered so happily. Tigger was going on break so Z got to hold hands and walk him offset. We met Eeyore, and Z was happy to give him hugs as well but he couldn't wait to meet Winnie the Pooh. He ran right to him and again smothered him with hugs and loves and kisses. We wandered back over to the tiki room, enjoyed some Dole Whip and went on the jungle cruise. Then I introduced L to another one of my childhood favorites; we had clam chowder in bread bowls as we watched the parade! The Pixar parade is super fun.

Then we decided to head back to our hotel. It was still early evening, but we were worn out from our late-night and busy day. So we headed back to our hotel, collected our luggage and settled into our room. Our roommates for the weekend, L's friend and her mom were already there and the girls were thrilled to be together! We unpacked and the girls started making plans for the next day. Z and I settled into the sofa sleeper for the night and everyone was soon asleep.

Day 2! We got a little bit of a late start. We had breakfast at the hotel, which slowed us down because the girls were so excited to see their dancer friends. We hurried them along and tried to get to the park so we could be there when it opened. Unfortunately we arrived too late to beat the crowds and ended up stuck in security lines for a while. But we got in eventually and got right to work! As soon as we got in the park Z saw Chip and Dale! So we hopped in line and Z was adorable hugging them and kissing them on the nose. And Grammy bought L rose gold, glitter Minnie ears to match her best friend. And then we headed for the rides!

First on our list was Big Thunder Mountain! The girls loved it because it was fun and fast. As a special bonus, they got to write it twice! We took advantage of the rider swap program since Z is too small for the roller coasters. So each time, I would wait with Z and then I got to go on the ride and take two friends with me, always the girls! We also got them birthday buttons so for the rest of our trip, cast members were wishing them happy birthday all day long. That day was a blur! We did Indiana Jones (too intense), Splash Mountain (loved!), pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion (too intense), Winnie the Pooh ride (cute!) And the tiki room with Dole whip again.

We ate lunch in Tomorrowland while watching the Jedi training and then we split up. The girls (and my friend) went on the submarine and autotopia wall Grammy and I took Z to meet Captain Hook and Sheriff Woody. Then while waiting to meet up in Fantasyland, Z had a blast riding the carousel again, got to walk with Belle and had an absolute blast playing with his new Mickey bubble wand from Grammy! All together again, we rode Peter Pan's flight and it's a small world. Then we quickly headed over to watch a show, Mickey and the magic map, super cute! While we were deciding what to do next, we suddenly found ourselves in the perfect spot to watch the Pixar parade again. (While eating churros of course) Our seats were so much better this time! The girls had front-row view of all the floats and especially of the dancers that we couldn't see the day before. They loved it!

We rode Alice in Wonderland and then sent the girls to go ride Space Mountain while Grammy and I saved seats for Fantasmic! We were sitting far to one side so it wasn't a great view of the stage but we saw the projections and water show perfectly. Z was transfixed, L got a little overwhelmed and her friend loved it all. A few minutes later the castle show began. We couldn't see the castle but the projects played on the water too and we could see just a bit of the fireworks. After the show, Grammy slowly made her way to the exit with Z while the rest of us raced over to the Matterhorn. our fastpasses got us right on it, we didn't think we would be that late in the Parks, but we were having too much fun to leave! It was the perfect way to finish off our night!

So is one day enough for Disney? Definitely not! In two days we still didn't do everything but we had a fantastic time. It was also the first time we have juggled an age range like that. On all our disney trips so far, our kids have been too little for rollar coasters and perfectly happy with shows, characters and Fantasy Land. But this time, we wanted to do it all!

Day 3 was spent at California Adventure. This time we didn't even try to make it to Park opening. Instead we let the girls sleep a little longer and planned to stay super late. We ate breakfast in our room so that the girls could watch TV and eat while we did their hair. They would be performing with their dance teams that evening so we needed a bit of extra time to get them ready.

We arrived at noon and jumped right on to the River Rapids ride. We got soaked! And the girls got to do it twice! Next was Soarin and everyone loved it! Z was too short for either one so next we went to the Monsters Inc ride for him and he was so animated and happy, squealing at every monster he recognized. We grabbed a quick lunch to eat while we watched the Frozen show. It was amazing! So much more than I expected! The performers were incredibly talented and I loved all of the projections and special effects. We had to slip out a few minutes early to meet the dance team. L left with her dance team to get ready and I took Z to the Disney Junior dance party. He was so tired he was half asleep but still smiling. I thought he would nap on me but he rallied as soon as he saw Captain America at a meet and greet. So we stopped and said hello to the captain. Captain America asked him to flex his muscles but Z just continued to smile and hug him. I cued him "Reckoning!" and he immediately flexed and grinned, making everyone laugh.

We settled in to watch L dance. Z was long past naptime but fighting it and thrashing, which was hard on my still-healing arm and worse on my impatience. Unfortunately I was distracted by him through most of get first dance and then he thankfully settled down and fell asleep. The studio put together two sets, each show about 40 minutes long so L got to dance in three different numbers including her duo! They preformed beautifully and I'm so proud of them.

Next we headed up to Toys Story Mania, grabbing ice cream treats along the way. There was a delay and we ended up waiting much longer than we had anticipated. To make up for it, they gave us an extra fast pass so we immediately got to ride it again! Z was still being difficult and it was getting late in the evening by then. So Grammy generously offered to take him back to the hotel and leave us to do some of the big kid rides. We headed further into the pier to ride the golden Zephyr and the swings. As we waited we got to watch the paint the night parade. I don't think it's quite the caliber as the electrical light parade, at least how I remember it. But it was pretty amazing and we particularly loved the princess Belle float. The girls loved the swings so much that they wrote it three times in a row! Then we quickly raced over to do the little mermaid ride, slow and sweet and definitely adorable. Then we hurried over to Cars Land to use our fastpasses on radiator Racers. Unfortunately it had just broken down so the line was very long. I stayed in line while the girls did some nearby bumper cars. And then we hopped right onto the racers ride and it was amazing! My favorite ride of the whole trip! We had just 15 minutes until the Park closed. We hurried over and made it just in the nick of time to ride Guardians of the Galaxy. In fact we were in the last group that road that night. I was nervous what else would think. She's so sensitive to anything really scary or intense. But she absolutely loved it! And immediately declared it to be her favorite!

And finally, with the park at closing all around us and our girls very worn out, we made our way back to the hotel.

On Sunday morning we slept in. Or at least that was the plan. But between me and Z, we don't really do that well. We were too excited! We got everyone ready and packed. We checked our luggage with the hotel and then walked over to the Paradise Pier Hotel where we had a reservation for a character breakfast! We were greeted by Mickey himself! We got to take pictures with him and Z had plenty of time to hug and love on him. We were taken to our table just a few feet away which meant we had a perfect view of Mickey through our whole meal. Z repeatedly snuck over for extra hugs in between groups and was so delightfully happy. More characters walk around as we were eating. Z was especially adorable with Daisy! He could over her dress and had so much fun pointing out her shoes and giggling with her. He gave her lots of hugs and kisses. He also got to cuddle with Minnie Mouse and with Stitch! The big girls jumped into all the pictures as well and loved all the food at our breakfast buffet.

After breakfast we changed in the lobby restroom and headed for the pool! The big girls dove into the main pool while I took Z to the toddler pool and Grammy and my friend lounged in the shade. Z had a great time splashing, especially once I brought out some Mickey bath toys we brought from home. The girls came over to join, being cute with him, playing hide and seek with the toys and took him on the water slide.

L reluctantly said good by to her friend as they headed back for their flight. But since we still had a few hours to play, we dressed and headed for downtown Disney! We anticipated doing some souvenir shopping and picking out gifts to take home two sisters. I was a little surprised to find out it is much, much smaller than Walt Disney World Downtown Disney. Plus the Disney Store there is currently being remodeled so we have near the selection we thought we would. We hadn't bought souvenirs yet because I thought we would be able to just make mental notes of our favorites as we saw them and then be able to find everything and pick in Downtown Disney. Not really the case but we had fun anyway. Next time we will shop as we go! Although I probably would have ended up spending much more money that way! L agonized over what to pick as her souvenir. She finally settled on a pair of teal Mickey Mouse earrings and a Beauty and the Beast puzzle. (Which I actually found was a third the price on Amazon, so I told her I would order it online and ship at home rather than us risk damaging it in our suitcases. We also picked out the Cinderella puzzle and Rapunzel puzzle for sisters!) We also bought a Chip mug to share, given our recent Obsession for having hot chocolate, and bought suckers to take home. While looking at some cute little tokens, an employee started talking with us and told us that they were actually made from reclaimed iron taken from retired Disney rides! So of course we picked out a set for us and for Papa.

We went back to the hotel where we met one of my very good friends from high school. In fact she's really the only person from high school I keep in touch with. We planned to go to dinner and she generously agreed to take us to the airport. But first, Mickey ice creams! It was something on our bucket list, but we hadn't done it yet! Luckily we found them at Downtown Disney, so we brought them back to the hotel where L and Z sat together delightfully enjoying their ice creams and making a huge mess.

I forgot how bad is Sunday LA traffic can get. So instead of going to dinner, we opted for the drive-thru at In & Out, getting burgers and shakes to eat as we headed for the airport. It was so much fun talking to with my friend and catching up on each other's lives and how things in the area had changed. In fact she drove us down Main Street and right past my old high school. We got to point things out L and reminisce. As soon as she dropped us off and we were on our way home, sad to go but having had such a great weekend!

This is L list of favorites:
Favorite California Adventure ride, Guardians of the Galaxy!
Favorite Disneyland ride, the three mountains! Space, Splash, Big Thunder! And Matt horn!
Favorite Disney treats, Mickey ice cream and Dole Whip
Favorite Disney food: turkey legs!
Favorite character moments, walking with Belle and the Beast. and that the captain on our plane was named hook! We flew with Captain Hook!
Favorite Z moment, sharing ice cream
Favorite friend moment, watching the parade and the swings
Favorite mom moment, Guardians of the Galaxy! And that I could see her the whole time I was dancing
Favorite Grammy moment, when she bought my ears
Favorite show, Frozen
Favorite thing about our hotel, the bed
Favorite dance moment, the magical feeling of being on stage at Disney
And I loved the birthday buttons and everyone telling us happy birthday all weekend!

I loved the one on one with my kids. I loved watching Z's face light up with every character and new adventure. I love how he would whisper good night to every character (not present) and palm tree as we walked home each night. I loved getting to talk with L and do what she wanted and love on her and spoil her and celebrate her. I love watching her dance. I have the most amazing kids and am so grateful for them.