Now For The Fun Stuff

Those that know me well, know that I love Disneyland. I think I get more excited than the kids when we visit. We only live about 6 hours away so the drive is not bad. We had annual passes a couple of years and would go quite often, but as the kids got older it became more expensive to go. It’s been almost 4 years since the kids have been, so I was really looking forward to spending the time there with them. This was the first time I went with my kids by myself!

Since we only had one day, I let the kids mainly choose what rides they really wanted to go on. I knew there was no way we’d see everything, so we tried to be picky about what we did.

We started our day at Disneyland around 10:30 with the obligatory photo in front of Mickey, then headed straight to Adventureland to check out the line for Indiana Jones.

                                        

Since the boys were so little last time we went, they had not ridden Indiana Jones before. Being huge Indiana fans, they were really excited. Luckily, both were tall enough to go on. The wait was 45 minutes, so we pulled some Fastpasses and used the time to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise, climb Tarzan’s Tree House (I remember when it was Swiss Family Robinson!), and enjoy some ice cream.

We then took a walk through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which had been closed for several years for a refurbishment and opened again after our last visit. The kids thought that was pretty cool.

Conman requested a ride on Snow White’s Scary Adventures. On our way there we passed Peter Pan and Wendy and while in line saw Mary Poppins stroll by.

                                         

Conman unsuccessfully tried to pull out King Arthur’s sword. I guess he’s not heir to the throne.

                                          

Next, was the Autopia cars. Lulu drove her and Blakester and I let Conman drive ours. He was laughing so hard he could barely hold the wheel.

By this time, everyone was ready for some type of meal. The ice cream and churros they had already consumed didn’t hold them for long! We ordered pizza from Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port and sat down to watch the Jedi Training Academy show. Again, the kids are big Star Wars fans, so this was a hit.

                                          

After lunch we crossed over to visit California Adventure, mainly because I wanted the kids to ride the Toy Story Mania ride.  It is so much fun! We stopped for some photo ops on the way across.

                                            

                  

On the way to the Toy Story Ride we ran into Woody and Jessie. This is my favorite picture of the day.

                                         

Toy Story was the longest line we waited in. Probably about 35 minutes. Most of the other rides were anywhere from a 5-15 minute wait. Later in the evening, we were able to walk right up and get on some rides, such as It’s a Small World.  The parks were not extremely crowded and the weather was beautiful.

The Toy Story ride is a 3D experience in which you use a cannon-type gun to play different carnival games. For example, on the balloon pop game, you’re shooting darts, on the ring-toss, rings, etc.  Conman was happy he beat me in accuracy because he took the time to aim, unlike his mother who just shot wildly hoping to hit something for points!

                                                    

After this ride, we went back into Disneyland and rode the Matterhorn. Conman laughed hysterically the whole time, exclaiming, “I don’t know why I’m laughing!”

Then we went to Tomorrowland and rose Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blaster Ride. Here’s Conman and me. Lulu and Blakester’s picture didn’t come through for some reason.

                                         

Conman then asked if we could ride Alice in Wonderland. I love the rides in Fantasyland and was pleased he wanted to ride some.

                                          

Lulu didn’t want her picture taken very much but I managed to snap a couple of her in line.

                                              

I agreed to go on the teacups with them, only if they wouldn’t spin me too much. I usually refuse to ride them, because they make me dizzy and ill! Conman said he would ride with me and not spin me too hard. I still managed to get a little dizzy, and that is definitely not my favorite ride.

                                            

The boys tried getting into the White Rabbit’s house.

We ended our evening in the park with a ride on It’s a Small World and Thunder Mountain Railroad. Conman commented on It’s a Small World, “All the noise gave me a headache, but I liked the cute stuff.” On Thunder Mountain he said his legs felt like water! Meaning jello legs!

We snacked on some cotton candy and visited a couple stores in Downtown Disney before heading back to our car. The boys enjoyed the Lego store the most.

                                                 

It was about 10:3o when we got back to our car. A full 12 hours in the park and we were ready to call it a night. The kids proclaimed the day a success and are still talking about it. It was a wonderful day and I am so glad we had the opportunity to go.