We decided to go to Disneyland shortly after arriving in San Diego for 2 reasons. First we tried to get in before the summer crowds came and second I wanted to see the 60 year celebration. It just so happened that we found some great SoCal resident ticket deals last minute too which saved us a bunch of money! We did 2 days at Disneyland and stayed 2 nights in a neighborhood Best Western. We woke up early (6 am) Sunday morning and threw the kids in some clothes and threw them in the already loaded car and we were one our way. Doughnuts and bananas for breakfast...yum!
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| Practicing our disney characters with Headbandz before we left |
On the road to Disneyland...bright and early!!
The first day we decided to do California Adventure as they closed earlier (9 pm) and I knew we would be too tired starting at 6 am to go much later than that. After we dropped the car at the hotel we made our way in and straight to Cars Land and the Radiator Springs ride. We were there by 8:40 and still there was a 45 minute wait. But it went fast and before we knew we were on our first ride!
This is a super fun ride but Raelyn was totally freaked out and cried and screamed the whole race part of the ride. Not too enjoyable for me and I missed most of the second half trying to comfort her. Probably not the best plan to freak the baby out first ride of the day. It took some convincing after that to get her to go on the rides and not be freaked out.
Next up Luigi's dancing cars! Much better. She liked this ride!
Next we rode the big ferris wheel and chose to go on the rocking ones. Another not so wise choice...totally freaked Raelyn out and made me a bit nauseated.
After lunch we had fast passes for the Grizzly Water Ride. Raelyn actually liked this one ok even though we got a big wet.
And another favorite was the carousel.
Then we were back to Cars Land for our Fast Pass at Radiator Springs. We also did a switch pass this time around as Raelyn was not going to be convinced to ride this ride again! So I took a few pics of her and we went to a dance party while they rode.
Then it was my turn to ride with the girls. This time was super fun as I could watch and enjoy the ride. Worked out well for the big girls too as they got to ride twice in a row!
We came back to Rae napping on Hans' lap. Yeah 6 am is pretty early to get up for little girls.
Raelyn's make me tall enough to ride the 42 inch ride shoes. Aubrey made a poor choice of shoes so she ended up wearing these shoes when Raelyn didn't need them. They are so cute but not so comfortable! But they worked to get Rae into any of the rides she was slightly short for!
Then we waited forever to get into the Toy Story Ride. It was closed most of the day so the line was long. It was worth it though. Aubrey reminds me of a little Japanese girl in this outfit.
Finally it was time for dinner and then the Color the World show. We had decent seats but was hard for me and the girls to see. They stood on the stroller which helped while we held up the little girls.
After that we trudged back to the bus and then got checked into the hotel. After 10 miles of walking we were quick to get everyone ready and into bed. I have not seen the girls crash so fast!!
The next day was Disneyland!! We did not get going as early was we would have liked so it was hurry up and stand in some lines!! Finally we got in and headed off to Peter Pan. Today felt like summer crowds! Graduations, week before Memorial Day Weekend, whatever it was it was PACKED!! Next we did a fast pass to Buzz Light year.
And then pictures in front of the castle!!
Time for a lunch break and more pictures!
Then we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Winnie the Pooh ride.
Then the girls spotted a coin machine while we waited in line to see Eeyore and Pooh Bear.
After that we did Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain. Oh Boy! Splash Mountain is one of my favorite rides and now I have terrified my child from it. From the moment we got on Raelyn was crying and upset and wanting off. Each dip was me convincing her it was going to be ok. She would say, "was that the last one?" ...oh sweet girl no, not yet. But we survived. I don't think any sound came out of her mouth when we went down, But each subsequent ride the questions would come, "Does this one have a water falt?" "Is this a roller coaster?" Once again I was trying to convince her that Disneyland is in fact fun!!
After that we did a switch pass for the Railroad. There was no way Raelyn was getting on this ride! Switch passes are nice for the big girls though they get to ride twice in a row and they loved this one and deemed it their favorite!
Then Hans and the big girls did Matterhorn while Raelyn and I met Tinker Bell and Silvermist. She was so cute and shy talking to them. She really did like meeting them I think.
I know there were a couple more rides in there. We did Buzz Lightyear again, rode Snow White and walked through the castle. Tried to get fast passes for Indiana Jones but no such luck. Maybe we will get to go again in the fall. I really hope to as we didn't get to do everything I wanted to at Disneyland or California Adventure.
We ate dinner and then found spots for the parade and did a little shopping. Then it was time for the Paint the Night Parade and Fireworks. Super fun!
After the fireworks were done everyone was streaming out so I convinced them to stay and ride a couple more rides. We squeezed in a car ride and the Nemo submarine ride which were both long lines throughout the day so it was nice to have much shorter lines at night. Then it was back to the hotel for sleeping after another long day and 10 miles of walking!
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I hope we get to go back again some day really soon! I think I love Disneyland just as much or more than the girls. It really is a fun and magical place!
