A really long record of our vacation

(This will be a part of my blog book, so feel free to skip over this and just look at the photos if you like.)

What a whirlwind of a trip! It started in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday with a 3:00am wake-up for us, and a 3:30am wake up for the kids. We picked up Mom M., who kindly offered to drive us to the airport, and then I proceeded to make our morning much more stressful by forgetting Grant’s shoes at home, his special, expensive wide sandal shoes for his chubby, thick feet. As Mom was dashing off in the van back to our house to retrieve the forgotten shoes, I realized I left my purse (and ID) in the van, so she drove back around, dropped off the purse, and then drove back to our house (30 minutes away) and then back to the airport with the shoes--above and beyond, for sure. As our plane began the boarding process, I started getting very nervous Greg wasn’t going to make it (he was waiting outside for Mom and the shoes). The security check line was VERY long. We were about to board the plane when Greg showed up, just in time, with shoes in hand. He told us he had had to get very loud and make a big commotion, but they finally did let him through ahead of a bunch of people. He said he “pulled out all the stops” and dramatically shared his sob story and plight—wife and four small children on their way to their first trip to Disneyland…

I wrestled/entertained/restrained Grant, and we survived that first flight. We had to change planes in San Francisco, grabbing a quick bite for breakfast on the way to the gate, and made it through that flight, too. (The plane ride home was NOT fun either. Thank goodness, we will have no more flying with a toddler!) The Disneyland Resort Shuttle took us to The Paradise Pier Hotel. We dropped off our luggage (room wasn’t ready yet) and headed off to Disneyland. We walked to the monorail in Downtown Disney and arrived in the park in time for lunch. Thus began the kids’ first Disney experience.

Watching the kids’ reactions to it all was my favorite thing on this trip--the wonder of it all, the excitement, the amazement, and the looks on their faces on all the rides and attractions made it so very memorable for me. Aubrey and Grant won’t remember much from their trip, but I will.

Kari loved every single thing. There wasn’t a ride she didn’t like. She enjoyed getting autographs from all the characters we encountered.  I believe the kids got 18 autographs and saw many others that we didn’t wait around to greet. She loved all the wild rides and wanted to go on them over and over again. She really was at the perfect age for being able to experience and enjoy it all.

Joel liked everything, too, except the big roller coaster, California Screaming. He said, “That was the worst roller coaster I’ve ever been on!” It also happened to be only the second roller coaster he’d ever been on. J He and Kari both loved Thunder Mountain Railroad. They went on that one a few times.  Joel continually asked whether things were real or not. We kept telling him it was all pretend, and then he’d prove us liars by finding something/someone who was real. J  He loved Star Tours—had a perma-grin the whole time we were waiting in line and during the whole ride.  The Star Wars Jedi show was pretty exciting for him, too, even though he didn’t get chosen for “training.”  He and Kari memorized all the moves so they could practice with their light sabers back home.  The first characters we encountered in the park were two Storm Troopers—so very exciting! Joel was at a great age for it all, too, and surprised us with his desire to try everything. He wins the prize for best face on all the “scary” rides. Our first Splash Mountain photo was classic. We laughed so hard when we saw it. He and Aubrey both made it purchase-worthy. I laugh every time I see it.

Aubrey, at age four, enjoyed many things about Disneyland, but sometimes it was difficult to tell what she was thinking. I think she was often overwhelmed with it all. She had a love/hate relationship with most rides. She alternated between looks of terror and joy on almost every one. It was all so real in her little mind. At 42” tall, she was able to ride most rides but became a little more selective of which ones she wanted to go on after her Splash Mountain experience. The photo says it all.  At random times, over the next few days, she’d wag her finger dramatically and say, “I do NOT like Splash Mountain!”  She made The Jungle Cruise seem very exciting as she jumped, ducked, and covered her head. It was the same during the 3-D shows; she ducked and hid as images jumped towards her. We made sure one of us adults was right next to her for everything. Aubrey was awestruck by all the princesses at Ariel’s Grotto when we had our breakfast with them all. She didn’t know what to do or say. It was pretty cute. She wore her Cinderella dress that day and glitter in her hair. Aubrey and Kari both still have glitter in their scalps from those sparkly hair days. It’ll come out someday, I suppose. (Side note: SO glad I brought the hair glitter--ninety-nine cents well spent, compared to the $50 hair-do’s we saw walking around. Glad we brought our own Cinderella dress for Aubrey, too. Hair-do and dress cost a whopping $200 at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Saw lots of little girls whose parents forked out a lot of $$$ for it!)  Aubrey’s favorite ride was probably the tea cups--no fear on her face during that one. J  It was fun to see everything anew through her eyes. 

Grant won’t remember a thing about our trip, but we knew that going into it. We didn’t go for his sake. However, he was fun to watch, too (when he wasn’t throwing a fit and fussing). He was so animated whenever he saw characters he liked. We heard lots of, “Wow!” from him throughout the four days.  He jumped up and down, pointed, and shouted to make sure we saw what he saw. It was so cute! He loved the Mickey Mouse parade. He got so excited with everything that came our way. The somewhat miserable 45 minutes we had to wait in order to keep our front row seats on the ground were all worth it when we saw the kids’ reactions and how much they were enjoying it. Grant and Aubrey got lots of waves, smiles, and winks from characters and people in the parade. Grant’s favorite ride was the carousel. He would have stayed on those horses all day if we would have let him. He was pretty fearless and only got scared a couple times by sudden noises or flashing of lights. He was a champ during all the shows—enthralled with it all. Our little man was definitely a challenge on this trip and caused the majority of our stress, but he really did pretty well overall, better than I expected anyhow. That said, I’m looking forward to taking him (and his siblings) back when he is no longer a toddler. J

It felt like non-stop activity for 4 straight days with very little down time or rest, even at night. Grant woke up crying every night at 2am and joined us in our bed, giving us back massages with his feet, as Greg put it, until 5am when he woke up for the day. We were up and out of the hotel early every morning—had to make the most of our time!

We spent Wed, Thurs, and Saturday in Disneyland and Friday in California Adventure. On Friday night after the kids were asleep (never took long) Mom and Dad stayed back at the hotel, and Greg and I went back to the park by ourselves. (We had adjoining rooms with a door between on the inside, which was really nice.) We rode a couple rides with day-old fastpasses (not sure why that worked but it did) and watched the fireworks and Fantasmic shows. We were so tired, though, that we didn’t stay out long. Guess we’re getting old. J

Sure was nice having Mom and Dad with us. They made our kid-to-adult ratio much better. Dad hung out with Grant quite a bit, and sometimes Aubrey, too, while we went on rides. He went on some—mostly the smoother, not so rough on the body, knees, and back rides.  Oh, but he did go on California Screaming. J It was fun to have them along and to share our kids’ first Disney experience with them.

We ate very well while we were there. We had saved and set aside a bunch of money to spend on food and souvenirs, and we were ready and willing to spend it (it’s so much fun to spend money when you save and do it the right way). We like your philosophy, Mom, and have decided to adopt it. We decided that when we go on vacation, we will GO on vacation!

The first night we ate at the Rainforest Café. It was a fun-looking place, but we didn’t have the best experience. They messed up (twice) when we put our name in to be seated, and we ended up not getting seated until over an hour and a half later. We’d been awake since 3am that day, and the kids were completely wiped out. They were crying from hunger and exhaustion. It just didn’t go quite as planned. We’ll have to go back someday and try it again. J

We ate at The Golden Horseshoe for lunch one day and watched the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies show. Rancho del Zocalo was dinner another night—yummy! Dinner at Naples, an Italian place in Downtown Disney, was delicious, and so was dinner at Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue. Like I said, we ate well--ice cream every afternoon, a couple churros, some Haagen Daz.  All the walking almost made up for the caloric intake.

Other memories

--kids getting to be “captains” of the monorail

--the Aladdin show—so, so good—and Grant’s reaction when the “elephants” came in

--Aubrey’s face of horror at the top of Grizzly River Run, getting drenched, and saying she loved it

--Splash Mountain photo
--Aubrey sleeping in the rented stroller—she really liked riding around in that thing and was sad when we had to turn it back in
--kids laughing with Grandpa while waiting to get into California Adventure park
--literally running through John Wayne airport to barely catch our flight and Joel tripping and sprawling on the floor on the way
--tired, tired kids asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows
--Grant hating the lion leash
--stopping a couple times a day to find milk for Grant

--paying $3 for every bottle of water

--Aubrey falling asleep in the Tikki room
--kids loving Jungle Cruise on the first day
--Kari loving every ride
--Joel’s delight on Star Tours and about anything Star Wars related
--riding the Buzz Lightyear Astro blaster ride 3X,  scoring lots of points when we stopped mid-ride due to technical difficulties
--Grant waving on the carousels, waving at the characters
--Joel’s grimace of terror on most rides (ie, Tower of Terror—when the doors open and you can see outside) and declaration that he liked it afterwards
--elevator rides to/from the 12^th floor of Paradise Pier
--ice cream cones on the curb—Grant a major mess
--Mom taking Aubrey to the restroom constantly
--the kids and their fanny packs (thank you, Strandbergs!)
--Kari buying her first “dangly” earrings (Minnie Mouse)
--Paradise Pier pool and water slide
--Joel's conversation with Mary Poppins--"such a polite young man"
--kids racing through Tarzan's treehouse