We waited until the kids were both tall enough to ride everything, and then we planned a trip to Disneyland! Of course, California Adventure exists now, too, so we did both parks over the span of 3 days (with off days in between). It was a fun experience, documented by hundreds of photos. We'll try to narrow them down...
We landed at LAX on Friday night and were at the park Saturday morning before it opened. There were long lines, but everything went smoothly, and we were in and ready for fun!
Our classic photo with the castle before the lands opened. Once they did, we were delighted by the first few hours of sparse crowds and available rides!
The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse was a favorite of Bryan's from childhood. It now belongs to Tarzan, but we enjoyed exploring it. Thunder Mountain Railroad is in the background, which was a family favorite.
All aboard!
This rollercoaster was fun for all of us!
We road the Mark Twain around Tom Sawyer's Island and enjoyed the breeze.
The morning was overcast and we loved not baking in the sunshine. We enjoyed the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Matterhorn (sort of), Small World (eek!), and several others.
What looks like sibling love is actually the snarky older brother brushing off the little sister's loving embrace.
The kids loved Indiana Jones (which we rode multiple times) and we did the Jungle Cruise afterward. The corny jokes were a hit! We even repeated the cruise in the dark one evening!
Ah, Star Wars. Bryan has been introducing it to the children in small, supervised doses in preparation of this new land, and it did not disappoint! This was the only ride (Smugglers' Run) for which we had to wait in line for an extended period (65 minutes!), thanks to the joy of the FastPass. We also dodged Storm Troopers on patrol.
Splash Mountain was another favorite. We rode and rode and rode...
After a full morning at the park, we returned to the hotel for a nap and swim break before another evening go.
We capped our first Disney day with a parade and then fireworks over the castle. These two were great all day - and SO tired that night! After a day off at the ballpark (different post), we returned on Monday to California Adventure.
A dear man named Jeff from San Dimas let us in early before the park opened to general admission. That was a major gift, because we were able to ride some of the popular rides without any lines. It was lovely! The kids loved these swings - and Bryan and I stayed off them!
Our first big ride of the morning was the IncrediCoaster. Oh man. It is super fast, inverts the riders, and it terrorized our poor daughter. Mitch, on the other hand, loved it! He rode 5 times throughout the day, in fact. I went once more with him, and Bryan did the others.
He was fearless!
Shan and I recovered by visiting Jessie and her Critters on a rather tame carousel.
After the shock of the rollercoaster, it was a relief to see her smile again!
She even got to meet Bo Peep (the first character she wanted a picture with!).
Another popular Toy Story ride involved 3D classes - always stylish!
Pixar Pier is a nod to Coney Island, and was charming. The kids also enjoyed Goofy's Flight School here.
We rode the Ferris wheel, too, and enjoyed teasing our paterfamilias about his fear of heights.
We went to Cars Land and it was cute enough. Didn't warrant the crowds, though, and we were grateful for our FastPass!
Heading through a Hollywood zone, we saw lots of characters and Shan enjoyed the perspective street.
Our destination was the Guardians of the Galaxy ride, which was basically this tower of terror. Again, Mitch loved it. Shannon did, too. It was an elevator ride that just dropped and lurched like no one's business.
Another flattering mid-ride photo...
We also enjoyed riding the grizzly rapids and other rides before returning for naps and swimming.
Recharging was vital!
Then we returned to the park for a night cap.
Disney day 2 ended by watching the fireworks from our balcony.
Day 3 of parks was a return to Disneyland, per the kids' choice. Unfortunately they were burned badly at the beach the day before so we had a couple of tomatoes.
We started with Star Wars and then headed to Space Mountain, which was a big hit with the other 3 members of our family. All I could see in the dark was mutilated bodies from a ride gone wrong.
Scary thing - Shannon behind the wheel!
And Mitch wasn't any better!
Another ride at Splash Mountain (or two) helped us have a Zip-a-dee Doo-da good day...
We visited Toon Town this time, though there weren't any characters present (just these two dangerous suspects).
There was a fun roller coaster that these two rode repeatedly.
We visited Tom Sawyer's Island this time and explored the caves and trails.
Mitch found some treasure!
After another necessary afternoon break and swim session, we returned for our final rides. We also added Jessie to the mix, much to Shan's delight. More Indiana Jones, Thunder Mountain RR,
and Splash Mountain. Our final trip down this one left us completely drenched.
We stumbled into a meet-and-greet with everyone's favorite Wookie, Chewbaca. Upon meeting Chewy, Bryan said, "Thank you for your service." I nearly died laughing.
We were delighted with this encounter!
The next encounter, not so much. Bryan and Mitch were threatened by Lord Vader and Shan and I kept our distance!
We loved our time at the Disney parks. Honestly, it was much more fun than I expected. Another night of fireworks
and then we bid adieu to the glowing castle, Walt and Mickey. For us, it was (one of) the happiest places on earth!
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