Disneyland '11

During our Newport trip this month we decided to spend a day at Disneyland while our bigger cousins spent their day at Knott's Berry. I didn't grow up feeling that Disneyland was magical or nostalgic and so as a parent it has felt like a lot of work, heat, lines, and money not to mention exhausted kids. But, I have to admit that this trip was actually so fun that I really wasn't ready to go at closing and I finally understood how people could spend more than one day there. Maybe it's because it wasn't quite as hot and the lines weren't so long, though it still cost a fortune and we were exhausted! We brought our little camera so, the pictures aren't great but, there are a lot of them!

~

California Adventure was really fun. All the rides have the characters my kids know and love. They loved the Monsters Inc., Little Mermaid and Buzz and Woody rides best and the carousel. Their were no crowds in the morning and we walked right on everything. At night it was crowded. 

~

Ashley and Dave ready for the Buzz and Woody ride. I think Ashley prefers sunglasses on upside down, she always wears them that way. 

 Saying Hi to Jesse. Usually Disney goes all out to impress but, look at this costume. Talk about creepy!

 My kids are in love with carousels. Andrew's waving on the left. 

 Meeting Pluto. Ashley likes these characters and Andrew is always nervous. I'm with Andrew. What? Who? and Why? So creepy. 

 Hailey was our champion baby all day. She was happy and easy to please. She never cried, not once. (Well, except when Andrew let her taste a lollipop and then took it away). She is most happy when she's eating food. So she loved stopping for lunch. Oh she is cute. 

 Ashley and Hailey both fell asleep at the same time - isn't that amazing?! They look so similar when they sleep. This nap time was wonderful because it let Dave take Andrew on a few rides that Ashley wasn't tall enough for. The hard parts of the day were when Andrew could go on something and Ashley had to miss out and do something different with Hailey and me. The Madhatter character came up and made a ruckus and put a little flower on each of their laps. I was terrified he'd wake them!

Disneyland is always crowded. I don't like lines so, we rode everything with short lines and fast passes and skipped everything else. In Disneyland they most liked riding the Buzz Lighyear, Dumbo, Teacups, Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Storybook Land and Jungle Cruise rides. They also liked Tarzan's treehouse. They did not like Snow White, it is scary. Andrew went on several big rides. He said he liked them but, I think they were scary and he might like them more in a few years. 

 Posing in front of my favorite ride; small world. Their lollipops cost only $2 each and were worth every penny during the line. 

 Look at my convict husband. I guess Small World better watch out. I'm just excited I made it into a picture during the trip. 

I made it into 2 pictures!

 My kids' most favorite thing I think was the Wilderness Explorer Camp in California Adventure. That made us laugh since, it's a pretend Utah Mountain. But, they loved the ropes, climbing, and exploring. Andrew was big enough to go on this little zip line swing ride inside and Ashley was not. That was about the most disappointing moment in her life so far and I felt awful. 

 Watching the World of Color. It was pretty neat too. 

 The kids had so much fun all day and were great! No one got sick or had any accidents - wahoo! We went home to the beach house completely exhausted and starving, and so grateful to wake up the next day to a relaxing day in the sand!