(Warning: Major picture overload....)
The girls left Arizona feeling a little down. They were NOT ready to go home. Little did they know S and I had a little secret we'd been keeping for quite a few months. Instead of taking our normal route home to Utah, we headed to California for some fun at DISNEYLAND! M and C were completely clueless, but we planned to break the news to them as soon as we were about an hour out of Anaheim. It was all S and I could do NOT to tell them. We were acting like two giddy kids as we got closer and closer to our destination!
FINALLY we found an IHOP right off the freeway and since our girls love waffles, thought it would be a nice quiet place to chat with them about our big plans. We got settled in our booth, placed our order and just couldn't wait another minute. We got the video camera out and broke the news. (I'll have to try and post that little video clip sometime) Of course, C was completely clueless, but M was brought to tears. She kept asking us if it was for real, or if we were kidding. It was the sweetest thing. The surprise was a success!
M: I just won't be sleeping tonight! I will be dreaming of Disneyland!
The next morning we got ready, and headed to the Happiest Place On Earth. We were all in heaven! The weather couldn't have been better and the place was all decked out for Christmas. It was beautiful and "magical"....I thought anyway :)
Partly because of the age of our children and partly because we couldn't get enough of it, we spent the ENTIRE first day in Fantasy Land. Can you believe it? We were determined not to miss a thing and just took our time enjoying it all. It was definitely mine and C's favorite part of the whole park! She absolutely loved riding Dumbo!!
"It's a Small World" was amazing! (If you could get past hearing the same song over and over and over) The place was packed with the cutest Christmas displays and tons of lights. Both the girls were completely in awwww over it.
After a long day on our feet, we settled down on the sidewalk on Main Street and waited for the Christmas Parade. M was exhausted and zonked right out. C was so mesmerized by everything, we just kept the snacks coming and she was completely content.
Nothing will get you into the Christmas spirit like this parade. It was so much fun!!! The girls loved seeing the characters and hearing the music. They danced and waved to their favorites. Unfortunately, it was dark so the pictured just don't do it justice, but it is a definite must if you are in Disneyland for Christmas!
After a good nights rest we were ready for day 2 at California Adventure! This is such a fun park too. So many fun characters and rides. M's favorite had to be Flik. C would't dare go near the "scary" bug, but he had M laughing so hard.
I have to say this section of the park was perfect for C. Several small rides out in the open. She had fun!
Cars Land was one place we didn't get to do much in. The big cars ride everyone said we just HAD to do was always backed up to an almost 2 hour wait. We decided to save that ride for next time. It was a pretty fun place to just walk around though, and there were a couple of little rides the girls were able to do. Definitely a fun little place.
One of my favorite parts of the whole thing was seeing M experience some of these "big" rides for the first time. We started her out on Mickey's Fun Wheel and although it scared her a little, she was willing to try anything. Goofy's Sky School was her ABSOLUTE favorite though. She rode that one twice and still talks about wanting to ride it again next time. It was worth going to California Adventure just for that :)
Apparently M likes this character? I don't know much about him, but she begged us to stop so he could sign her book.
We were able to take the girls to Ariel's Grotto for lunch with the Princesses. FOR SURE WORTH IT! They were in love and no standing in line to see the princesses :) Their favorite was Snow White, and lucky for them they were able to see her on more then one occasion.
Our last ride in CA was Toy Story Mania!!! C wasn't too thrilled with this one, but M and dad were able to enjoy some friendly competition.
We were told by lots of people that we just HAD to get the tickets for World of Color. We were NOT disappointed. This is such a MUST see show! It was amazing...tons of colors and lights. I wish I could have captured just how awesome it was.
By the end of day 2 we were really starting to feel it! We got back to out hotel and the girls barely made it to the beds before they were out. Our muscles and feet were sore, but we still had things we wanted to do! So, we weren't giving up just yet.
Our last day we spent most of our time in Disneyland hitting all the places and seeing the characters we hadn't got to see yet. Our first stop was Minnie's house! Minnie has BY FAR the cutest house ever. I think I could live there. Loved it, and C was thrilled to see one of her favorite people.
We hung out with Goofy for a bit. We got to see him later that night too when we stopped by to eat at Goofy's Kitchen! He's pretty cool..... :)
Goofy's house wasn't too bad either. He had an awesome piano!
Of course we had to visit Pixie Hallow. Tinkerbell has always been a favorite with our kids, and even better her sister Periwinkle was there!
Oh the carousel. We could NOT get C off this thing. We rode it over and over and over again waiting for her to be satisfied, but she just wanted more and more! For sure her favorite "ride" of all!!! M got a bit bored though so she and dad decided to hit some more thrilling rides. Of them all, Thunder Mountain Railroad was her favorite! But Space Mountain was a close second.
And then the time came to leave, and we all sat by Sleeping Beauty's castle a bit sad. We had so much fun in the three days we were there! I feel so lucky that we were able to take the kiddo's. We have so many fun memories and all of us can hardly wait to go back!!
Until next time Disneyland!
