We headed into Disneyland and since we had been in the car for an hour and a half, our very first and very important stop was the bathroom. We took turns going in so that we didn't have to haul the strollers inside.
Cam hanging out, waiting for his turn in the bathroom.
Literally hanging out, waiting.
Aaron is not overly impressed with Disneyland yet. Just wait Aaron, we haven't even made it down Main Street yet!
After making her potty stop, Leah was ready to go, planning out the day with her map. A girl after Nana's heart, for sure.
We started our walk down Main Street. We warned the kids that the castle here was a little smaller than the one in Disneyworld, so they were not too concerned. In fact, Leah was beside herself with excitement to see Sleeping Beauty's castle.
But yes, it is quite a bit smaller, even from right close up.
Family picture with the castle
Following the photographer's instructions to put our hands up and look excited.
Cam was asked to put his hands on top of each other, flat in front of him. Much to his surprise, Tink showed up in the picture when we looked at it at home. I don't remember why Leah was pouting in this picture, but it is a pretty great pout.
This time the photographer told us to look down at Cameron and look surprised. Apparently, only Leah can follow directions - what a great surprised face! At least Tim and I are looking at Cam... Aaron is disregarding the instructions all together.
Once we had our photos taken, it was time to go on some rides. Knowing that we didn't have a huge amount of time and the park was pretty crowded, we needed to make sure that certain rides were on our list. We headed back to Fantasyland first, for the kids (despite REALLY wanting to go on the more fun rides).
Aaron's very first ride, Snow White's Scary Adventure.
Aaron was not scared!
Cameron, being a big fan of The Sword and the Stone, had to try his hand at pulling the sword out. He was kind of surprised when it was as easy as expected.
He called in Leah to help.
Really working hard to get that darn sword out.
Pausing for a photo op.
We had to convince them to leave, saying that they could try again later. Both were pretty sure they'd be able to get it later, no problem. At this point, Aaron started to get a bit hungry. Mama and Aaron went to find a shady place to sit for a mid-morning snack, while Daddy, Cam and Leah all headed to King Arthur's Carrousel.
Leah, looking very proud up on her house. She is normally too nervous to ride on a horse, but has recently found her bravery and will ride a horse by herself.
After the carrousel ride, they came to find Aaron and I, who were sitting in the shade near Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. While they waited to Aaron to finish up, the other two took turns during Mr. Toad's car.
Then we went on the ride. It was pretty good, even though the kids didn't really know the story.
Our next ride was one that only Disneyland has, the Alice in Wonderland ride. It was cute, with both inside and outside parts. This was one of Tim's attempts to get a picture of Leah, Aaron and I in the backseat of our car. Didn't work out so well for Mr. Aaron.
We went on a few more rides in Fantasyland, then split up again. Tim and the older two went to Autopia. Cameron was able to drive the car and Leah sat on Tim's lap. Meanwhile, Aaron and I went over to Splash Mountain to get Fast Passes. On our way back, we stopped in to the Baby Center. It is cool, clean and quiet, all things that were very nice on the 90+ degree day!
Happy baby with a fresh diaper, hanging out in the baby center changing table
Yep, that's a smiley little guy!
Since we were there, Aaron had some lunch and then we met the others outside. We were getting close to Fast Pass time so we headed over to Splash Mountain. We were hoping to stop at a few other rides along the way but it was pretty crowded and lines were long. We stopped at Pirates of the Caribbean, which everyone enjoyed quite a bit. Cameron thought it was awesome and spent a lot of time in the gift shop looking for just the right pirate paraphernalia (which he never did find).
Splash Mountain was up next. Cameron was the only kiddo tall enough to ride, and he was EXCITED. That is, until we went to get into line. The same thing happened in Disneyworld - he was excited right up until when he actually had to do it. We ended up practically forcing him to go in Disneyworld and he really enjoyed it. We reminded him of that and it was a bit easier to convince him to get into line. Cameron and I were up first, and since we had Fast Passes, we flew right up to the front of the line and were in the log before he had a chance to think. Just as we pushed off and were headed into the ride when he turned around and looked at me and said, "I don't think I want to do this." Too late, my boy, too late!
I was able to keep his fears at bay by showing him all of the cool stuff along the way, but every time we came up to a drop he would get nervous that it was the big drop. And after each small drop, he'd smile and tell me how easy that one was. When we finally got to the big drop, he was really scared but did great, gripping my hand but shouting with excitement the whole way down. We got wet, but he wore it with pride (especially after I told him we'd dry off very quickly).
He got off the ride and went running to tell Daddy and Leah about how great it was and how much he loved it. Great, Daddy said, cause now it is my turn and you can go with me. Welllll, at that point there was a bit of backpedaling.... it was great, Dad, but I need a break. After several back and forths, with Cameron running after Tim to go with him and then backing out at the last minute. In the end, Tim was able to convince him to go on the ride and Cameron enjoyed it again.
It was mid-afternoon now and we decided that we were hungry. We didn't have any plans for meals that day so we headed back to the Big Thunder Ranch Barbeque restaurant. On our way, we stopped at Haunted Mansion and went for a ride, which everyone loved.
When we got to the ranch, a show had just wrapped up. It worked out amazingly well though, because all of the characters were still there but there were hardly any people. We pretty much had them to ourselves, it was awesome!
This picture is quite amazing all in itself, mainly because Leah is allowing a character to touch and hug her. Leah has always been quite tentative around characters, and the only ones that she would even go near at Disneyworld were the princesses and Tinkerbell. She wouldn't get close to anyone else. Imagine our surprise when she went running up to Minnie and gave her a big hug!
She was so happy to see Minnie!
Aaron thought Minnie was pretty cool too.
Family picture with cowboy Mickey and cowgirl Minnie
Micky and Minnie thought Aaron was really cute!
Minnie even asked to give Aaron a kiss. Of course we said yes!
Hugs for Mickey!
Leah gets a dip kiss from Mickey himself!
Then Cameron almost knocks Mickey over with a tackle hug! Oops. Luckily, Mickey must be used to it because he didn't fall over and was able to hold Leah safely in his arms.
Then it was time for a huge hug for Cameron!
We probably spent a good five or so minutes with Mickey and Minnie, with no one else vying for their time. It was just us with Mickey and Minnie (and the photopass photographer, who couldn't even take pictures because her machine was broken). It was really cool, the kids could play with them and we could take any pictures that we wanted. Not the usual Mickey and Minnie experience!!
We walked around a bit more and found Jesse hanging out. Cam ran up to give her a hug.
Leah went over only after Cameron assured her that Jesse was nice.
Jesse saying hi to Aaron.
They had a table with some activities, including making cute hats.
Cameron and cowboy Goofy. Leah had no interest in seeing Goofy!
They also had some games to play. Again, because the show had ended and everyone had left, there was NO line. The kids could play the games for as long as they wanted, only taking turns with each other. It was pretty great.
Beanbag toss game. Leah wasn't very good at it, but boy she tried hard and LOVED it when she finally got one in.
Cam was a bit more successful.
Trying to rope the horse. This was a bit trickier than Cameron thought it would be but he finally got one around the horse's neck.
We headed over to the ranch's restaurant, which was a family style place where you ate at picnic tables. They had people singing while you ate too, which was fun. The menu was ribs, chicken, sausage, coleslaw, beans, corn on the cob and cornbread. The food was great and the kids ate it right up - they especially loved the chicken, sausage and cornbread.
Aaron didn't get to eat anything, but he liked the singing and stayed awake and interested the whole time.
Leah, with her cowgirl-style napkin bib, really loved the barbeque chicken.
Daddy and Leah chowing down
Wide awake Mr. Aaron
Mama and Cameron with corn-on-the-cob
Corn and sausage all at once.
Yum, yum, yum! We ended up asking for more food twice because everyone was eating so well.
We even indulged in some dessert - a Mickey Mouse chocolate mousse cake. It was sooooo yummy!
With our bellies full, we headed over for more of a calm ride - It's a Small World! We knew everyone would enjoy it (well, the kids at least) and we could take a rest while we digested.
Cameron and Leah in front of It's a Small World. We tried a couple times for a good picture, this was the best we got. Leah is a master of the silly picture!
On our way in to the ride. Leah was very excited to see the "little dolls singing" ride.
I'm not sure if it is true or not, but it sure seemed like the Disneyland version of the ride was longer than the Disneyworld version.
The kids loved it, so that means Tim and I loved it too.
Ummm, Leah, no matter how much you like it, you may not crawl out of the boat to go sing and dance with the singing dolls.
I guess maybe Aaron wasn't quite as big a fan. That is, until Mama started paying attention and took the hat off his face. Oops.
After It's a Small World, we were ready to go on some more exciting rides. Luckily, right near by was Matterhorn Bobsleds. After getting his bravery going with Splash Mountain, Cameron was good to go to ride this one. Cam and Tim headed to the bobsleds while Leah, Aaron and I waited nearby. And what else to do while you are waiting for a ride then make faces?
Silly face!
And one smiling face, after many requests for "just one nice one, please".
If you can't tell in other pictures, this close up of a very sweaty Leah shows that it was HOT in Anaheim. Everywhere else in CA was very comfortable in the mid-70s or maybe low 80s, but once we headed inland it was hot and sticky. Made us all a bit uncomfortable, especially poor Aaron when it was time to eat. We got through it though, we were in Disneyland, after all!
After a bathroom break (very difficult, given that I had two kids in two strollers and only one of me!), we headed back to our waiting area to wait for Daddy and Cameron to finish the ride. I was feeding Aaron while Leah sat in her stroller, and I noticed that she had been quiet for a few minutes. I peeked over into her stroller and found this:
After buckets of excitement and fun, she finally crashed! I was glad, she definitely needed a nap. Aaron, on the other hand, was fed and feeling good.
When Cameron and Tim got off the ride, Cam was practically jumping with excitement and grabbed my hand to haul me off the bench. He LOVED the bobsleds and couldn't wait to go back on them again. We had the baby switch pass so we got right on and had a great time. Cameron was so excited, whooping as we went around every curve and turning to make sure I was having as much fun as he was.
While Leah was snoozing, we headed over into Tomorrowland to go on Star Tours. This was another ride on Cameron's must-do list, since he is such a big Star Wars fan. Cameron and I went on it first while Tim waited with the sleepyheads. Cam loved this ride too, and was so excited to go back on it with Tim. When they came back out, Tim said that he remembered why he doesn't normally go on that kind of ride. Cameron was bouncing with excitement and wanted to go on it again.
Leah had woken up from her nap at this point so we all went on Buzz Lightyear. And then we went on it again, because that is how great of a ride it is.
I'm sure we went on a few more rides, but I can't think of them at the moment. We actually didn't get to go on a few of the rides that we really wanted to check out, either because the line was too long (Space Mountain, Indiana Jones), the ride was closed for refurb (Big Thunder Mountain) or we just didn't make it over there before the kids crashed (Jungle Cruise). We decided to head back to the hotel at a reasonable hour tonight, knowing that the next day would be another full day at California Adventure.
We headed out around 9:30, trying to time it so that we could watch some of the 10pm fireworks from outside of the gates and get to the trams before the post-fireworks crush made them crazy.
Main Street lit up on our way out
More Main Street
Looking back at Sleeping Beauty's Castle
One last family picture in Disneyland
The fireworks started just as we were at the gates between the parks headed for the trams. We could see quite a few of the fireworks and it worked out really well. We got on the first tram and learned a great trick - if you go in the first car, you don't have to fold up your stroller. This was fantastic because we had a ton of crap shoved under our strollers.
We had a wonderful day at Disneyland and could not wait to go to California Adventure the next day!!
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