We're Goin' to Disneyland! (1 of 3)
For Van's 4th birthday we took him to Disneyland & California Adventure. It was such a blast we said we had to do it for Wesley's 4th. Well, Wesley's birthday is just before Christmas so when the day came we had a small party and promised him the trip to California in the spring.
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The wait wasn't too bad... until April when the boys started asking on a daily basis: "Are we going to Disneyland today?!" To fill in the time and quell the anticipation a bit I made a paper chain with Disney activities and trivia on each link. Each day they took off one link in the chain, and counted the remaining links to see how many days it was until we left. It was a hit! - almost better than the Christmas Advent calendar (with a lot less chocolate, too).
Finally it was time to depart. We had no trouble getting the boys up at 5 a.m., lemme tell ya! We arrived at our hotel , Paradise Pier, around 11 and were walking through the front gate to Disneyland by noon!
Now, it was a common question: what ride do you want to go on first? Both Van & Wes agreed without hesitation every time they were asked: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! (To which they are referring to the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride.) So that is what he headed to first! Main Street was beautiful as always... but off to Tomorrowland we went!
Buzz did not disappoint, and with only a 5 minute line! From there we stayed in Tomorrowland and got a FastPass for Star Tours and rode Astro Orbitor while we waited. AO allows the pilot to fly up high or down low, and it had a nice view from way up high... but my pilot (Wes) wanted to stay down low. Star Tours involved cool glasses and with our FastPass was a short wait, too. The ride has different adventures, and ours was underwater on Naboo and in space above the planet. Van was picked as the "rebel spy" that Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers were pursuing, so he had his picture flash on the screen during the ride - pretty sweet!
We exited Star Tours through the gift shop (as always) and the boys picked their ears for the weekend. Wes picked Buzz Lightyear themed ears, and Van chose R2D2 - good choices for both, imo!
Next up was the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage! It was a nice break from space blasting for momma. As we waited, planning where to go next, we saw a real seagull that happened to be perched next to a group of animatronic seagulls. The former just kinda sat and watched as the latter burst out into frequent chatter of "Mine! Mine! Mine!" with what I can only guess was confusion.
We made our way through Frontierland to New Orleans Square and Pirates of the Caribbean, an absolute MUST see for the whole family! From there Josh and I convinced the boys the Haunted Mansion wouldn't be too scary. Of course, it had a moment of technical difficulty and stopped in the middle of the spooky cemetery for a minute. Both Van and Wes liked the ghosts in the mirrors at the end, but it was a One Ride experience.
Wandering back towards the center of the park we walked through Sleeping Beauty's Castle, that has been re-roofed in blue jewels, silver tiles and diamond swags for the upcoming Diamond Anniversary Celebration. Even under the cloudy skies the castle seemed to sparkle a little more.
The boys were smitten with the giant, golden carousel that greeted us on the other side of the castle so we hopped on a horse. From there they saw Toad Hall and were intrigued by the cars. Now, they'd never seen or read the adventures of J. Thadeus Toad, but after the ride they were hooked. Making our way around Fantasyland, Van found a sword in a gold anvil and tried his best to pull it out. Wes started to help and they both put their backs into it... but alas, there was to be no King Redmore that day. After taking a trip around the Storybook Land canal we noted it was starting to get cool and the boys were about done.
It'd been a very long day - all these experiences and we'd started our day in Colorado! We grabbed a few sandwiches on our way back to the hotel and went back to chill out for the evening. The boys tested the beds while Josh and I unpacked and settled into our weekend digs.
Josh was brilliant (as always) and brought our Fire Stick so the boys could watch Netflix, and we found Dinsey's Wind in the Willows on there! So the boys got to watch the movie the ride was based on... and they loved it! I think they watched it at least two more times over the weekend!
With brand new jammies, the boys settled into their beds and were both asleep within minutes, as were Josh and I, dreaming of tomorrow's California Adventure...
The wait wasn't too bad... until April when the boys started asking on a daily basis: "Are we going to Disneyland today?!" To fill in the time and quell the anticipation a bit I made a paper chain with Disney activities and trivia on each link. Each day they took off one link in the chain, and counted the remaining links to see how many days it was until we left. It was a hit! - almost better than the Christmas Advent calendar (with a lot less chocolate, too).Finally it was time to depart. We had no trouble getting the boys up at 5 a.m., lemme tell ya! We arrived at our hotel , Paradise Pier, around 11 and were walking through the front gate to Disneyland by noon!
Now, it was a common question: what ride do you want to go on first? Both Van & Wes agreed without hesitation every time they were asked: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! (To which they are referring to the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride.) So that is what he headed to first! Main Street was beautiful as always... but off to Tomorrowland we went!Buzz did not disappoint, and with only a 5 minute line! From there we stayed in Tomorrowland and got a FastPass for Star Tours and rode Astro Orbitor while we waited. AO allows the pilot to fly up high or down low, and it had a nice view from way up high... but my pilot (Wes) wanted to stay down low. Star Tours involved cool glasses and with our FastPass was a short wait, too. The ride has different adventures, and ours was underwater on Naboo and in space above the planet. Van was picked as the "rebel spy" that Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers were pursuing, so he had his picture flash on the screen during the ride - pretty sweet!
 |
| Astro Blasters, Nemo's Submarine Voyage, Star Tours & Astro Orbitor |
Next up was the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage! It was a nice break from space blasting for momma. As we waited, planning where to go next, we saw a real seagull that happened to be perched next to a group of animatronic seagulls. The former just kinda sat and watched as the latter burst out into frequent chatter of "Mine! Mine! Mine!" with what I can only guess was confusion.
We made our way through Frontierland to New Orleans Square and Pirates of the Caribbean, an absolute MUST see for the whole family! From there Josh and I convinced the boys the Haunted Mansion wouldn't be too scary. Of course, it had a moment of technical difficulty and stopped in the middle of the spooky cemetery for a minute. Both Van and Wes liked the ghosts in the mirrors at the end, but it was a One Ride experience.
 |
| Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion & Tarzan's Treehouse |
The boys were smitten with the giant, golden carousel that greeted us on the other side of the castle so we hopped on a horse. From there they saw Toad Hall and were intrigued by the cars. Now, they'd never seen or read the adventures of J. Thadeus Toad, but after the ride they were hooked. Making our way around Fantasyland, Van found a sword in a gold anvil and tried his best to pull it out. Wes started to help and they both put their backs into it... but alas, there was to be no King Redmore that day. After taking a trip around the Storybook Land canal we noted it was starting to get cool and the boys were about done.
 |
| King Arthur's Carrousel, Mr Toad's Wild Ride & Paradise Pier Hotel |
It'd been a very long day - all these experiences and we'd started our day in Colorado! We grabbed a few sandwiches on our way back to the hotel and went back to chill out for the evening. The boys tested the beds while Josh and I unpacked and settled into our weekend digs.
Josh was brilliant (as always) and brought our Fire Stick so the boys could watch Netflix, and we found Dinsey's Wind in the Willows on there! So the boys got to watch the movie the ride was based on... and they loved it! I think they watched it at least two more times over the weekend!
With brand new jammies, the boys settled into their beds and were both asleep within minutes, as were Josh and I, dreaming of tomorrow's California Adventure...
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