Disneyland 2013

We made it to Disneyland two weekends ago. It was simultaneously relaxing and energizing at the same time...weird! The kids were great, they always are at the parks. There was a good mix of excitement, rides, shows and rest. And snacks...lots of snacks!



How did I do on my checklist?

On the checklist for this trip:

Accomplished --Make my kids something special to wear.

I have had this tropical Disney print for forever and a day. I made The Girl a dress, The Boy got shorts and a romper for Baby D. They loved their outfits and we got dozens of compliments wherever we went, including lots from Cast Members.


Showing off their handmade boutique outfits

Accomplished--Get the kids in the Jedi Training Academy show.

We were so excited, they finally were chosen!! We got there about 30 minutes early and the kids parked themselves in the waiting area. They both got picked and you couldn't take the smiles from their faces.





The Boy fought Darth Maul and The Girl fought Darth Vader...too cool!! Afterwards they received certificates.







Accomplished--Make sure Baby D gets to ride It's a Small World at least once.

We were able to ride it once and he was thrilled! He is obsessed with this song and he rocked and "sang" his way through the ride.


Waiting for It's a Small World. Baby D was not happy to be waiting...he wanted ON!

Failed--See the new Fantasy Faire area.
Nope, didn't even see it from afar, we never made it to that area.

Failed--Watch Billy Hill and the Hillbillies
Nope, completely missed all the show times. Next time!

Not quite--See the new show, Mickey and the Magical Map.
I say "not quite" because technically we heard the show and The Boy was able to peek in a bit to watch. We were waiting outside the bathrooms for The Girl to change her clothes.

Accomplished--More character interaction.

We did good on this one! We were able to see Minnie in a private photo area with our Chase Visa.



Met up with Frozone from The Incredibles.



At the Mickey's Surf's Up breakfast at the Paradise Pier, we posed with Mickey, Pluto and Stitch. The baby loved them all, of course!





Failed--Take more pictures of the gorgeous Buena Vista Street in California Adventure.

Didn't even take one!

Accomplished--Take Baby D to see the Disney Junior - Live on Stage! show.

Oh yeah, he loved it, just as I thought. Everyone sat around on the carpet, there is a live-action puppet show with special effects (bubbles, a "snowfall", etc). He was so good and sat on my lap most of the time, getting up to dance at the appropriate times. He was totally enthralled!


Dancing at the Disney Junior LIVE! Show

Accomplished--Get on the Radiator Springs Racers as many times as we can!!

Well, we got on it once and the kids were good with that! This was my mother-in-law's first time at Disney's California Adventure and she said this was her favorite.

Accomplished--Get The Girl's Duffy Bear teddy bear an outfit. She chose an adorable Sully from Monsters, Inc. costume for Duffy. The gal in the shop said that the costume had just been released that day and that The Girl was the first one to purchase it from that store. It's so cute and snuggly!



Accomplished--Hang long enough to see the fireworks show.

We did see them but the kids were exhausted so we watched from the esplanade instead of on Main Street like I'd hoped. This did cut down on some of the mad crush that you experience trying to get out of the park immediately after the fireworks.


In Bug's Land

Failed--Try a new restaurant.

We didn't try anything new this time, but we did have tried and true. Lunch at the Taste Pilots Grill for a veggie burger, dinner at the French Market (mmm, meatloaf & mashed potatoes!) and Mickey's Surf's Up buffet in the Paradise Pier for breakfast.

We stayed at the park until about 10pm and the kids were beat! They dropped right into bed and we all slept in 'till 8. After breakfast we spent Sunday morning at the pool. It turned out cool and overcast which was a bummer as I was hoping to spend more time in the water.



Baby D didn't mind a bit. He could have spent the entire day in the little splash pool, chattering teeth and all!



So, all in all a great trip. And if you know anything about me, I'm already plotting the next one *wink!*

A little summer trip - Disneyland 2013

I tried and failed.



I wanted to badly to negotiate our first big family vacation, cross-country to Walt Disney World at the end of the summer. Unfortunately my husband has a job that doesn't allow him time off and taking an entire week (without pay, mind you) wouldn't work out so well with his bosses. There is also a possibility that he'll be working out of town during that time, so despite major begging on my part, we both knew it just can't be done at this time. Phooey!

So we are arranging the next best thing...a weekend at Disneyland! We were there in December for The Boy's ninth birthday and I'm really excited to be headed back. Not as excited as being able to spend a week in Florida, but excited all the same.


About 5 years ago, inside the lobby of the Paradise Pier Hotel

We are going to stay at the Paradise Pier Hotel, one of the Disney resort hotels. I've stayed there a few times in the past but Danny hasn't. He was thinking we'd do the Grand Californian this time, but with a cost difference of $140 a night, we couldn't really justify the splurge. We were sent a coupon code for 20% a one night stay in the mail a while ago and have been holding onto it. If you would like to get those kinds of coupons in the mail, you can sign up onto the Disney mailing list by requesting a vacation planning DVD.


The Boy, way back when, going down the slide at the Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier has an great rooftop pool with a twisty waterslide. We are planning on spending the day in the Parks on Saturday and then lounge around poolside on Sunday before heading home.

On the checklist for this trip:

--First off, make my kids something special to wear. I love making them fun boutique clothes to wear at the Parks that really make them stand out. Last trip was on short notice and I didn't have a chance to make anything but this time I have a few weeks, I'll come up with something cute.


I made this dress for The Girl to wear last summer, but didn't have time for The Boy. This year I'm making something for everyone!

--Get the kids in the Jedi Training Academy show. Poor Boy has been passed over every time, though once his brother was chosen to participate and was even the featured kid to defeat Darth Vader!


The Boy's older brother in the Jedi show

--Make sure Baby D gets to ride It's a Small World at least once. He is certifiably addicted to watching YouTube videos of the ride online and I think he'll be thrilled to see it in person. He's been on it before (at 9 months and again at 12 months) but now he's REALLY into it, I think he'll be so excited!

--(Maybe) see the new Fantasy Faire area. Maybe, only if it's not obscenely crowded since it's the newest part of the Park.

--Watch Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. They are my favorite show and I've not seen them in a long time. They always make me laugh until I cry!

--(Possibly) see the new show, Mickey and the Magical Map. I say possibly, because it's going to be opening shortly before we go and it's probably going to be a madhouse.

--More character interaction. I loved how tickled Baby D was last time, I'd really like him to get a picture with Mickey this visit.

The Boy with Mickey...awww, he was so little!

--Take more pictures of the gorgeous Buena Vista Street in California Adventure. I got a few pictures of the kids there around Christmastime. The Red Car Trolley goes down Buena Vista Street

--Baby D would love the Disney Junior - Live on Stage! show. He knows the characters now and watches the shows a bit, so I know he'd get a big kick out it. And I love that my older two are still young enough that they still love and watch the Disney Junior shows (they still watch Clifford and Barney, for heaven's sake! I'm in no hurry for them to grow up!).

--Get on the Radiator Springs Racers as many times as we can!! The kids rode it four times last trip, we love it!

--Get The Girl's Duffy Bear teddy bear an outfit...poor bear has been naked since our trip last year.


The Girl and Danny with Duffy Bear

--Take a great family photo. It's hard with three kids to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time and for nobody to have a weird expression on their face, but I'm hoping for something decent enough this time to put in a frame!


We looked decent here, but it's all blurry!

As good as it gets, though the baby has something in his mouth of course!

--I'm hoping that Danny will hang long enough to see the fireworks show. Last time he fell asleep in the hotel and the kids and I sat in the esplanade and watched them from outside the park. I'd love to get a decent spot inside near Main Street and be able to see them all and hear the music.


All-you-can-eat ribs at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ!

--Try a new restaurant. We loved the places we ate on our last trip and have already talked about trying something new this time. I'm going to angle for the Paradise Garden Grill for a kabob lunch and the Plaza Inn for a fried chicken dinner.



And the countdown begins...can't wait!!

Disneyland Holiday Weekend - Day 2

I've had the dickens of a time getting my photos resized on Photobucket. Think it's time to shop for a new place for photos & links...so annoyed that this has taken me weeks to get through what I should have been able to do in an hour.

After dinner at the Storyteller's Cafe, we went back to the hotel to relax. It felt late because it had already been dark for hours, but it was really only about 7:30pm!

I'd never stayed in the Frontier Tower of the Disneyland Hotel before. It has a miniature replica of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride in the lobby.



Danny took the older kids down to the hotel spa for an hour for a warm soaking while I put the baby to bed. He is such a good sleeper! He was out quickly and slept in the Pack & Play at the foot of our bed all night.

We decided to just sleep until we woke which was nice and everyone felt well rested in the morning. Danny packed up the room and I took the kids into the park once we were all dressed.

We stopped in the lobby by this beautiful rustic Christmas tree and along the way on our walk through Downtown Disney.








Candied apples
And then of course, there was the tree on Main Street too...


Aren't these just the sweetest smiles?!

I'd planned on taking the train all around Disneyland while we waited for Danny to get in the park but when we walked in, so many of the characters were on Main Street that we decided to do the meet n' greet instead.

Baby D is crazy for the characters, as you can tell by the expressions on his face. He wants to grab their cheeks and plant a big wet kiss on each and every one of them!


First up was Pluto! The baby was delighted...


Goofy, decked out in his winter-wear!


The Mad Hatter, who sounded just perfect!


Minnie was kissing his hand...he just wanted her nose!

His giggles are infectious, everyone around us was laughing in turn at his joy. I suppose it's fun to see a baby so entralled with meeting the big fuzzy characters rather than crying or running the opposite direction!



We were able to catch Danny as he came into the park (and get a picture with the mischevious Pinocchio before he ran away again!).


The decor in New Orleans Square is always so wonderful!

In front of the icing-coated Sleeping Beauty's castle.



Driving the Autopia cars.



After a few rides, the kids were starting to get a bit cranky, which indicates to me...hunger! We had planned on eating at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ so after a quick 15 minute wait we were seated at a picnic table near the stage. The rustic Christmas decor in this area was fantastic!


See these crabby faces? Hungry!

The waiter brought out metal buckets of cole slaw (a bit wet but nice and tangy), barbeque beans (which were wonderful), corn bread (crumbly but great with butter), ribs and chicken (all delicious). This is an all-you-care-to-eat place so when the first bucket was empty another was quickly brought. I'm not usually a big ribs and beans gal but this was so good I had plenty to eat.

And talking about plenty to eat, this kid ate his weight in beans & corn bread...



And the birthday boy ate more than his weight in everything!



2 pieces of chicken, cole slaw, beans and bread and get this...12 ribs!! I think he enjoyed it! They had singers on the stage who walked through the crowd and said happy birthday to diners, The Boy included.



The kids were reenergized after their big meal and ready for more fun!



We went into Toontown where the kids rode a few things and Baby D met up with Pluto again!







We ended the day in Carsland. Don't you love all the auto-inspired Christmas decorations, from the filter garlands to the hubcap studded tree?





What do you do when the line to take a picture with the Snowman Car is a mile long? Improvise and pose her so that she covers up the line of people!

We certainly had a wonderful trip and as always, are looking forward to the next time!