Our family is fortunate to have been to Disneyland many times since moving to Las Vegas. This trip we were able to go for 4 days, our longest stretch yet! Some of our aunts, uncles, and cousins were there to join us as well as Nana and Papa. Our trip really seemed to start Saturday night when everyone stayed the night at our house to help break up their drive. It was like a big slumber party. Nobody got much sleep. And it didn't help much when poor Uncle Christian became sick with a stomach bug that had been going around in their family. Yikes!
We arrived at our resort on Sunday night and made french dip sandwiches in our condo's kitchen. My parents were staying in a different condo the same night and took our three oldest kids to their condo for a slumber party complete with popcorn. This ended up being such a great night because Lyndsee went right to sleep and Eric and I were able to enjoy some relaxation and time alone before embarking on the next 4 crazy days. Most of the units at this resort have walk out decks only big enough to step out and stand on. We however were very lucky to have a unit facing Disneyland with a real deck complete with chairs to sit on and view the Disneyland fireworks that night. Loved it! Yes I would have loved to enjoy this experience with my kids; however, the fireworks were after their bedtime and we wanted to get an early start in the morning.
We would walk to Disneyland everyday for the duration of our stay. The first day is always the most exciting as we all walk in great anticipation of the days events.
Reagan, desperate for a chance to ride on Papa's shoulders, tried to convince him of the disadvantages in carrying Lyndsee. Namely, "she poops in her pants".
Half way there, we would meet up with the rest of the gang.
Lyndsee was one of the fortunate few who got to ride with Aunt Nichole ("Spencer's mom") on our way there. We had forgotten the stroller (of all things!) and would be renting one at the gate.
The weather was already warmer than usual and the sun intense. I could tell it was going to be a very hot couple of days.
I loved that Will got to meet Jack the day he happened to be wearing him on his shirt.
Lyndsee looking for Nemo.
Our first day was cut a little short when Taylor started complaining of a headache and she felt feverish. We took a taxi back to the condo for only $5.55 which was an awesome value under even good circumstances. We would discover that Reagan also had a low grade fever and headache. We kept them dosed up on meds the next 24 hours and that seemed to be the end of that.
Our second day, we would explore Cars Land for the first time. Its so cute and creative! Loved it and especially loved the Radiator Springs Racer ride. A must do! I'm happy to report that everyone that was tall enough in our family gave the ride a try and agree--its worth the wait!
Crazy kids and their cousins
Lyndsee and I enjoying the thrill of the swinging gondolas on Mickey's ferris wheel.
After the ferris wheel, we were waiting for Nichole and Christian to meet up with us. Eric went to grab some water cups at the nearest concession and I was supposed to be watching the kids. Lyndsee had ran after Eric while my attention was turned elsewhere. She never did catch up with Eric. When I realized she was gone, I called Eric to see if by chance he had ended up taking her with him and when he said "no", my heart sank. Loosing kids at Disneyland seems so overwhelming. Yes, this wasn't our first time. I ran up to the Disney worker at the ferris wheel to let him know I was in need of some help and he had seen Lyndsee running after Eric so was at least able to point me in the right direction. Many people on my run were pointing me the right direction as they had seen her including a man whose wife was sitting with Lyndsee around the next corner. Thank goodness that didn't take too long. Loosing kids is so frightening!
Will's wish came true at Disneyland when he got to ride the monorail for the first time. We were also lucky ducks being able to ride in the special compartment at the end of the train. Our destination? Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel to meet characters and enjoy a buffet dinner all together.
Reagan and Minnie
Jasmine and Aladdin
Pluto handed over his signed cards using his nose.
It's Tough to Be a Bug
Lyndsee loved Mater's Tractor Tip Ride.
One of our most memorable experiences at least for me will be when we ate at the Carthay Circle Restaurant. Not cheap by any means for the adults but the kids menu was similar in price to everywhere else in the park. They put our group in a large circular room by ourselves in the tower of this building. We all fit perfectly around a huge round table. It was fancy, relaxing, and the food was chef inspired and wonderfully yummy. Best of all, because we had eaten here we were entitled to great reserved seats for "World of Color" later that night.
The windows in this picture is where we ate in this restaurant.
We really didn't take many more pictures than what you see in this post. We only had our phones for cameras and my battery would drain quickly anytime I used mine as a camera. We spent a lot of our last day with our friends the Ainge's but didn't get any pics during that time. Eric had to head back to the condo early with Will later our last night because he now had a stomach bug and had thrown up. It seemed to hit him so quick but we knew something was going down when he fell asleep in the stoller around 6:00. This trip definitely had its UPS and DOWNS. I'm ready to give Disneyland a break for a couple of years (yea right!) We shall see.
Favorite Rides
Taylor - California Screamin'
Will - Radiator Springs Racers
Reagan - Soarin' Over California
Lyndsee - Mater's Tractor Tip
