I held off telling the boys where we were going until a few days before the trip. I had been giving Henry a few details here and there. He knew we were going to be flying on a plane to California ("Yes!" he replied ecstatically to that when I told him - even though he had no idea what California was), that we were staying in a hotel and that there were probably rides. My mom (who also came with us), had brought up Disneyland a few times to give him idea of what it was (not telling him that was our trip, of course but saying that maybe we should go there some day). So, I excitedly gathered the boys, and showed them their new Disney hats (Planes for Henry & Mickey for Owen), and asked them to guess where we were going. Following 1/2 a minute of dead silence and deer caught in headlight looks from the boys, I threw my hands in the air and yelled, "Disneyland!!". To which Owen grabbed his Mickey hat, said, "ooh! It's blue", put it on his head and walked away, and Henry looked at me for a second and said, "Hmm. Ok. Grandma was going to take me anyway" and walked off. Sooo not the excitement I had hoped for! But, after giving Grandma a hard time and showing the boys lots of pictures, they got pretty excited.
And now, on to the trip . . . {Disclaimer: This may just be the longest blog post I've ever done, and possible the longest blog post ever. Consider yourself warned, and good luck.}
So, while planning this trip (OK, probably before I'd even booked the tickets), I envisioned a picture of the boys pulling their suitcases through the airport. So, they got new suitcases to pack their clothes in and I had my camera on hand (of course). Owen was not a fan of pulling his suitcase. He preferred riding in the stroller and people watching (totally get it, I'd do that too if I could). But luckily (trying to stay positive here), we had an extra 4 hours to capture that shot due to a plane delay. It was rough (it consisted of getting on the plane on time, sitting there for an hour, getting back off the plane and then listening for updates every 20 minutes about whether we'd even be able to leave that day), but the boys were amazing and we made it just in time for our character dinner planned for that evening!
I knew Owen would be excited about seeing all the characters (he is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and has been known to follow characters around giving lots of hugs), but I was surprised at just how nervous and excited Henry got too! It was the perfect way to start our Disney adventure!
At the last minute, we decided to upgrade our room to one with a view. And it worked perfectly. We were able to watch the World of Color light/water show out the window, Henry started picking out the rides he wanted to ride, and at the end of the trip when Grandma got sick and wasn't up for walking through the park with us, she was able to watch the fireworks.
Waiting in line for Autopia. Lots and lots of waiting in lines, but the boys did amazing for the most part . . .
The character breakfast that we went to . . .
Some fun in Fantasyland . . .
Exploring Mickey's Toon Town . . .
I was pretty worried about how well the boys would sleep, but luckily the boys were so tired out from our adventures that they slept very well at night!
The boys loved A Bug's Land in California Adventure. The rides weren't all that exciting, but the lines were short and there was water to cool off in! And because of the heat, we were more than happy to let the boys get soaked from head to toe and they would dry off in no time. I guess we were just prepping them for the splash pads this summer.
The boys loved the ferris wheel (and we loved being able to take a break in a shaded spot while checking out an aerial view of the park) . . .
Fun on the carousel . . .
Milkshakes at Flo's Diner in Cars Land to cool off . . .
And thanks to grandma for buying this car for Owen on Day 1. It kept him entertained the rest of the trip!
Outside the Winnie the Pooh ride - one of Owen's favorites. Which was a good thing since it was next to Splash Mountain and big brother spent quite a bit of time waiting in line there!
The fireworks were so amazing to watch. For most of us, that is. Owen just couldn't make it up that late after a busy day and enjoyed them from behind closed eyes. I tried to wake him, but he was out for the count, so we let him rest to the soothing sounds of fireworks. . .
Waiting in line for the Dumbo ride - just minutes before those eyes closed for the night
Exploring the Redwood Creek Challenge the morning before we headed home . . .
More milkshakes at Flo's Diner while we waited for the Cars ride to open up . . .
The Goofy we walked by every day in the lobby of our hotel - it only took me until the last day to snap a quick picture . . .
And the flight home . . .
Ah, but this huge post isn't done yet! We got the Disney Photo Pass the first day we got there and tried to get the most use out of it, stopping every time we saw a Disney photographer. It was nice to get in a few pictures, so I can prove to the boys that I was actually there with them!
At Goofy's Kitchen for our Character dinner . . .
Space Mountain (Henry is in the 2nd row back, left side for both shots) . . . (He has declared this as his favorite ride at Disneyland) . . .
Outside Toad's Wild Ride (another favorite) . . .
Splash Mountain (Henry loved this one too, and wanted to keep going on it, so I was surprised at how horrified he looked when I saw the pictures later! I guess it was still worth it!) . . .
I swear, he kept asking to go on this ride! And we would have done it again, if it hadn't been closed the last day we were there!
Ah, Cars Land. We could have spent days just here! Henry LOVED the Cars ride (OK, I'm seeing a trend here, that he pretty much loved all the rides) and Owen loved the tractor ride and watching when the cars would drive by.
Henry is fearless! He really really wanted to go on the Tower of Terror, so we took him. . .
He asked to go again, but decided twice was enough after that one . . .
At the Character breakfast . . .
The castle at night . . .
Next to Walt at California Adventure . . .
And at the entrance of Disneyland . . .
We had sooo much fun and if you made it through the whole post, congrats!
No comments:
Post a Comment