At the end of the first day we pulled into the hotel at 9:05 p.m., and the
hotel pool closed at 9:30. We hurried into swim suits and used every
minute of swimming time to get some wiggles out.
We finally made it to our Disneyland hotel. Everyone say, "Disneylaaaaand!!!"
In the morning before heading over to the park. So! Dang! Excited!
First off we saw Mickey!
Waiting to go on his first ride. The last time we were here, Alex was only 1 so he was very excited this time. We waited in line to go on the rockets, while Rob took Haley and Jake on Star Tours.
...and waited....
...and waited...
...and waited!
Here we go!
He loved being able to control up/down.
Haley was fortunate enough to be chosen as part of the Jedi Training. They donned robes, wielded Light Sabers, and were trained by the Jedi master.
I thought it was all over when suddenly the whole stage lifted, swarms of Storm Troopers arrived, and out came Darth Maul and Darth Vader amid smoke and sound effects. It was pretty amazing! All the newly-trained Jedi's got to fight one of the bad guys one-on-one. Eventually the Dark Side was defeated. What a great experience!
On "It's a Small World"...I DARE you to not get that song stuck in your head!
This was one of my favorite times that we've been at Disneyland. Haley and Jake were old enough (and TALL enough!) to go on all the big rides, while Alex was old enough to be super excited about the more tame ones. Although we had to split up a lot, it was fun to experience it with all of them.
Here, Haley and Jake prepare to go on Space Mountain for the first time. Here's what Haley has to say about the experience: "The first time I cried a LOT. I had to sit by myself and it was SO dark and fast! The second time, I sat with another girl my age and she told me to scream the whole time so I wouldn't be scared. And it worked!"
Alex and I took the ship around Tom Sawyer's island. It was a nice break from the crowds and the heat. Plus, how fun is it to go on a HUGE boat? Doesn't get much better than that when you're 3.
But Casey Junior did top the boat. I think this was Alex's favorite ride in the whole park. The first time we rode it he just sat with wide eyes and took it all in. By the 20th time (and I'm not exaggerating that number), he was ready to don overalls and a cap and be the conductor. A perfect ride for this train-loving boy! It was so fun to sit with him and watch his wonder and joy, and to say "Let's go!' when he got off and said, "Mom! Let's go on it AGAIN!"
Dad is the designated Tea Cup-rider in our family. My stomach can't handle it, even with a double dose of Dramamine. I'm glad the kids have appeared to inherit his iron stomach!
Alice leads all the kids in yodeling to the mountain climbers on the Matterhorn.
We met lots and lots of characters...
...we were all so tired and had another long and fun day ahead of us at Disneyland and California Advenutre, but we kept seeing more characters! At some point we had to say Enough! and herd/carry our tired kids back to the hotel.
