Day 183: First trip to Disneyland

Okay so photos everyday, plus blogging, plus moving out of state with only 2.5 weeks notice is a bit much.  I am way behind, but slowly working my way through photos.

We haven’t taken the kids to Disneyland yet, mostly because my husband thinks it’s too expensive for something they won’t remember.  Being SoCal residents we get a discount, but I agree it’s still really pricey.  However, we are leaving California now and the kids are really starting to love all things Disney.  We agreed that they would enjoy the experience even if they didn’t remember it.

We went on Friday before the 4th of July and it wasn’t too packed.  We let the kids take a long afternoon nap and then we got there just after 4 and planned to stay until fireworks were over around 10 (their bedtime is usually 7).  Surprisingly they did really well, even with the fireworks running late and us not getting home until about 11:30.  They had very few meltdowns, tantrums or complaints.  We all had a lot of fun and can’t wait to go back when they are older and will remember it.

I didn’t take nearly as many photos as I wanted and it was so much work to think about all my settings and keep an eye on the kids.  I learned how to use my camera in auto for the first time.  I had no idea how to use the onboard flash, but it was necessary at night.  I don’t think I got any amazing photos, but I did capture the memories and that’s what was important to me.

We stayed mostly in California Adventure since there are several toddler attractions there and much shorter lines.  We missed Disney Playhouse Live by just a few minutes which was a bummer.  So we bought the kids Mickey hats:

Then we went on the Monster’s Inc ride, which they LOVED!  They finally really like that movie, because when we first showed it to them they were too scared to watch it!  Charlotte loved the closet doors part the most.  She was in awe and kept pointing at all the doors.  Chris and I thought it was a really cute ride.  What  a lot of work keeping toddlers in line and waiting patiently though!  Thank goodness it was only a 15 minute wait.  Here they are looking through the window at the taxi’s that take you on the ride.

While waiting for the Pixar parade to start, Cooper threw is $14 hat into the water.

Then he learned how to spit.  This carried over into lunch when he spit rice and chicken all over the table.  Lovely.

Then we did the 4D Bug’s Life, which Chris and I really liked.  Cooper left his glasses on for the first part, but then he didn’t like when the air started blowing.  Charlotte was terrified and then Cooper started to tremble and curled into me.  They were happy to leave.  His Cooper in his 3D glasses.  Since I didn’t use a flash this photo shows you how dark it really was in the waiting area.  (You may notice I’ll have extra photos of Cooper and not Charlotte, but it’s because I was on Cooper duty and my husband was on Charlotte duty…plus Charlotte was a little cranky and would get mad when I tried to take her photo.)

After Bug’s Life we wandered over to Disneyland to see some of the characters, ride the train and wait for fireworks.  Charlotte LOVED the train and every time it came into the station, she would say ‘choo-choo, choo-choo’.  That was like every 10 minutes for an hour.  So cute.  Riding the train was so exciting for her.  Cooper loved the dinosaurs and now walks around RAWRing at everyone, including the dog who grumbles back at him.  He thinks it’s hilarious.

Don’t mind the ridiculous white balance adjustments on these photos.  They’re all different, and I don’t have time to get them right.

They were in awe of all the Disney characters.  They just loved them so much, but we didn’t want to stand in line, so they just saw them from afar.

Since we live where it’s 74°F all the time, we didn’t even think about bringing them jackets.  It got a little chilly so we bought them some sweatshirts.  Charlotte was none to happy about them.  Cooper thought they were just fine.  (Sorry for the strange composition…Cooper’s legs are long enough to touch the ground and he kept pushing the stroller away from me.)

While waiting for fireworks to start we gave them some milk and a snack.  The fireworks ran 30 min late, which made it tough to keep them entertained.  Charlotte still wasn’t loving her sweatshirt.

She would temporarily forget about it when the train would pull into the station.

I asked Cooper to make a silly face.

Then we all enjoyed the fireworks show.  Cooper was a little afraid of the loud noise, but I think it was more because he was tired.  Charlotte loved them.

We got in the car and they were so good.  Cooper passed out just as we pulled up to the house, and then he and fell asleep in his room on the guest bed.  The kids slept until 8:30 the next morning.