The day had finally arrived! On Monday, December 9th, we were up early to drive to Disneyland, only about 20 minutes from Grandma's house. As kids, Stacie and I used to have the route memorized. :) The park opened at 9 a.m., but we had early reservations to eat at the Plaza Inn for "Minnie & Friends Character Breakfast". We assumed Ben would love meeting everyone, but we weren't as sure what Nathalie would think of all the characters "come to life". She was a little overwhelmed at first, so smiles and hugs were few. But, it didn't take long to warm up and greet Winnie, Chip & Dale, Minnie, Tigger, Fairy Godmother, and more...in between bites of Mickey-shaped waffles, sausage, and berries.
After breakfast, we backtracked to the front of the park for some pictures of the Christmas tree and decorations. And, I desperately wanted the kids to get some Mickey ears with their names embroidered on the back. We stopped in the "Mad Hatter" for a look around...oh my! I remember there being about 3 options to choose from...now there were dozens!! Ben picked a Chip & Dale hat...Chip on one side and Dale on the other. Hence, no room for embroidery, bummer. But, he was quite happy and that's what mattered. Nathalie picked a pink princess set of ears, and while we waited for them to embroider her name, Ben walked outside the shop and met Goofy! I'm not sure what happened, but going through my photos, I realized we didn't get even a single picture at Disney with their "ears" on their heads! Classic. Oh well, enjoy this "afterthought" picture.
We strolled along Main Street and came to Tomorrowland. I intended for us to keep going to Fantasyland to ride It's A Small World first. But, as it should be with kids, they wanted to ride the first thing they saw, so we hopped on the Astro Orbitor. After our flight, we found the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, where we got to practice our laser blasting skills. While Nathalie and Greg rode the Blasters a few more times, Ben and I went to ride Space Mountain, one of the rides I was most excited to ride. Space Mountain was a bit like the beach for me...so many memories of waiting for this ride as a child with such anticipation! I wasn't sure what Ben would think because he's a little unsure of the dark these days. Rest assured, he giggled the entire time!! Tears rolled down my face as we zoomed through "space"...maybe from laughing so hard, maybe again from my heart being so full, or maybe both. :)
We promised Ben there was plenty more to see outside of Tomorrowland, so we walked through the Castle and rode Peter Pan's flight. Made our way to It's a Small World, which had just shut down. UGH! I was so bummed, although I think Greg was ok with not having that song stuck in his head all day. :) We walked into Toontown to see Mickey's house and meet the Mouse himself! A little playtime in Toontown to unwind after standing in line so long to see Mickey. I thought coming on a Monday might be a little less busy, but the park was packed! Understandable...it's truly fantastic to visit at Christmas time! We wrapped up playtime and Ben was the one who opted for a ride in the stroller as we walked across the park for our dinner reservations. He fell asleep almost instantly...that NEVER happens! Ha!
We had 3:40 p.m. reservations at Blue Bayou restaurant in New Orleans Square for dinner...another Holderby/Shipley tradition. Growing up, I felt so fancy eating at this restaurant, not to mention how cool it is that the lights are low and you can see the Pirates of the Caribbean boats go by. Enjoyed our meals and the chance to sit and warm up a bit. The temperature wasn't too bad, probably 60 degrees. But, the wind was strong, so we felt chilled all day long.
My absolute favorite ride was next...Pirates of the Caribbean! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me! From there, we went to the Haunted Mansion, which was decorated like "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Ben was a bit worried about how scary this would be, but we were able to talk him into giving it a try, and I think he did like it...although he said "no thanks" when asked if he wanted to go again. :) We walked by Splash Mountain. Nathalie just barely met the height requirement, and there was no line, so we walked right on. No surprise right...people were probably not interested in getting wet and cold in the dark. But, we had the best moments of the day on this ride. We all got wet, probably Ben the most. He started belly laughing, and soon we were all laughing like crazy folks. Our log pulled into the station, and the attendant asked if we wanted to go again. Before Greg and I could suggest otherwise, Ben and Nathalie were shouting YES! Ha! We really are crazy...
We wandered back towards the castle, expecting to wait a bit for the fireworks to start. In the meantime, we saw that the line for Star Tours wasn't too long, so we rode that while we waited. Oops! We missed the fireworks after all, but I don't think the kids cared too much. Ben was happy to look around in the Star Wars shop. He found a Legos set that he liked, and he built a custom light saber. Nathalie fell asleep, so she'll have to find some souvenir goodies tomorrow. Ben and I rode the Buzz Blasters one more time, and then we walked back to Main Street. We picked out some Christmas ornaments for the kids and then made our way back to the car. Overall, a fantastic day!! I was surprised how quickly the time went...there were still more things I would have loved for the kids to do and see. Guess it means we'll just have to come back someday. :) Until then, we have more fun planned tomorrow at California Adventure! Thanks for the magic, Disneyland!
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