On Thursday morning we went over to the park with Mom and Dad P. We went to see if we could get Brett signed up for the Jedi training but the shows were full for the day. We thought the Nemo submarines might be fun, but Alana was horrified at the idea. She and I left the line and went to Autopia. She loved it and I had so much fun just hanging out with her.
We went on teacups again, then Casey Jr train, then we all went over to Big Thunder Mountain and Mom and Dad Z met us there.
We used some fast passes to get Sean, Brett, Alana, and me on the ride. Alana had to wear her special shoes that made her 40 inches tall. Lizzie was so offended that we left her. We learned something new about her though. The person who immediately takes her is the abductor and whoever takes her from that person is the rescuer. So as long as there are two people, she is able to find someone who is an ok choice, lol! At some point during this day we also rode the story book canal boats which is one of my very favorite!
When we came back, Brett climbed up on this rock and looked so cute and peaceful just eating a dumdum.
We picked the Hungry Bear for lunch and Sean and I decided to share a hamburger which was brilliant because Sean surprised me with this milk and honey funnel cake! I think it was my favorite thing of the whole week! It was basically funnel cake drenched in sweetened condensed milk!
We went over to California adventure and got some fast passes for Soarin, then went and used some of our fancy passes to ride the Midway Mania. We rode some of the rides through Paradise Pier and then went up to use our fast passes to Soarin.
At some point during this day we went to the animation building, I think it may have been before we went on Midway Mania. Brett, Sean and my parents went o the Crush show again and the girls and I waited in line to meet Elsa. I was so surprised Alana wanted to meet Elsa and so excited and pleased. She didn't bat an eye when I told her it would be a 30 minute wait. It was really nice because the line is in the animation building so we could watch the fun screens and songs while we waited. Alana's little spirit really shined on this trip. She was so sweet, kind, and well behaved. She was great at sharing, so obedient when we asked her to do something, and was very patient when we couldn't do what she wanted right away. She loved getting treats and stuffed animals but she never got the gimmes. She was just such a beautiful graceful girl! Sean and I would just talk in awe about how well she did each night! The pictures they caught were just magical!
We took our fast passes to Soarin and then got an additional stroller pass so Brett, Alana, Sean, me, Mom and Dad Z all went. Here is Alana with her "ride" shoes =)
We all loved the new Soarin over the World!
Papa was the abductor and Mimi was the rescuer. Lizzie was very happy to snuggle in and watch some wheels on the bus and then she fell asleep.
After we came out, we switched places and Papa and Mimi went on Soarin and took Alana with the third stroller switch fast pass. Mom and Dad Z went down to the Disneyland hotel to Goofy's Kitchen where we had a reservation. We all got down there and got checked in and got in the line to meet Mickey! Lizzie was just so so so cute. She was fascinated by the characters, but got such a kick out of being up close with all of them. When we met Mickey, he wiggled his nose at her and she giggled so much! It was so precious! She loved sitting in her high chair and laughing and playing with all the characters. She loved touching their noses and ears and cheeks! They were so great and didn't care one bit that her hands were covered in macaroni and chocolate.
Brett was very enthused about meeting all the characters. My favorite part for him was when goofy sneezed on Brett's head and then when he played rock paper scissors with Minnie. The characters were so awesome and coming right up to the table and spending time playing with the kids and adults.
Dad P had a great conversation with Dale and taught us all the Dale is the one with the red nose because his brother Dale and Dale is the funny looking one, haha!
Alana was really apprehensive with all the characters. She loved meeting Elsa earlier in the day but wanted nothing to do with Olaf or any of the other full costume characters. She was content to sit on the other side of the table. She did start to warm up a bit with the characters as they were super silly and kept doing funny things. She loved doing bones with them and watching them. She was really excited to meet Minnie and got a good picture of Minnie with me.
The food was so GOOD! They had a huge center area that was lower and full of all kinds of kid friendly food. Hot dogs, and macaroni, pizza, and breadsticks, chicken nuggets, and lots of other things. Around the perimeter they had fancy salads and fancy adult foods including roast beef and turkey. My favorite was this pesto chicken pasta! Then they had a whole section with more desserts than I've ever seen! I took Brett around with a plate and let him pick anything he wanted. He was in heaven. I think the thing that impressed me the most about the desserts and all the food, was that it was all such good quality and delicious!
I was impressed with how much each of the kids actually ate. Its probably a good thing I was busy taking pictures and just laughing at all the characters so I didn't eat more than I did! It was a little embarrassing when my dad asked me which desserts I try and I started listing them off!
We made a quick stop with Papa and Mimi in the Disneyland hotel store where I almost lost all my resolve about teaching our kids money sense to buy these BB-8 hats! As we've been planning this vacation we have encouraged our kids (mainly Brett as he is old enough to understand) to save money. They both ended up bringing about $40 and then my parents gave them a $25 gift card to spend. They had to shop around and really think about the things they wanted to spend their money on and one of the hardest things was hearing Brett say "I want to get that but I don't want my money to go away!" I so wanted to rescue him but I think there are a lot of adults who have never learned the lesson that when you spend money it goes away. Don't get me wrong, we bought our kids tons of treats and we took them to Disneyland for 5 days so we weren't depriving them in any way. I was just proud of myself for helping them learn some money sense.
The kids wanted to go back to California adventure that night. Brett and I went on the Radiator Springs Racers again and Sean took the girls on Ariel then the kids and I rode Luigis Rolickn Roadsters.
On Friday morning we arrived at the park as it opened so that we could try to get Brett signed up for the Jedi training academy. We were able to sign him up for the noon show! We signed up for an online fast pass thing that day that my dad helped us take full advantage of. He got us some fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain. The girls and I tried to go do Small World since it was opening that morning but it was closed so we went on the teacups while Sean and Brett went on the Matterhorn. We left Lizzie with Grandpa and Grandma and went over to Big Thunder. While we were gone Lizzie went on Peter Pan, the Carousel, and the story book boats with my parents. After that we went on the Monerail with Papa and Mimi and then went over to the jungle cruise with Papa. Then we went back and got seats for the Jedi show. We stopped to get Brett and Lizzie a churro and Alana another Mickey pretzel. Alana loved those pretzels! Sean took Brett over to get dressed and ready for the show. It was an awesome show and I especially liked how each of the kids got to fight with Darth Vader or Kylo Wren. Brett got to fight Darth Vader =)
Mimi found Brett this great Jedi shirt and he got a special button from the show.
We went to the small world ride and had to pass through some nasty crowds to get there since there was a parade. We made it though and all 3 of the kids loved the ride! We decided to run over and see the Frozen show at the Hyperion. Mom and Dad P wanted to come with us. On the way over, Alana and Lizzie fell asleep. We cut it pretty close but were able to get in line and get in AND grab some amazingly yummy street tacos and nachos. Sean said the nachos were his favorite food of the week! Alana woke up when we got in the theater and Lizzie slept through half of the show. It was so well done and the special effects were really great! We all really enjoyed it, although the Anna character was a bit too ridiculous and almost dumb.
We did some of the Paradise Pier rides and then Midway Mania again, and then we had some dinner in the Pacific Wharf. Disneyland was doing a marathon that weekend and it was the first official day of the Christmas festivities so the crowds were insane. Getting dinner that night was the biggest fiasco. Dad P and I went to the bread place to get macaroni for the girls and so Dad could get them a bread bowl. They were out of macaroni! I was a little speechless about that one! Sean went to the Mexican place to get Brett a quesadilla and had the most bizarre mix up because he requested a white flour tortilla instead of a wheat one. Then Sean waited in line forever to get us a rice bowl. It was insane! While Sean and I were finishing our dinner and keeping Lizzie, everyone else decided to go on the Radiator Springs Racers again. They got up to the line and Brett had to go potty and Alana broke down in tears and needed to come back with us. Finally they rode the ride, then we went to get some ice cream in these cute little dishes. It was delicious. Alana was so tired and falling asleep in my lap, but she insisted she really wanted to ride the box ride in bugs land one last time. It was a truly remarkable trip and I am so grateful we were able to take it! This was Brett's 5th time to Disneyland in his 6 years of life which is crazy. I feel like its a good example of how privileged we truly are!
Here are a bunch more pics in really random order =)
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| Brett preparing for the Jedi show |
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| Alana falling asleep while walking from Disneyland to California Adventure |
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| Lizzie and Daddy in Cars Land |
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| tired Alana with dollar store glow sticks |
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| kitchen sink full of ice cream! |
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| Alana's very favorite ride in Bugs Land |
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| Lizzie and I trying to get a good pic with the sun Mickey |
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| A Disney crowd |
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| Sean was thinking he might ask if he can decorate his clinic rooms at Foothill. Can you guess what theme he was considering =) |
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| Dad and Sean |
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| Brett fighting Darth |
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| Dad Z and Dad P |
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| I won the step challenge!!! |
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| I got to ride next to my Daddy on Space Mountain |
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| And Brett got to ride next to his Daddy |
And then we went home on Saturday and I am tired of writing and if you got this far you are tired of reading so here are a few more pics of our travels and thats the end!
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