Obviously, Disneyland was the highlight of our epic trip...so we planned it for the first day of our time in California. We were staying about an hour south of Anaheim, so we got up early and made sure we were there before the park opened. Most people make sure they're dressed in the appropriate Disney attire, but not us. We were there because of Lukey, so the kids proudly wore their minion shirts. :)
The kids were beyond excited! And to be honest, so were Danny and I! We parked the car and hopped on the tram to the park entrance. We got there before the park opened, and took our place in line. The kids played while we waited, and we enjoyed looking at all the Halloween decorations.
Finally, we got in!! We were in Disneyland!! We had two days and the whole park ahead of us. Our first stop? Fantasyland, obviously! We figured there would be a line to see Anna and Else, and that was the ONLY thing the girls wanted to do. We figured we'd start there and at least put Danny or I in line.
Much to our chagrin, there wasn't a line to see Anna and Elsa! Apparently, you have to get in line to get a ticket to come BACK at a certain time and get in line to actually see the princesses. And apparently, the tickets are usually given out in the first 30 minutes of the park opening. So on a Magic Morning day, when the park is open early for certain people, you have no chance of getting a ticket. Such was the case on our first morning. We had originally planned to have a day in between our trips to Disney, but the day we were planning on coming back was another Magic Morning day, so we changed our plans and decided to come back to Disneyland the next day, and to be one of the first ones at the gate. We assured the girls we'd do everything in our power to see Anna and Elsa the next day, and we asked the kids where they wanted to go next. The carousel was a unanimous decision. :)
After the carousel, we continued to make our way through Fantasyland. We convinced the kids to ride "Pinocchio's Daring Journey", and they nervously obliged. We hoped such a docile ride would get them ready for some of the bigger ones. Then we walked through Sleeping Beauty's castle, which I had never been in. The storyboards were pretty cool!
We decided we wanted to see more of the park before we started waiting in lines to see princesses, so we left Fantasyland and started making our way to Tomorrowland. On our way, we happened on some of the characters walking to their various destinations. And of course the Disneyland Marching Band...the rest of the family wasn't impressed, but they don't appreciate the coolness of a marching band like I do. :)
We didn't know it then, but Tomorrowland would end up being our favorite part of the park! As we entered, we noticed there wasn't much of a line for the Toy Story ride, so we did that next. Johnny and the girls were a little hesitant, because once you enter the building for the ride it gets kind of dark. Our children definitely get their sense of caution from me. :) But they warmed up to it pretty soon, and this ride became a favorite...especially for Johnny.
Something new in Tomorrowland since we were there last time are the Star Wars and Marvel characters. We ran into a Storm Trooper making his rounds, and Danny decided to give him a hard time. :) And since we were headed that direction, we decided to check out the Marvel characters next. They had all the generations of the Iron Man suit, which was cool, and even a place where it would virtually dress you as Iron Man and you could fly and shoot target practice. Pretty fun stuff! But the line for that was a bit lengthy, so we kept moving. The line to meet Thor seemed to be pretty manageable, so we decided to do that next. What we didn't realize, however, is that it was more of an Azgard experience...so the line really didn't move very quickly at all. But it was air conditioned where we were, so we stuck with it. The kids found some video games to play to help pass the time. After what seemed like quite a while, we finally got to meet Thor! I was impressed with how Thor-like he really was! Johnny was in heaven. It was fun to see him get as excited about meeting a character as the girls get about meeting the princesses. :)
Danny decided he wanted to do the Star Tours right next. I have to be honest, I was a bit hesitant. I'm not crazy for enclosed spaces, or 3D glasses. And I don't like rides. But I didn't want the kids to sense any hesitancy on my part, so I just hoped it wouldn't be too bad! There were really fun robots while we waited in line, like R2D2 and C-3PO. The kids were so excited for the ride, especially once they got their 3D glasses. And you know what? The ride was awesome! The kids absolutely loved it. I'll admit, I closed my eyes on more than a few parts, but it was fun! It would become the ride we rode the most. :)
After Star Tours, we decided to venture deeper in to the park. Adventureland was our first stop, and the kids had to play in Tarzan's Treehouse! It was a tree-swinging good time! (See what I did there?) :)
Next we found our way to Critter Country. It's funny, for Winne the Pooh being such a, well, kind of lame ride...it's always a favorite! Maybe it's because of how psychedelic it is! :) And Danny is one of Tigger's biggest fans, so maybe that's why we love Critter Country so much. At any rate, we enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh ride and then got to meet Eeyore and Tigger!
At this point, we couldn't delay the girls any longer. We made our way back to Fantasyland...it was time to stand in line and meet some princesses! As we were making our way in, we happened upon a very short line to meet with Aurora...we were lucky too, cause the line got very long after us! The kids wanted to each have an individual picture with her, and she was very kind of oblige. She is a princess, after all. :)
Next we waited in what turned out to be incredibly long, incredibly HOT line to meet three princesses at once. At first, everyone took it in stride. But it didn't take long for them to get over it. :) Eventually we made it, and the payoff was worth the wait. Cinderella, Snow White, and Ariel...all in one fell swoop! The kids were filling up their autograph books and loving every minute of it!
After all of that waiting, Danny wanted to do a ride. And you can't go to Disneyland and not do the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups! We weren't the fastest spinners, but we had fun. :)
We left Fantasyland after the tea cups and wandered over to Tomorrowland. We hadn't done the CarPark ride yet, so we decided to do that next. The girls were in one car, and the boys in the other. Somehow, Sophie ended up behind the wheel of the girl's car. And let me tell you, I'm a little more concerned for her driving years than I was before! The girl looks everywhere EXCEPT where she's going! :) But in her defense, she got us to the end without hitting anyone. :) It was a great ride.
As we moved through Tomorrowland, I noticed I was getting a blister. So I stopped at a section of tables to get a bandaid, and Danny noticed that a Jedi show was about to start next to us. So he shoved the kids under some queue ropes so they could watch. What we didn't know is that people had been waiting to enter the theater area (oops), and that they would be selecting children to participate...and our kids were now on the front row (oops again)! Well, three kids in Minion shirts kind of stand out in Disneyland, so Claire, Sophie, and Johnny were all chosen as recruits to the Jedi Training Academy!
Once they were appropriately garbed and given their own light saber, they got some instructions on rudimentary fighting techniques. They all did very well. :)
But then, out of no where, Storm Troopers showed up! And as it would turn out, they were just clearing the way for the big guns. Darth Vader and Darth Mal had arrived!
Believe it or not, they actually tried to get these new young Jedi recruits to join the Dark Side! Claire, Sophie, and Johnny showed them what they thought of that. :) Claire and Sophie faced off against Darth Mal, and were victorious...
...and Johnny faced off against the man main himself, Darth Vader! Johnny was so brave! Honestly, I'm impressed the kids were brave enough to do any of this! Those guys were scary!
The young Jedi recruits vanquished evil and sent Darth Vader and Darth Mal back from whence they came. The Storm Troopers, being a little simple-minded, didn't quite know what to do. They stuck around for a while. :)
Having proved themselves on the field of battle, the recruits graduated as full Jedi masters from the Jedi Training Academy!
We may have happened upon it accidentally, but the kids' time with the Jedi Training Academy was the highlight of our time in Disneyland. We went directly to the gift shop to get everyone a light saber as a souvenir. :)
After our amazing time in Tomorrowland, we wandered and ended up back in Fantasyland. And we ran into a guy character! That's kind of rare in Fantasyland. :) Flynn Rider was really nice to the kids, and spent a few more than the average minute talking with them. Sophie was getting tired at this point, and she wasn't really in the mood for the smolder. :)
Next, we meandered back toward Adventureland and Danny convinced the family to go on one more ride. A real ride! The kids were hesitant, and I'll admit...I was too! I'm not really a fan of the rides, but I don't want the kids missing out on fun things because of me so I faked like I was totally excited about it. :) Surely, it wouldn't be that bad, right?
This is before the ride...
...and this is after! :) It was definitely faster than what we had done so far, and it was pretty dark in some spots. But I'll definitely go on it again. Well, I'm pretty sure anyway. :) After the kids got off the ride, they all decided it was the funnest ride ever! But Danny couldn't convince them to go again. :)
After Thunder Mountain, the kids were ready for something a bit more calm. Like a nice, normal petting zoo!
And with that, our day was coming to a close. Disneyland at night is pretty magical!
We wanted to stay in the park until after the parade, since we had heard so much about it and apparently they don't do fireworks in the off-season. Kind of lame. We decided we were a bit hungry, so Danny went to get us some turkey legs to much on while we saved our awesome spot for the parade. Let me tell you, those turkey legs were the highlight of my time in Disneyland! Claire felt much as I did. She's my girl, and she loves her meat...especially on the bone!
The parade was awesome! My camera died right when it started...and my iPhone doesn't take good night pictures. So no pics of the parade, but it was pretty incredible! Coolest parade I've ever seen. And with that, we said goodbye to the Happiest Place on Earth...
...but only until morning. :)
