Back for more Fun - Disneyland Day 2

After a little bit better night sleep and not such an early morning (the park opened an hour later than the previous day), we headed back to Disneyland for another fun day.

Chip was quite silly with the kids and when Doug asked him if he would sign the kids' autograph books for Dale, too, he obliged by writing "Dale stinks!" in Matthew's book. The kids thought that was hilarious!

Donald was just as silly, making Matthew's hat all wonky and trying to cover the kids' eyes while I took a picture. The characters are so great with the kids!

The above two pics are in Chip and Dale's Tree House located in Toon Town. Both the kids LOVE Toon Town and we spent LOTS of time there every day at the park. This silly tree house was a hit with them. The kids would say that the "Gadget Go Coaster" ride was one of their favorite of the entire trip, and I lost count of how many times we went on that silly 45 second roller coaster! It was the perfect size coaster to get my rather timid kids ready to do faster and a bit more crazy rides.

The Mouse himself. I have heard you can wait up to 3 hours to meet him during the summer. We walked right into his house and he was ready for us! Love Disneyland in February!

We ended up doing a lot of the same rides again. The kids sure did have their favorites.. like the Teacups! I love these three silly faces!

Aurora was one Evelyn's favorite "meet and greet's"... although she enjoyed meeting almost ALL the princesses!

The "Frozen" comedy "spoof"  at the Fantasyland Theater was hilarious and so much fun for the kids to watch. There is SO much to do here.... from attractions to theater productions to movies to character meetings to eating... we were here 4 days and didn't begin to see it all!

Both Doug and I remember the "Submarine Ride" being really cool, so we made the kids go on it even tho the line was long. Both are a bit scared of the dark but we thought it would be okay.

Silly kids before the ride started. It has changed a lot and although neat, was almost too scary for my two. It wasn't their favorite to say the least! Oh well... :)

We watched the big parade in the afternoon before dinner. Oh my word how wonderful it was! So entertaining and the music was awesome. I was even up dancing with the kids! The kids were in complete awe and loved every minute!

We couldn't come to SoCal and NOT go to In-N-Out Burger! The kids have never been... and it was fun to take them. Such great food and a great time, even if it took us a while to find it (my bad... go mixed up in the directions!)

We headed back to the park to go to Autopia.. Matthew had been SO excited for this ride. And it did not disappoint!

Ready to go! He's drivin'!

Oh my word he LOVED it! We went on it again right after this, but he drove with daddy!

Time for Evelyn to take me for a ride!

Watching her drive the car was kinda surreal.. in 8 years she will be driving legally! She handled the wheel like a pro!

After Autopia, we headed back thru beautiful Main Street  and called it another amazing day!

Ready for California Adventure tomorrow!!

Awe, Wonder and So Much Fun - Disneyland Day 1

After a rough night, (Matthew and Evelyn had to share a bed... and apparently Matthew is a bed hog and he snores when sharing a bed...we were up several times getting them re-settled.) we were up bright and early and super excited to go to Disneyland!

Looking at the maps prior to heading out! :)

We're really here!!! There is just something about Disneyland that evokes awe and joy. No place else is like it for sure. It was so fun to just watch the kids as we first entered the park and first walked down Main Street and took in the magnitude of it all. They were in complete awe and couldn't stop smiling while they kept pointing out things they thought were neat (which was EVERYTHING..haha!). Experiencing Disneyland thru the eyes of your kids is pretty amazing and something I will never forget!

Here are the photos from Day One!

Disneyland has many photo op spots around the park... this statue is super cool and a great spot to take pictures! Usually this shot is taken with the iconic castle in the background. However... about a month before our trip we found out that the castle would be CLOSED and under renovation during out time there!  Although we (Evelyn especially) were sad, we knew there was WAY more to Disneyland than the castle and weren't going to let this news get in the way of having a super time!

This is what the castle looked like. Although the tarp is still a tarp.. the castle rendering on the tarp was pretty cool!

A closer shot.. such a bummer it was closed... even more of a bummer is that the tarp came off ONE WEEK after we got home! UGH!

Meeting characters and princesses were a huge highlight of our trip...  as well as all of the attractions.

Cool "Rupenzel" tower

Small World was tarped and under renovation, too, but only on the outside. The ride was still in operation.. phew!

The Teacups... one of my favorites!

Storybook Land.. one of Evelyn's favorites!

"Look, mom... it's Arendale!"

The Carrousel was a huge hit as well!

Wait times in February are thankfully short most of the time. We waited over 40 minutes for this ride.. that was the longest wait we had!

The kids thought the Jungle Cruise wasn't that exciting.. but Doug and I enjoyed it! :)

Every day except for the last day, we came back to the hotel around noon for lunch and a nap. The rest was needed for ALL of us, and allowed us to stay at the park much later. My two tired sweets usually fell asleep within moments and didn't mind sharing space!

We saw Jasmine on our way back into the park after nap time!

The "Astro Orbiter" (or the "Rocket Ride" as the kids called it!) in Tomorrowland was one of Matthew's favorite!

Waiting in line for Dumbo... this was probably one of their more crankier moments of the trip, and it really wasn't too bad. They really did well being patient and going with the flow. Soon after this, I got a frozen lemonade to share, which helped lift their spirits! :)

I love the Dumbo ride!

After taking the train around the park and back to Main Street (my pictures from this didn't turn out), we went to dinner and came back to spend the evening at the park and see the fireworks!

My mom gave each of the kids some money to buy something fun. They got these light up things as well as a Mickey Mouse Ears hat for Matthew and a Minnie Mouse ears headband for Evelyn. They LOVE their light up toys!

Waiting patiently for the fireworks to start!

Me, really bored, while the kids played a game with Doug on his phone! :)

The fireworks were pretty spectacular and it was worth staying up for them for sure! A great way to end our first day in Disneyland!