Matt flew to LA on Wednesday morning for the conference. Dave drove from Vegas to LA and Sarah flew to Phoenix to help me drive the girls to LA. We met up in Anaheim at our hotel and enjoyed Pizza Hut in the room. It had been a long day for all of us and we turned in early to prepare for our big day at Disney on Friday.
We were up early on Friday morning for breakfast at 6:30 at the hotel. We loaded up on food and then made our way to an early morning entry. The park opens at 9:00 and Matt was able to score us tickets to enter at 8:00. The park was quiet and virtually empty and it was wonderful. We walked up Main Street, took pictures in front of the castle and headed for our first ride. Because it was so quiet we were able to get on a bunch of rides with the girls before the big crowds hit. We rode Dumbo, Teacups, Peter Pan, the Carousel, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Storybook Boats, It's a Small World, and the Toon Town Rollercoaster...all before lunch. Hayden got to meet Minnie and Mickey Mouse as well as Pluto.
We grabbed lunch early and then got in line for the Finding Nemo ride. It was a tight ride in a submarine and Ellie and I weren't crazy for it. I think that under different circumstances (shorter wait, cooler weather, less people on the ride) it could have been a great ride. At that point we started making our way back to the castle and caught an impromptu show by Mary Poppins. Mary reached out to shake Hayden's hand and got a high-five instead. It was hilarious.
Because Matt went to Disneyland after his tradeshow on Wednesday night he offered to take the girls back to the hotel for a nap. Dave, Sarah and I stayed and rode a few rides - Star Tours and Space Mountain. Space Mountain was just as incredible this time as it was the last time I rode. Such an awesome ride! Then we took the monorail over to the Disneyland Hotel for drinks. We found a Hawaiian-themed bar and were greeted with a load "Aloha" from everyone when we walked in the door. We had drinks and a few appetizers and enjoyed the atmosphere and the air conditioning...and the lack of kids and strollers.
When we got back to the park we tried to ride Indiana Jones. We were in line for about 10 minutes when they announced the ride was down and that they were working on it. We waited another 20-25 minutes and were moved forward to take the next ride. When we moved up to board the ride it was shut down again. Such a bummer!
After that we met up with Matt and the girls and did a few more rides. We took them on the Jungle Cruise and walked up to Tarzan's Treehouse. Then we rode Pirates of the Caribbean. I remember how great the ride was from the first time I went but didn't remember how scary it was. I guess this was the first time I'd seen the ride through the eyes of a three year old, but we'll be sure not to take the girls on that ride again for several more years.
The parade began and we managed to catch the last 10 minutes of it. Hayden loved seeing all of the characters and had a great seat on top of Matt's shoulders. After that we headed to dinner at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ and ran into the Morris family. Shaun works with Matt and I'm friends with his wife Holli. Their daughter Taylor is about 6 months younger than Hayden and their son Colton is about 6 months younger than Anabelle. Taylor and Hayden are the best of friends and were so excited to see each other. They asked to take a picture together and then hung out a little bit before we headed to dinner. Hayden was really sad to have to leave Taylor.
Dinner was really good and our cowboy entertainment was fun. The weather was perfect and we got to eat outside. After dinner we walked to the show, Fantasmic. I was worried that the girls would be ready for bed but they were both such troopers. The show started at 9:00 and lasted about a half hour hour. Anabelle managed to fall asleep during the show and Hayden enjoyed most of the show from Matt's shoulders. Some of the show was a little scary to Hayden and she snuggled with me but she loved seeing all of the characters and seeing Mickey Mouse save the day.
We caught a few minutes of the fireworks over the castle on our way out and then walked back to the parking garage instead of waiting in the long lines for the tram. We got the girls tucked into bed with their new Minnie Mouse dolls and they both fell asleep almost instantly.
It was a wonderful and magical day and one that I hope to never forget.
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2 comments:
Oh man, that sounds like a wonderful day. Love the pictures and the update.
Such great pictures. It looks like you had a great time. I love that Leo Bocce went with you to Disney!
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