We had a fantastic time on our short trip in California and Disneyland!
The girls did great in the car and we only had to stop once.
We stayed at Peacock Suites and it was really nice! We got condo rooms so that Paige could be by herself and not be disturbed by the rest of us.
Paige's room.
and this one for the rest of us.
The last thing we want is for her to be awake any longer than she has to be.
Our room and my parents room had an adjoining door so the girls loved being able to go back and forth freely. We went out to dinner and hung out at the hotel pool.
The pool was heated but it was freezing and windy outside.
Claire, Joy and Josh went in.
Joy turned out to be sensible when it comes to cold.
The next morning we got up and enjoyed the hotel's free breakfast and hopped on the bus to Disneyland!!!!
The lines weren't so bad and we were right up next to the rope when they officially opened the park. We didn't want to waste time getting pictures first thing in front of the castle. (Plus we would have been trampled by the crowd.) "There's plenty of time to take pictures." I said. So we didn't and forgot until it was too dark. Major FAIL.
The only picture we have of anyone in front of the castle is this one Josh took. Which I am so glad he did.
We planned to work our way around Fantasyland before the crowds got too bad. Surprise! The crowds were bad before we got on the first ride. We went on Peter Pan first with only a 15ish minute wait but by the time we got off all the rides seemed to be 40 or minute waits. Oh well.
No one else would ride the tea cups with the girls.
Paige could go on most of the rides if we held her. She hung out in the ergo carrier most of the time and the rest of the time she was Poppy's partner. He doesn't really like rides. It was so nice to be able to leave the little girls and the stroller with him while we went on the bigger rides.
We waited way too long for the Storybook Canal boats. Joy was scared of going into Monstroes mouth.
Mr. Toads wild ride was a bit scary for Joy!
Of course Dumbo was a huge hit.
At this point Claire was getting anxious to go on a big ride so we went to the Matterhorn and ate lunch while we stood in the line that wrapped around the mountain. It went pretty fast though.
It was Claire's first experience with a rollercoaster type ride and she loved it. Nana was right in front of her though so I think that helped her not to be scared.
We then decided to go see if we could get a picture with Mickey Mouse and/or Minnie Mouse. Joy LOVES Minnie Mouse so we knew we had to see her at least. We went to Mickey's house because Minnie was at lunch. Oh my goodness. We waited in a line inside Mickey's house for what seemed like forever. (an hour) just to be led into a dark room with horrible lighting for pictures, to get a quick snap shot with Mickey. Why could there not be several "Mickeys" in several different rooms in the house so that the line could go quicker??!?!?!?!?!?! No one would see them together, the kids would be happier to not wait, the parents would be happier to not waste precious time and you would actually have time to see more than a few characters in one day. (and there is the reason why not, they don't want you to be able to do it all in one day)
Later, Josh took Claire to go on Splash Mountain. No one else wanted to risk get wet, because it was starting to get cold as the sun was setting. While they did that, my mom and I took Joy to see Minnie Mouse.
Her house was more fun and wait wasn't so long
but still infuriating.
Joy was so excited.
Josh and I and my mom and Claire all went on Thunder Mountain and we decided it is the best ride at Disneyland. Claire LOVED it. She was so brave she put her arms up the whole time! (well, except in the tunnels) We went on it twice.
Paige was an absolute angel this whole trip.
She enjoyed the rides and watching the weirdness around us. It helps that she was held most of the day but we couldn't have asked her to be any better behaved
Even as we were all exhausted, getting ready to leave the park she was being a sweetheart.
It was such a fun trip, everyone had a great time. I feel like we did a lot of the park but now that I think about it we had to leave out many things. We didn't see any princess. (60 minutes wait for the regular princesses and 120 minutes for Frozen characters) We didn't see any shows or the parade, we opted for shorter lines instead! We didn't even make it to Tomorrowland (except for Autopia.) Pirates of the Carribbean was closed, there were a few other rides we didn't go on because of wait times.
It was a good first trip. The girls are dying to go back already!