Our California Adventure: Part 6 - DISNEYLAND

I woke up very early on this particular morning.  It was one of the coolest days thus far.  I tried to get dressed and ready as quietly as possible, but I was just too excited.  We were FINALLY going to Disneyland.  All the other stuff had been fun and exciting, but this was the reason we came to California. 

I finally couldn't take it anymore and threw all the curtains back and shouted, "GOOD MORNING!  IT'S DISNEY DAY!"  As expected, I was the only one that was super excited.  Everyone rolled out of bed and got dressed.  We gathered our essentials for the day and headed downstairs.  It was still about hour until the Disney bus route opened.  There was a shop connected to our hotel building, so we grabbed muffins for breakfast and shopped around the store to kill time.  That took up all of about 20 minutes.  We decided to just sit at the bus stop to eat and wait.

To my surprise and delight, the bus pulled up not too long after.  It started running early for whatever reason.  After a very short ride, we were there!  We pulled through the "Welcome to Disneyland" sign and the bus dropped us off right at the gates.  I was a little weary when we got to the gates and I saw all the Halloween decor.  I love Halloween, but I wanted to experience the magic of the original Disneyland, not Halloween stuff. 

I'm happy to report that it made no difference at all.  The park was still just as magical and pretty with all the fall decorations.  It just made it even more festive and magical.  It felt like a beautiful fall morning and Disney looked like a beautiful fall morning.  It was perfection.  We were early though, so we had to stand in line waiting for the gates to open.  Pinocchio hung around to greet us as we patiently waited and the kids read the names on the brick sidewalk.  Time flew by, really.  It was chillier than I realized though and the kids were whining about that.  Because it's not a vacation with the kids if there isn't at least a little bit of whining. 

The gates finally opened and we all walked in together.  Unfortunately, I missed that moment of the heaven's opening up and trumpets sounding because we had to all make an emergency break for the bathrooms.  Priorities, priorities.  After a quick bathroom break though and regrouping, we walked around the train station and towards Main Street, USA.  When you looked down the street, you could see Sleeping Beauty'scastle.  Brace yourselves for this part..... I was underwhelmed.  It was a castle, but more like a castle that you'd see as a prop for the high school play.  I just wasn't impressed. 

Since you couldn't actually go past Main Street yet (the park wasn't officially open for ANOTHER hour), we went to customer service to get our "First Time Guest" buttons.  Alyssa, Daddy and I proudly wore ours.  The boys tossed theirs in the backpack.  LOL  Then we just browsed all the shops.  There were a LOT of shops.  Some were just souvenir-type places, others were fancy jewelry stores, crystal galleries, custom tiaras, coffee shops, candy boutiques, fancy restaurants..... it was just a plethora of shiny, yummy must-haves.  We ended up grabbing a corn dog.  Again, that's how we roll.    

Oh, and Brayden met Goofy along the way.  Brayden was definitely the only one particularly interested in the characters.  The rest of us would just kind of wave and move on.  They are neat to see and all, but..... eh. Brayden wanted to say hello, hug them, get a picture and interact with them though.  And not just a little side hug.  Nope, a full-on, giant bear hug!  He was totally in to it.  My sweet, little Brayden.

Then...... the music sounded, the announcer welcomed us and Disneyland was officially open!

Our first stop was what Brayden was most excited about.  The Indiana Jones ride.  He's quite the fan of the movies and just knew that the ride was going to be the best thing ever.  No one else wanted to ride it, so it was just the two of us.  He proudly strutted past all the jungle trees and across a rope bridge.  I could barely keep up he was walking so fast.  He was just too excited for words.  Then we had to walk into the temple.  His pace slowed a bit.  Then you turned a corner and started towards what looked like a mine.  The lights flickered and there were some creepy noises.  Brayden promptly spun on his heels and started back the way he came.  LOL  Some a-hole guy behind us wasn't helping.  He was making ghost sounds and talking about all the bad stuff that was going to happen.  Total jerk.  I picked Brayden up and carried him the rest of the way. 

There are so many things to look at, even in just the ride lines, that it was easy to distract him.  There were signs warning me not to step on certain stones on the floor, so he finally perked up and helped me with that.  He got back down and helped me navigate the dungeon or mine or whatever it was we were in.  We finally got up to where you load onto the ride.  We got into the truck, fastened our seatbelts and Brayden hid his face in my arm.  The ride was really neat and fun.  Brayden didn't see any of it.  He did finally open his eyes at the very end when Indiana Jones is hanging from a vine and the big giant rolling rock comes after us.  That's the last few seconds of the ride though.  We pulled up to unload and you would have thought that he just conquered the world!  He hopped out and said, "THAT WAS AWESOME!".  Reminder: He hid his face the ENTIRE TIME!  :)  It didn't matter though.  He rode it and it was awesome.  His life was complete.


After that, we headed towards Critter Country.  As excited as Brayden was for Indiana Jones, Alyssa was ten times as excited to get to the Hundred Acre Wood in Critter Country.  Because who lives in the Hundred Acre Wood?  None other than Eeyore.  She's waited her whole life to meet that donkey and she could barely contain herself.  First, we found the Pooh ride.  She knew she was getting closer.  Then we saw Eeyore's house!  Her eyes lit up.  Eeyore couldn't be far.  She did note that it was a rather small house for such a big donkey.  No wonder he was always so sad.  There was practically no line for the ride, so we all got on.  You see Eeyore a few times on the ride, but she wasn't satisfied.  There had to be more.  We exited the ride and walked through a small souvenir shop.  Side note: They had almost NOTHING Eeyore related.  A few stuffed toys, but that was it.  No t-shirts, no backpacks, no ears, no necklaces - nothing.  We were rather disappointed. 

We left the shop, walked around the corner and there he was!  Eeyore, in the flesh..... er..... furr!  We got in line to meet him and Alyssa was a little anxious.  She wasn't sure if she wanted to hug him or not.  Brayden and I volunteered to stand next to him in the picture and she could stand wherever she felt comfortable.  She hesitantly stood next to him, but wouldn't touch him.  We all smiled for the picture and I pulled away from him to try to give Alyssa the opportunity to get a little closer if she wanted.  I said, "Eeyore - this is Alyssa.  She's your biggest fan."  Eeyore turned towards her and bent down just a little.  He patted her on the head and rubbed her arm.  *sniffle*  I tear up every time I retell this story.  The look on her face was priceless.  All her worries and fears melted away.  She was in heaven!  They held hands and she rubbed his paw.  She looked up at me and said, "Momma, he's so soft" and just snuggled up against him.  *sniffle again*  We said our goodbyes, waved and told him to have a good day.  Now Alyssa was the one that felt complete and could die happy.  She met Eeyore - and it was everything she had hoped it would be. 

The youngest two had things they were really excited to see or do, but the eldest child?  He wasn't very enthusiastic about anything.  In fact, he wasn't having the best day.  In his defense, he had every right to be a little pouty.  All of the rides at Disneyland were 2 or 4 riders.  Because of Brayden's age, he had to ride with an adult.  Because Alyssa was nervous and scared of practically every ride, she needed to be with an adult.  That left Gabe as the odd man out.  Every single ride that day he rode solo.  Even if he was in the same section of the ride as us, he didn't have a partner to sit with.  That'll put anyone in a foul mood.  I felt really terrible for him.  So we rode some things multiple times so that he could ride with someone.  That didn't make him feel any better though.  He also just wasn't into any of the rides.  Nothing really perked his interest.  He did have quite the smile on the Dumbo ride though.  It went faster and higher than he realized.  Since he was a solo rider, he got to control it and do whatever he wanted.  He loved it. 

He was also the only one tall/old enough to ride solo at Autopia.  So he got to drive a car all by himself.  When it was over, he said, "It's really hard to push the gas pedal, steer and pay attention to where you're going."  Tell me about it, kid.  We spent the rest of the day riding rides and watching shows.  We watched Storm Troopers fight off Jedis while we ate lunch.  We went into Tony Stark's Iron Man room and saw all the suits.  We played with all the cool gadgets in "The House of the Future".  We were just soaking in all the sights and sounds that Disney had to offer.  Some major rides were closed due to prepping them for Halloween and/or yearly maintenance.  It was one of the cons of going in the off season.  Practically no wait time for the rides and very small crowds was definitely worth it though.  I'd do it again. 


Towards the end of our first day, we found the Toy Story ride.  Gabe finally perked up and showed a little interest.  "This might be fun", he said.  It was another two-seater ride, so he frowned as he got into the seat alone.  Then he realized that this was a shooting game!  Since he was riding solo, he got to use both guns!  His frown immediately turned into a devious grin.  We all started shooting the bad guys and trying our best to rack up as many points as possible.  Gabe was quite boastful that he had the most points.  Having control of two guns does have its perks.  I was sad that it took all day, but it made my heart smile to finally see him smiling and excited about how much fun he was having. 

We rounded out the evening by buying a couple ridiculously priced Mickey balloons and chose our spot for the parade.  The sun was starting to go down, bright lights popped up from the tops of the buildings on Main Street and the music began.  As the band rounded the corner and I could see Mickey and Minnie dancing on the float, it was probably the first time all day that I really, truly felt like THIS is Disney!  It was fun, energetic, festive and just pure Disney joy.  I really loved the parade.  It was also the first time I realized that the performers that work at Disney are legit!  These aren't just average joes that dress up and walk around.  There is some real, actual talent.  Musicians, dancers, actors..... these people are ta-len-ted!

Our first official day at Disney was over.  Brayden was asleep (he slept through the entire parade actually), Alyssa was ready for dinner and Gabe wanted to go check out the Lego store in downtown Disney.  We ate a nice, big dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe and browsed through all the stores at downtown Disney.  It was a really great day.  We had so much fun, in fact, that we ended up missing our bus and had to walk back to the hotel.  It really wasn't that far though and gave us time to just be calm and unwind.  I can honestly say that I have absolutely no recollection of entering our hotel room and laying down in bed.  We were all zonked and slept like babies that night.  A day at the happiest place on earth leads to a night of the best sleep of your life.  We all slept like peacefully that night.

Our California Adventure: Part 5 - Huntington Beach

After we left Universal Studios, we headed to Huntington Beach.  We got a little lost and turned around, but we found it.  We knew if we drove towards the ocean, we'd have to finally bump into it.  And once we did...... beautiful.  Just beautiful.  The smog was no longer an issue and you could see out forever.  The ocean and the sky seemed to meet in the middle and you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began (isn't that a line from Forrest Gump?).  It was just gorgeous.

 We all ran out through the sand and towards the water.  The waves came crashing in and the Pacific ocean water rolled across the tops of our feet.  We then promptly ran back towards the dry beach.  It was FREEZING!!  Gabe and Alyssa hung back while Brayden and I went for it.  That little boy has no fear.  He wanted to go as deep as possible and wanted the waves to knock him down.  So that's what we did. We didn't bring our swimsuits (SWIM in that water?  Are you kidding me?!), so we just rolled up our shorts and went for it.  It was so much fun.


Looking back, we should have planned for one whole day at the beach rather than just a couple hours.  I've never seen the kids have so much fun and be so happy just sitting and being somewhere.  There were no televisions or cool rides or fancy electronics.  It was just mother nature and they were soaking it in.  We played in the frigid water for quite awhile.  The waves were getting bigger and bigger as the sun started to go down.  We built sand castles on the beach.  Alyssa kept squealing with delight every time the waves pulled back to expose lots of new seashells to collect.  Her pockets were overflowing with them.  We sat on the beach for a little while and watched the seagulls.  They sure are funny little things.  We couldn't help but do lame "Finding Nemo" jokes.  Then we walked down the beach and under the pier.  We had to literally drag the kids back to the car - they didn't want to leave.  It was so beautiful and peaceful.  I definitely want to live on the beach some day. 

Our California Adventure: Part 4 - Universal Studios Hollywood

Third full day in California.  As a part of our "City Pass" entertainment package, it came with tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood.  I actually wasn't too keen on going there, I didn't think the kids would like it, but since it was essentially free we decided to go anyway.  I am so very glad that we did!  Actually getting to Hollywood was..... an experience.  You haven't driven in traffic until you've drive in California traffic.  I wasn't even the one driving and I'm still a little traumatized by it. 

There's a big, open shopping area before you actually get up to the theme park.  Full of great restaurants and stores that we don't see very often back home.  Particularly, "Dark Horse Comics".  My sweet husband was like a kid in a.... well, comic store, but it's cuter than it sounds.  Especially when I stood back and just watched him.  He was in full tourist mode and was so giddy when he saw the wall full of Captain America comics and paraphernalia. I love that man.  He's just so cute.  Please note the sunglass tan line and the backpack stocked with sunscreen & aloe gel with lidocaine.  I think I forgot to mention that Billy, Alyssa and I got a really bad sunburn at Sea World.  It prompted the purchase of all the floppy hats you'll see in the rest of the photos.

As expected, the kids were not down for any of the rides at Universal.  It's also a relatively small park, so we went through it pretty quickly.  We did "Shrek" in 4D, but it freaked the kids out and they didn't want to do anymore.  We were all really stoked to ride Jurassic park, but once we actually got down to it, everyone chickened out.  After the "Journey to Atlantis" ride, I learned that I don't handle rides as well as I used to.  And the boys realized they weren't as adventurous as they though.  Alyssa has never liked that stuff and Billy prefers to keep his feet on solid ground, so..... yeah, no Jurassic Park ride for us. 

We DID get to see Bumblebee though!  That was pretty neat.  Brayden seemed to be the most adventurous when it came to meeting characters, so he was the only one that went up to say hello (with Daddy in tow of course).  I don't know if he'd admit it, but even Billy was pretty stoked to be interacting with Bumblebee.  It's not everyday that you get to say hello to a Transformer. 

After we walked around some more and saw what there was to see, I begged for us to stay a little longer and catch the "Animal Actors" show.  It was a really cute show full of animals (almost all are rescues!) that have appeared in shows and movies.  I recognized a few.  Particularly the dog from "Marley & Me" .His real name is Jonah and he was quite the entertainment.  I'll get to that part in a minute.  You know who else was entertaining?  Brayden.  Literally!  He got called on stage and got to interact with the animals.  He was probably on the stage longer than most animals were.  I think we might have a star on our hands. 

I had to cut that part a little short because my camera battery was getting low and I didn't want to miss anything.  I wasn't sure how long they were going to "prep", so  just paused the camera.  Which I regret, because I missed the part towards the end where she introduces Jonah and talks about how he was in "Marley & Me".  Anywho, so they set up the little obstacle course and Brayden becomes one of the hurdles they have to jump over.  Super cute.  First dog?  First dog did great.  Good job.

Then it was Jonah's turn.  And in true "Marley & Me" form, Jonah decided to just do his own thing. 

It was all part of the show, of course, but even animal actors can surprise us sometimes.  Sweet Jonah was supposed to ACT like he was peeing..... not actually do it.  I guess maybe it's an honor to get a little animal actor tinkle on you?  Who knows.  Brayden didn't mind too much..... and we promptly left the theater to go wash his hands.  lol  He laughed and boasted about that all day long.  You would have thought he won the lottery. 

All in all, I'm super glad that we ended up going.  Getting to be on stage with those animals is something he'll remember forever.  And so will I.  Nothing boosts the confidence of a 6-year-old like being up on stage and having a crowd of people clap, cheer and tell you how good you did.  It makes my heart smile just thinking about it.

One last little side note about Universal Studios.  They were filming an episode of "Extra" out in front of the main gates.  Apparently it's a game in California to see how many famous people you can spot.  The set of "Extra" was my best bet.  I stared and looked and couldn't quite figure out who was on stage, but I snapped a photo anyway.  That's when Billy, quite loudly!, told me that it was Jack Black.  So here ya go.  My only celebrity spotting - the back of Jack Black. Oh, and that's Maria Menounos standing with him.  So technically, two celebrities?  Is she a celebrity?  I don't know these things. 

Our Califnornia Adventure: Part 3 - Sea World

The second full day in California consisted of another drive up the coast (down the coast?) to San Diego to SeaWorld!  I love SeaWorld.  I think I was more excited for that than the zoo.  I knew what to expect and how to navigate it, so I was pumped.  It was definitely everything I love about SeaWorld.  Animals, rides, exhibits, rare sea animals that we never get to see anywhere else..... I loved it.  All three kids really loved it.  Dare I say, even Billy loved it.

The boys and I rode "Journey to Atlantis".  Their first pretty major roller coaster/water ride.  They dragged me to it and almost ran through the riders line to get up to the loading dock.  The ride takes you up high, then immediately sends you down the water chute.  None of us were expecting the drop that soon.  Of course, that's where the camera was.  I wish I had bought it, because it was so funny.  I was holding on for dear life, but laughing my butt off; Gabe had grabbed his face and his hair was standing straight up; and poor little Brayden was holding on to the bar in front of him and had a look of sheer panic on his face.  It was pretty epic.  After the water drop, it took us up over to a roller coast portion of the ride where we zipped around tight corners and did a few of those drops where your stomach goes up into your throat.  The boys couldn't get off that ride fast enough.  They liked it and said it was cool, but they had no interest in riding it again.  I was quite amused.

We spent the rest of the day playing at the Sesame Street area where there were climbing ropes, slides, jumping platforms and a few rides.  The kids really loved it.  We saw the shows with dolphins, Shamu and rescued land animals.  All were great shows.  We walked through all the exhibits.  I think the kids liked the sharks the best.  Alyssa was scared at first, but once she realized that the sharks stayed safely behind the glass, she loved it.  The boys couldn't stop talking about all the different species.  I was impressed with how much Gabe knew about sharks already.  He's so smart. 

After a fun-filled day at SeaWorld, we knew it was time for the beach!  We had heard that La Jolla was amazing, so that's where we headed.  It was one of the few things Gabe was REALLY excited about.  As we came around the corner and found the beach, it was just a wall of people.  We circled for about two hours trying to find a place to park, or at least get out for a few minutes.  Nothing.  You just couldn't move.  All three kids were really disappointed, but it was getting late and we needed to get back to Anaheim.  First attempt at the beach was definitely a bust. 

Our California Adventure: Part 2 - The San Diego Zoo

As we walked out of the airport (ALL of our luggage in hand, I might add), Alyssa squealed with delight and said, "Look!  It's our first palm tree!"  It was so cute.  We were all giddy and overwhelmed with all the sights to see.  I know it wasn't some exotic foreign country, but to us, it mine as well have been.  It was so exciting to be somewhere new.

We got our rental car and got out of the airport without a hitch.  Our hotel was very close.  As we pulled our bags out of the trunk, that's when I looked across the parking lot and realized that we were directly behind "Cars Land" at Disney California Adventure.  When we got to the 3rd floor to find our room, that's when I could look out and see the big giant ferris wheel with Mickey's face on it.  It was really real!  Disney was literally feet away from us.  I know for a fact I was happier and more excited than the kids were. 

Our first evening consisted of getting unpacked and walking over to a strip mall to grab some dinner . We ate outside and just stared at the mountains.  Well, what we could see of the mountains through the smog.  That was one thing I wasn't really prepared for.  I thought it was just "hazy" or cloudy at first.  Nope, it's smog.  Lots and lots of smog.  It was still a beautiful first evening in California though.  I was reading facebook posts about it being 100+ degrees back at home.  We were sitting outside in 65 degree weather wishing we had grabbed a jacket before we left the hotel room.  It was perfection!

Our first full day in California was designated "zoo" day.  We drove to San Diego to experience the world-renowned zoo.  We drove down the coast and saw the ocean.  The air smelled so fresh.  I wish I could have bottled it and taken it home.  Alyssa swears she saw a shark out the window.  Brayden insisted he saw a killer whale.  Gabe, on the other hand, insisted he couldn't even see the water.  He was quite the sour puss on much of the vacation. 

We finally arrived at the zoo and..... wow.  Wow, oh, wow.  It was MASSIVE.  We walked and walked and walked.  We rode the sky-tram.  We walked and walked and walked some more.  Then we rode the double decker bus.  I still don't think we saw even half of the zoo.  We were there for hours upon hours.  There was just so much to see.  I don't really have anything to say about the zoo, unfortunately.  It was a zoo.  It had animals.  Really cool animals and the exhibits were amazing, but it was still just a zoo.  I was so overwhelmed that I don't think I could really appreciate it.  I would definitely recommend it, but I don't think you can really see all of it in one day.  You need to live there and have a membership to see everything there is to see.

The kids were getting exhausted, cranky and bored so we wrapped up the zoo a couple hours before closing.  The change in climate must have finally caught up with them, because Alyssa had a nose bleed as we left the zoo.  She never has nose bleeds.  Then when we got to the car, Brayden had a nose bleed.  It looked like a murder scene in the backseat of that car.  It gushed everywhere and we couldn't get it to stop.  Ugh.  He went through an entire package of kleenex before it finally stopped.  The San Diego Zoo and epic nose bleeds.  That's how we roll.

Our California Adventure: Part 1 - The Journey Begins

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet!  Eeek!  We had the most fantastic vacation ever.  It was so much fun!  I'll start at the beginning.  I refuse to leave out any detail, so sit down and get comfortable.  This is going to be a novel. 

I know people have crazy stories of getting to the airport late or cars breaking down or whatever, but we were really lucky that the whole "morning of" process went really smooth.  We got to the airport in plenty of time, got a great parking spot and got our boarding passes no problem.  We were even pleasantly surprised that the airline didn't charge us any baggage claim fees because Billy was a disabled veteran.  PERK! 

First flight was fine..... until we descended into Houston.  The captain came on the speakers and warned us that it was going to be a little bumpy because there were storms all around.  He wasn't kidding.  It was very bumpy.  We survived though - no worse for wear.  Gabe was a little green, but we were all okay.  We had a short layover in Houston, so we headed off to find our gate before grabbing lunch.  Houston airport is much bigger than we realized, so it took us several moving sidewalks and a subway-type train to get to where we needed to be.  We found the gate without any major problems and grabbed lunch.

20 minutes before our flight, I sat down at our gate while Billy grabbed some snacks for the plane.  It took me a few moments to realize it, but not a single other person was at the gate...... empty flight?  Then I realized that the gate said that the flight was going to San Fransisco.  "No, that's not us."  I wandered over to the big digital flight board to see what the deal was.  Without any notice, they had changed the gate that our flight was leaving from.  I hollered at Billy and he clarified with someone at the airport.  Yup, gate change - and it might as well have been on the other side of the planet from where we were.  We had 15 minutes until our flight left at that point.

We hightailed it out of there as quickly as possible.  Several more moving sidewalks, another ride on the subway-type train, a few more moving sidewalks and we could see the sign pointing towards where our gate was..... at the far end of the airport.  We were quite literally that family running through the airport like maniacs.  I still am not sure how, but we made it. 

At that point all those Houston storms had settled near the airport.  The captain warned us that the seatbelt lights would be on the entire flight because it was going to be a rough one.  Great.  This was our longest leg of the trip.  Several hours in the air.  Shouldn't the air be smooth and lovely?  Well, it's not.  I still can't figure that part out, but it was like driving down a gravel road full of potholes.  It was terrible and I was miserable.  Going up and coming back down were the worst parts.  Once we were cruising above the clouds, it wasn't so bad.  Oh gosh the descent into Anaheim though.  Ugh.  That was the worst.  Bumpiest ride of my life and then I swear we bounced a couple times when we landed.  Alyssa had her hands up saying, "Weeeee!", Brayden had a concerned look on his face but was quiet, while Gabe and I were green and clenching our barf bags.  I wanted to kiss the ground when we landed.

All of that quickly melted away though as we walked through the airport.  We were finally in California.  Over a year and a half of planning and we were looking out into beautiful, sunny, smoggy California!!