Our first trip to Disneyland, plus 4 nights on the Wonder - April 2024

We are huge National Park lovers and just completed a huge California NP tour last summer so it was a nice connection to where we had just been.

Which parks did you visit?

G and I went to Yosemite on our honeymoon and LOVED it - we’d love to return. We also just visited Death Valley which was very interesting and the topography was unlike anything we’d ever seen in the U.S. We also adored the Redwoods, which is not actually a “National” Park but is fantastic nonetheless.

As so many have mentioned, the characters free roaming in the parks is a really nice touch.

That is something that I look forward to! My parents have pictures of me meeting random characters during childhood trips - it’s a shame that characters don’t roam at Disney World anymore.

We always have a list of movies to watch to prepare for our trips and this one had Big Hero 6
Scarlett really loves this movie and ended up watching it while on the cruise again.

YES, we’ve done exactly this so M is ready for our trip! We only have one major must-watch to go (Coco) and have nearly all of the others covered (all the princess movies, several classics, and most of the Pixar catalog).

We just watch the Incredibles last month and M was a HUGE fan. I haven’t seen that movie in years and I forgot how much I enjoyed it!

We checked in early to Lamplight Lounge and waited in the shade for our table.

I can’t wait to hear what you thought of the Lamplight Lounge! You definitely got the must-do ADRs with both Blue Bayou and Lamplight Lounge. :goodvibes
 
Which parks did you visit?
Last summer we did Redwood, Lassen, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, and Yosemite. We had such a great trip. Yosemite was full of heavy waterfalls and although it was holiday weekend and the crowds were INSANE (4th of July) many told us that we were there during a historic time to see waterfalls. I would love to go back in a different season, perferably winter!

We have also seen Rocky Mountain, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, Tetons, and Glacier. I could never pick a favorite, they are all spectacular. This summer we have Olympic, North Cascade, and Mount Rainier. We take 11-12 day trips in the summer to see as much as we can fit in. Some day we will tire of doing that and we may just go back to one at a time, but right now while we are so busy this is the only way it works for our schedule!

I LOVE Coco, it is a favorite. Honestly, every Pixar movie makes me happy!
 
Is the Freddy’s you’re referring to Freddy’s Frozen Custard (we have that in the Midwest) or another chain? The Midwest claim to fame is Culver’s, which I certainly love. Butterburgers all the way!
YES! Freddy's and Culvers both are our favorites - we love the thin patties and the buttered buns. I don't eat a ton of ice cream but I will splurge (and then suffer) for frozen custard.

I don’t know what to think about the fact you refer to your husband as Carl.
We laugh that he is young Carl, but if I die and he is alone without me, I can definitely see him as old Carl!!

Despite being in medicine he doesn’t like to take anything :laughing: so I don’t know what to do about some rides at Disney World, particularly Cosmic Rewind.
I LOVED Cosmic Rewind. It is worth getting sick (which neither of us did, so maybe he won't?) I may have dreamt this, but I think I read it was worse when it first opened? It is my favorite ride of all time now. It is SO SMOOTH. I hope he tries it! Although we once did the Orange Mission Space ride at Epcot and it ruined our day, so I understand the fear.

It looks pretty empty in there so I’m not surprised you were seated by the water
I think it was full by the time we left, but that shows how early we were seated since none of the other people waiting were in there, yet. It was like we had it to ourselves!
 
Hello, there!! I popped over here from @StarWarsMomofGirls! TR and just got all caught up on the start of your trip. Disneyland is on my someday list, and I hope to get there in the next couple of years. I've heard great things about the Warner Bros. tour; looks like you all enjoyed it, too! Bummer about the rain keeping you from doing more exploring that first day.

Love all the first day of Disneyland tears--that is totally me when we go to Disney World. Everything makes me tear up, it seems! My son is about to turn 15, and all I can think of is his chubby little cheeks and toddling down Main Street.

Your poor husband! Being sick on vacation is NO fun. :( Hopefully it passed quickly! Looking forward to reading more.
 


I really want to recap our Disneyland trip while it is fresh in my mind, so here we go!
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Great Family Photo!!

She doesn't like to know the plans ahead of time, just goes along with us like her Dad
Gwen is the same. She loves the trip but wants to be suprised on the majority of the plans.


Love it!!

After the tour, we headed to In and Out which Scar has wanted to try for years. It wasn't my favorite (we like Freddys around here - not sure if that is a Southern thing?)
I haven't had In and Out, but my husband just did the last time he was out there for work, and said it was fine. I have never heard of Freddys!

The girls were just ready to get to Disneyland!
YEAH!!!!

We stopped to get our first churro. As many have said, they are 1000% better here than WDW.
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There is just so many more options!

Last year I caught Covid on the way home and was miserable for about 2 weeks after our trip. Praying that isn't the case this year.
I hope you are feeling better. Andy has been sick since we got back.

Love your cheat sheets!!!!

Lilli is about 5'8 and really makes me look short! She's our volleyball girl.
I feel your pain. Although Morgan and Gwen will never be that tall. We are all variations on height.

Jolly Holiday, including the raspberry macaron,
Those are the best!!!! Jolly Holiday might be my favorite place to get food in Disneyland so far. But we have alot of place to still try!

Great photo of the 2 of them!

Imagine my surprise when they called our name first and walked us directly to the water!!
True Pixie Dust!!!

We just don't wait around for characters much these days. So when we stumble upon them, it is truly magic!

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I LOVE Toontown! It just feels so Disney!!! The first time we were in it, I didn't cry but I felt the same way as you.

The man has been thinking about Pizza Planet since he saw Toy Story as a kid. I'll be honest, I knew it would be crap pizza, but I just wanted to make him happy!
Sometimes, that is what we have to do. I really don't understand why Disney can't do good pizza. It doesn't have to be Via Napoli calabure but better than what they serve.

I would wake up a few hours later to the sounds of Jason being violently ill...
Oh NO!!!

Ok, back to read the newest posts!
 
On this day we DID have Early Entry at DCA. We made good time getting ready and out the door, and were near the beginning of the security line outside of DLH.
So, how does it work when you are at Disneyland Hotel? We have only stayed off property for Disneyland.

We enjoyed our food and people-watching and talked about how we loved DCA already. I wasn't expecting to be so enamored with DCA. I KNEW I would love DL...but this was exciting.
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We were the same! We figured it would be just like Hollywood Studios but it is so much nicer!
 
Hello, there!! I popped over here from @StarWarsMomofGirls! TR and just got all caught up on the start of your trip. Disneyland is on my someday list, and I hope to get there in the next couple of years. I've heard great things about the Warner Bros. tour; looks like you all enjoyed it, too! Bummer about the rain keeping you from doing more exploring that first day.

Love all the first day of Disneyland tears--that is totally me when we go to Disney World. Everything makes me tear up, it seems! My son is about to turn 15, and all I can think of is his chubby little cheeks and toddling down Main Street.

Your poor husband! Being sick on vacation is NO fun. :( Hopefully it passed quickly! Looking forward to reading more.
Glad to have you here!! Thanks for taking time out to say hello! I tell you what, 15 is a fun age but still all I can think of are chubby cheeks, too! It is going SO FAST.
 


Hi yall,
We've been struggling at our house! Lilli officially tested positive for Covid on Monday night (after going to school for a week and then a volleyball tournament - the fatigue was bringing her to tears) so I kept her home with me yesterday. Although I tested negative last week, I know I had it, too. I feel better today but wish I could take a day or two more to sleep. I just cannot catch up on rest with our crazy schedule. We have 2 more back-to-back weekends of sports and 4.5 more weeks of school. It seems like a marathon at this point!

Day 4, cont.
I left off with Jason feeling rough and us waiting in the shade for our table. I knew we all needed a nice break inside and seated and that was exactly what Lamplight was for us.
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We sat downstairs, sadly not at the Up table but I still snapped a photo of the pieces.
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The girls ordered some fun drinks and we shared some appetizers. The food was...ok. It wasn't my favorite. The best thing we had was the potato skins. Well, I guess the best thing were the drinks (non-alcoholic) and the ambiance.
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Sadly our food took FOREVER. I think because Scarlett has the shellfish allergy, they always prepare ours separately. We are grateful for that but she is ok with sharing oil and such, hers is not a severe allergy according to her bloodwork. She can't eat it, so we just don't order it. I toyed with the idea of not telling them but Jason likes to be safer than sorry. He is right, but I digress.

Anyway, after a long long lunch, we walked back to get some custom art we had picked out earlier that morning. You have probably seen those kiosks where an artist does a last name out of princesses or superheroes. The funny thing was that we couldn't make up our minds about who we wanted to include. Our last name has 5 letters so we each picked a character, plus we all wanted Jack Sparrow because he makes us laugh. I chose Snow White, Lilli chose Belle, and Scarlett chose Moana. Jason chose Iron Man. Except I didn't want him to choose Iron Man, so I protested.

You see, Captain America was the first Marvel movie I ever watched. I am a history teacher so I loved the WWII setting. I just love Captain America's wholesome feel.

AND...
 
Glad to have you here!! Thanks for taking time out to say hello! I tell you what, 15 is a fun age but still all I can think of are chubby cheeks, too! It is going SO FAST.
I hope 15 is more fun than 14!!! He's driving me crazy these days. He attended the school where I teach, so we made a long commute to and from school every day together for 11 years including preschool! He's in high school now, and I miss our time together SO MUCH. It feels like he doesn't miss me at all. So, I'm not enjoying that disconnected feeling. Something to work on!

We have 2 more back-to-back weekends of sports and 4.5 more weeks of school. It seems like a marathon at this point!
I feel this SO hard!! We have a lot of lacrosse between now and the end of the school year! I have 33 more school days with my Kindergartners...but who's counting!? LOL

I am a history teacher so I loved the WWII setting. I just love Captain America's wholesome feel.
My brother is a history teacher, too. His absolute favorite thing, which has rubbed off on my son. It's all he talks about, and he wants to teach history when he grows up, too!
 
JASON WAS CAPTAIN AMERICA!
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(Waffles, our dog, was Iron Man. I guess Jason is still bitter)

We like to go hard with the family costumes. We camp every Halloween with family and friends so here are some previous years...
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We usually participate in a golf cart parade. Jason made the Millennium Falcon and Lilli made the tiny lightsaber lights! We drove around with the soundtrack playing from our cart. It is so much fun to trick or treat this way.
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This past year we had a conflict so we couldn't camp, but we did do a door at our church Fall festival. Jason/Snape scared all the children, he doesn't break character.
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Not shown was the smoke machine we had that almost turned on the church alarm, ha! We turned off the lights and played some Harry Potter music.

Going back further, the Covid year we included silly masks
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Waffles always participates!

Pre-Covid we did a Halloween on the High Seas Cruise!
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And of course we have been to a Mickey's Not So Scary Party
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You can't tell but I was one of the three baby otters, I made my ears and everything!

But our love of dressing up goes way back...
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Ariel and Ursula

One year we even incorporated another cruise announcement on Halloween. Jason and I each carved a pumpkin and told the girls we wanted them to vote...
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Anyway, we love Halloween and already have our costumes picked out for this year! I love that the girls still want to do something fun, albeit maybe less embarrassing now that they are older.

Back to the story, though. We bounced back and forth between Captain America and Iron Man. Jason argued that Iron Man is the superior superhero because he is intelligent and invents/fixes things. Jason claimed him being an engineer is more like Iron Man. He said Captain was just dumb with his big shield (ouch!) and he didn't want to be Captain anymore! I had no idea he was a true Iron Man fan. We took too much time trying to decide so eventually he said he loved me and I loved Captain so he would pick Captain.

Well...we went to pick up the art and imagine our surprise when we saw our last name had IRON MAN as a letter! We all laughed so hard! I don't know if the artist was listening to the whole thing or if he just got confused but we didn't care, it was perfect. Jason got his Iron Man after all!

Iron Man > Captain America
 
I hope 15 is more fun than 14!!! He's driving me crazy these days. He attended the school where I teach, so we made a long commute to and from school every day together for 11 years including preschool! He's in high school now, and I miss our time together SO MUCH. It feels like he doesn't miss me at all. So, I'm not enjoying that disconnected feeling. Something to work on!


I feel this SO hard!! We have a lot of lacrosse between now and the end of the school year! I have 33 more school days with my Kindergartners...but who's counting!? LOL


My brother is a history teacher, too. His absolute favorite thing, which has rubbed off on my son. It's all he talks about, and he wants to teach history when he grows up, too!
We are opposites! I am at the high school so now I get time alone with Lilli to and from school since she is out here with me (well, she is in the main school, I am at a virtual academy on the same campus.) Boys are so different than girls! And truth be told, my girls are opposites. Lilli is a sharer, but Scarlett is too cool for me most days. She is more "teenager" than Lilli has ever been!

I loved my days in the history classroom. Tell him to offer to coach a sport and he is golden. I can't fathom being a kindergarten teacher - so much appreciation for you!
 
The food was...ok. It wasn't my favorite.
We were slightly disappointed with Lamplight lounge when we went. I just had too high of expectations for the place I think.

Jason argued that Iron Man is the superior superhero because he is intelligent and invents/fixes things. J
Morgan whole heartly disagrees with Jason. She thinks he's just a man in a suit! They could fight to the death on it!
 
OMG I LOVE the Halloween family costumes!!!! So creative! Love the Toy Story one and Finding Dory especially! Gerald, get off our rock! LOL

That's hilarious about having an entire conversation about which superhero and ending up with Iron Man in the end. A great story to go with your custom art for sure! :)
 
Day 4, cont
I left off with lunch at Lamplight followed by us exiting to head back to the room for some rest. That walk to DLH is a breeze!

I know we napped HARD and set alarms to get back up around 5:30...it was a challenge to get moving again. I was able to stack some LL for our evening, starting with Webslingers, then Guardians again, and I was hoping to buy Radiator Springs. We had waited to do it all day because we wanted to see it at night, but we also had a dessert party reservation at 8 before World of Color at 9.

It all SEEMED doable...

As we bounced into the park again we were full of optimism. Truth be told, I was getting a little doubtful that it was all going to work because I secretly wanted to get our name into the queue for WOC extra early. That is the problem with these boards...you learn too much. You know tricks and you want to maximize your experience. So for me, that meant checking in around 6:50 and requesting the perfect table 27 (according to the WOC thread).

When we saw a long LL line for Webslingers at 6:30, we should have walked on by. But remember that Jason didn't get to ride it during Early Entry and we knew he would like it. I realized I lost my ears on the walk over (boo!) and was pretty sad because they were my favorite pair. I was also getting a little antsy in the slow-moving line.

It took way too long to be a LL. The only redeeming thing was that I smoked the entire family, hehe. It was near 7. I could have left the group and checked us in but it was across the park and I really wanted to ride Guardians. We walked right over and giggled our way through that one again. Does anyone know if the music changes? We had the same song every time.

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Photo time stamp says around 7:30. I wanted to head to check in but our Fancy Ride purchase for RSR was ending at 7:50. We hoped we could breeze through Cars Land, get on the ride and then still make it to at least START the party by 8.

We. were. wrong.

I had ideas of seeing Cars Land in all her glory and really taking it in, but instead we speed walked to find the queue where I proceeded to have a mini break down.

In my head, they were going to give up our table at the dessert party. I mean, I KNEW that was unlikely, but it wasn't a 0% chance. I didn't even care about a good table, I just didn't want to miss the party!

BUT, we had already paid the $22 for the ILL and I didn't want to give that up, either. We were stuck directly in the middle of the winding queue with no close exit, so we decided to wait it out and hope for the best.

I wish I could say I calmed down but I really just felt so anxious. I wasn't crying still, but I couldn't enjoy it. The area was adorable (it was dusk but this point) but I felt so rushed. I was kicking myself for resting so much in the room, for doing Webslingers when the line was long, and for booking everything so close together. But at that point, all we could do was wait in line to ride.

Happy to say the ride was ADORABLE and we loved it. It ended around 7:55 and we were pretty happy with that. Until...it broke down and no one could get off. At this point, we just had to laugh! We finally got off the ride and I don't see any photos of us on it so we must have breezed past that scan.

We didn't really know where we were going and it was full on dark, around 8:05 probably. We had to find someone to help us find the check-in station. They were so sweet, calming my fears that we did still have a table and someone would escort us to it. WHEW! A wave of emotion just swept over me, more tears. We somehow managed to squeeze it all in.

They sat us at our table (number 3 I think! Only 1 and 2 were left next to us, and they sat empty). It was a high-top with a pretty good view. Our waiter was super sweet, telling us we were not late and we had plenty of time to enjoy the desserts. He offered to take a ton of photos of us, which was a nice touch. I wish I would have gotten a few better angled ones but my nerves were shot and my family was tired of me asking for photos!
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The plate full of food was SO good and hit the spot since we hadn't had dinner.

I had avoided spoilers of WOC and I was so glad to be surprised. You know I cried. It was beautiful!
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We had a great evening, despite all the stress leading up to the party!

The best part - we headed back to Cars Land and had it with FAR LESS PEOPLE! So I was able to enjoy it after all!
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Back in 2021, we took our first epic long vacation, taking Route 66 from Missouri to Arizona (where we then toured multiple national parks and then flew back home). We drove throughout the day and stopped and stayed in small towns along the way. When I say it was a trip we will never forget, I mean it. We watched Cars before we left and listened to the soundtrack on the drive. Now when I hear those songs, it takes me right back to that road! It all started because Scarlett came home from elementary school one day with a professional infomercial-sounding presentation about America's forgotten highway, Route 66. From there the idea was born to visit it! We stopped at several of the locations that were the Cars movie.
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So when I say it was full circle...
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Ahh, it was perfect!
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Back in 2021 with the real deal...
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We meandered around and enjoyed the sights but stopped for one more photo on our way out:
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And luck was on my side because we found my lost ears at the Lost-and-Found when we got back to DLH. Someone had JUST turned them in! Smiles (and probably more tears) all around!
 
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So for me, that meant checking in around 6:50 and requesting the perfect table 27 (according to the WOC thread).
The boards can be dangerous like that!!! You hear about something perfect and you want the same for you. Which is why I try to include the bad as well as the good in my trip reports. It's not all perfect!

I hadn't heard about THE best table before. How did you like your table? I have no idea what number we got the 2 times we have done it. But we enjoyed it both times. Being able to sit makes it THE best dessert party in my book.

I realized I lost my ears on the walk over (boo!) and was pretty sad because they were my favorite pair. I was also getting a little antsy in the slow-moving line
Oh NO!!!!

Does anyone know if the music changes? We had the same song every time.
It does! It is "random" much like Star Tours

wish I could say I calmed down but I really just felt so anxious. I wasn't crying still, but I couldn't enjoy it. The area was adorable (it was dusk but this point) but I felt so rushed. I was kicking myself for resting so much in the room, for doing Webslingers when the line was long, and for booking everything so close together. But at that point, all we could do was wait in line to ride.
Ugh, this is the worst. I get nervous like this as well! And I hate that a thing that is to make it less of a wait become more of a wait with wanting THE best spot!

You know I cried. It was beautiful!
It is Gwen's favorite nighttime show!!! It really is beautiful!

Back in 2021 with the real deal...
That is so fun and really adds to the expierence in that land for you guys!

And luck was on my side because we found my lost ears at the Lost-and-Found when we got back to DLH. Someone had JUST turned them in! Smiles (and probably more tears) all around!
Now that is true Magic!!!!
 
Oh, i was SO sad reading about your lost ears, so what a magical moment to find them in the end!!

I completely agree that these boards are a double-edged sword!!! We are armed with ALL the best tricks, but trying to make it all fit seamlessly into our plans has come back to bite me on more than one trip! I'm so glad it all worked out for you in the end, but I know that exact feeling of anxiety when things aren't going the way you planned. Sigh.

We've traveled parts of Route 66, but my husband and I are always talking about someday doing a whole road trip out of it. I tear up when we watch Cars and see them reroute the highway around the little town--so sad! I love finding and exploring little places like that. What an awesome full circle experience for you all!
 
I hadn't heard about THE best table before. How did you like your table? I have no idea what number we got the 2 times we have done it. But we enjoyed it both times. Being able to sit makes it THE best dessert party in my book.
We found the table to be fine! I honestly didn't have a chance to look at the views from other tables to compare. My biggest beef was the dad who had his kid on his shoulders the entire time. It blocked a little bit of our view. He was at the back of the group standing so he was probably clueless that he was blocking the people at the party further behind him.

We've traveled parts of Route 66, but my husband and I are always talking about someday doing a whole road trip out of it.
We didn't connect all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica, but since I have been to both of those places I like to think I have seen it all! Thanks for stopping by!
 
Hi everyone!
I have enjoyed getting to know you guys through the comments and reading your trip reports (if you have one! If you haven't seen me in yours, let me know!) We have had the busiest weeks with sports but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. But as time passes I am fearful I will forget details, so I hope to get this done soon.

Day 5
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We had big goals for this day, which included Early Entry rope-dropping all the Fantasyland attractions that we skipped on the first day. It was beautiful and sunny walking in, quite the contrast from Sunday. Also, I am pretty sure 2 days prior this was MINNIE with a flower bow! They change things quickly!
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No time to stop for a family photo (or well-framed one, apparently) since we were at the beginning of the rope drop group and I didn't want to slow us down. I never did go back for a great shot of this area, ah well.

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Sad to not be able to see the real City Hall or Walt's apartment. We had planned on doing the tour on this last day for my birthday but I was afraid it would take up too much time (I would have been right) and I also didn't like that it was all covered up. But someday, I will do the tour!

This trip was to celebrate my 40th birthday in June and today I was wearing a birthday button in the park. It was sweet to get Happy Birthdays all day, even if it felt like fraud. 😉

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Man, I love Main Street. I prefer this one to WDW. Even with the baby castle. I am always a few steps behind because they have long legs! And I always stop for pics. But one day in my life I want to rope drop and just walk slowly to enjoy it without all the people. No clue if that will ever happen, because usually I choose sleep or rides!

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Our first walk through the castle! We had only seen it from afar before. (In real life Jason would make a punny joke here..."afar? I didn't know there was a fire!"

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We were held waiting near Fantasyland but had good positioning. We saw the same family we rope dropped the day before with. They were LOUD and obnoxious but sort-of funny. Mostly it just made me happy my girls are not loud or obnoxious!

I knew lots were going to Peter Pan but we don't care about that ride. So we planned to hit up Snow White, Mr. Toads, Alice, and maybe the Storybook canal boats. But the time went FAST as we were jumping all around that land!
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Can't slow down for a selfie!

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This ride was a TRIP!

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My time stamp said it was around 8 AM at this point, and the park was officially opened. We were pretty proud to get it all done, minus the canal boats. I got a lightening lane for Thunder Mountain and we headed over to Galaxy's Edge to ride while the wait times were still low...
 
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