Our "Try Everything Once"Family Trip ***COMPLETE***

Cinderlyn

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 23, 2016
Hey there and welcome to my first ever trip report. I've read many of your reports over the years, but this is my first time chiming in with my own; so bear with me if things get murky or photos don't look right.
My name is Jolyn and I love Disney. Other people you will meet on this report are my favorite husband Brock and our sweet little girls Audree (5) and Brynn (2.5).
 
A little background on this trip report and Day 1: Travel Day with a bit of Disney
As a couple Brock and I spent our honeymoon in Disneyland, our five year anniversary in DisneyWorld and took a Disney cruise on the Fantasy. In September of 2014 we took the kids for the first time, a long with all the grandparents. January of 2015 we went just the two of us to celebrate our ten year anniversary and run the Star Wars 1/2 Marathon.
It’s no secret to anyone who knows us that we love Disney, and are pretty much always dreaming of our next vacation. But we really never meant to go three times in 18 months, really, it just kind of happened. This last trip was the biggest surprise of all. It was very last minute, hardly any prep and no time to back out.

We had been talking about going back to Disneyland with the kids since we had taken our ten year anniversary trip in January of 2015. Having been there with our kids a few months before we found it hard to be there without them. We relished the week of alone time; we played and ate, drank, ran and really enjoyed ourselves. But whilst enjoying the open plans,and slow pace of our kidless vacation, the girls were constantly on our minds. We would see Bugs Land in California Adventure and remember how much Audree loved Heimlichs Chew Chew Train. Seeing the Disney Junior Live building gave us a gut punch, Audree absolutely went bananas seeing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse happening in front of her eyes. And the real kicker for me was seeing The Tower of Terror. In September of 2014 when we took the kids for the first time, the girls had spent about twenty totally glorious, carefree minutes running back and forth chasing each other in front of the windows of the gift shop near the exit. Brynn had only taken a few consecutive steps before that vacation and here she was in front of the Tower toddling around chasing her sister. I cried.
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It's a fuzzy picture, but it brings the memories back loud and clear for me!

When we found out we were moving to Oregon we had great dreams about how we would get Annual Passes and road trip down to Disney every 10 weeks or so. After all we were going to be about six hours closer. But to say the move didn’t go as planned would be a drastic understatement. So as much as we still wanted to become regulars we were in no position to make that dream a reality. Fast forward a few months after the move, we find out that Brock’s counterpart at work is going to be let go due to “economic layoffs” (Brock’s company was bought out the first week we moved here, but that’s a whole other story). While the fact that they chose to lay off someone with more experience and more seniority than Brock is a huge compliment, it also meant that our schedule would drastically change. Brock had been getting home somewhere between 1 and 3 everyday and worked weekends every other month. So we were getting more family time with him than we ever had before which made all the sacrifices of the move worth it. However this new shift would have him starting work at 10am and not getting home until past 8pm overnight. He would also have to work every weekend that work was available. So he would get to see the kids for an hour in the mornings while everyone is getting ready for the day and on the weekends after work, which is not enough time for any of us.

We had already been looking at our tax return and his bonus and really considering driving down for a few days at the happiest place on earth. Armed with the knowledge that our families schedule would be going through a major upheaval we pulled the trigger and decided to take a week vacation and soak up every second of family time we possibly could.

We booked the trip with less than 30 days to go. Our plan was to Spend five nights at the Embassy SuitesNorth Anaheim. Four day park hoppers for the three of us, as Brynn is still considered Mickey’s guest. The only reservation we made was for Thursday morning at Goofy’s Kitchen. We kept our schedule pretty wide open and our expectations in check. This would be the first time that Audree would be tall enough to ride nearly everything, and Brynn was now old enough to really recognize characters and have opinions about what she wanted to do.

TRAVEL DAY

So we packed up, carried our sleepy kids to the car and said goodbye to Uncle Jeff, who had graciously agreed to house sit for us. We pulled out of our town and onto the Interstate at 12:46am on leap day. We drove pretty much straight through until Sacramento. We had stopped twice before that to change drivers, but that’s it. Once in Sacramento we got gas and food then pushed on until the next rest area. Once we hit the rest area we went potty and then spent about 30 minutes running the wiggles out of the kids. We made little courses for them to run, start at this tree run to that picnic table, over to the second tree, around the trash can and back to mom. Worked like a charm. Once everyone had gotten a proper leg stretch in it was back to the car where we plugged in the travel dvd player and continued our journey. We got through Frozen and The Lion King, made one last pit stop on top of the grapevine and pushed on to the Hotel.


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We got to the hotel at 2:15pm and mercifully they had our hotel room ready and waiting for us.Thank the Lord because we were tired. thirteen plus hours in a car is a lot.

These girls were AMAZING the whole car ride, no fighting and only one whiny incident. But Brock and I were done. As much as you try to sleep in the car you are never going to get good rest. We had great plans of taking the girls to Downtown Disney, but there was no way that was happening without a nap. We locked the hotel room, turned on the T.V. for the kids and laid down.

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We had a solid half hour sleep before Audree woke us up turning on the bathroom light. We were not the most chipper parents, running on such little sleep. Suddenly Downtown Disney sounded like the worst idea in history. The pool was sounding nice, sleep was sounding better, and frankly a nice drink sounded best of all. But alas, we rallied and packed the kids up. We knew that you can park at Downtown Disney for free for the first two hours. What we learned was that if you see a movie or eat at a table service restaurant you get an additional two hours free. So we headed to Downtown, parked and went straight for the evenings destination; The Rainforest Cafe. The Rainforest Cafe is ridiculous, it’s overpriced, loud, and can be a bit scary for little kiddos. All that being said I really wanted to take the girls there. I was sure that they would have an awesome time, they both love animals and Audree has come a long way in her fear of loud noises. So we headed there straight away and they were able to get us in after about a 15 minute wait. While we waited the girls soaked in all the scenery, and Brynn made friends with this little elephant.
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In the picture she has just given it a hug and kiss and is finishing the routine off with a nose to the trunk. It was precious, and I wanted to buy her 13 of that elephant.

They lead us through the restaurant to the back corner and sat us at this comically large table. It could fit at least eight, and here we our a family of two adults and two little kids.

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See what I mean? And that is with us spread out. We got the kids chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and apple juice. Brock and I learned quickly that we needed to split our meals on vacation because we had been abiding by a portion controlled diet and our stomachs just couldn’t take the portion sizes we were seeing. So we split some burger thing that I’m sure went to animal conservation of some sort; saving the seven toed antler platypus.

The first “storm” hit and the kids were a little shocked, but as soon as they saw the monkeys moving around and making noises they were on board. The food was surprisingly tasty, except for the flavorless mac and cheese. The service was good, but super slow! We were there through at least three “storms” which happen every 30 minutes. But it was fun, the kids loved it and I’m glad we went. It is still overpriced and loud, but they enjoyed it enough that I’d do it again.
After the restaurant we took the kids to the Lego store which they loved. The Lego Store is overwhelming. It’s super cool and they have some awesome kits, more kits than you could possibly imagine, or want. The prices are astronomical, but that’s just Lego in general now. Above your head there is Jasmine and Aladdin on a magic carpet, outside they have Belle and Beast about to dance, Woody and Buzz strapped to a rocket, and Prince Phillip defending himself against a dragon Maleficent spitting fire down on him from atop the building; all done with Legos. It really is an incredible store, and the kids were digging it. They have little Lego table spots where the kids can build whatever they’d like, and they do Lego car racing outside as well.
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After dragging the kids from the Lego store, where they could have easily spent another 30 minutes, we took a stroll through Downtown Disney. We headed towards the park entrance side and just wandered about. We stopped into The Disney Vault to see if there were any Disney Dooneys that I needed. I had my eye on the 60th anniversary purse, but was convinced that a purse was just to expensive a souvenir for this trip. Also I like the 60th purse but it doesn’t scream at me to take it home, so I could pass it up with ease. As we were window shopping and meandering we stopped for a couple of minutes to listen to a couple of musicians, Brynn was feeling the beat and was dancing her little heart out. All four of us were just happy, Disney magic was already sinking in and we were just glad to be there. Before long though our travel day caught up with us and we headed to the car. Brynn was wiped out, and had to be carried by Daddy. Worn down we headed back to the hotel where I had one final detail to take care of.
Before the trip I had made a reservation for a jogger stroller with attached glider board. I had read many reviews and
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City Strollers had the best feedback, plus we have a family member who had used them and were very pleased. When I booked the reservation they would only let me pay a $25 deposit, no option to pay the entire balance. We began receiving e-mails from them regarding our reservation and one of those e-mails had said that we needed to have our balance paid in full 30 days beforehand to ensure that our reservation was fulfilled. As I mentioned we booked with less than 30 days to go, so I was anxious to pay off the balance because we really needed the stroller. I scoured the website to no prevail, there was absolutely no option to pay my balance off on the website. So I began trying to contact them; at first I sent an email and left a voicemail thinking I would hear from them, but no I did not hear from them, ever. So I continued to call them and leave them very polite voicemails stating that I had a reservation and I really just wanted to pay off the balance, and was getting a little nervous that they would cancel our reservation, I also sent them another email. After about three days of calling I was getting pretty nervous about the whole situation. In all my phone calls no one ever picked up and no one ever returned my messages. So finally one night, about a week before our trip I called again. After getting their voicemail message I hung up thinking I would call back and maybe talk to their Bay area office to see if they could shed some light as to why I hadn’t heard back from anyone, ever. I call again, with the intention of punching in the extension for the bay area office and as I’m on the phone I receive a text from them.

So at that point I realize that they are caller I.D.ing me. I’m irritated. They let me know through text that they are transitioning from one office space to another and that they are a little behind on things. I text back that I just don’t want our reservations to be cancelled because I haven’t been able to pay the balance. They assure me, again through text, that they will force the balance through as soon as they get the chance. I wasn’t feeling super secure in their ability to take care of things, considering how unprofessional they had been so far.

Anyway, long story short after we had gotten checked into the hotel I had gone down to the front desk to ask about our stroller and it was indeed there, however there wasn’t a glider board. The glider board was important to us, because even though Audree is five she gets tired, like any kid would. We really wanted the option for her to ride on a board instead of walking. So I called the company immediately and left another message. This time they actually called back within a few minutes, turns out they had been expecting my call. The lady told me this whole story about how they had four strollers stolen from them and they had just changed locations and how all of her glider boards were either broken in half or had busted wheels. I definitely empathize with her, but the bottom line is that this was her problem, not mine. She said she had emailed me that morning, and to her credit she had but we had been in the grapevine and did’t have a signal, and that she had already credited us for the price of the board. She informed us that our options were two single strollers or a double stroller. I told her we would need a double stroller. So it was armed with this knowledge that I returned the single stroller to the front desk and told them that a double should be taking its place that evening.

As soon as we returned from The Rainforest Cafe and got the kid in pajamas I headed back to the front desk to check on our stroller. As expected they hadn’t come through with a double yet. So I annoyingly resigned to the fact that Audree would have to walk this trip and we would have to make sure to take extra breaks.

Meanwhile the hotel was offering free drinks and snacks for everyone. So I headed to the bar and grabbed a much needed Sangria for Brock and I and some freshly popped popcorn for the kids. We ate our munchies and drank our beverages and retired for the night around 8:45pm. It had been a long, long day and we were heading to Disney in the morning.

Okay, this has been a very wordy post! Next post will contain our first day in the parks, with a lot more photos. Stay tuned!
 
Following along! The stroller thing would completely stress me out! I'm so sorry that happened! We took our kids (6, 5, and 2.75) a few years ago and I can't imagine it being nearly as nice without our double jogger. It took up a LOT of space in our mini van, but I felt it was so worth it. I hope things improved the next day! :)
 


Following along! The stroller thing would completely stress me out! I'm so sorry that happened! We took our kids (6, 5, and 2.75) a few years ago and I can't imagine it being nearly as nice without our double jogger. It took up a LOT of space in our mini van, but I felt it was so worth it. I hope things improved the next day! :)
Right? Strollers are only important if you want to enjoy your vacation.
 
Day Two: First day in the parks

We were up and at em by 6:15 in the morning. Got the kiddos dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Our hotel had an awesome breakfast spread. Pastries, cereal, fruit, yogurt, hot items like potatoes, waffles, and meat. They also did made to order omelets, which Brock and I had nearly everyday. We were set on having complimentary breakfast when we considered hotels and we were very grateful every morning for the yummy breakfast we enjoyed.

After gobbling down our breakfast I headed to the front desk to check on the stroller situation while Brock and the girls headed back up to the room to get our bags packed for the day. They had not brought a double stroller in, but there was now a glider board attached to our single stroller. Um, okay. Not what I was expecting after being told there were absolutely none available, but it’s what I wanted originally anyway so I’ll take it. We got the bags and stroller all packed up and caught the 8:00am shuttle. Quick note on the shuttle, this was the ART transportation that basically all the hotels near Disney use. For the most part it’s great and this wasn’t our first trip using it. The one thing we really didn't like was that because our hotel was about 10 miles from Disneyland the shuttle only came once an hour. So if you miss the 8:00 shuttle, you’re boned until the 9:00 comes. Shuttle went off without a hitch, we got there, got through security and anxiously awaited rope drop. The park didn’t actually open until 10, but we were using our early entry. We weren’t crazy about using it on day one, but because we had breakfast plans Thursday today was our only other option.
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Rope drop came quickly enough and we were in. Walking down Main Street was amazing, that instant magical sense of being on vacation, but also being home. We were all excited. We headed straight for the castle with the intention of going on Peter Pan. Now Peter Pan is not a must do for any of us really, but Audree had ridden it with her Grandma the year before and wanted to ride it again. We knew that the lines for Pan got ridiculous, so we figured we’d head straight there, knock it out and go on with the rest of our lives. Um, nope, by 9:10 the line was already a 45 minute wait. And because of bottle neck issues, we went to the right of the castle near the wishing well which dropped us off in the line, which now reached beyond the castle entrance towards the hub. So we came through the wishing well area into a line of people who were looking at us like we were jerk wads who are trying to cut. Mistake, I just hadn’t realized that the line would be forming there. So we cut through the people, and headed towards the rest of Fantasyland and a plethora of rides that don’t have insane, unjustified wait times. Seriously people, Peter Pan is a cute ride, but it will never be worth more than a 15 minute wait for me; it just won’t.

We parked our stroller and headed to the Carousel, which at this point was still a walk on. Now the carousel has a little back history for Audree. She has never been good with riding a horse. When we have taken her before she wants to ride the Carousel repeatedly, but only if she can sit on the love seat bench, not a horse. We’ve tried and tried, but it always results in tears and that’s just not worth it. But this trip we made a couple of rules that we were sticking with; the most important rule being that we try everything at least once. So, the Carousel would be our first application of the new rules.

Audree was definitely a little nervous to be on a horse, but once she saw her two year old sister on one, her nerves seemed to subside. Those girls were happy as clams on top of their horses and they both seemed to love the ride. We would end up riding the carousel over and over throughout the trip, but this first ride had a lot of significance to it. Seeing Audree not only on the horse, but happy about it was just beyond awesome for me as a mommy. She is truly maturing. I took several pictures of her to document this equestrian milestone and texted all the grandparents. Both grandmas responded, saying that the picture had them in tears, as they had both been on the first Disney trip and knew just how deep Audree’s fear of riding the horses had been.
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After the Carousel we made our way over to Dumbo. This was a first for all of us. Neither Brock or myself had ever been on Dumbo before, and we were actually kind of excited that the first ride would be with our children. This was also Brynn’s first experience waiting in line for something. Waiting to get into the park wasn’t really a big deal, because you do have some space around you and she was relaxed in a stroller. But this waiting in line business was a different story altogether. The wait was about 10 minutes, but to a 2 1/2 year old who doesn’t understand it must feel like an eternity. We kept her entertained taking selfies and talking about Dumbo. Audree and I shared an elephant and Brynn rode with Daddy. Dumbo was a hit, with all of us. From there we made our way over to the teacups. The wait was minimal and before we knew it we were climbing into a pretty pink cup. The girls loved it, especially Brynn. Hoping off the tea cups we jaunted over to It’s a Small World right as the park was opening.

Small World is far from my favorite ride, I truly could go trip after trip ignoring it and never feel like I missed out. Brock and I had gone on it in January of 2015 when it was still decorating for the holidays and that was definitely an improvement. But, in general I’m not really a fan of this one. But the kids hadn’t been on it and it got us a nice little relaxing ride. The girls enjoyed it and really liked finding the characters hidden throughout the scenes.
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Daddy/ Brynn selfie while waiting for Dumbo
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Audree and Mommy
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Audree flying in a pachyderm
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First time in a tea cup
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Audree in the tea cup
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After Small World we were trying to decide where to head next and I saw that Merida would be meeting in a few minutes so off to the Royal Hall we went. I’m going to admit here that I had become somewhat of an autograph geek. Before our first trip with the kids I had been very concerned with making sure they had a good time. Audree in particular, I didn’t know how she’d do with the rides or characters. So I tried to make sure that I thought of other parts of the experience that she could enjoy. One of those things was the penny press machines. I had brought a medicine bottle full of pennies and quarters on that first trip just in case that was something she took too. Another thing I did was make her an autograph book. I thought she’d be good with character meets, but just in case I thought having an autograph book would give her something to hold and concentrate on if it was too much. Basically I worried waaaaay too much. She loved most of the rides was all about the character meets, and we never even opened the penny quarter container. But because I had spent a lot of time making these autograph pages I wanted to get the signatures. When we had brought the kids before, Merida wasn’t greeting anywhere, but during the weeks leading up to our visit I had downloaded the Disneyland app and noticed that Merida was meeting. But she was only meeting twice a day for like five minutes each time. So I felt like if we didn’t get her signature today, we might miss our chance completely.

We found the line and waited a few minutes before she came out. Brynn choose right then to let us know that she wasn’t happy. I think she was hot, and I know she was tired so it wasn’t all that surprising that she broke down crying and wouldn’t stop. No biggie, Brock wheeled her out and Audree and I waited in line. Meeting Merida was awesome. She was fantastic, fun and really engaging and the accent was on point. Audree curtsied for her and she returned with her own, quite lovely curtsy. She signed our autograph page and then asked Audree to sit next to her. The two of them sat side by side on the curb and had a little conversation. Audree was happy and ready to go before Merida was ready to let her leave. I couldn’t believe it, she treated Audree like she was the only princess in the kingdom. She asked a about Audree’s hobbies and what her plans were for the day. Audree told her that she was going to meet Jasmine later (because I had already established that I really wanted to get her autograph), and Merida asked if Audree would be a messenger for her. She told Audree to ask Jasmine if they could borrow Aladdin’s magic carpet and then she would fly Audree back to Scotland with her and teach her to use a bow and arrow. It was so cute. They hugged and we made our way to Brock and Brynn.
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So stinking cute!
Brock had gotten Brynn calmed down and we decided to go find some shade. I stopped by a food cart and bought this cheesy twisted bagel thing. It was delicious, we shared that and water and got our kiddos stable and happy again. Now that I think about it I remember why Brynn was so upset. She had been hot and tired, but she was also ticked off. I had said she could have some goldfish, and then I couldn’t find them in the backpack. If you want a sure fire way to piss your kid off, tell them they can have something and then don’t follow through. Yeah, we searched that backpack to no avail. I had laid everything out on the bed that I needed in the backpack and Brock’s job was to pack it all in. The bed had been empty before we left the hotel so I was sure Brock had gotten it all packed. But now we were facing the rest of the day without all the snacks we had thought we brought.

Once everyone was fed and back to normal we headed off to the Jasmine, Aladdin, Genie meet. All three characters were meeting together and I had empty autograph pages for them. I think we only waited ten minutes or so. Unfortunately the Genie had to take a break two families in front of us and we missed our chance for his autograph. I was pretty bummed about that, but at least we could still meet the royal couple. This proved to be another great character meet. They sign their pages and Aladdin stopped mid signing because he noticed that his page was actually his own page with his name on it. He literally thanked me for thinking of him and said he never gets his own page to sign. I was like “um, you're welcome.’’ Hadn’t really been expecting that. After they signed they were chatting with the girls and Aladdin stole Audree’s sunglasses. He started imitating her and talking in a high pitched girl voice “ I’m princess Audree, look at my glasses.” It was very funny, even funnier though was Brynn’s reaction. She did not appreciate his humor, and with hands on her hips and all the sass in her heart she said “that Audree glasses, you no take! Give them back!!” Brynn doesn’t give a crap who you are, she’s gonna stand up for her sister. It was absolutely hysterical, Brock and I were stifling our laughter as best we could. Audree also gave Jasmine the message from Merida asking to use the magic carpet. Jasmine said that would be fine as long as she brought some Haggis, because Aladdin loves Haggis. Clever princesses, I love that they do this, makes the experience just that much more special.
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After taking some pictures with Jasmine and Aladdin we headed over to the rocks by Tarzan’s Treehouse and sat down for a minute. It wasn’t really all that late in the day, but we’d already been on four rides, and met three characters. Daddy and Audree headed up to check out the treehouse while I tried to get Brynn to fall asleep. She would just be dozing off and would fight to wake herself back up. Brock and Audree returned from the treehouse and Brock headed over to grab a couple of things from Bengal BBQ. We had never eaten there before but I had read that the tiger tail was really good so we gave that and the chicken skewer a shot. He also got a large drink. We each took a couple sips of the drink and Audree knocked the rest over pretty much immediately. Audree is five, so really it’s not that surprising that she would knock a drink over, but we were hot and thirsty and it was really annoying to spend four bucks on something just to have it immediately upended.

After our snack we split up. Brynn was right on the brick of a nap so daddy decided to walk around with her while Audree and I headed over to the Winnie The Pooh ride. Neither of us has been on the ride before, and didn’t really know what to expect. We both enjoyed it and it was a nice thing to have some mommy Audree time. After the ride we found Brock who had managed to not only get Brynn asleep, but also get us some coffee. It was delicious. Having moved from Washington where Starbucks abounds, to a small town in Oregon that is thirty minutes from the closest one, we were very happy to be drinking our favorite coffees in our favorite place. With sleeping Brynn in tow we decided that we’d had enough of Disneyland for now and were ready to hop on over to California Adventure.
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Quick side note here. Brynn was a pill to get to take a nap. She just wouldn't sleep. Ultimately Brock walking her around in the stroller managed to do the trick, but it was a little dicey there for a bit. And we didn't want to go back to the hotel for a break because the transportation just took so long.
Disneyland is great and we would never pass up a chance to visit, but California Adventure has truly stolen our hearts. We first visited on our honeymoon when it was still a very young park, not even five years old. We loved it then and it has only gotten greater since. We love all the changes they made and found on our ten year anniversary trip that we greatly preferred it to Disneyland. We like the over all vibe better, it seems more laid back. The walkways are wider, the food is better and more diverse, and it doesn’t hurt that you can partake in alcoholic beverages there.

So anyway a park hopping we go. Audree was excited to be in California Adventure and gave us a little thumbs up dance. Then she sat down and figured out our route! We checked the showtimes for Disney Junior Live Onstage because that was a priority for the trip and we wanted to make sure we got it in ASAP, and we found that we still had some time before the 2:15 showing. With Brynn still sleeping we headed to the Bug’s Land area and Brock and Audree took a spin a Flik’s Flyers. Then we made our way over to Disney Junior to see the show. We parked the stroller just as Brynn was waking up. She had no idea what she was in for and wasn’t thrilled. Audree on the other hand completely remembered the show from her first trip and was excited! So what was the verdict? Brynn LOVED it! She was over the moon to see her clubhouse friends in person, and as soon as it ended she turned to me and started signing and saying “more hotdog please”. Hot dog is what she calls Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Those girls could have easily sat through the show two more times. This ended up being the only time we saw it this trip, so I’m really glad we made it a priority on day one.
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Day two cont...
Back to Bug’s Land we headed for our first (of many) trips on Heilich’s Chew Chew Train. I took both girls on it and they enjoyed it. Audree was good to go, but Brynn wanted to go on it again right away. So Brynn and I headed back on while Audree and Daddy tried out Tuck and Roll’s Drive ‘Em Buggies. We could have stayed there all day, but we had a fastpass for Hyperspace Mountain that was going to be coming up at four. So we headed out of Bug’s Land past Tower of Terror, grabbing a fastness along the way. We stopped on Buena Vista St. The girls and I waited on a bench while daddy went in for more Starbucks. While we waited my kiddos had their own little dance party. Hopping back over to Disneyland we headed into Tomorrowland and Brock took Audree on her first trip through space. He loved the Hyperspace overlay, Audree didn’t love it, but also didn’t hate it. This was her first real big girl ride and she made it through without crying or freaking out. We were proud of her, even when she said “I don’t think I want to go on that again”. While they had been on the ride Brynn and I had been watching the Storm Troopers interact with the “citizens” of Tomorrowland, which was very entertaining. I took my turn on Hyperspace and enjoyed it very much. Growing up with three older brothers I grew to enjoy Star Wars, after all there was no avoiding it. The Force Awakens was fantastic and I found myself appreciating the franchise in a whole new way. So I was on board with all the Star Wars presence in the park.
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After Hyperspace we parked hopped ounce again because our TOT fast passes were ready. This is my favorite ride on campus, hands down. In Florida it has more competition, mainly with Everest, but over on the West coast no other ride comes close for me. I was very excited to go on it, and excited to take Audree on it. Audree however was not as excited. Our fast passes got us straight into the T.V. room. We watched the video and she was definitely a little skittish, but hanging in there. It was the wait in the boiler room area that put her over the top. She was nervous and kinda shaky; I pointed to all the dials and buttons on the wall and she said “okay, I see them, but I don’t want you to touch them mommy’’. I kept talking to her and she was hanging in there pretty well, I reminder her that this trip we had all agreed to try everything once. We were progressing through the line and talking about all she had done that day and what a big brave girl she is and she said “mommy, I have to go potty.’’ Groan, really? I asked her if she could hold it until after the ride and she told me that there would be an accident. Well that’s that folks, you mention accident and we are closing shop. So we found the chicken exit and booked it out of there, through the gift shop and towards the Bug’s Land bathrooms. Brock and Brynn were waiting outside the TOT gift shop for us so they saw us come out. I signed bathroom to Brock and they immediately started following us. Brynn however, decided to run after us and I heard her fall. I heard all these people around her saying “ouch”, and “that had to hurt” and other such comments. I dropped Audree’s hand, took the three steps back to scoop up Brynn and grab Audree’s hand again continuing towards the bathroom. Brock was behind us but because he had thought there was going to be a longer wait for us to finish the ride he had had to gather up stuff for the stroller when Brynn took off running. So he hadn’t had a chance to stop her before she ran for me. Brynn is a tough kiddo, she normally cries for about five seconds when she gets hurt. This time not a single tear. We made it to the bathroom, handed Brynn over to Dad and went in. Barely even a trickle. Sooooooo frustrating. I felt like she had manipulated me to get out of going on the ride. But really, as Brock would logically point out, she’s five and she was nervous and this was her first experience with nervous pee.

We had three fast passes, but by now the third one was expiring and we hadn’t yet realized how to work rider swap to our advantage, so for the last time that evening we park hopped over to Disneyland for dinner.
Dinner was the ever so glorious Plaza Inn fried chicken. So yummy. We had it for the first time on our anniversary trip because I had read countless reviews about it glory. We were not let down and it went on our list of Must haves for this trip. Brock and I split a fried chicken meal and got the girls each a kid meal, which we soon found out was way too much food for them. We sat down, opened Audree’s chocolate milk and watched her knock the entire thing onto the ground. Groan! Again, she’s five and she’s klutzy, but we were tired and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t annoy us a bit. This super nice cast member came over and basically told Brock to stop cleaning it up (in a nice way), because he was more than happy to clean it up. Then he replaced the milk for free. It was so kind, and we were blown away by such simple generosity. He assured us that this happens all the time, no really like 14 times a shift. So nice.
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Anyway we ate, split a piece of diamond anniversary cake and headed to Toon Town. Brock and I have never been big fans of Toon Town, but this trip was family focused and part of that meant spending more time than normal in kid centered areas. Plus we knew that we’d have a good chance of seeing their favorite characters here. Just as predicted we saw Goofy hanging out looking like he could use some hugs. The girls were happy to oblige. They loved meeting Goofy, and we let them run out some wiggles in his play area as well. After about twenty minutes or so of running around we headed over to Mickey’s house. This was by far the most deceptive wait we had all trip. It looked like it would be about 10 minutes, which is completely doable, but actually it took 30. The line just kept going and going. Finally you get to the end and they have you in this holding room where they show you cartoons to distract you from the fact that you are tired and hate this line and want to be anywhere else. Then they let a few families in at a time to meet the main cheese. It’s a very controlled greet and really it probably has to be. We almost left the line and gave up like three times, and plenty of others families actually did. But I’m so glad that we didn’t because the meet and greet was awesome. I probably wouldn’t have said it was worth the wait but then I saw that pictures the photo pass people took and it totally was worth it! There was some mis understanding about who has taking picture when, so I look a bit strange in this weird half crouched bent position, but the pics of the kids made me cry. Especially the ones of Brynn, her facial expressions just kill me.
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so sweet!
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My heart!
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This is my favorite picture of the entire trip. Her posture and her facial expression. It looks like she is giving Mickey the what for!
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Audree meeting the big cheese!
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Totally worth the wait!

After that long wait we headed into Tomorrowland for Star Tours. Since she had backed out of TOT it was still my turn to take her on a new ride. So we left Daddy and Brynn and headed in. This was another one of the "try everything once" rides. We got our glasses, and she was definitely intrigued. She kept asking when she could put them on, Audree is a kid who likes to be prepared. Finally we got to go in and take our seats. We got buckled in and ready for our flight, and the doors malfunctioned. Then they malfunctioned two more times, and then right when they got it figured out they had to open them again because someone on the last flight had forgotten a purse. I was getting nervous, not for the ride but for my kid. Audree always wants to know what’s going on, she greatly fears the unknown. I was just waiting for her to back out, but she didn’t. We finally took off and she had her first flight. We went to Jakoo and the Wookie planet and it was great fun. We got off the ride and I asked Audree what she thought. She looked at me, gave a little jump, pumped her fist in the air and said “it was awesome!’’. This would turn out to be her favorite ride in all of Disneyland. Brock took his turn on it, and by then it was about 7:30pm and we decided we should try to get a spot for the parade. Yeah right, we started walking down Main Street and quickly realized that 30 minutes before parade time was not near enough time to find a spot. Rather than watch it standing we decided to just call it a night and head back to the hotel. I wasn’t initially thrilled with this decision because my husband loves fireworks and we have a history of missing them at Disney always due to circumstance. I didn’t want him to miss the Diamond Anniversary fireworks, because I had heard they were the best Disneyland had ever had. But looking at the crowds and looking at my family I knew he was right.
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We boarded our shuttle bus for the lengthy trip back to the hotel. Brynn promptly fell asleep on my lap and slept the whole way back. We tucked ourselves to bed and set our alarms for the morning.
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Coming up: Our second full day in the parks
 


Following :) We just got back from Disneyland, so looking for the magic.

I'm sorry you had a rough experience with City Strollers :( At least you got what you ordered in the end, but who needs the stress? We also used them this trip, and we had a smooth experience, so I'm wondering if they have gotten things cleared up with the move and everything now. Some of their emails still weren't the clearest, but it still worked out for us.

I laughed out loud at the thing about the spilled milk. I'm guessing the guy wasn't exaggerating about how often it happens!!! Looking forward to reading more!
 
Following :) We just got back from Disneyland, so looking for the magic.

I'm sorry you had a rough experience with City Strollers :( At least you got what you ordered in the end, but who needs the stress? We also used them this trip, and we had a smooth experience, so I'm wondering if they have gotten things cleared up with the move and everything now. Some of their emails still weren't the clearest, but it still worked out for us.

I laughed out loud at the thing about the spilled milk. I'm guessing the guy wasn't exaggerating about how often it happens!!! Looking forward to reading more!
So glad to hear that you had a better experience with them. All the reviews I read were so positive, and my sister-in-law raved about them. It must have just been a rough transition for them. We did love the stroller itself and not having to make room in the car for one was mandatory!
Yeah the cast member at the Plaza was awesome. I kept thinking about how his uniform was all white and this was chocolate milk. What a hero.
Glad to have you on board
 
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i loved your character interaction experiences! so much magic!
They were so magical. I couldn't believe how attentive the princesses were. We had better interactions this trip then ever before it was awesome, and Audree still talks about it!
 
Too many things to respond to! So much fun! Sorry about all the spills. That does sound really frustrating. Not quite as frustrating as having to duck out of Tower of Terror though! We are big CA fans too, and our first trip there (together, I had gone when it opened in 2001 and again in 2003) was when we were with both our families, and engaged in 2005. :) I haven't ever seen the Disney Junior show, but that might be a good one to do with our almost-3 and the baby while the big kids ride some rides with daddy. He is way into MMC at least. (we don't actually have channels, so he hasn't seen the other current ones...) Star Tours was also my 5- and 6-year-olds' favorite ride last time. And they are even -more- into Star Wars now. I like the "Try everything once" thing. My current 8-year-old is not impressed that I told her she has to try Screamin' one time next trip. I think she'll like it. She liked Space Mountain more than her older brother last time. Neither of them were interested in trying ToT a second time though...
 
What a fun trip so far! Our youngest will be almost 5 when we go in December, so I love seeing how the trip went for you guys
 
What a fun trip so far! Our youngest will be almost 5 when we go in December, so I love seeing how the trip went for you guys
Thanks, glad to have you on board. Five is a great age for Disney. We took Audree for the first time a couple months before she turned four and she loved it, but at five she's big enough for rides!
 
Too many things to respond to! So much fun! Sorry about all the spills. That does sound really frustrating. Not quite as frustrating as having to duck out of Tower of Terror though! We are big CA fans too, and our first trip there (together, I had gone when it opened in 2001 and again in 2003) was when we were with both our families, and engaged in 2005. :) I haven't ever seen the Disney Junior show, but that might be a good one to do with our almost-3 and the baby while the big kids ride some rides with daddy. He is way into MMC at least. (we don't actually have channels, so he hasn't seen the other current ones...) Star Tours was also my 5- and 6-year-olds' favorite ride last time. And they are even -more- into Star Wars now. I like the "Try everything once" thing. My current 8-year-old is not impressed that I told her she has to try Screamin' one time next trip. I think she'll like it. She liked Space Mountain more than her older brother last time. Neither of them were interested in trying ToT a second time though...

Aww 2005 is the year we got married and visited on our honeymoon, awesome year! The Disney Junior show is super cool, just try to get there a little early because its basically a big carpeted room with a stage. There isn't any actual seating, it's criss cross applesauce on the floor with the kiddos. Which is totally fine, but the further back you are the harder it's going to be for the kids to see the puppets. Brynn wasn't super into Jake, or Sofia either, but the whole show is so interactive. Stuff falls down from the ceiling and they blow bubbles all through the room, plus there's tons of singing. I don't thing you need to know all the shows to enjoy it.
 
Day Three: Rope Drop in California Adventure

We woke up at 7 and started our morning routine. Dressed the kids, had breakfast and went back to the room to get our back pack ready. As Brock was pulling everything out of the bag from yesterday he found the goldfish. Not just the goldfish, but the fruit snacks and pita sandwiches and basically all of the snacks that I had laid out for him to pack. He had, in fact packed them, at the very bottom of the bag and we just didn’t search hard enough for them. Groan. Ah well, lesson learned; snacks would be packed on top from here on out.
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We caught the shuttle and were in California Adventure, waiting for the individual ropes to drop before we knew it. Our plan was for Brock to get the Radiator Springs Racers fast passes while the girls and I headed in the other direction towards Anna/Elsa, Monsters Inc, etc. Brock headed toward the fast pass line and the girls and I found a shady spot on the sidewalk next to the Disney Junior Live building. We lasted about two seconds before a cast member informed us that when the rope drop happened no one on the sidewalk would be moving. He asked where we were headed, so he could show us the best place to wait. Problem is, I didn’t know. I didn’t really have a plan other than to occupy the kids until daddy showed up with passes. We planned on meeting the sisters, but I knew Brock would want to be there for that so I wasn’t going to make that our rope drop event. TOT was out of the question without daddy to stay with Brynn, so I landed on Monsters Inc. Here’s where the day sucked the most.

The cast member showed me what side of the street I needed to be on and we made our way over there. We still had about 15 minutes before park opening and there was only one family in front of me. So I thought we were in a pretty good spot. It was hot though, and we were standing in the street under direct sunlight. A mom pulled up next to me with four kiddos and only one double stroller, the kids were like 5,7,8,9. I think this mom was here with grandma and they were trying to rock this vacation outnumbered. The kids were hopping in and out of the stroller, driving each other crazy and generally acting up. Mom and grandma weren’t paying attention, they were tag teaming who would stay with the stroller and who got to go get respite in the shade. I have no jerkiness towards the family, they were all nice and I totally understand how bored the kids were and how hot the adults were; my only issue is that my kids don’t get why they can’t behave the same way. As we waited crowds were gathering on the sidewalks around us and every few minutes the cast members would make an announcement about the sidewalk people moving last at rope drop. Consequently all of the people on the sidewalk would crowd onto the street, next to, in front of and basically on top of us. Sooooooo annoying. So long story short, we’ve been standing in the same spot for 15 minutes, under direct sun, with people crowding all around us and the stroller hopping kids non stop ruckusing next to us. I’m over it. Now we have about five families in front of us, but we haven’t actually moved at all, they just crowded in. There is this family of four in front of me with a girl dressed as Belle, the mom in this family was just awful. Super bossy, and telling her family that if they didn’t follow her plan in the order she planned it than they would all suffer the consequence of an unhappy mommy. I’m done, my kids are done, they are getting whiny. Brynn wants out of the stroller, Audree wants in the stroller, they both just want to do something other than stay in the same spot forever. And me, well I want to scream and am thinking to myself that this is just the worst and that rope drop is not worth it.

Then the rope drops and we quickly make our way to the Monsters Inc ride, getting passed on both sides like it was a legit race to a grocery store before a hurricane hits. I park my stroller and get in line with the kiddos. We are maybe ten families back, but the line isn’t moving. What I didn’t know is that they do an opening show thingy with the kids for this ride. So they start calling for all of the kids in line to come to the front. They explain that in order to open the ride they need the power of the kids screams. My kiddos are ready to scream, but they also want me with them. I want to get pics anyway so I go over with my girls, effectively losing our place in line. All the kids gather up, and the cast member tells them that whoever has the best/loudest scream gets to be the kid of the day for that ride. So they get to board the ride with their family through the exit all day. Pretty cool little perk to earn huh?! My kids screamed their heads off, but to no avail. The winner was the little girl dressed as Bell with the super bossy mommy. I know I shouldn’t care, but I did. The woman had just been so rude and pushed right in front of my stroller at rope drop and was so bossy and now she was getting pixie dusted. Anyway we got in the back of the line and waited our turn to hop into a taxi. It wasn’t a long wait, maybe five minutes. The girls really liked the ride, and Daddy was waiting for us when we got out.
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We huddled up, drank some water and Brock and I exchanged stories of the jerkiness that had happened around us. He had some seriously rude Canadians in the fastpass line. We were both frustrated with our day so far, and sadly had really let other people impact our moods. It was time to get back to the reason we were here; each other. We came on this trip to spend time together as a family without the distractions of daily life. We decided to head over to the Disney Animation building where Elsa and Anna were meeting. When we had brought the kids before the sisters were still meeting in Disneyland, and you had to go first thing in the morning to get a return time for much later in the day. I had waited forty minutes with Brynn in a baby carrier strapped to my chest just to make sure Audree got to meet them like six hours later. I was very pleased that they were now meeting in an air conditioned building with tons of entertainment going on while you wait.

We only had a 15 minute wait and then we were in the room waiting our turn while other families met them. We were the last in our group and the girls were clearly getting excited as they watched the other kids hug the sisters. Then it was their turn! Warning: you are about to be over loaded with photos because this meet was so dang cute and funny. My girls curtsied for them, hugged them, hopped like frogs and, of course did “shake a butt”. Shake a butt is exactly what it sounds like, it started one night during a rinse off from bath time and has become their favorite thing to do. The sisters were cracking up, the cast members were cracking up, the other waiting families were cracking up, and Brock and I were definitely cracking up. On the way out the photo pass photographer told us that we had to be sure to meet Donald and shake tail feathers with him. The meet was just so great, it was such a great way for Brock and I to get ourselves back on track and remember that these times with our kids are irreplaceable. We didn’t really even notice any other families in a negative way the rest of the trip, and we certainly didn’t let anyone else affect us like that again!
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Audree doing a curtsy
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Audree thinking about her answer to Anna's questions about chocolate
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Brynn starting to shake her butt for royalty. Note the expression on Anna and the photographers faces.
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Audree mid-hop
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And Brynn mid-hop
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So much sass!
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Brynn shaking her butt again.
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Group hug
Next we headed over to meet Olaf. As we got in line he took a break, but came back quickly. I think we waited maybe 10 minutes, not bad at all. You could see Olaf the whole time you are in line, he’s in this weird little area in between buildings. Like they just threw up a backdrop as an after thought. Not a complaint at all, just a bit strange since Anna and Elsa have this whole regal set up. Not a lot to write home about with this meet. Olaf was fine, signed an autograph and took some pics.
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We had some time to kill so we headed over to our trusty Bugs Land area and hoped on Heimlich’s Chew Chew train again, grabbing fast passes for TOT along the way. After Heimlick we hit up Fliks Flyers and Francis Ladybug Boogie. By now we were getting hungry and still had a little time to kill before our RSR fast passes were valid. So we headed into the Pacific Wharf area and checked out our options. The kids had pita sandwiches and goldfish that we had brought along. Brock and I settled on splitting Carne Asada from Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill. It was delicious, and plentiful. We were stuffed. Brock however was having some oral pain issues. We found him some ibuprofen and prayed the pain would lessen quickly. I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally think that dental pain is some of the worse pain to deal with. I’ve given birth twice and had excruciating gall bladder attacks(which is truly the worst pain I’ve ever felt), but dental pain just has this way of becoming all consuming. It takes over as the only thing you can think of and makes it hard to concentrate on anything else.
With our fast passes for RSR valid we headed over to Carsland and Brynn fell asleep in the stroller. Brynn has this pink blanket that she goes through life with. In general it stays home unless we are taking a trip or a very long car ride. Obviously we brought it with us on the trip and after the first Disney day and having trouble getting her to nap we decided that it would absolutely be coming into the parks with us for the rest of the trip. Truth be told I have bought four of this exact same blanket just so that I’d be able to wash it, so if it got lost in the parks I still have three more. Brynn never took a binky, just this blanket, which she shoves into her mouth. I know it’s gross, but she’s a kid and frankly all kids are a little gross. The blanket brings her an enormous amount of comfort, so it was totally worth having on hand and she had no problem napping the rest of the trip because she had it. Anyway Brock took Audree on RSR and she was bouncing off the walls excited for it. She has been looking forward to riding this for a long time. We watched the you tube videos of people riding it so she would know what to expect and she felt very prepared and ready. She absolutely looooved it! While they were on the ride I sat down next to a military family who are stationed in San Diego and were on their first trip to Disneyland. The mom and I chatted for a long time and it was so nice to meet them. She told me all about the kind of discount Disney gives the military and how they made their trip work. I made sure to thank them for their service and we chatted at length about my families military service. I’m not going to go into it here, because it’s long and emotional. But suffice it to say that I have generations of service in my family including some who never made it home from their tours. So it’s very important to me to always respect our military members and their families. Okay tangent over.
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Audree came skipping up to me when she finished the ride and was anxious to get back on it. Brock had gotten us our first rider swap of the trip so I could ride with Audree. So we left daddy with the sleeping Brynn and headed off to the races. This ride is just so fun and Audree was so fun to go on it with. She just loved it and our car won so that was a plus.
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So excited!
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While I was waiting for RSR I noticed that we actually had another fastness valid too. It was time for TOT, so I texted Brock that the passes were valid and he headed over there to wait for us. Audree and I got off the ride and booked it over to TOT. We made the decision that Brock should take Audree this time, since it didn’t go so well with me the day before. I reminded him to get a rider swap again because by the time they got off our fast passes would no longer be valid and rider swap was the only way I could get on without waiting in the stand by line. So did she make it this time? Yes, barely, but yes. Brock said she was freaking out, she wouldn’t let go of him through the intro and was not too happy with the boiler room. But he kept her talking and encouraged her and they made it on the elevator. Funny thing about Audrees first ride, it was also the first ride for four other little kiddos. Brock said that three of the kids were straight up crying the whole time. She came off the ride and let me know that she had done it and is indeed a big girl but that she never wants to go on it again. Hey trying it once is all we require. Although to be honest I might try and get her on it again in a few years, when she’s older and isn’t sharing her ride with four other terrified kids.
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So obviously she wasn’t wanting to go on it again with me, but I was still pumped. I asked Brock for the rider swap pass and he got the worst look on his face, he had totally forgot to get one. By now my fast pass was long expired and that was super annoying. My husband is the best, my favorite person on the planet and he’d just gotten our daughter through a traumatizing experience, but I’d be lying to say I wasn’t annoyed with him. I had reminded him right before they got in line and this was my favorite ride. The stand by line was 30 minutes which is too long for me in general, but way too long to expect my family to sit and wait and by now Brynn was awake again. So we headed into Bugs land again and I grabbed a fast pass for TOT. The fast pass was going to be ready in 35 minutes so I got over my frustration with the hubbers pretty easily. We took a spin on the Lady bug boogie, followed by Heimlich’s train, and Flik’s Flyers. For those keeping track this brings our Heimlich total to three, believe me that number will continue to climb. By then my TOT fast pass was valid so we split up. I went on Tower and Brock took the girls underwater in a clamshell to visit Ariel. My Tower ride was awesome! It was just as great as I remembered it being. Sadly I only got to go on it the one time, I’m not exaggerating when I say that most trips I get on it six or more times, but on this trip I was grateful to ride it at least once.
After my tower ride I texted Brock and found out that they were heading towards the Carousel, so I took off for Paradise Pier. We met near the Carousel and decide that the only way we were going to do California Screaming was through the single rider line. I went first while Brock took the girls on King Tritons Carousel. I was on the ride and back to the carousel before they finished going around. Gotta love single rider, this was our first time using it for Screaming, and it was awesome how quickly we rode. Once they finished their ride we switched, Brock went to do single rider and the girls were wanting more Carousel. I was happy to oblige and started towards the entrance only to get immediately turned around by a cast member. Apparently someone had unfortunately lost their battle with lunch while riding and they closed it down for clean up. Felt so bad for whomever it was because getting sick is the worst, but throwing up in public is just so awful. I was grateful that none of us were suffering in that way, and also that my kiddo and hubby weren’t downwind of whoever had been sick.

Since we couldn’t do the Carousel again we kept on walking down to the Toy Story meet and greet area. I checked my app and it said that Buzz would be meeting soon. I wanted this meet and greet. We had gotten both Woody and Jessie’s autographs before but had never even seen Buzz. So we got in line. Not a bad wait for Buzz at all. When we got in line it was Woody meeting, then Buzz came out and they met together for a couple of guests then Woody peace out and it was all Buzz. So as it turns out Buzz is kind of an awkward meet and greet. He doesn’t sign autographs, and he doesn’t talk. His arms stick out from his sides quite a bit which makes hugs challenging. But he made up for it. Audree gave him a curtsy, so he bowed, so Brynn bowed, so Buzz bowed again, so both my girls bowed. This went on and on, they had what could only be called a bow off, and the girls bows morphed into squats and jumps. It was hysterical. We bid farewell to Buzz and continued down the Pier.
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We had really wanted to take the girls on Toy Story Mania, but weren’t sure how they’d do with the 3D glasses. It turned out that overtime we were in the area the line was 30 minutes or longer, which we just weren’t going to do with the girls. So no Toy Story this trip, which is a bummer but also just means it goes on the list for next time.

So next up for us was The Silly Symphony Swings. This was a first for Audree and she was beyond excited, she chose Brock to go on it with her. Brynn and I took some selfies and tried to spot them from the ground. They got off and Audree bounded up to me saying she had sooooo much fun and now wanted to go on it with me. The thing is, I didn’t want to go on it. I love thrill rides, but the swings freak me out. Every other ride seems so much more secure, the swings feel like you are just going to fall right off. I can’t explain it well, but yeah they freak me out. But this is my favorite five year old and she’s having the time of her life and she just discovered a new ride that she wants to share with me. So needless to say we climbed the steps and got in line. Because of her height we could only ride tandem, which was completely fine with me because that actually seemed more secure in my mind. I got her strapped in and got myself hooked in and nervously waited. No joke I was nervous, anxious, butterflies in my tummy, over the swings. We took off and my stomach flipped, just once, and then I settled in and enjoyed this ride with my amazing kiddo. She was just so happy and not the least bit fearful. We had fun trying to spot daddy and Brynn and wave to them. She was laughing her head off. It was one of those parenting moments where you are really in it and enjoying every second, but are also outside of it soaking it all in and etching it into your memory. I don’t know if that makes any sense at all, but I don’t know how else to explain it. It was magical for me.

After the swings we were ready for a ride the whole family could go on so we headed to the Golden Zephyr. We all really enjoyed the wind in our hair and got some family selfies on it. Then we split up. Brock and Audree backtracked to go on the Jumping Jellyfish whilst Brynn and I strolled down towards Grizzly River Run to pick up some World of Color fast passes. I wasn’t totally sure that fast passes would be necessary because it wasn’t very busy. Turns out they are very necessary if you want to see anything at all. Before the trip we had talked about doing a World of Color dining package, but the pricing was not justifiable for us. So we rolled the dice with a fast pass and actually ended up loving our view.
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Anyway by the time they got off the jellyfish and started heading our way we were ready for dinner. Brynn and I started heading to SmokeJumpers Grill, then Brock called. He and Audree were on their way to us, but she needed a potty, like now. You do pass like three restrooms between the Jumping Jellyfish ride and the Smokejumpers Grill, but Brock didn’t know that and I had all the park maps with me at the stroller. Anyway they made it to me in time and I took Audree in to the bathroom, where I used the post it note trick I learned on the Dis to cover the sensor for her. The post it trick is freaking genius, she loved it and referred to it as “mommies special trick” the entire trip. Saved me from a lot of anxious Audree moments! While we were already at the restrooms I decided there was no better time to change the kids into some pants and sweaters. So after Audree finished I swapped her for Brynn and got them all cozy and ready for the nighttime entertainment. We were finally ready to eat. Brock and I split a cheeseburger and had some beer, the kids rocked out some chicken nuggets and fries. Everyone was happy, Smoke Jumpers Grill was tasty and we would definitely eat there again. They had a topping bar which we made full use of, and various dipping sauces which is instant happiness for my condiment loving kiddos.
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And with that beautiful pic of the back of a toilet I will say goodbye. It won't be a long wait though, I just had too many more pics to make it one post. To be continued...
 
Day 3 cont..
At some point in the day we must have gotten a fast pass for Radiator Springs because it says we went there next, but i don’t remember when that would have happened. Anyway Brock and Audree went and did RSR while I took Brynn on Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. Brynn flipping looooooved it. She was squealing she was so delighted with the ride. I had to wedge my foot pretty hard against the corner of her side so that I didn’t ram into her but it was so worth it. We got off the ride and Audree and daddy were waiting. So we all went on Mater again, this time Brock rode with Brynn and I rode with Audree. While we waited in the five minute line the girls were so happy. They were dancing and singing, and we ended up having our own little family dance party right in the middle of the line. I couldn’t believe how awake and happy they were, I mean they are little kids and we had been going since seven that morning. Waiting for Mater dancing with each other is one of Brock and mines favorite memories from the trip. Thankfully we got some of it on video. Anyway after the four of us rode, Audree and Brock went back on it.
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Now it was time to head over to our assigned section and wait for World of Color. Brock took the girls while I ran around looking for some coffee. Coffee wasn’t to be found, but I did find Coke, popcorn, Doritos and Cotton Candy. So we were set. I met up with my family and they were in the green section I think. I’m not sure but we were all the way back on the main walkway part and closer to the fun wheel side of things. We were the first family to be in the top section, which Brock had wisely chosen to do instead of trying to cram us down into a lower level. We couldn’t have been happier with where we were, put our stroller all the way against the section rope and sat down enjoying the space. I had brought glow in the dark bracelets for the kids at the dollar store before we left, and that turned out to be an amazing way to pass the time. I think all said and done we waited 45 minutes to an hour but it flew by. We had been on our feet all day so we were really happy to sit, the kids were so good. I have to say I was floored with how good our girls were being. They were happy with their bracelets and popcorn, not whiny at all and were in such great spirits. The closer we got to showtime the more crowded our section got, but because we had been there and had our stroller strategically placed we had plenty of space.
Once the show started I did what I had planned to do all along, moved the stroller in front of me so that the family behind us could step up front by the rope and have just a good a view as we did. See I’m nice, strategic but nice!
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This was our first time seeing the show. When we had come with the kids and grandparents we never stayed to watch it, my parents had kind of seen it before and weren’t impressed. Now that I know the whole story, they weren’t impressed because they didn’t know they needed a fast pass for viewing and were told to stand but my mom absolutely can’t stand for that long so it was a crapshoot. Anyway the grandparents weren't anxious to see it, the kids were almost four and barely one, so they were ready for bed by the time it started. Plus Brock and I knew we were coming back that January and would have an entire week to see it, so we all agreed to skip it. Well unfortunately when we came back for the Half Marathon and our anniversary that January it was closed. So we had missed our chance and were pretty bummed about it, although the trade off was that Fantasmic was running every night so we did get to see that before it went down for the long haul (and Disneyland Fantasmic is hands down superior to WDW, it just is). So needless to say World of Color was a must do priority one for us this trip. So what did we think?

HOLY MOSES WE LOVED IT, IT WAS SOOOOOO GOOD! We really loved it, all four of us. The pyrotechnics were unexpected and caught us off guard every time. The music was amazing. The projections were amazing. Neil Patrick Harris was perfect. Using California Screaming and the Fun Wheel in it was awesome. The kids were in awe. Brock and I were in awe. I cried, then laughed, then stood silent with my mouth open, then cried more. I know if we had been dead center we would have been able to see even more of it, and I do understand why people pay up for the dining package to get said seating, but I’m so happy with where we were. Close enough to feel the heat, not close enough to get sprayed. The next time we go this will be a must do again, and maybe we will try to see it from the other side. Or maybe we will pony up and do a dining package. If we do though, we will bring ponchos.

Well the end of World of Color was also the end of our second full Disney Day. We managed to open and close California Adventure with basically no issues. We headed out of the park and onto the 9:30pm shuttle. It’s a 30 minute ride. So we got back to our hotel about 15 hours after we had gotten up that morning. We were wiped out! Climbed into bed, set our alarms and went to sleep, dreaming Disney dreams.


Coming up Day 4: Goofy’s Kitchen
 
Your girls' pics with the characters are so fun! I'm glad that your day was mostly great, and that you got to enjoy WOC. :) I loved when we ride Mater's at night. Our kids thought it was the best, too!
 
Sorry for the delay in posts. We had the long holiday weekend and my family got hit with a bug. But everyone is mostly better now, so I'm back...

DAY 4: Goofy's Kitchen

We got up and got the kids dressed and ready to go. Our reservations at Goofy’s Kitchen were for 9:00am, so that meant we needed to catch the first shuttle over at 8:00am. We were super nervous about our timing because the shuttle is a 30 minute ride, putting us there at 8:30am and then we would have to make it through security and walk the entire length of Downtown Disney to get to The Disneyland Hotel by 9:00am. So we knew we’d be cutting it close. We were downstairs in the lobby waiting by 7:50am. We waited and waited. Eight rolled around and there was no shuttle. We started getting a little paranoid that maybe we’d missed the shuttle, but we had been there ten minutes early and we weren’t the only family waiting. The hotel staff noticed the lateness of the shuttle and started making calls at 8:05. Brock and I were getting anxious, this breakfast was something both kids knew about and were looking forward to. Audree had mentioned it twice daily for a couple of weeks. Finally around 8:13 we decided that I would run back to the room and get the car keys, we would have to drive ourselves. As I was in the room grabbing the car keys the shuttle pulled up. Too late, we now have 45 minutes to get to Goofy’s Kitchen, we are driving. So we were already stressed a bit when we piled into the car. Our plan was to park in the same lot we did our first night when we’d gone to the Rainforest Cafe. The lot was a straight shot to the end of Downtown Disney that we wanted to be in. Then we could make our reservation, and have four hours of free parking before having to move the car. But you know what they say about best laid plans.
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Brock looking pretty annoyed waiting for the shuttle

I really don’t remember everything that happen or how it all went down. What I remember was that Brock and I were both snappy, the kids had been hastily shushed into silence and we ended up in a very long line in a parking garage watching the time tick past 9:00am. Looking at the map now I can see that we were in the Mickey and Friends parking structure. I think it cost us about $18. We followed the line of cars, paid and were guided to a spot out in the open air. We were in a far corner of the lot, meaning one spot over from the car parked in a corner. I was completely turned around, so while Brock got the stroller and the kids out of the car I went over to the closest parking attendant to find out how to get to Goofy. Turns out we were parked about as close as we could be without parking at our original planned spot. It was about a five minute walk, which isn’t bad. But we were already late, and Brock and I were very worried that they would cancel our reservations. I had tried to call the restaurant while we waited in the parking line, but that got me no where.

By the time we got to Goofy’s Kitchen and parked our stroller we were 13 minutes late for our reservation, and there was a line at check in. I hopped in line and Brock occupied the girls while we waited, prayed and hoped they’d honor our reservation. You know how when you're stressed something small becomes something huge? And five minutes legitimately feels like 29 minutes? That was me. I was stressed out waiting to check in, the guy in front of me couldn’t get his stuff together and was taking forever, and I was so sure that my kiddos would end up disappointed and not get to see Goofy. So ridiculous, really. When my turn came around I told them our last name and reservation time and started apologizing and the cast member was so easy breezy about it. She said being late was absolutely no problem at all, they would never have canceled our reservation. She said we could have been hours late, but as long as we showed up there are no issues.

She asked if we were still a table of four, and I said I wasn’t sure. Brynn is two, so you don’t have to pay admission in the parks for her. I couldn’t imagine that they would really expect us to pay $35 for her to eat. Silly me, of course they do. I handed them over a $100 gift card we had, which made the balance tolerable. We were finally all set for breakfast. I walked over to Brock and shared the great news that we were still on, and the bad news…that we were still broke. I felt such a huge sense of relief that the fiasco was over and now we could move on and really start our day. It was such a silly thing to be stressed about. In the grand scheme of life this was so utterly unimportant. If they had cancelled the reservation, so what. We would have had a much cheaper breakfast elsewhere, and the kids would have been fine. Someone please tell me I’m not the only one who stresses about stupid stuff only to realize later just how silly I was being.
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Anyway it didn’t take too long before we were meeting the head chef. Goofy was fun, the girls loved seeing him. Man, I tell ya though these type of meet and greets are like clockwork; in, hug, pat on head or other small interaction, smile for the camera, out. Not really a complaint, they have so many families to get through they have to keep it organized. After the meet you wait a little bit more, and then they lead you to your table. We were in the back of the restaurant next to a window. I took the first round and went to get the kids food first. This buffet is crazy! It is full of any and all breakfast items you can think of. Plus pizza, fried chicken, deli meats, and it goes on and on. Audree wasn’t very hungry and didn’t want to eat much, Brynn on the other hand devoured everything in sight. She had pancakes and waffles and soon many strawberries. The strawberries there were huge! Brock and I had the infamous peanut butter pizza, which was good and tastes exactly like you think it would. We also tried the Mac ’n’ Cheese pizza, which was surprisingly delicious. So much food, but as I mentioned near the beginning of the report Brock and I had been doing a portion controlled diet (21 day fix anyone?), and just did not have the ability to pack away that much food, so we definitely didn’t get our moneys worth in food. But does anyone ever get their moneys worth in food, it really is about the character interaction right?

When we were planning this trip we knew we wanted to do one character meal. We had done Ariel’s Grotto when we had brought the kids before. The Grotto was unbelievable, it was expensive and I strongly disliked my food, but Audree’s reaction to meeting the princesses was a worth every single cent. But we’d done it once, and wanted to try somewhere else. It came down to The Plaza or Goofy. The biggest appeal of The Plaza was that it gives you the chance to be in the park before it opens, which means you could get those rare empty castle pics! The downside of The Plaza is that although it has more characters than the other options, the characters are random. I read tons of reviews and trip reports and it really seemed like they just draw character names out of a hat and send them in. What do Minnie Mouse, Captain Hook, Pooh and The Fairy Godmother have in common, other than the fact that they are all Disney characters? I wasn’t too confident that my kids would know all the characters, or be excited for them. At the end of the day the Plaza didn’t have reservations early enough to see an empty park, and Goofy had a more consistent character line up.

Throughout our breakfast we met Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Pluto. All the character were fun and brought huge smiles to our girls faces. They did a little parade around the room swirling their napkins in the air. The kids enjoyed the meal, but it’s not a must do for us by any means.

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So excited just knowing that Minnie is coming!
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Once breakfast was done we saw just how much Brynn had loved her strawberries and knew that we needed to change her clothes. So I took both kiddos into the bathroom to change while Daddy got the stroller and found some ibuprofen to take because his tooth had started bothering him again during breakfast. After we got cleaned up we headed to Starbucks and then on to Disneyland. It was about 10:30 by the time we hit Main Street. So all in all breakfast had been about an hour, not too bad.

First stop was the carousel for Audree, Brynn and Brock while I headed into Tomorrowland to get some fast passes. This is the day that it really occurred to us how to use fast pass and rider swap to our advantage. Heading up to Space fast pass distribution I realized that the rider swap was good for up to three people, which means that I only have to have one fast pass to cover all three of us. For example if we get one fast pass for Space then I can use it, get a rider swap pass, which Brock can then redeem immediately for he and Audree to both go on Space. By doing it this way we could have fast passes for three different attractions at once, although we never did because neither of us liked going by ourselves while the rest of the family waited and most of the rides we got passes for Audree wanted to ride twice in a row anyway. Also, if you want to get technical about it the rider swap passes are good for anytime of day, so we didn’t have to use them right away as long as we used them the same day we got them. So we could end up with a pile of rider swap passes by the end of the day. Armed with this new knowledge I grabbed one fast pass for Space Mountain and two for Star Tours, because Audree would probably want to go on twice. Then headed into Fantasyland to meet my family.
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As I watched them go around the carousel I noticed that Peter Pan was greeting behind me. So I grabbed his autograph page and we headed there next. I think we waited ten minutes or so for Pan, there was a large group of twenty something woman and their mothers all in cosplay. The group was insistent on getting individual pics, pair pics, and group pics. Peter was really great with them. He was equally great with my girls. They got hugs and his autograph and talked about Neverland and Tinkerbell. This Pan was awesome, but I couldn’t believe the giant smile he had plastered on his face, his facial muscles must be so sore at the end of his shift.
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After Peter we headed over to Dumbo, which was quickly becoming Brynn’s favorite ride. Brynn and I shared a yellow elephant and enjoyed the ride. By now Brynn was really getting the hang of the lines. She was understanding that everyone gets a turn and that we have to wait for our turn. When we got off the ride I couldn’t find Brock and Audree anywhere. I was completely confused and heading back to the stroller when Brock texted me that they had spotted Captain Hook meeting while we were on Dumbo. So I grabbed his autograph page and Brynn and I strolled on over. Audree greeted Hook with a healthy ARRRGH and her index finger hooked. He played along nicely. They hugged, he signed his autograph and we took some pictures. Not a huge meet and greet, but definitely a good one. Audree was pretty excited to have met him and very proud of herself for acting like a pirate with him.

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Our Star Tours fast pass was available, and Brynn was getting sleeping. I gave Brynn her coveted pink blanket and got her settled into the stroller while Audree and Brock went on Star Tours. It was a hit again, so Audree went right back on it with me and loved it again. We had a few minutes of downtime while we figured out what to do next. The stormtroopers were out and about in Tomorrowland which Audree was super excited about. She was saluting them, it was hilarious.

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We decided we were done with Tomorrowland for now. Quick side note I have to say that although I am on board with the Star Wars presence in the park it made Tomorrowland a madhouse. You could not walk freely, ever. It was like a cross between dodge ball and red rover every time you tried to get into Tomorrowland. It wasn’t like this when Brock and I had come in January 2015 for the Star Wars Half Marathon. But the new movie has definitely brought about a whole new audience, and I doubt the popularity will slow down anytime soon. I’m hoping that the Star Wars land takes some pressure off or Tomorrowland when it debuts.

Anyway, we decided to split up. Brock volunteered to walk Brynn around in the stroller, which gave him a chance to get some more coffee. I had big plans for Audree and I. I love Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and it was on the list of rides that she had to try, so it was the logical next choice. We hiked all the way across the park to BTMRR, and found a ten minute wait, which was more like five minutes. I was so excited, Audree was not. We had watched a video of the ride on you tube before we went on the trip so that she would know what to expect. She wasn't excited about it, but she wasn’t terrified either which is fine with me. I reassured her about how brave she is, and tried telling her about all the different animals that are on the ride; turtles and the goat. Long story short we went on it and she survived. I loved it, especially to explosion at the end, she didn’t cry or anything but made it clear that she wouldn’t be going on that ride again.

Brock had asked if we could pick up fast passes for Splash Mountain so that’s where we headed next. This is another ride that we had showed her on you tube before the trip and she was actually excited to go on it. So I got two fast passes in case she wanted to ride back to back. Next we headed over to New Orleans to get some Beignets, and a mint Julep. I had never had either treat before and they were on my list of things I wanted to try this trip. While we waited in line Audree could not stop staring at the people behind us. It was three friends in there younger twenties and they all had bought light sabers. We had told the kids they could pick one souvenir out on this trip and seeing those light sabers had made up her mind. We asked the people if there was anyway they would let her hold one, and they were so nice. They all readily offered up their sabers, and she was one happy camper. I took a picture and sent it to Brock and thats all its took for him to be completely on board with her getting a saber of her own.

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Making our way through Adventureland I heard some interesting noises and got suspicious and excited. They had opened up Indiana Jones, it had been down for refurb our whole trip and wasn’t supposed to open until our last day. But here it was open, and obviously the word hadn’t spread yet. So we detoured into fast pass distribution and I got one fast pass which we would turn into a rider swap later. I was feeling pretty excited and proud of all Audree and I had accomplished. We headed back to Tomorrowland to meet up with Brock and Brynn.

While Audree and I had been frolicking all over the park Brynn had woken up from her nap, and asked Dad for horses. So Brock happily took her on the carousel, followed by a spin on the tea cups.

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That's all I've got for now, but more of our day to come, very soon. Stay tuned
 
When we left off we were split up and working away towards Tomorrowland...

After we met up Brock took his fast pass and headed over to Space Mountain while I stayed with the girls. Tomorrowland was getting really crowded so we tucked ourselves away by Star Traders and the girls split the stroller. Then they both got hit with a bad case of the giggles. They were cracking each other up, which was cracking me up. And I took some of my favorite pics of the whole trip. Brock came back from his Hyperspace journey and handed me the rider swap. I took my turn and tried to hand that rider swap pass in and they just waved me through. So I tried to hand it to the next cast member I saw and he told me to hand it in before loading. So finally I’m at the loading area and I hand it to the cast member and she looks at me and says “oh, you need a rider swap?” I explain to her that no I am using the rider swap. Long story short someone had messed up and given Brock the wrong pass, so they thought that I still needed a swap pass. I clarified that he had already ridden and I was just redeeming the swap. Then they basically told me that they were going to give me another swap just for being so honest. Um, okay thanks!

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One of my absolute favorite pictures of them ever!

While I was on Hyperspace Mountain Brock took the girls on Alice in Wonderland. They all loved it, and I was a little jealous because I have never been on it. After their trip to Wonderland we noticed that we were pretty close to where Mary and Bert were greeting and we were fortunate enough to be the last family allowed in line. This was so interesting because being the last family meant that we had optimal eaves dropping on all the people who came up after us and were turned away. Some of these people were snarky and some were just downright rude. The cast member guarding the end of the line and having to turn people away handled it so well. I don’t know if Mary and Bert are a rare meet or what but people were all out of sorts to not be allowed in line.

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Waiting in line

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I have no idea what was so funny, but clearly something tickled my fancy.


This meet was great! Brynn doesn’t really know the movie all that well, but she still loved meeting them. She hopped for Mary and shook her butt. Mary asked her if she liked to step in time and Brynn immediately stomped, it was great. Audree spent most of the meet talking to Bert and singing with him and for him. They were both so attentive to our girls and interactive with them. Oh, and the accents were on point. The signed autographs and took some wonderful pics and bid us adieu. Meanwhile one of the families that had been turned away decided to out smart the cast member and go around the other side. It didn’t work and they were inappropriate in their response. Poor cast members, they really have to deal with all kinds of nuts.

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Brynn showing Mary the butterfly on her shirt. And Bert and Audree having a staring contest.

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Look at those happy girls, so cute!

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I cannot handle Brynn's face here! She kills me with her expressions!

After Mary and Bert we headed over to Adventureland because our Indy fast pass was ready! Brock took the first ride through making sure to get a rider swap for me, while I took the girls down to ride Winnie the Pooh. This was strategic because it was right across from Splash Mountain and those fast passes were rapidly approaching. The girls loved Winnie the Pooh so much that Brynn and I went on it again while Brock and Audree tackled Splash Mountain. Audree loved the inside of Splash Mountain, but hated the drop and had zero interest in riding again.

It was starting to get late and we knew we’d need to find a spot for the parade at least an hour beforehand, so I took the girls to the potty and got them changed into warmer clothes. We started heading towards Main Street via Adventureland. I stayed behind to take my turn on Indy while Brock and the girls went to Main Street to find a viewing spot. Indy was outstanding, truly. I’m a huge fan of the movies and of the ride. It will never make sense to me why people compare it to Dinosaur in WDW. Dinosaur may have a similar track, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Indy. Indy has a better plot and amazing effects, I could go on and on. Plus since I was riding it the day it came back from a refurb I felt like this was the best I’d ever seen it look, all the effects were working and it was crisp! Brock said he had thought the same thing, that it had never looked so good. Clearly the word had gotten out via social media because the lines were insane for a ride that was still scheduled to be closed. Little did I know that while I was enjoying myself tremendously on Indy, Brock was hating life on Main Street.

When I got off the ride and had a cell signal again I saw that Brock had been texting me like crazy. I called him and he was just so frustrated. An hour ahead of time hadn’t been long enough apparently. He had found curb seating, but it was on a corner and the cast members told him that no one would be allowed to sit there because it is a blind spot for the floats. They had already put up ropes on Mainstream and they told him he, and our girls would have to be between the two ropes if they wanted to view it from the corner. The space between the two ropes was the same width as my husbands shoulders, not exactly the most comfortable place to stand. But they told him that in order for him to stand there he would really need to claim it now, because once the parade starts he would be crowded out if he were sitting on the corner curb. So that’s where I found him, on a corner pissed off.

He was at the point where he wanted to say forget it all and just go back to the hotel. But tonight was our last chance to see the parade and fireworks, and as I mentioned earlier we have missed so many Disney fireworks due to circumstance in the past. Now I know my husband better than anyone and I know that he loves fireworks more than most other forms of celebration and he thinks Disney does fireworks better than anyone. So I got him calmed down and volunteered to try and find us somewhere else to sit.

I started walking the curb down towards the exit and I noticed the benches up above the stairs at the train station. There was a cast member there guarding the stairs, and he had no idea what was going on. He wasn’t going to stop me from going up the stairs, but he couldn’t tell me for sure if I would be allowed to view from there or not. He thought there might be some VIP’s coming, but he didn’t know. So basically I could go up and sit on the nice empty bench with my family, but I might get kicked out and have no where to view it from. I was feeling a little defeated when I turned around and noticed that there was about a three foot section of empty curb between a bench (that was taken) and a guys backpack. I asked the people on the bench and the backpack guy if they were saving the section and mercifully they both said no. So I called Brock and told him to scurry on over asap. He couldn’t actually believe I’d managed to find somewhere we could all sit and enjoy the parade, but I did. He was still a bit jank from the experience so I gave him the Hyperspace Mountain rider swap that we had left and told him to have a great time. The plan was that he would ride it, grab some corndogs and come back. He had a blast on Hyperspace Mountain, but the line for the Corndogs was insane. I told him we’d just grab something on the way home and he joined us back on the curb. I pulled out some cookies I’d bought earlier and goldfish and we settled in.

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Once again the girls were awesome. I gave them some glow in the dark wands I got from the dollar store and they were happy clams. Then the parade started and oh my goodness. I have never seen Audree this excited in her whole life! To say the parade was a hit is a huge understatement. At one point she was yelling “Mommy look, LOOK!”. This kid is not a yeller, I have never seen her like this and it was awesome. Brynn loved it too, and I had to keep a firm arm around her waist to keep her from getting up and trying to join in. I can only recall sitting through one entire Disney parade in my life, they just have never been my thing, but I see many more in our future. Warning: super unprofessional parade pics to follow.

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I know this is super blurry, but this is Audree waving her face off at Cinderella. Cinderella is Audree's favorite princess!

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The fireworks follows almost immediately after the parade, so we made our way towards the middle of main street. We didn’t get to see all of the projections, but the ones we saw were awesome. This show was fantastic, we really loved it. I cried at a couple different spots, the kids loved it, Brock loved it. We had considered doing a dining package for this show, but again found it too expensive. Well, if it’s still running the next time we go, I think we will pony up for it.

After the show we just sort of sat and hung out on the benches by the flag pole relaxing and letting the crowd thin. It was so nice to just sit there and relax with my family and soak in the atmosphere of Main Street. After twenty minutes or so we ventured out of the park and towards DownTown Disney to get to the car. Downtown was a madhouse, we were glad to have the glider board then because it allowed us to have both of our kids in/on the stroller in the midst of a huge crowd. As we walked I came up with the idea of grabbing some Earl of sandwich for Brock and I. We got a holiday turkey, which is our absolute favorite and a Hawaiian BBQ, which was a new one for us. The kids had peanut butter sandwiches on pitas that I had packed for them. We drove back to the hotel, sandwiches in hand, and got ready to do some packing.

And then things got bad. Brock had maybe two bites of sandwich and was in instant and excruciating mouth pain. This tooth was determined to ruin his night. I got the kids tucked in, ate my sandwich and started packing. The next day was our last day in the parks and also our first travel day back home. I was packing as much as I could in hopes that we would have an easier morning. But my poor husband was in horrible pain. He had taken ibuprofen, but it wasn’t touching his pain level at all. He was just laying there in agony. Finally the combo of exhaustion and pain put him to sleep. I did a bit more packing and then hit the hay as well.


Coming up, Our last Disney Day
 

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