Disneyland

We love Disneyland! We talked about and planned this trip for over a year. Almost daily the kids would want to talk about Disneyland and the rides. Or would go on the computer and pull up the virtual maps and go and look at all the rides. We had so much fun! There were of course the usual meltdowns, but the good far outweighed the bad.

I thought for sure with 4 days at the park we would have more than enough time to fit all the rides in multiple times. No such luck. Even with 4 days, we didn't get to everything. I think with that many people and that many kids, it forces you to have a slower pace. Which isn't always a bad thing.

It's a tough call to say what the kid's favorite rides were. Carson loved Buzz Lightyear astro blaster, I know he went on it over 10 times. Brynnley loved Big Thunder Mountain railroad. She wanted to go on it over and over. McKay, I'm not sure he really loved any of the rides. Most rides he would start to cry when we were getting on and then would settle down in the ride. I think he liked Winnie the Pooh and Small World.

The Ford's were nice enough to give the couple a little date night as well. I have to admit, it was a lot of fun and a lot less stressful to go on some of the rides with out kids and navigating a stroller. They picked up some dinner for the kids and watched them so the couples could go out. We decided instead of wasting time on dinner to ride as many rides as we wanted to and grab a quick dinner on the way out. We rode all the adult rides the kids were terrified to ride. We even rode Tower of Terror twice, no thanks to my insisting "we don't ride it twice". We walked right on the second time and had an entire car to ourselves. Don't worry I made up for all the screaming all on my own. It was a lot of fun and we made some great memories.

We also did a character breakfast on the super rainy day. I will admit it was nice to have somewhere warm and dry for a few hours. Carson loved it (that was a little surprising because he use to be terrified of the characters), he had been talking for weeks about getting Mickey waffles. Brynnley cried for most of the time (also surprising because she usually isn't my scared one, and I didn't think she was scared of the characters). McKay tolerated it. He liked seeing the characters from a distance, but when they came and touched him he started bawling. It was a lot of fun and we got to see some fun characters.

 

We had such a fun trip. It truly was a magical time. I look forward to Disney trips so much. I know it's going to be hard, I know I need to have a crazy amount of patience, and I know there will be crying and meltdowns. But for our family it truly is a magical place. I love nothing more than seeing Carson's face light up as he walks hand in hand with his Grandpa from ride to ride. I love seeing Brynnley with literal stars in her eyes when she saw the castle. I loved being able to take McKay on some of the fun rides, and I REALLY loved not having to think about Doctor's appointments or therapy for a week. It was a magical vacation! Thank you to the Ford's for providing such wonderful memories for our family. We'll see you again soon Disney, hopefully very soon!