So once again, I am a little behind in events that have happened. Once being my sons 5th birthday. To this day Ethan and Addison are still talking about the events of this 5th birthday. Yes, they love cake and ice-cream. They love having everyone sing Happy Birthday to them and then blowing out the candles but this 5th birthday was even better because Pappi and Grammy took them to Disneyland. I know what your thinking and no, my kids are not spoiled. Okay, maybe a little. So the next little bit will be what my memory remembers of our Disneyland trip and recording it because eventually I will forget the details.
Ethan and Addison knew about this
trip a few months in advance and boy where they ever excited. Everyday,
practically, they woke up asking if it was the day we were going to Disneyland.
They always got the same answer until February 24th, when Mommy surprised them
and told them, yes, when Daddy got home we were heading to Disneyland. We left
late Monday night when Pappi, Grammy and Daddy got off work and drove all the
way to Anaheim, California. We got there around midnight and of course we were
very tired. We stayed at the Pepper Tree Hotel, which when we drove up and in
the parking lot Matthew and I were a little worried. It seemed run down and
scary, but we kept telling ourselves that it was dark outside, we were tired
and maybe a little grumpy. Our opinion changed though, when we got to our room.
It was nice and spacious. We had to Queen beds, a little living room, a kitchen
with a microwave, fridge, sink, cupboards with plates and utensils and of
course a small bathroom. It was very enjoyable even though the only thing we
did was sleep in the room. Of course, the rest of our waking hours we were at a
fun big place called Disneyland. This is were the really fun of Ethan 5th
birthday begins....
Disneyland Day One:
Since we got
there a little late we did sleep in a little. Disneyland didn't open tell ten
a.m. so the kids had time to sleep and have a hotel breakfast in front of the
Disney channel. When we got to Disneyland, parked and waited in line for
elevators. We got to ride our first ride of the day. The tram. Then you
have to go through a security check and then another line to either Disneyland
or California Adventures where you give the tickets, get your picture taken and
all the really fun stuff. Then we get to the most boring part (as Izzy
says in Jake and the Neverland Pirates) Hey, Hey No Way!!! The fun then begins.
We went to Disneyland on the first day and after getting past the entrance line
with the tickets, your mind is blown away. You enter Disneyland to a town that
has gifts shops, Disney characters, and other employs out to greet you. You
feel like you are in a parade and your the main attraction of the parade. It's
amazing. Then as you keep walking on you start to spot the rides. Now the
tricky part. Which rides to go on, which way to go and only so many hours to do
it in. Of course, we take a few minutes pulled out our maps, (or some of us
pulled out our I-Phones) to plot our course of rides. I feel the best way to
put down what rides we hit is in a list. Otherwise this post will be
ridiculously long, if it's not already, boring and confusing.
Rides we
hit :
New Orleans Square:
- Pirates of the Caribbean
Adventureland:
- Tarzan's Treehouse
- Enchanted Tiki Room
- Jungle Cruize
- Indiana Jones Adventure
Pappi and Grammy took Ethan and
Addison to the Tarzan Treehouse, Enchanted Tiki Room and Jungle Cruize while
Matthew and I went on the Indiana Jones Adventure. The kids were able to go on
all those rides because there lines were shorter and our ride had a ten to
fifteen minute delay while we where in line. It sounds like in the end though,
we all had just as much fun on our rides
Fantasyland:
- Pinocchio's Daring Journey
- Snow White's Scary Adventures
- King Arthur Carrousel
- Casey Jr. Circus Train
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Matterhorn Bobsleds
Addison loved King Arthur Carrousel
and Dumbo the Flying Elephant that we rode them a few times that day. Ethan
loved the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Addison fell asleep while standing in line at
Peter Pan's Flight and was so tired that she slept on the whole ride. So we
went back later and did it again for her. She went with Pappi and Grammy and
they said she loved that ride, especially the stars.
New Orleans Square:
- Haunted Mansion
Just before Disneyland closed Pappi,
Grammy and Ethan wanted to go ride Haunted Mansion. I promised Addison though,
that she could ride King Arthur Carrousel and Dumbo Flying Elephant one more
time. Daddy was watching the Disney parade, since he can't handle those rides.
So they went to Hanted Mansion and we were to find Matthew and met up with
them. Mommy fulfilled her promise to Addison. We found Daddy, who loved the
parade and we went to Haunted Mansion and waited for the rest of the gang. They
were in their a long time and we did worry that we missed them coming out.
There ride had a delay while they were on it and Pappi said that Ethan had a
death grip on his arm during the ride. It sounds like it was a little scary,
especially something about spiders.
Day Two California Adventures:
Rides we hit:
Hollywood Land:
- Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue
- Disney's Aladdin-A Musical Spectacular
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Everyone loved Monsters, Inc. ride. As soon as we got out we noticed that we
were not to far from Aladdin Musical that was going to start in five minutes.
So we hurried and parked the stroller, climbed what seemed like a thousand
stairs and found seats just before it started. The kids (and maybe the adults),
j.k. especially the adults loved it. My favorite was the Genie and his humor. I
think the kids loved the snake and flying carpet. Matthew loved everything but
the Genie humor.
Right after Aladdin we went to the ride that Ethan had been begging to ride
since we looked at the Disney website before the trip. The Tower of Terror. All
morning he kept asking if we were almost to the Tower of Terror. So Pappi,
Grammy, Mommy and Ethan stood in line at the Tower of Terror. While Daddy and
Addison went to A Bug's Land. Ethan thought it was cool that you watched a
movie before the ride and then you seat belted in for the ride. I kept looking
over during the ride to see if he was okay and sure enough he had his eyes
closed and a death grip on the rails next to him. After the ride he said,
"Let's not do that ride again." I told him that was okay, Daddy
doesn't like rides like that either. Then Ethan said, "Even when I'm
older, were not doing that ride again." That made me laugh out loud. I
have to say even after a ride like that Ethan was a good trooper and kept
riding all the rides he could get on anyway.
"a bug's land":
- Francis' Ladybug Boogie
- Flik's Flyers
- Heimlich's Chew Chew Train
Out of all the rides we rode this
place was Addison all time favorite and it is were Mommy and Addison spent most
of their time that day. Her favorite was Flik's Flyer (also known by Addison as
the cookie ride). Her other favorite ride was Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. I'm
not kidding when we say we rode on this rides a lot. We rode them so much, she could
tell us what food was coming up on the train and what he was going to say
next.
Cars Land:
- Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
- Luigi's Flying Tires
- Radiator Springs Racers
Big time shocker. Ethan's favorite
ride was Radiator Springs Racers. We rode this ride as many times as we
could. Thank goodness California Adventure lets you get swap passes. If they
see you have a child under age for rides then they will give you a swap pass
that allows you to go in a shorter line for the person who stays out with that child
and two other people. Since Addison was to little we took advantage of this
pass and Ethan was able to ride the Radiator Springs Racers a few times with
everyone tall enough in the family.
Grizzly Peak:
- Grizzly River Run
This seemed to be Pappi's favorite
ride of all. The first time they went it was Daddy, Pappi, Grammy and Ethan who
got a nice shower. It seemed like they had fun but afterwards Ethan was a
little cold since it was a little later in the evening when they got wet.
Paradise Pier:
- The Little Mermaid- Ariel's Undersea Adventure
- World of Color
Another ride that we went on a lot. Maybe even more than A Bugs Life was The
Little Mermaid. It is a fun ride that takes you through scenes of the movie but
the reason we went a lot is this ride has no lines at all. So you could get
right off the ride and go right back in.
To
end day two we were lucky to see World of Color. While the kids and I were on
The Little Mermaid ride again, someone gave Pappi and Grammy three tickets to
World of Color that they said were extra. So Matthew, Ethan, Addison and I were
able to get a little closer to see the World of Color. It was fun to hear the
music of different Disney shows with lighted water dancing. You even saw movie
clips in the water. We were even close enough to get sprayed by the water a
little and they had a part where there was fire and we felt like we were almost
on fire it was so hot. The kids loved it. So did Daddy and Mommy but it would
have been even better if were weren't trying to lift two kids over your
shoulder so they could see the water.
The Lego Store
Even though at the end of the day, when we were all
exhausted we had to go to The Lego Store. The one and only thing that I heard
all day long from Ethan is can we go to the lego store? Are the rides done so
we can go to the lego store? I want to go to the lego store. Can we go to the
lego store after this ride? Finally I told him after we saw the colored lights,
then we would go to the lego store. So after the color lights, what's the first
question I get. IS IT FINALLY TIME TO GO TO THE LEGO STORE. Of
course, I told him that we were all to tired and Addison went to sleep in the
stroller, maybe tomorrow (with a joking smile and wink) and with a exasperated
MOM, we went to the lego store.
Did I mention
that Ethan loves, loves, loves legos. I don't think he knew what to do when we
entered the lego store. What made it even better was that they had a life size
lego statue of his current favorite super hero. The Hulk. If we could afford
and fit Hulk in the car, then we would have been taking him home. Instead we
got the next best thing. Many pictures of Ethan and Hulk. In some of them he is
doing the Hulk Smash.
Day Three Mix Cali-Dis:
Today
was the day we were going to do the Magic Morning, where you get to get into
(we thought) California Adventures and Disneyland early. Our morning didn't go
as smooth though. Pappi and I accidentally mixed up out tickets.
Pappi and Grammy had to drop Macee (the family dog) off at Rachel's house. So I
couldn't get in until Pappi and Grammy were there. Not a big deal because we
just wanted to get there early so Ethan could ride the Radiator Race as many
times as he could before it got busy. So we decided that Matthew and Ethan
would enter early while Addison and I went browsing Downtown Disney District
shops. In the end Matthew and Ethan were just a couple minutes late to get into
the early morning rides, so they ended up joining Addison in I in our shopping.
Because of this delay Addison got Izzy (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates)
stuffed animal. Not that Daddy wasn't planning on getting the kids souvenirs
anyway. And Izzy (which would be called Cubby every so often) went on all the
rides with Addison for the day.
California Fun and Repeats:
- Radiator Springs Racers
- King Triton's Carousel
- Toy Story Midway Mania!
- Goofy's Sky School
- The Little Mermaid- Ariel's Undersea Adventure
- Grizzly River Run
- Francis' Ladybug Boogie
- Heimlich's Chew Chew Train
- Flik's Flyers
Disneyland Ending:
- Star Tours- The Adventure Continue
On the
third and last day of Disneyland/California (also Ethan's real birthday) we try
to hit all the favorite rides again. Of course, Radiator Springs Racers and A
Bugs Life rides. Then, just as we decided to be done and hit a few more other
rides before we left for the day we met up with Steven, Rachel, Dexter and
Adele. It was so much fun and Ethan loved having his cousin Dexter, who is
about the same age, with them. I have to say they get in a little more mischief
together. Typical boys.
So
everyone but Rachel, Adele, Addison and myself went to ride Goofy's Sky School.
Our group went to ride King Triton's Carousel and another shock, the girls
loved it so much that we rode it three times in a row. Then we met up with the
gang and went to Toy Story Midway Mania!
This ride
you are playing a 3D video game. I was surprised that Addison was allowed to
ride this ride but this was probably her least favorite because the glasses
were to big for her face so they fell off. She was to little to use the
controllers to play the game. So all she did was sit between Daddy and Mommy
and got whipped around to different games that probably looked weird. I have
awesome kids though and she sat through it anyway.
Just before ending the day, we quickly went on Grizzly River Run since Pappi
likes it so much and so Mommy could have a chance to get wet. Then we hurried
over to Disneyland to ride Star Tours. We couldn't possible leave Disneyland
without going to Star Tours with our Daddy. He has been wanting to start
introducing Star Wars to Ethan and what better way than in a ride. Addison was
asleep as this point and Mommy wasn't feeling the best this day. So Addison and
I sat out while everyone else went to Star Tours. It sounds like it was a great
ride to end on.
As we were
leaving we had to make another stop to The Lego store....again. We know he
liked the rides a lot but honestly if all they had was the Lego Store, he would
not have been disappointed. This time, we went to the Lego store and Pappi and
Grammy did the spoiling and get Ethan a couple of lego sets for his
birthday/souvenir. Later I found out that Pappi and Grammy also got Addison a
Little Mermaid Dress-up Fashion Doll set for her souvenir. So she was happily
spoiled a little to. Daddy couldn't resist getting a little souvenir and
purchased the new Thor movie that came out. Mommy's souvenir was the best of
all. All these pictures of my family and I enjoying our sons 5th Disneyland
birthday.
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