Disney Day 3

As we entered Disneyland on Day 3 we stopped briefly for an obligatory picture in front of the entrance.  Too bad half of us can’t handle having the sun shining in our eyes :)

There were several characters along Main Street so we sent a few of us off to get fast passes while the rest of us stayed back to meet some characters.

I brought along the Mickey Mouse costume that Drew wore for Halloween with high hopes of getting an adorable picture with the real deal.  Unfortunately the lighting was terrible.

And with Pluto…

Then it was onto the rides…

Drew enjoying a cracker while we waited in line for Autotopia

My three oldest were tall enough to drive their own vehicles.

Crazy to think that next time we visit Disneyland Abigail will likely have a REAL license!

Thankfully this little guy will be sitting in the passenger seat for a long, long time.

Katie was excited to ride with Aunt Tami

I wanted to catch Toontown before Drew took a nap.  We visited a bit with Goofy…

Then we decided we’d better take a group shot while everyone was there (and awake)

On our way over to California Adventures Katie and Carly paused for a photo opp with Ariel.

Apparently the kids didn’t get wet enough the day before cause the they headed straight to the Grizzly Rapids.

The kids spent a little time in the playground area. 

A few final rides before the park closed

Disney Day 2

Our second day was spent enjoying California Adventures.  We beelined it to my favorite ride – Toy Story Mania.  Hallie surprised us by being a strong contender for scoring the most points during the week, but I held strong in first place until the last possible attempt in which Tami inched past my high score.  Might I add, she did so by riding multiple times in a row using a rider swap from my baby.  

I believe Katie did well enough to even beat out Grandpa.

The big kids probably rode on the Screamer a dozen times during the week.  Which meant Katie and Drew rode the carousel quite a few times as well.

This was our first visit with the new Cars Land open – super awesome!  I love how Disney can transport you into an whole new world.

By the time we made it around to Grizzly Bear Rapids it was getting much cooler, but the kids were determined to ride, and then ride again, and then ride again...

Other pictures throughout the day...

Excited to ride Monsters, Inc. with Haden

This next picture is what happens when you use your flash with a lens hood – who knew?

  

Ah, this one of the grandkids is much better

Ok, just one more character encounter as we head out of the park 

Disney Day 1

We planned our trip so that we would be in Disneyland when it was decorated for Christmas, but before the holiday crowds arrived.  The timing was perfect.  We had great sunny weather and the lines were very tolerable.

Even though our tickets had been purchased in advance it still look the agent FOREVER to get them all printed out and even then he mixed up some of the names.  While we tried to wait patiently Grandma kept the kids from going crazy by passing out fruit snacks.  Oh, how we relied on Grandma’s fruit snacks during the next few days.  Drew did awesome all week.  Content in his stroller.  Napped in his stroller everyday without any crying or screaming.  But he’s not a kid that likes to stand around so it was a challenge when we needed him to stay put while waiting in lines.  Fruit snacks.  Thank heavens for fruit snacks and family that tried to help us keep him occupied.

We decided our first ride should be one that usually has a long line so we headed to Peter Pan.

Katie loved picking out who she would ride on a ride with.  She would stand right by them in line.  She’d hold their hand.  It was so cute watching her get so excited about it.  She had a very strong preference for going with Grandma and/or Grandpa or anyone in the Baumgartner family.

Katie had really been looking forward to the teacups and even after all five days of Disneyland still claims it as her favorite.

You probably can’t tell, but that’s everyone riding Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We fully utilized the rider swap passes whenever Drew was too little to go on the rides. 

I wanted Drew to see a character before he took his nap so we headed down to the Winnie the Pooh area.  No Pooh, but Eeyore and Tigger were there!  Drew was hilarious!  He giggled and giggled with excitement – so adorable! 

I posted this next picture on Instagram without even noticing that Katie had her arms around Tigger’s leg.  So fun to still have some kiddos who would get so excited to see characters!

I don’t think spending five days at Disneyland is at the top of Grandpa’s vacation wish list, but he knows how fun it is for his grandkids and he enjoys watching them have a blast.  We are so grateful to him for providing our family this experience – again!  Disneyland is exhausting so you gotta rest when you can.

This would be a good place to point out that Katie went on every single ride that she was tall enough to ride and she’d have gone on the Screamer and Indiana Jones in a heartbeat.  That doesn’t mean she loved them all, but she willingly tried everything.  The few she didn’t like were Space Mountain and Tower of Terror. She still went on Space Mountain 2-3 times during the week, but clearly she wasn’t as comfortable as the rest of us.

I think Katie and I were the only ones to ride Dumbo all week!

Grandpa returned about an hour before closing with a delicious Chick-fil-a delivery for dinner and to provide rides back to the hotel for those who were ready to call it a night.  

These five stayed to close down the park (not difficult when it closed at 8pm each night ;))

And thus ended Disney Day 1…