Wednesday afternoon, we jumped into the packed van and set out for California.
After making a few stops along the way and hitting a bit of rush hour traffic... we made it... It was a little hard for the kids since this was their first trip that lasted more than just a few hours. Lucky for us, Tracelyn took her nap for some of the time ;) This is how Charlie and I looked after we crashed onto the bed at the hotel
We were really close to the park... we could see the California Adventure Pier rollercoaster from our balcony and could hear the screams each time they went down the big drop ;)
We liked how our room was divided into two rooms and the kids could have a bunkbed area... they LOVED it ;)
back of Tower of Terror
The two sections were divided by a barn door
We rested up for the rest of the night and watched the firework show from our balcony before heading to bed... we had an early start the next morning ;)
We woke up, had breakfast with tons of other people at the hotel that were waiting to go to the park too, and walked the few minutes up to the gate. We made it there a few minutes after 8, which was when the park opened.
Here's Tris in front of the Haunted Mansion... she didn't want to go in but Taig and Dad went
I had been planning for a few weeks before the trip with a book and app that would allow us to set up a route to do the most things without having to wait in line as long. It laid everything out... how far the walk was between the rides or shows, how long we would have to stay in line, and how long the ride was.... BUT it didn't anticipate so many of the rides being shut down or closed for a few hours to fix... that was frustrating and it pretty much threw all the work I did out the window... YES, I know I'm super Type A, but I wanted to make the best day that I could out of it since we were only spending a day in each part.... needless to say, the schedule got mostly thrown out the window and caused a lot of huff & puff from some... I won't mention names ;)
I love this picture! LOL Tris was planning on making a cool pose or at least holding her hands up, but I think the drop was more than she thought it would be ;)
Taigyn looks scared but she went on it twice with dad... I love how he's hanging on to her
While Taigyn and Dad went on their second round of Splash Mountain, Tracelyn and Tris got to meet Tinkerbell
We brought autograph books and the girls got all of the characters we saw to sign their books
We stood in line for a LONG time to see Minnie's house and meet Minnie
Geek ;)
Right when we got to the front of the line, Minnie had to go check on her cheesecake.... we waited for her to come and giggled at how tiny she was...
When she came back she was a foot taller... crazy ;)
Minnie LOVED Tracelyn
Tracelyn hated standing in line for this ride but loved the ride itself ;)
Sometimes in the park, you'll see a princess in a random spot and there won't be a huge line because she isn't where she usually is... this happened with Ariel... kids got off the Dumbo ride and got to meet her right away... Tracelyn doesn't look at the camera much ;) and her pose LOL Too cute!
We initially planned to go back to the hotel for naps and resting but since she fell asleep in the stroller, we just kept going.
Tom Sawyer's Island was a nice break away from all the crowds... I just hated how they crammed us all like sardines onto the ferry to get over there
Hey, she's looking! LOL
This year was the 60th year celebration...
LOL
By far, my favorite part was the parades and shows... We didn't get any pics at the night ones and those were the Best! Fantasmic and the fireworks were AWESOME!!!
We were there for 14 hours straight, and I'll be honest, I was cursing Disneyland and saying how much I hated it there under my breath... it was too long for me, but I hope the kids at least had fun... it was all about them anyway
Next time, we will go when we don't have to push two strollers around (yes, Taigyn would have cried and complained the whole time if we didn't) and Charlie will take the kids for all the rides and stuff and I will stay at the hotel room until dinner and meet up to eat and watch shows... I'll save the spots for the parades and take a book ;)
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