Day 3: Magic morning at Disneyland

 So our package included a magic morning on Saturday which means we got in an hour before the park opened (7am) but there were a lot of other people who had the same package so it still means lots of time waiting in lines but not too bad.  I'd always wanted to get a pic of our family right inside the park with the Mickey face in the landscaping but we were always in too much of a hurry to get on rides!  :)  So this day was pretty much devoted to fantasy land, since it doesn't have any fast passes.  The first ride we got in line for was Peter Pan's flight per Amy's orders because it is one of the most popular rides.  We still waited about 40 minutes even though we were there early.  After that we hit pretty much every ride in Fantasy Land.  After the first couple they're all the same but they were super fun for Stahle and Janelle.  After Fantasy Land we finally got to Tomorrowland and did space mountain twice (me first then Michael) since we had a switch pass.  That one was one of my favorites.  While I was waiting for Michael and the 2 oldest to get back, Janelle, Stahle and I tried to find somewhere to eat breakfast.  While we were looking we stumbled upon Mary Poppins!  The line wasn't too long to see her and Janelle really wanted to get her picture and it was so cute.  They were so kind and genuine to Janelle.  I think Janelle was more interested in the picture than anything!

Janelle and Stahle will tell everyone that the teacups were their favorite ride.

This is Kandace right after we got into the park.  It was so early and we were tired! By midlunch time we were pretty much over the crowds so we went back to the hotel and the kids swam.  I didn't think we'd spend so much time in the pool but we did.  The kids loved it and so did I.  One night Kandace and I went hot tubing just the 2 of us (she actually went back and forth between the pool and hot tub).  It was so fun.  All vacations should include a hot tub.  And palm trees and continental breakfast

Day 2: California Adventure!

 Day 2 we were up again bright and early and headed for California adventure!  We were there before California Adventure even opened and still had to wait in line. The first 2 things to do on our list were first send Michael and kids to get in line for Toy Story Mania since it has no fast pass and Kandace and I ran the other direction for the fast pass for Radiator Springs racers and the World of Color show that night.   Toy Story mania (Stetson's favorite) was the one where you wear glasses that makes everything 3D and shoot at characters from Toy Story and the ride keeps your score.  After that Stahle and I had fun exploring Cars land while the others rode radiator springs.  Unfortunately that one broke down half way in but we got a switch pass so I was able to take the kids later but the line was so long.  It was a really fun ride though!  After Cars we got a fast pass for Soarin' around the USA which was probably my favorite ride of the whole trip.  They put you up in these seats that are suspended in air and project a huge screen in front of you showing all the wonders of the world but it feels like you're right above everything in a hang glider or something.  SO AWESOME!  Right after or before that we got this picture with pluto.  Notice Sthale's placement in all our pics with a character, way off to the side because she was afraid of them all. It was St. Patrick's day and our green game was on point!

This was the Little Mermaid ride which I'd heard would be a hit with the little girls and they really liked it.  Sthale would just sit and stare and wave at everything.  I think she was in awe of it all!  So much to take in.

This was King Triton's carousel and it was Stahle's favorite.  We rode it several times.  Michael took all the kids besides Kandace so her and I could ride California Screamin' which is one of the most fun roller coasters I've ever been on.  Kandace didn't seem so sure of it while we were riding it or even right after but at the end of the trip she said it was one of her favorites.

We went back to the hotel for a little bit and then to Downtown Disney for our character dinner at 5:40.  This was expensive but everyone said it was a must do.  It was just a buffet but the characters come around to your table and dance and interact with your kids.  My kids loved it (besides Stahle) but if we ever go again I'd probably opt out of this just because its so expensive and maybe a little overrated.  One of my favorite things was after our character dinner we walked back through downtown Disney (taking our time this time because we didn't have to be anywhere) and enjoyed the little shops.  They have live music, a movie theatre, kind of like an outdoor mall I guess.  We got a caramel apple because they're my favorite and all shared it and went in a cool store with legos statues everywhere.  After that we headed back to Ca Adventure for the World of Color show.  This was at Paradise Pier and they have these fountains strategically placed all over the water and during the show it shoots out water all different colors and then they project scenes from Disney movies with music in the background.  Fire even shoots out during the Pirates of the Caribbean one.  It was pretty cool.  We were so tired!  And we had to get up early for our magic morning at Disneyland the next day

Day 1: Disneyland!

Its been so fun for me to look through these pictures of our trip!!  Makes me miss it and want to go back which is funny because while we were there I thought maybe we could do our next trip somewhere with less crowds!  :)  We did have a grand time and I'm glad we went!  Even Michael had fun!  Our travel agent gave us kind of an itinerary to follow with some tips and suggestions.  First off we went to Adventure land to get a fast pass for Indiana Jones which is really popular and lines fill up fast, so after we got our fast passes we went on the jungle safari which was our first ride of our trip and it was awesome!  It was one of the kids' favorites and we actually went back and rode this one 3 times over the course of our trip.  After that we went on Tarzan's tree house and when it was time for our fast pass, I took the 3 oldest on the Indian Jones ride which was kind of scary and intense for them.  When it was all over they were all crying!  Surprisingly, Stetson and Kandace rode it again with Michael with his switch pass.  Having Stahle was really an advantage because the kiddos ended up getting to ride a lot of rides twice in a row if it was a ride Stahle was too short for because whoever had to stay with Stahle got a switch pass to basically walk on the ride after the other party returns.  Later we went to the castle which was actually smaller to me than it looked in pictures.  There was a band playing which was fun and we kind of just soaked everything in. We ended up at a the carousel because it was something Stahle could ride and she loved it.  It was definitely her favorite ride of the trip.

Thunder mtn railroad was really fun.  We went on it about 3 times.

 

This is right after splash mountain, the kids were kind of mad at me for taking their picture and maybe for making them get wet! Kandace was sitting right behind me so I covered her up.  Michael says I took the kids on the haunted mansion too but I thought that was Saturday.

Michael took the 2 younger girls back to the hotel in the afternoon to take a break and because we were having groceries delivered to our hotel that afternoon.  During that we paid way too much for a soup bowl and mac and cheese then I took the kiddos to tomorrow land but it was so late in the day the lines were all super long so we kind of explored.  We did go on a Winnie the Pooh ride which was perfect for the 2 younger ones so when they got back we took them on that.

When Michael and the girls got back we did a boat ride in Fantasy Land and its a small world while we waited for the main street electrical parade to start.  That ride was really long but the kids liked it.  I think its one of the original rides and a lot of it is original so thats cool.  I actually remembered going on that one when I was younger.  That night we watched the Main Street Electrical Parade which was late and we were all pooped but we felt like we had to take advantage of everything while we were there!  Stahle was so cute to watch.  She waved to all the people in the parade with a look of awe on her face at everything she saw.  Then we caught our shuttle back to the hotel and hit the hay! ! Everyone slept really well which was great.