The Happiest Place On Earth

We went to Disneyland!

(Warning: This post is extremely long)


So we told Jaden over a year ago, that if he finished 100 reading lessons and could read fairly well at that point that we would take the family to Disneyland. Well, he finished a few months ago, so we went as soon as Charles' schedule would allow--which turned out to be right after school had started. Oops. But it was good, because there were hardly any lines the 2 days we were there. But it was also freakin' hot and humid. Note to self... September is still too hot!

We drove all the way to Anaheim on Tuesday.


Doesn't Jaden look so comfortable when he sleeps?


That night we arrived at our hotel where we stayed for 3 nights. (Holiday Inn Resort)


The hotel was pretty nice. Instead of having 2 queen beds, they took out one of the beds and put in bunk beds, and extra TV and an XBOX. Of course the kids didn't know what the heck that was, we just used it as a DVD player.

The kids went swimming before going to bed. There are actually 3 beds in the confined little area, so both kids slept on the bottom so they could see the TV better. But that night, both Kaleb and Jaden kept falling out of their beds because they are both such crazy sleepers. We ended up putting the suitcase in there to try and block Kaleb from falling. And Bradley slept in the playpen.



The next 2 days we went to Disneyland and California Adventures. The kids went on Peter Pan first, and LOVED it.
They'd never been to an amusement park, or a fair, or a carnival with actual rides, so this was really their first time. The next ride was Snow White. Bad idea. I forgot how scary that ride is for little kids. Then they went on Pinocchio and were scared of Monstro.

Next was Dumbo. Much better.






Teacups. They went on that like 4 times.


Small World! I remember hating that ride as a kid because I thought it was so boring. But as a parent... sitting on a boat in a cool climate for like 15 minutes was HEAVEN. We went on that and Pirates of the Carribean a LOT just to cool down.







Speaking of Pirates... the kids were sacred of that ride, and rightly so! It's amazing how REAL some of them look. And when one gets right in your face with a gun pointed at you and then pulls the trigger... well, I would have nightmares! When we first went on the ride, Kaleb asked me if they were Pirates. I said yes, and he said, "Let's get out of here!" Jaden told me he thought he turned into a cartoon, and that he was feeling really weird and... cartoony.

Did I mention how dang hot it was? We refilled this squirt bottle probably 10 times each day... and it still didn't help because there wasn't much of a breeze. Oh well.


Then we went to Toon Town







Saw Goofy and Pluto


Went on the red roller coaster which even Kaleb loved! (that's Jaden and I in the back)


Then we did Autopia (biggest waste of time in my opinion), Buzz's ride (One of the Kids' favorites) and the Orbitor. We also did the Matterhorn.. Kaleb hated it, Jaden loved it.

Then we went on the Jungle Cruise,


and Tarzan's Treehouse, (Jaden looks like he may have been having a good time)


while Bradley crashed.


Then we met Amber (talk about an amazing aunt, who came all the way from across the country to be there with us! Thanks Ambuler! ), Forrest and Michelle (our Disneyland-Pros), Forrest Jr., Bryan and Katee Jo for dinner. Then we headed to Splash Mountain. Kaleb wasn't tall enough, so Charles took him and Bradley to Winnie the Pooh. I wasn't sure how Jaden would do, but since he liked the Matterhorn, I though he would be okay. Plus he was now with his "Disneyland expert" cousin, Forrest. They held hands in line while Forrest assured and reassured Jaden, that even though it's a little scary, it is also really fun and you get your picture taken. Jaden loved it and it his favorite ride. He was too short to make Space Mountain and Indiana Jones, though.




After a couple rounds of Splash Mountain we all joined Kaleb and Bradley for another ride of Winnie the Pooh (Kaleb's favorite.)




Next we did the Nemo submarines, then watched the Fireworks, then left. Of course the kids passed out pretty quick.




The next day John joined us and at Jaden's request we went straight to Splash Mountain. I got COMPLETELY soaked. Don't ever ride in the front if you don't want to get too wet. Then we met up with the fam again and went to California Adventures. But not before catching Mary Poppins and Bert.


There wasn't all that much for us to do as a family at California Adventures, so we didn't do much. We did Soarin' Over California (which is Charles' favorite ride now), the other Buzz ride which was also really fun, and then all the little kiddie rides at the Bug's Life area.






Then we went and watch the Interactive show with Crush from finding Nemo. It was WAY cool. Crush talked to little Forrest and big Forrest. It was hilarious.

Next we headed back to Disneyland and Kaleb and Bradley pooped out.

So Jaden went on the Teacups and the red rollercoaster.


After that was when we SHOULD have left Disneyland. This was where Disneyland hated us, and we hated our kids. Just kidding... sort of.

So we woke up Kaleb and Bradley so we could all go on the Taxi ride one more time. We get in there, and it's broken.

So we tell Kaleb he has time to choose one more ride. He chooses Winnie the Pooh. We walk all the way over there. Broken.

So we ask the boys what other ride they want to do one last time. They say Buzz. We walk all the way over there. Buzz breaks down while we're on it.

At that point we were supposed to meet Melanie at Downtown Disney for dinner. We walk over the the monorail and guess what? Broken.

So we decided to stay there and eat. The kids were getting cranky and we knew we should have just left. But Disneyland is expensive! We wanted to stay as long as possible! So Charles told the boys that if they didn't knock it off and start being good, that they weren't going to get their toys we bought for them.

So we go to this buffet type place for dinner and get pasta and sauce for the kids. We're not even finished picking out the food when we see the boys having an all out BRAWL on the floor. I mean they were rolling around together punching, and kicking and screaming. I was holding Bradley and Charles was holding the HOT spaghetti sauce. We both went down and reached for a kid... while Bradley reached for the sauce.

Ouch.

The poor little kid stuck his entire little fist inside the bowl and just started screaming. His hand stayed red and tender the rest of the night. Well the boys got an earful and they were both crying and screaming like little girls all through dinner. Charles and I forfeited getting our own dinner.

Since we couldn't meet Melanie for dinner, we just met her outside the entrance for a quick visit. It was so fun having everyone back together. Just missing Chuck and Sherrie.... :(

After that our plan was to stop at the store and get one more souvenier for each kid, ride the train and leave. Instead, the kids all had a greedy, tired, and out of control meltdown. It was sickening. So we just left. An hour before the park closed. We even left poor John. Good thing he's a big boy and can ride the shuttle by himself.

At least by the time we got back to the hotel they had transformed back into happy kids.




Yes, the sound you hear at the end of this video, is what you think. Poor kid. But pretty funny!



The next day we visited Forrest and Michelle at their place, then drove half-way home. We stayed in Mesquite NV at the Falcon Ridge.

There we swam, met someone who grew up in Lancaster, then went to bed. We got smart at this hotel. Instead of trying to get the kids to sleep in beds and STAY in beds, we just put their butts down on the floor. Genius. Why didn't anyone ever suggest this to us before. talk about the BEST night's sleep of the whole trip.



Then we drove home. Can you tell it was a fun car ride?




All in all, it was a good trip. Definitely some things we would change for next time, but hey, you live, you learn.