Disneyland Dream!

What does 41 people, 1300 miles, too much money, a great Christmas gift, and one mouse equal? A Disneyland Dream come true! We returned from Disneyland last week and I'm still in the clouds. I simply love Disneyland. For me, it really is the Happiest Place on Earth. I love the smells, the rides, the food, the characters, the shops, the employees, the parades, the shows, the buildings, the history, the movies, the crowds, the cleanliness, the plants, the lines, the music, the magic and the dream. I was so excited to go and take my kids with my mom and dad, my sisters, my grandparents, and aunts, uncles, and cousins. So, in no particular order, here is a smorgasbord of our week at Disneyland.

As we were preparing to leave, Jeff and I debated about whether or not we should invest in a new camera since ours has been on it's death bed for the past little while. Since it would have been an added expense, we decided against it. Bad decision. Our camera died halfway through our only day at the beach. Grrr! Although not captured in photos, we had a fabulous time at the beach. Both Levi and Isaac were total beach bums and could have stayed there for our entire trip. Daisy loved looking for seashells with Grandma. Jeff came away completely sunburned, the effects of which he is still suffering from.
Here we are in line for the Haunted Mansion. A classic. A favorite.

From back to front: Daisy and I, Rian and Jamie, and Levi and Jeff riding Space Mountain. Also a favorite, even made it onto the re-ride list.

All Jeff wanted to do at Disneyland was eat a turkey leg like a savage. Here is a shot of him sharing the love with Isaac.

We decided we were not going to spend our precious Disneyland time waiting in long lines to see characters, so we only got to meet the ones we happened upon. We were lucky enough to meet Captain Hook and Peter Pan!

This is a picture of a Disney dream come true.

My super sister, Chelsea, was our car companion and lovely assistant throughout our trip. In fact, I don't think we could have made it without her. She was the babysitter, the extra person we needed for the rides, the take-me-to-the-bathroom girl, the sit in the back with the kids in the car person, the marital counselor, and the house humorist. I was not only grateful to have her, I enjoyed spending the time with her.

Don't ever let Jeff tell you he doesn't like Disneyland. It would be a lie.

Chelsea, Daisy, Jamie, and Levi on the teacups. I sat this one out on purpose. Can't handle the spinning ones.

A not-so-favorite part of this vacation was the shuttle ride. We got a great rate on rooms that were a little further away from Disneyland, so we rode a bus to and from the park every day. Our vote: Spend a little more and stay at a Maingate hotel.

Levi turned 4 on our first day at Disneyland! He was so excited to have his birthday there. To celebrate, we had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. Here's the rundown: Goofy's kitchen was way out of our budget. It was super expensive, but worth it, and we would do it again. We saw great characters and got personal time with each one. We bought our tickets from Get Away Today in advance for a less expensive rate. It is a buffet style restaurant, so if you are looking for a sit down relaxing meal after a long day of walking around, you won't get it here. The food was outstanding. The adults were completely satisfied with the fare, and the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven with things like hot dogs, mac & cheese, and even pb&j pizza. Wow! Goofy's Kitchen is located in the Disneyland Hotel, which is not inside or even next to Disneyland. It was more out-of-the-way than we had expected. If we were to do it again, we might enjoy a meal at Goofy's Kitchen on the day we arrived in California instead of a day that we actually used our Disneyland tickets. You can enjoy everything in Downtown Disney (including Goofy's Kitchen) without admission to the park, and going there would make a good appetizer for the next day if you went the night you pulled into town.

Levi is in the blue Finding Nemo hat dancing with Goofy. Lovin' it.

We got to meet Aurora. Levi was so excited to tell her that we have her movie.

Cinderella was also there. Not that you care, but my favorite princesses are Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle. Two out of three is not bad!

And Minnie! Who doesn't want to meet Minnie?

Here's some of the crew. Chelsea, Me, Isaac, Jeff, Pluto, Levi, Daisy, Grandma, Grandpa, Jamie & Rian.

Loved the parade. Ok, I loved the parade. Two of my three kids slept through it.

Yes. Walt Disney is on my heroes list. The more I learn about the man, the more amazed and inspired I am by him.

The only thing Daisy talked about was seeing Princess Tiana. I didn't know if we would be able to pull it off, when (with a little Disney magic) she walked right by us when we were eating lunch. Daisy got to talk to her and, since Tiana has her own jazz band, she invited Daisy to dance with her.

This is us after we got off of Splash Mountain. Yes, I look as though I jumped in a pond. I was that wet. And that uncomfortable. Worth it? Yes.

Rian, Levi, me, Daisy and Jamie waiting to go inside the Enchanted Tiki Hut. Love it! (Tip: This is a great, sit down, shaded, not-too-long-of-a-wait, relax-in-the-afternoon attraction.)

Here is about half of our crew right inside Maingate. Oh, and my mom in the far left hand corner is yelling at the lady in the foreground of the left hand corner who is walking through our picture.

Here's a shot of our carload at the essential and beloved In 'N Out Burger on our trip there.

Still riding in the car. Three monkey's in the back. Chelsea and the cooler in the middle, and Jeff and I as pilot and co pilot.

This is how we ended most days. Totally happy, sweaty, and exhausted.

Daisy, in case you didn't know, is the best big sister in the whole world. Between the stroller, the cooler, the diaper bag, and the kids, we couldn't have successfully boarded the shuttle each day without her help.

Since Isaac was a little too short for some of the rides, he spent some time hanging out on the benches with his great-grandparents. (Tip: If you have a child that is too small to ride, Disney has the Parent Pass, or Rider Switch, where they give you a special ticket that allows one parent to stay off with the child, then switch places on the ride so no one has to miss out. I love Disneyland.)

Bug's Land rocks. The kids can do all the rides. Everything from the benches to the lightposts to the bathrooms makes you smile and feel like a bug, and it's rarely crowded.

We got to meet Koda! Issac LOVED the characters. He wanted them to hold him and he cried when we took him away from them. He couldn't get enough.

Hello Radiator Springs! Levi was hoping for a little more interaction from Mater and Lightning McQueen, but meeting them in person was pretty good stuff.

We ate lunch while we watched Billy Hill and The Hillbillies in Frontierland. We fit right in.

Now that it's all said and done, I'm still not ready to be back to real life. I kind of like the whole fairytale lifestyle. We loved the World of Color water and light show. It was breathtaking, magical, totally Disney. Not to be missed. Being at Disneyland with my whole family was completely satisfying. Watching the wonder in the eyes of my children was priceless.

It has been five years since we were last at the wonderful place, and it might be that long before we make it back. For now, we're living on the memories.