Sunday, July 22
DISNEYLAND Day 1 of 3!!!
*WARNING: LOTS OF PICS and INFO!
Poor kids were pooped already, and we hadn't even stepped foot in Disneyland! We drove up from Carlsbad Saturday night so we could be up early to go to Disneyland! We stayed at another Marriott Residence that served breakfast- what a time and money saver! We were originally booked at another hotel, but I had second thoughts at the last min (2 nights before we left Maui! AHHHH!). I found this last minute deal which was really good for a 2 bedroom/2bathroom and pounced on it. When we checked in, they said they had actually upgraded us to a larger 2bed/2bath that had 2 queen beds on one side and 1 king on the other. SCORE! We needed all the space since we would be here for four nights!
For nearly a month prior to our trip, I was researching Disneyland every night after the kids went to bed. With the cost of a 3-Day Park hopper adult ticket so high ($225 discounted thanks to my teachers union!) we knew we had to make the most of our time and money- especially since we would also be there at one of the busiest times of the year! Thank goodness for Pinterest and other mommy blogs. For those interested, I found a program called Ride Max that you can buy for $15. Basically, you pick which rides you want to go on and the program plans what time you should visit- down to the minute (including walk time, wait time, and ride time) so you can use your time in the park more efficiently! I was very skeptical, but did my research on it and decided to try it- $15/3days was $5/day... I can afford that. You're not stuck to making only one plan a day and the website offers LOTS of other VERY helpful tips so I feel it was worth it's money (it does have a money back guarantee)- GEEEZ, I sound like a salesperson!
Ok, back to our trip...
By the time we parked, caught the bus, went through security and walked through the gates- it was already 8:30am! Ridemax recommends sticking to the plan you made and skipping ahead if you're running late. We took a small chance and decided to try to follow the plan even though it said we were supposed to be at Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at 8:24am (I had set our park entry time as 8am!)
Briskly walk there- NO LINE! Cade and Kendyll weren't too thrilled with that ride- there were some dark parts.
Next we headed to the Astro Orbiter- NO LINE!
Smiling kids!
Right across from the Astro Orbiter was Buzz Lightyear, which we walked right into! NO LINE!
Oh boy, Cade was thrilled!
Kenny squished between them!
Garrett's goal was to beat Mom because at Legoland, she beat him on a similar ride!
Excited to be able to shoot his gun
Next, Autopia- again NO LINE! Wow, this Ride Max is working!
Cade's all time favorite! He still talks about driving the "crazy" cars. It's funny because that used to be my favorite ride as a child- I fondly remember driving the cars with my dad and thinking it was sooooo cool to drive a car by myself!
Kenny started driving, but was getting bumped around too much and gave up.
Nemo's submarine was next. Even on the RideMax Plan, it estimated a 23 minute wait. We opted to wait and good thing, the kiddos thought it was so fun to be in a submarine and too see Nemo and his friends.
The climbers on the Matterhorn Mountain is actually listed as an attraction! I read somewhere that there's actually a basketball half court inside the mountain!
By the time we finished Nemo's Submarine- it was only 9:45ish. We felt so accomplished, especially since we walked on to most of the rides!
We continued on with our agenda and walked right onto the It's a Small World boat
At this point, the kids were ready for a snack and we were ahead of our Ride Max schedule. We decided to leisurely walk into Toon Town, since that was our next stop.
This was Garrett in 2005 when we visited with Lori and Kyle...
Still not strong enough with his little helper!
After riding Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin (again, NO LINE!) we noticed a small crowd gathering... it was Minnie Mouse! Our first character sighting!
Prior to the trip we showed Cade pictures of his visit to Disney World as a baby (more here) when he smiled at all the characters. It helped- he didn't cry at them on this trip, but he also didn't really smile. Oh well, can't have everything... We were quite surprised at Kenny's reaction- she was a little hesitant, but agreed to take pictures and smiled for most! YAY!
After parting with Minnie, we toured all their little houses.
Goofy's chair
Inside Minnie's House. I was surprised at how interactive the houses were- I didn't remember that from before.
Tea with Daddy
Mickey Mouse's chair
Kenny ran straight up to Mickey and gave him a hug!
I think of all the characters we met, Kenny LOVED Mickey Mouse the most! Just look at that smile! Cade on the other hand... at least he wasn't crying! :)
So at this point in the day, the kids were getting hungry and grumpy. We decided to break for a quick bite for them...
until we saw the line for Gadget's Go Coaster was short! One thing the Ride Max recommends is NOT deviating from the plan... we weren't scheduled to ride the roller coaster until later that night. But, it also says if you have nothing else planned- go ahead and take advantage of short lines.
I don't know where Garrett got the idea to video her on the little roller coaster, but it's sooooooo funny. Poor thing, she looks a little scared- but she didn't cry- so I know she wasn't terrified.
Not happy about her roller coaster adventure
Hanging out on Goofy's car
For some reason, there's a gap in pictures. We didn't take any on Pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones. Cade was not too happy about getting a little wet on Pirates and the two small hills/dips. After that ride, he kept asking us if future rides had any hills. Poor kid!
Mom and Garrett rode Indiana Jones and got a Rider Swap for me after. Basically, a Rider Swap allows part of the party to wait outside if there are small kids who don't meet the height requirement. Then when the party comes off the ride, they can swap and not have to wait in the long line again.
It was about 1:30 and the kids were getting cranky and we were
getting hungry, so I didn't ride Indiana Jones- not a big deal- we could use he Rider Swap later. We opted to leave the park and go back to the hotel.
But... on our way out- Garrett spotted these and couldn't resist!
The BEFORE pic! We were borrowing our friend Kenna's stroller so I quickly grabbed Cade out because I knew with our luck, he would spill it all in there! AGH!
SOOOOOO YUM!
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Almost pau!
Everyone (except Cade!) took a good 2+ hour nap and were energized for our return that evening. Our initial goal was to be back for the evening parade, however, Garrett and Kenny were still napping!
Riding the train! He was so happy- he kept seeing it as we were walking around and constantly reminded us he wanted to ride it!
Hi Snow White!
Notice Cade getting sleeeeeeppppy
Yep, he was out cold in the stroller right after this pic.
See kiddo- we told you take a nap at the hotel!
We didn't ride as many attractions in the evening/night because we opted to watch Fantasmic and some of the fireworks. While Cade slept, my mom watched Kenny too. Garrett and I still had the Rider Swap to Indiana Jones, so we went.
Then we also had a Fast Pass to Space Mountain and quickly ran over there. Another useful tool on our trip were our Iphones. Garrett found an app that showed current wait times on rides. It was really helpful!
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I wasn't scared- my contacts were bugging me so I closed my eyes to keep them from drying out!!! ha ha ha :)
Not a peep from them that night!
