It's Disneyland!!!

We planned a surprise (and last minute) trip to Disneyland for the girls - in part to reward Kennedy for her success with the potty. Kennedy knew we were going to Las Vegas to visit Aunt Kari and Uncle Rainier, but then the next day we got back in the car and kept driving.

She didn't have a clue where we were - even after seeing Mickey Mouse balloons and a statue at the hotel or all the characters on a bus as we were riding to the park entrance! Even then it took some serious hinting on our part - the conversation went something like this:
"Kennedy, where do you think we are?"

"Umm...California!"

"Yes, but what's in California?"

"Lots of People."

"Kennedy, look at that castle. Who do you think lives there?"

"Cinderella!"

"Where is Cinderella's castle?"

"Disneyland?!..."

Our first ride was Snow White, which was a bit scary, but later Kennedy requested that we go on it again, "to see if it's better this time." She loved the next ride, Peter Pan, but I could see her covering her eyes a bit when it got really dark. She asked to have someone hold her hand in some of the rides where it was really dark, but she was so cute about it! I don't think there were any rides that she didn't like.

Macy didn't seem to care one way or the other about most of the rides, but she wasn't feeling well. She had a cold and a fever, so we gave her some Tylenol and forced her to be a trooper, which she was. Especially when we kept getting her out of the stroller just after she would fall asleep. She dozed through a good part of the three days - in the stroller, in our arms while standing in line, and even on some of the rides - but got no real naps.

Macy even managed to sleep through the fireworks as we watched them from our hotel balcony. I think her favorite attraction was "it's a small world" with the music, calm boat ride, and so much to look at. They have done some cute things to update that ride with the Disney movie characters. She was able to go on just about everything with us. I think there were only three rides we went on where she was too small.

Here's the before and after from our first day in the park. Both girls were completely exhausted by the time we walked out to catch the bus back to the hotel. Eight hours in the park (after four hours driving to get to Anaheim) wore us all out!

For our second day we got to the park just after opening and went on a few rides we had missed the first day and a few of Kennedy's new favorites. We had made reservations to have lunch with the princesses in the California Adventures park. That was a huge hit with Kennedy, and we all enjoyed the food and a chance to sit down. We were greeted by Ariel, and I got one picture before the battery on the camera died.

Then each princess came to our table to visit while we were eating. Kennedy loved the special attention, but was a little shy and used her quiet voice to talk to them. She knows and loves all the princesses, even though she hasn't seen all the movies yet. The princess band aids she chose at Target were a big hit at the lunch, and all throughout the park - I'd catch people in line staring at her forehead and then smiling to themselves! We spent some time in California Adventures seeing the 3-D shows and going on the Bugs Life and Monster's Inc. rides before heading back to Disneyland for the rest of the afternoon. After ten hours we decided it was time to go back to the hotel to eat and get some rest for the night.

We saw lots of the characters. Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Minnie Mouse was a big hit. Pluto was not. Kennedy went up to give him a hug and have her picture taken with him, but he grabbed her hand and started walking away with her. She did NOT like this, and started crying. She gave him a nervous hug after she was safely returned to mom.

Kennedy and Jake love the tea cup ride - I do not. Once was enough for me. I was glad to volunteer to wait with Macy so they could go on it again and really get the cup spinning.

Sunday we took advantage of the early entrance and walked on to every ride in Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land for one hour before the park opened. Jake even rode Space Mountain by himself with out a wait. It's hard to say what Kennedy's favorite ride was because she kept changing her answer every time we would ask: Dumbo, Small World, Pirates, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Nemo's Submarine, "the whale ride" (Storybook Land), Buzz Lightyear, even Snow White. We didn't ride the Matterhorn (it was closed), and Kennedy was still too small for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain.

Probably not the next King Arthur...

Making a wish in Snow White's well that we can come back again some day!

We'll be saving our money for another trip - Jake even suggested that we start a jar to collect change and let the girls earn money by doing chores. And he thought it wouldn't be a very fun trip!