spring break at disneyland!

My boys deserve a lot of credit for this trip.  They raised their own money to buy their tickets for Disneyland.  Saving birthday, Christmas, and chore money got them pretty far, but their lemonade stand really did the trick.  I told them if they did it, we could go as long as Mom and Dad saved our own money and enough for the hotel.  I used my money from an extra babysitting job to pay for the rest so we really did save up for this trip.   We put all the money in jars and they helped count it all out.  Since we were spoiled with three days of park time last time we went, we decided we could just do one day this time (mostly because it was all we could afford).  We decided we better not wait until summer because we had to get the trip in before Nora turned 3 and was no longer free.  So Dad's spring break was the only real time we could go.  The crowds were pretty big, but that didn't stop us from having a great time.  We stayed at a small motel near the Disneyland Parking Garage so we only had to walk 5 minutes to hop on the tram.  On the night we first arrived we headed over to Downtown Disney to entertain ourselves for awhile.  We ate dinner and wandered in fun stores. 

The Lego Store is always a fun stop.  The boys made cars and raced them on these tracks...

We got ice cream and my Dad met us there to hang out for a bit.  We tried to go get to back to go to bed early in preparation for our big day, but who can really sleep when you are going to Disneyland .  Jimmy and Nora were up and ready to run bright and early but my notoriously sleepy one, Gus. was still nearly impossible to wake up and get moving.  Once we were all in the stroller and packed up to go I finally got a smile out of him...

We ran to the tram because it is just that exciting...

Once we got into the park we stopped quickly for a few essential family photos...

Alright, now I have to be honest.  We (mostly me) did not have the best start to the day.  I almost hate to bring it up and complain, but I want to be honest as well. So here is the story: The boys wanted to do Jedi Training Academy (mostly Gus who was insistent despite the fact that they have done it before).  They just recently began a new system for choosing their young Padawans that involves you having to go sign up first thing in the morning.  So we headed there first thing only to discover a huge line already formed.  I wanted to bail, but stuck it out (In retrospect I wish I hadn't).  The boys had to wait too in order to sign-up.  I tried asking how long it was expected to take, but the Cast Member just said, she didn't know.  Unfortunately, they had a very bad system set up which is just not usually the case a Disney.  They had one person asking questions to the kids at the front of the line (ie: How old are you?  What is your name?  Can you follow instructions?  blah, blah, blah) and one person handwriting names into different time slots throughout the day.  It took over an hour and made me so frustrated that it took a little while for me to shake it off.  I could feel the boys frustration as well.  It was not a good way to start the day.  After waiting an hour just to sign-up they didn't even get to go on a ride.  They just had to go to another ride to wait again.  If I could have waited by myself I wouldn't have cared so much, but I wished they didn't have to wait so long to actually get to do something fun.  I felt a little bad for them at that point, but I felt really bad for them when they went back at 4:00 that day for their scheduled time only to find out that the show had been canceled.  I was close to blowing a fuse when Zach told me.  I had taken Nora to the parade instead and it was probably a good thing because I might have caused a scene.  Zach said another lady there took care of that for me.  He said the boys were good sports and there were no tears which was such a relief.  I was really proud of Gus on that one.  I actually called to complain about their new sign-up system and they gave me some ride passes to use in the future.  Hopefully, we can put those to good use at some point and help get the bad taste out of my mouth.  It was a good lesson for me in patience though.  You have to learn to be easy going at Disneyland and as much as I tell this to my kids, it is true for me as well.  On the positive note, Zach and Nora had a fun time while I waited in the Jedi line with the boys.  They had some fun dad and daughter time going on King Arthur's Carousel and Dumbo with basically no lines.   I take some solace in the fact that we weren't all wasting our precious Disneyland time.

So after the debacle, we got in line for Peter Pan and tried to recover our spirits.  It took a little while, but we got there.  How can this ride not make you happy?

Nora really was in two year old heaven the whole day...

While the boys went off to Space Mountain, I took Nora to meet the princesses.  She insisted on wearing her Cinderella costume (which I didn't have time to clean before we left and it was noticeable) and her "glass" slippers.   I tried to push for her Briar Rose dress, but I think she made the right call because she does look so cute in the pictures in her matching dress.  She was as shy as can be, but meeting Cinderella was the highlight of her life so far....

Belle told her that the Beast would want to dance with her if he saw her beautiful gown...

Snow White told her that she has a friend named Bashful (my favorite dwarf) who is very shy as well...

Then we met back up for Pirates of the Caribbean which was closed on our last visit.  It is one of my all time favorites.  Nora said she loved it, but said it was scary, too.  It is a good kind of scary I guess.  After that I took Nora on Pinocchio (she was too scared of the witch to go on Snow White) while the boys did Thunder Mountain.  For lunch we went to Harbor Galley for soup in bread bowls which is my very favorite Disneyland meal. 

The boys did Splash Mountain while Nora and I did Winnie-the-Pooh and then she fell asleep.  I walked her around while the boys did the Matterhorn.

The nap was pretty short lived.  So we headed to Town Town to try to see the really big stars.  While waiting in line for Mickey's House we could see Minnie in the back of her house.  Nora was very excited, but this is as close as we got...

Her line was just way too long so Nora just got to wave...

Mickey's house was another long wait, but at least it is pretty entertaining along the way...

We got in our family picture with Mickey so Mom was happy.

Next Nora got to ride her first roller coaster ever thanks to the fact that her Cinderella shoes have heels on them that made her just tall enough.   Her face was freaked out the entire 30 seconds of the ride, but when it was done a smile finally came over her face she she apparently thought it was awesome.  She will still tell you all about it if you ask.

By this time it was getting a little hot and so we headed to the Tiki Room to get Dole Whips and watch the show in the cool air conditioned room.   This is and will forever be one of my very favorite things to do at Disneyland...

Baabee decided to stay with Nora and I for the parade while the boys went to go have the Jedi Training debacle.

We got good seats right behind the rope and Nora loved every second...

All the boys got out of Jedi Training was a couple of pictures with random Jedi Masters.  They are cute boys, but no one was impressed.  Gus, of course, still got into it, but I know Jimmy is thinking, "This girl is no Jedi."

We all went on Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters which brings out our competitive side.  Zach can't believe the pictures they email you no longer tell your score.  How can he rub it in everyone's face how much better he is without the physical proof?

One of the rides we were determined to hit up this time was the Finding Nemo Submarines since it was closed on our last trip.   I think this one is so cool and the kids agreed.

We had big plans about eating dinner in New Orleans Square, but we were all feeling like we wanted to get as many rides in as possible.  We grabbed two turkey legs and ate them in line for the Storybook Land Canal Boats.  They were delicious and filling and saved us some time.  I highly recommend if you start feeling crunched for time.  

The canal boats are another favorite.  I never tire of them.  

Nora's favorites were Cinderella's castle and Arendelle.

I enjoyed this new addition as well..

Up next, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party which we saved for night this time.  The glowing lanterns add an extra magic...

Zach and I went very slow with Nora, while Baabee took the boys.  He is notoriously fast, but he said he had to slow down a bit more than his usual this time.  The boys weren't disappointed though.  

Crowds were starting to form for the Paint the Night Parade so we decided to go scope out a spot near Main Street where we would also be able to see the firework show, too.  Zach went and got ice cream and other treats to help us occupy our time while we waited.  

Gus pretended to be Dopey in my sweatshirt.  This was his last burst of his energy for the night...

The parade was super fun and the kids loved it (although I am nostalgic for the old Main Street Electrical Parade and it is hard to beat in my book).   Here are some highlights...

This was our one Anna and Elsa spotting which helped satisfy Nora...

Then the crowds move into the street to watch the big fireworks show at the castle.  

The new show called "Disneyland Forever" was way more impressive than the last time we came.  The projections are amazing and I purposefully scoped out a spot where we still had a view of Main Street to see all the projections that were going on there as well.  A few examples are the chimney sweeps dancing on the sides of the buildings during Step In Time and sea creatures popping up out of the tops of the buildings for Under the Sea...

Gus was basically falling asleep through most of the fireworks, but we did our best to keep him awake.  After it was done he insisted that he would stay awake to go on another ride, but I told him it was okay to fall asleep now.  Before I could push the stroller very far both he and Nora were asleep.  While Zach, Jimmy, and Baabee went on Indiana Jones (the only one Gus wasn't big enough to go on), I enjoyed my time walking around Main Street looking at the fun window displays.  The Toy Story one was my favorite.  After you see Andy's arms playing with Buzz and Woody, Buzz and Jesse come out and tango. 

 I just love this stuff and it makes me wish I could work there and create these windows.

As I pushed the big old stroller with my two sleeping kids with chocolate all over their faces past Walt's Apartment, I was completely happy with our day despite the few bumps.

I got in a line to meet Goofy and the other boys got back in time to meet him.

My favorite picture of the day was all of us with Goofy saying "Shsh" while the two littlest slept.  I think they wish they could have been awake to meet him, too, but they thought it was a funny picture when I showed them later.  

The boys went off to go on Star Tours and Space Mountain again by using our Stroller Passes so I kept hanging out on Main Street.  I got in line for Minnie thinking I could at least get a picture of her with sleeping Nora since we had missed her earlier in the day.  However, Nora woke up and didn't know what the heck was happening.  Minnie was the cutest and tried playing peek-a-boo with her, but Nora was still a little out of it and had not interest in giving her a hug.  This is the best picture I got...

We got one last view of Mickey also before Nora happily went back to sleep in the stroller.  Not a bad last view of the night before you drift off to sleep...

I loved checking out the old exhibits in the halls outside Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (which sadly I couldn't go see because it was closed).  My favorite thing was this old model of the original Disneyland.  I stared at it forever.  I love to see what it used to be like and how much it has changed.   Again, can I please work here??

We all joined together again as the park was closing.  Jimmy was so proud to still be awake and going strong.  We had a great day, but we were all looking forward to bed.

The next morning we headed back to Downtown Disney for breakfast and to let the kids each buy their souvenir of choice at the big World of Disney Store.  Gus looked so cute wearing his Prince Philip hat, but this was the last smile I got out of him...

  Shortly after he threw up in the bathroom and spent all of breakfast lying on my lap.  He really wanted to go to the store, but didn't last long there before Zach had to take him to throw up again.  We all felt so sorry for the poor kid, but we were so grateful that it hadn't happened the day before so we counted our blessings.  Gus did have just enough time to pick out the Peter Pan set he has already decided on.  Nora picked out a Sleeping Beauty toy with a clip dress to match the one she was wearing that morning and Jimmy got a collection of Star Wars: Force Awakens figures.  Baabee also treated the kids by getting them each a t-shirt as well.  Nora gave him big thank you hugs.  We loved having him with us on this trip so much...

After a car ride filled with lots of throwing-up by poor little Gus, we made it home to open all our fun gifts and remember all the fun we had. 

I know the kids had a great time and will have wonderful memories of our day.  I am proud of them for earning it themselves and I hope it helps them to appreciate what hard work can get you.