We spent September 20-25, on a Californian Vacation. We spent one day at the beach, three days at Disneyland, and a day on each end traveling. We had SO much fun with our kids and the Chattertons, some of our favorite family friends who we planned the trip with.
The kids were SO excited to go to Disneyland and to fly on an airplane. They were perfect little angels on our 1.5 hour flight into LAX. They ate snacks, played with all their toys, and watched movies on the tablet. And even though our flight was strategically scheduled smack-dab during naptime, they showed no signs of being the slightest bit weary. They lasted until we picked up our rental car (at Midway Car Rental...highly recommend!), and then slept the hour-long drive to Anaheim. That night we checked into our room at the Sheraton Park Anaheim, had dinner down the street at IHOP (kids eat free after 4pm!), and went for a swim, as the kids were DYING to swim in the big pool we could see from our itty-bitty balcony. It was a pretty great day of travel.
The next day, Sunday, was spent at Huntington Beach. Eliza was frighteningly fearless of the waves in the beginning, until one bowled her over and she got a face-full of salt water. Then her tactic was to avoid the waves at all cost...thank goodness!? She then had the best time playing and lounging on the beach, and covering every inch of her body with sand...nice and close to the safety of her momma. :) Sullivan was sturdy enough to withstand a few waves and had the time of his life wave jumping with his buddy, Ayden, and collecting every seashell on the seashore. Eric and Jared rented boogie boards, and they spent most the afternoon doing that, giving Sullivan and Ayden rides every now and again. The weather was perfect, the sand was amazing, the water was lovely, and it was a day I will file away in my memory and cherish forever as one of those lovely, perfect days of happiness, sunshine, and relaxation.
On Sunday evening we all had reservations for a Character Dining at Goofy's Kitchen. It was definitely a bit of a splurge ($110 for our family of four, and Eliza was free!?), but to see the look on Eliza's face every time a new character would come into the room was pretty priceless, so I'd say it was worth it. Plus, the food was amazing, for both the adults AND the kids. Disney definitely knows how to feed a family of all ages.
Eliza gets super hangry (hungry + angry), when she needs fed, and there were many angry tears of hunger shed while waiting to be seated. Not a happy camper...
But as soon as we got to the buffet, she was stuffing her little face as fast as I was filling her plate...grapes, watermelon, strawberry, cheese...all of her favorites, and all straight from the buffet, to the plate, to her mouth...no waiting to sit down for her!? We no sooner got to our table, where she was really able to dig in, when Pluto snuck up behind her and Ayden, and scared the living daylights out of her. She was NOT happy. I'm not sure if she was more ticked about her eating being interrupted, or just being faced with a giant dog...most likely the giant dog. :) The bottom-left picture below was taken a split-second before the wailing started. Poor little thing. :)
But after the trauma of Pluto, her favorites came into the room. First it was Minnie Mouse. Eliza was out of her skin excited about it. She couldn't stop looking at her, pointing and saying, "Minnie Mouse, Minnie Mouse!" Unfortunately ours was the last table in the room the characters would visit, so there was lots time for the anticipation to build. Eliza loves Minnie, but when it was finally our turn to visit with her, Eliza didn't want to get too close. Then Cinderella came into the room, and we heard non-stop, "Cinderella, Cinderella!" until it was our turn to be visited. When Eliza met Cinderella, Eliza was smitten. No sense of fear at all towards this unmasked princess character. :) Cinderella waved her finger and said "bibbity, bobbity, boo!" and then touched her finger to Eliza's nose. Well, Eliza thought that was the coolest thing ever, and for the rest of the night and for days after would say, "bobbity boo," and touch her finger to her nose, over and over again. It was pretty adorable. Eliza clearly loved the experience.
Sullivan was really excited to meet Mickey Mouse, but unfortunately Mickey wasn't there that night...bummer. Sully wasn't especially impressed with Minnie or Cinderella, but he was angel at dinner, and I'd say the pictures above prove that he had a good time, despite the lack of Mickey.
We spent Monday through Wednesday playing at Disneyland and California Adventure with our 3-day Park Hopper Tickets. Monday was spent at California Adventure, playing all over park. I love most everything about California Adventure. Each land is amazing, and they have something for everyone. We loved taking Sullivan on his first rides to Soaring Over California and Radiator Racers. That night we also watched the World of Color, which is always a favorite.
Tuesday was spent mostly at Disneyland. We had a magic morning admission (where you're admitted one hour earlier than guests without magic morning admittance), so we were there bright and early, but there was nothing magic about it. It was still SO crowded, probably because half of the lands were closed for that magic hour...so don't too excited about that magic morning perk. We're convinced it's just a crowd control tactic/scam.
Eric insists his expression above is because the sun was in his eyes...likely excuse!? But this is the best family pic we got in front of the castle...hilariously pathetic! :)
But guess who came to join us for Tuesday and Wednesday!? Aunt Heather!! We were so excited that she was able to come and play with us. She loves my kids, and loves Disneyland with kids, so she couldn't resist hopping a flight over from Houston to spend a couple days with us. We're SOOO glad she did!
Sullivan and Ayden discovered the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and fell in LOVE. They had the best time going on that over and over again. They're the cutest little friends...
And Eric had one of his beloved turkey legs, and Eric and I got to go on Splash Mountain for the first time in over 10 years!? It was super fun!
On Tuesday afternoon Heather, Eliza, and I snuck over to California Adventure to watch the Aladdin show, which is one of my favorites. It was the 4pm show, and I figured Eliza would be tired out enough sleep through it, but she didn't sleep a wink. She just sat on Heather's lap and watched the entire thing, fully entertained until the last five minutes. It was a miracle of miracles!? That, or Aladdin is really just that good. :)
Day three was spent hopping between Disneyland and California Adventure. When the lines seemed long in CalAdv, they were short over in Disneyland, and vice versa (we had ride time wait apps on our phone), so we hopped back and forth a bit.
We got to do all our favorite rides multiple times. Sully's favorite rides were the Toy Story Shooters, Radiator Racers in California Adventure and Splash Mountain, which we were finally able to convince him to go on. :)
Eliza's favorite was The Little Mermaid. I don't think she had ever seen the movie The Little Mermaid before this trip, but here we are months later and she is still completely obsessed with the Little Mermaid. We watch it almost daily and a Little Mermaid Doll is all she wants for Christmas.
And after all was said and done on day three, Sullivan and Eliza got to pick out their very own Disney Toy. Sullivan knew he could get a toy on the last day, so he spent an ample amount of time perusing many gift shops in search of his perfect toy. After three days of searching and deciding and then changing his mind again and again, he finally settled on this gigantic $80 dusty the plane...yep, #Iamasucker. Eliza is a lover of all plush, and was on her way to gathering quite the collection in the store, but was completely smitten when she found this Anna doll, and all the gathered plush...forgotten. They were two happy kids!
On Thursday we slept in a bit, spent the morning relaxing by the pool, and then caught our flight home that afternoon.
The kids were so good and so fun during the entire trip (minus a small meltdown here or there...they're still kids!?). It was a busy, whirlwind vacation of nonstop (and sometimes exhausting!?) fun. And it was three straights days of 23,000+ steps (for you step counters, like me...that's 9-10 miles walked per day!?). I realize that our small kids may not even remember how much fun they had with us at Disneyland, but I'll remember. And I'll cherish these memories, and stories, and experiences forever.
And as for the cost of this grand vacation? A whopping $600, which includes flights, Disneyland tickets, car rental, hotel, parking, and any and all food. To read up on exactly how I did it (and how you can too!), see the link below:
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