Here is the beginning of the much anticipated Disneyland trip. We left our house yesterday (Wednesday, October 12, 2011) around 8:30AM. We parked the car at Thrifty and the kids rode their first shuttle bus to the airport. We then checked in and made it through security with little to no hassle. The single BOB (our stroller for those of you non-kid people) made it through just fine. And then we were off to the Alaska Boardroom. The kids adored the pancake machine that spits out two pancakes and I had a lovely glass of champagne. Which I needed for the mere fact that I knew Mike was probably not sitting with us on the flight.
Then it came time to board the flight. We headed on and gate checked the stroller (which again was no big deal - definitely traveling with this one again). Got on the plane and sure enough there were the three seats in aisle 7 that sat Tommy, me and Morgan. Then 7D which should have held my husband had a man and his two kids in it. So there was no switching that was going to happen. So Mike was about to get comfortable in his exit row, but I saw a stewardess head back to him and usher him up to first class right before they closed the door.
The flight went fine. Mike bought me a Bloody Mary and he sat in style in First Class. This was all fine until of course Tommy had to go to the bathroom and we had just been served drinks, so all the tray tables were down and filled with snacks and drinks. I had Tommy step behind Morgan and then lifted him into the aisle and told him to run up to his dad. So he did and that worked out well, which was good because we had to repeat this process about three more times. There was about fifteen minutes in the flight where both kids were entertained by their iPads but other than that, it was pretty much entertaining the munchkins. During the last twenty minutes when we needed to have our seatbelts on to land, Morgan refused to sit in her seat and finally I just had to strap her in and listen to her scream :( That was not my proudest moment, but she needed to get into the seat.
Upon our debarkment from the plane, we found Grandma Jan waiting for us. They had arrived from Seattle about 20 minutes before our plane. Mike and Tommy waited in the jetway for our stroller and then we all headed to baggage claim. On the way to baggage claim, Mike called the limousine company to make sure they were on their way to pick us up. They said they were not supposed to pick us up until 6:30PM...it was 1:30PM. They had our correct flight number, but apparently not the right time. Mike asked them how long it would be until they arrived and they said twenty minutes. We found our bags, I took Morgan to the restroom and changed her from jeans to shorts, Tommy and Mike went to the restroom and then we were just waiting, and waiting and waiting...
Finally the limo showed up and I figured I would get the kids inside because it was really hot outside and we did not need to wait out there while they were getting the luggage into the car. So we hopped in...it was really warm inside the limo as well...well turns out the A/C was broken in this particular limo. REALLY? Anyway, we pretty much sweated through the limo ride all the way to the hotel. At one point I glanced over at the front of the limo and the exterior temperature was 103 degrees F. And let me tell you the inside of that limo was not much better. I kept putting ice on both Tommy and Morgan trying to cool them down. Ridiculous. We finally started to see signs of Disneyland and our driver said he missed the turn so we had to go back...that was the best. He got lost.
Stepping out the limo, Morgan's face was beet-red and we were all dripping with sweat. The driver tried to wait around for a tip, but Mike was fuming and I think he got the hint and left. Once we arrived at the hotel, things slowly started to get better. Morgan was exhausted and needed to get down for a nap. So Mike checked us in and we headed to the room on the second floor. One thing you need to know is that the Disneyland Hotel is currently under renovation which means there is sawing, hammering and general clatter all over the place but especially on the first floor. So I took Morgan in the room and she promptly fell asleep on me (which was good), but I could tell Mike was not happy with the room. He and Tommy left to go exploring. They found the "Concierge Lounge" which is one of the benefits of having a two bedroom suite. Mike asked them to help him find a better room location so Morgan would be able to sleep during naptime. They moved us up three floors to level five. We tried to move Morgan and keep her asleep but she pretty much woke up.
I realized I had not eaten and it was about 4PM, so Mike ordered room service, even though we were supposed to have dinner around 6:30PM. The food was much appreciated and I think we all started to get in a better mood after that.
I unpacked everyone and we got settled and then we developed a plan. Aunt Anne Bear, Cousin Emrie and Uncle Mike were going to head to the pool. We all were headed to Disneyland to walk around and maybe ride some rides.
Stepping onto Main Street in Disneyland was magical! I honestly started to tear up because it was so wonderful. I was surprised by the amount of people, but Casey and Jan said that this was not busy at all. So that was nice! We headed into the park through Sleeping Beauty's Castle and headed right for King Arthur Carrousel. I will post video of this when we get home...not sure how to get it onto this computer (I am using Mike's Mac). Morgan, Tommy, Mike and Grandpa Casey went on the Carrousel. It was great to watch them go around and around. Then it was off to the Mad Tea Party. Tommy, Morgan, Grandma Jan and I braved the tea cups and it was really fun - as long as I either looked at the kids or looked at the round steering wheel. Looking in to the crowd was when I started to get dizzy.
That is where we met up with Aunt Anne, Uncle Mike and Cousin Emrie. We decided it was time for dinner and we headed for Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. That was really fun. It had started to cool down a bit, but once we sat down I was instantly thirsty. So we all ordered water and then I had a Sprite which was outstanding. Everything at Big Thunder Ranch BBQ is served family style and it is all you can eat - we had: chicken, sausage, ribs, baked beans, cornbread, corn on the cob, coleslaw. It was so yummy and a fun big family meal.
At the end of dinner Morgan started to get a bit feisty, so I decided to walk back with her and leave Tommy and Mike to their own devices. Anne, Mike and Emrie came back to the hotel with us, which was nice. Again, I could not believe the amount of people that were out and about on a Wednesday night.
We arrived back to the hotel room, I changed Morgan into PJs and she went promptly to sleep - in her own bed, by herself (I propped pillows under the bottom sheet on both sides of the bed as a nice little bumper). Tommy and Mike soon followed after picking up ice cream cones on Main Street. We put Tommy to bed - he crashed hard - and then we went to sleep. We all were exhausted.
Morgan woke up at 11:45PM and 2:30PM, but I quickly put her back to sleep and she was fine. She slept until about 6:30AM and Tommy slept until 7M when Morgan went to wake him up. We watched a little Disney Channel and then got dressed for the day. We headed over to the "Concierge Lounge" for breakfast and then into Disneyland to start our day.
We were in the park by about 8:30AM. We picked up our free lanyards and pins in Frontierland and then we went to Splash Mountain. First Tommy and Mike rode the ride and then I rode it with a "Fast Pass" or "Switch" which is where when one parent is left behind with a smaller child, they get to get in the "Fast Pass" lane when the others come out. So that was nice.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was next with the whole family. Morgan and I rode in the front with Tommy and Mike behind us. It was a very gentle ride, but when Pooh started to have crazy dreams of honey (with Black Light and florescence included), Morgan started to get a bit scared.
After that we went to the Haunted Mansion. Tommy, Anne and I ventured into the house which scared me to death as a kid. The one scene that I remember as a kid was the ghosts dancing in the ballroom. The Haunted Mansion, like much of Disneyland at this time in the year, is themed out in Halloween on steroids. The Haunted Mansion has the cast of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, which did not scare Tommy in the slightest. So that was good.
Onto the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island. We rode a ferry over to the island and then explored caves and rope bridges all over the island. It was very fun, but we had started to get hot. So we took the ferry back across the Rivers of America and headed toward the Jungle Cruise with the idea we would find a refreshing snack before or after the Jungle Cruise. We caught up with Grandma Jan and Grandpa Casey on that ride. The kids were scared of the ride, but after we were off, said it was great. So who knows.
We then picked up a snack of fresh strawberries, blueberries and grapes at a stand by Jungle Cruise and the Leepers headed back toward the hotel. We decided to find lunch and then from there head back to the hotel for some pool time and some nap time. We had lunch at Jazz Kitchen Express: Tommy had mini-corndogs, Morgan had chicken nuggets and Mike and I both had shrimp po-boy sandwiches with jalapeno bacon potato salad. It was all pretty good and everyone seemed happy with our lunch choice.
Back to the hotel we headed to get our suits on and go to the pool. After slathering sunscreen on, we went to the pool that had 3 waterslides. Two small slides, similar to the ones that you would find on play equipment at a park, one medium sized slides that were perfect Tommy sized and then a large slide that Mike went on that he said was super fast. Tommy would only go down the small slides until Morgan and I went up to the room for nap time. Then he hit the medium slide and apparently rocked that about 20 times, all while Mike watched him from his chair sipping a frozen cocktail.
Morgan is now currently sleeping in her wonderful cocoon, Tommy and Mike are snuggling in bed and I am blogging. A great vacation so far and I am so glad we have three and a half more days to go. We are having an early dinner tonight at the Wine Country Trattoria, so we can get VIP standing to watch the World of Color at 8:15PM. Should be fun!!
More to report tomorrow I am sure!
Cheers to being in the happiest place on earth!
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