Disneyland!

My friend Kendra is visiting from out of town and we met her husband and her at Disneyland. It was Fiona’s first trip and John’s first trip since he was 5 years old. The last time I went was before I was pregnant with Fiona when I chaperoned Grad Night a few years ago. We got up really early on Thursday morning, packed the kids in the car and drove to Anaheim. The drive was long because of traffic and we had to make a stop to feed Victoria (and John got a coffee and Fiona went to the bathroom). Then, it took almost an hour from when we pulled into the parking lot until we actually walked through the gates. The parking lot is now much farther away from the entrance than it used to be. In fact, what used to be the parking lot when I was younger is now a combination of entrance court and Downtown Disney. This was all done when California Adventure was built, a park I’ve yet to attend.

Waiting times aside, I think it was a really fun day. Disney is made for kids! Obviously, but I’m not sure why I was so surprised. Fiona is tall enough for most rides because most rides do not have a height requirement, and those that do, have low requirements (40-42 inches, or the height of an average 4-5 year old). Victoria was able to go on most of the rides I went on, in my arms or in a carrier. I even nursed her on a ride (Finding Nemo). We went around in circles in some rocket ships, went underwater in a submarine, went on It’s a Small World, Star Tours, saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Tinkerbell and another nameless pixie, the Winnie the Pooh ride, Alice in Wonderland that broke down in the middle, and the tea cups. We saw the daytime parade and Fiona went on a carousel. Alas, we did not go on the Dumbo ride. Sad face.

But boy have things changed. Some rides have received updates, like Star Tours, but the character sightings have changed most. For one, it used to be that the characters roamed the park and a person could approach them, take a photo or hug them, and move on. Now EVERYTHING, and I mean every single thing, has a line and a time. To see Mickey and Minnie, Kendra stood in line while we were on another ride, then we stood in line with her, then we walked through her house, came to the little tent area where she stood, handed over our phones and cameras to a “cast member” (what all employees are no called), posed for ten seconds while said cast member took photos with our devices, and off we went. Repeat to see Mickey and any other character, even if they are walking around. There is always a line and an employee there to regulate or tell you it’s too late, Goofy is taking a break. And the lines fill up FAST. Many rides I used to go on because they never had a line are now so crowded you have to get a FastPass to go on them. A FastPass is a special ticket with a time on it. If you return at that time, you get to go to the front of the line. But the time is hours later, so you have time to stand in line for other rides. And you can only get one FastPass at a time, so you can’t use one while waiting for the ride you really want, and not all rides have FastPasses. It’s a little confusing. I didn’t go on a lot of my old favorites like Space Mountain and Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean (I hear it’s been updated to look like the movies rather than its old self), and the Haunted Mansion.

Here are some (a lot) of photos from the day:

On the Rocket Ships:

 

Victoria was supposed to be on the ride with us, but just before “take-off” an employee told us she had to wear socks. Not really sure why the baby has to wear socks on a ride. The socks were in the backpack in the stroller parking area. Too much hassle to go get them, so John took her and did not go on the ride. It was just as well, I think he wouldn’t have liked it because he gets motion sickness and the ride spins very quickly.

After the rocket ships, we went on the Finding Nemo submarine ride, where I nursed Victoria and held Fiona’s hand. It was pretty cool. Ben was dripped on from condensation in the hatch.

Here we are on It’s a Small World:

ToonTown (that was really the sky):

In Minnie’s House:

Posing with Minnie:

In Mickey’s House:

Kendra with Victoria:

Ben with Victoria:

With the pixies:

 

   

Fiona had a $50 gift card left over from Chanukah. I brought it for her to spend on any souvenir of her choice. She chose Minnie Mouse ears and gloves:

The two of us on the Tea Cups:

Stuck on the Alice in Wonderland ride, waiting to be “rescued”:

 

Eventually, an employee came and got us out of the car and walked us and several other carloads or people out of the building. But first, we were asked to put our cameras away because we went right through the workshop and some other rooms I’m pretty sure we were not supposed to see.

The daytime parade with all the characters and princesses:

Victoria, so portable:

On the Merry-Go-Round (Fiona’s favorite ride of the day):

The girls in front of the Magic Castle in Fantasyland:

After dinner (at the Village Haus, it was early, no lines) we met up with Kendra and Ben again (they went to dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant) in Critter Country, enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh ride, and then the four of us headed home while Kendra and Ben stayed. All in all, it was a very pleasant day.

Ben and Fiona reading a beautiful book that they brought for her:

 

Truth be told, John and I weren’t really looking forward to Disneyland. It’s big, expensive, and really far away. But I am SO glad we went. It was so much fun with Kendra and Ben and I’m pretty sure Fiona would like to go back again sometime. But I think I would want Kendra and Ben with us again because, and this is hard to describe, they made it so much more fun. They were there the day before, so they knew how everything worked, they were patient, and they didn’t mind going on all the kiddie rides, and they kno how to have good clean fun. Kendra and I used to get into all sorts of mischief when we were teenagers, it’s kind of funny now to watch us as adults, ambling around Disneyland. My only hope is that we did not traumatize Victoria because some of those rides are really loud. She seems un-phased, hopefully her first words won’t be “It’s a blustery day” or “It’s a small world after all.”