It starts on Friday May 4th, Airport bound
Our flight leads out, pretty good but
a tad bumpy, check out Kaylee's expression.
Then after landing, it was a unique trip on the
Disneyland bus, with quite the talkative driver to
the Disneyland Hotel. We get to the
hotel, make a couple friends while we are waiting to
check in and then up to the room on the 8th floor.
WOW, what a view. We had a suite with a view
of Downtown Disney!
The Adventure Continues, Friday Night at
Disneyland
After we get checked
into the room, its time for some grub. We
walked out of our hotel, note the beautiful walkway,
and then we headed over to the Rain Forest Cafe in
Downtown Disney. Everyone was in a good mood,
and the girls especially liked the atmosphere of the
Cafe, with the simulated rain showers and multiple
animitronics. (VIDEO to follow)
With our stomachs
satisfied, its off to the first ride of the day, the
Monorail. The stop in Downtown Disney is only
steps from our hotel room and we are off to the
Magic Kingdom!.
So now its STRAIGHT to
Toon Town, we figure its a good warm up place for
the girls, as its Kaylee's first visit and the
deer-in-the-headlights look is starting to come out.
The first ride after playing in the playrooms and
cars was the rollercoaster. Who looks more
unsure of that ride, Kaylee or Cris?
Next stop, Its a small
world. That should be a good counterpart to
the rollercoaster. Michele however was not
thrilled to start and you will notice Candice having
to put her in the ride, literally kicking and
screaming. Kaylee, on the other hand, was
ready to rock, jumped in without hesitation and
enjoyed the ride
Check
out the Small World and Dancing VIDEO
From Its a Small World
to the teacups, and onto the carousel. The
cast members at the teacups and the carousel gave
Kaylee and Michele special "1000 dreams" Tinkerbelle
pins.
Check out the Tea Party VIDEO
Off the carousel, and a
stop to attempt to pull out the kings sword before
walking through the castle an onto explore more of
the magic of Walt Disney.
Then here we go, onto
the Pirates of The Caribbean, haunted house, and
back to Star Tours to end the day. The last
ride of the day was on the monorail back to the
hotel, and for the first time for all of us, the
ride in the nose with the conductor, too cool.
We were all pretty tires on the way back, it had
been a long exciting day.
Back to the hotel, for
sounds of classical guitar on the Disney plaza, a
call to let K's mom know we were settled into the
hotel, then some dancing and playing around, then
watching the fireworks spectacular.
Check
out the fireworks VIDEO
Recap of
Rides, and Touchdown
DAY 2, Saturday May 5th
Okay sleepy-heads, time to wake up!
Kaylee caught a few extra winks while Michele
enjoyed the sunshine on the balcony. Then we
headed off for breakfast. Good job Disney, we
even had fresh fruit and a muffin for breakfast to
power up for the adventure to come. Also, note
that Grandpa was up way before us and waiting for us
with coffee in hand.
After breakfast, we ended up in the
rear end of the monorail, another first for all.
Quite the nice view. First stop, the
Matterhorn bobsleds for Kaylee and Michael then they
went onto Space Mountain, and Star Tours. Michele
was not so sure about those rides, so it was and the
teacups for Michele and Candice.
After the first rides were out of our
system, Kaylee happened to notice the face painting
area. Notice also, Grandpas wallet being
whipped out to pay, Thanks Grandpa!
Next, onto Dumbo, the carousel
(again) and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Both Michele and Kaylee were not so sure about this
one. Kaylee screeched, well, like a little
girl, and laughed all the way through. Michele
exited the ride with "that was fun".
Next, onto Indian Jones for all
except Candice and Michele, who hung out and rested.
Kaylee decided that she didn't much care for the
Indiana Jones ride, that the theme was a bit too
scary. Then it was on to the Jungle Cruise,
which is hammed up and quite funny. After a
few other stops, it was back on the monorail, and to
the Rain Forest Cafe for lunch, and heading back to
the hotel for a pirate adventure
Back at the hotel, we waited for
Pirate Dave to arrive. When he did, he
launched into a tale about Tinkerbelle and a secret
treasure. He got all the kids outfitted with
pirate bandanas, arm bands and eye patches and
started the hunt for the secret clues throughout the
Disney hotel grounds. They ended up at a
treasure chest, where each little pirate got to pick
out three pieces of treasure for their very own.
Check
out the Pirates VIDEO
Next, it was off for a little
silliness on the air vents, and time for a nap
After nap, time everyone
is refreshed and its time to hit California
Adventure. We walked down Downtown Disney, checking
out some of the shops. Then it was on to "Bugs
Life" kids adventure land with trips through
watermelons, little bumper cars, and spinning lady
bugs.
Our last event of the
day, was priority seating for the electric light
parade at California Adventure. We sat in the
wine pavilion, and had a great unobstructed view of
the parade. The only drawback is that they fed
us meat and cheese and wine, and we had all just
eaten dinner at the sourdough bread factory a little
bit before. Kaylee had a great time, screaming
and cheering for her favorites, and
really enjoyed the characters in the parade as they
talked and waved at her. Michele wasn't
quite sure of some of the characters as she has not
seen many Disney films, but seemed to enjoy the
music quite well
Check out the parade VIDEO
DAY 3, Sunday May 6th
Today started with a
trip to the Creole Cafe for beignet and chicory
coffee, too yummy! It was then off to
California Adventure for the show at PlayHouse
Disney. We watched Jo-Jo, Bear and Pooh to name a
few. Both girls enjoyed the show. Then it was
back to Disney and a quick picnic lunch in the hotel
room. Later in the day we headed back to
California Adventure for guess what, more rides!
That evening it was
time for dinner at Goofys Kitchen. We had
a huge dinner, where in Candice celebrated her
birthday with not only piling on enough desserts to
create a mountain of a plate, but also received a
song from the characters and staff, and a special
birthday cupcake and pin. It was noted as
Goofy was walking by that it was a bit off to not
see Goofy as the tallest in the room, hence Goofy
grabbed a chair, and stood on it, giving a big paw
to he who may have dwarfed him.
Check out the Happy Birthday VIDEO
Goodnight Mickey.. the little girl in
blue is Kaylee saying goodnight to Disneyland for
yet another evening.
DAY 4, Monday May 7th
Today Candice and her
Dad took off for the early entry, no breakfast
necessary, see the little specs as they race off to
early entry rides.
Kaylee opted to sleep in, so Michael stayed with
her. They took off later in the morning and
stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch at the Rain
Forest Cafe. Notice the recurring theme here?
Kaylee adopted the signature frog from the Cafe and
carried it around with her the rest of the day.
Next, was a glimpse of Cinderella's carriage,
and onto do the Tower of Terror, Grizzly water ride
the Muppets 3D. The bonus of the day was Kaylee
being taunted by a talking trash can, see the video.
Check out the trash can VIDEO
Michele
and Grandma Cris took off and went their own way
for the morning, they got pictures with the
characters and played in the water park. A
break at the Nestle cookie baking class paid off
with a little bit of sharing with a cast member, and
an employee only not for sale collectors pin. Way to
go Michele!
After lunch, the family
all met back up at the Boudin sourdough bread
factory, for some grub and four loaves of bread to
take home. Two of which were in the shape of
Mickey Mouse. There were a couple more rides
tossed in on the way back to the hotel. Then it was
wait for the bus, head off to the airport, back on
the plane, and boy, was everyone tired! WOW
what a trip!
M I C - K E Y - M O U S E
Thank you all for stopping
to enjoy our pictures.
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