Our Disneyland adventure started out {a little} rocky. First off….it rained.
Be prepared for anything. My smart mom told me to “pack some garbage bags” as we were getting ready to leave town. Super glad she told me this because they were super duper handy when it rained on our first morning there. Luckily….around lunch time….the rain came to a halt, the sun came out and it was gorgeous skies for the rest of our trip. However….
We soon discovered 2 things. #1: London doesn’t like to wait in line. Even if it is for a princess. And #2: Fantasyland has some freaky a*% rides. Trust me. They don’t seem scary when just YOU are riding them. Or your 5 and 6 year olds are riding them. But when you take an innocent little 2 year old girl on say….Snow White….Pinocchio…….Mr Toad’s Wild Ride…..you see it all in a new light. Or shall I say….no light at all because a majority of these rides are in the DARK. We made the mistake of making these our very first rides into the park and London was scared to death to ride anything else for awhile. Luckily…It’s A Small World pulled through and she was beaming for the rest of our stay!
We had our fair share of accidents our first day there as well.
My dad tripped and fell in Main Street USA and {almost} broke his elbow. After we were reassured that he was in fact, ok……my mom and I laughed our heads off. It’s what we Lamoreaux’s do when we see someone fall. Make sure and wear ‘traction’ covered sneakers to avoid this from happening *wink*. It did leave a horrible, swollen bruise and all joking aside…we were SO relieved he was OK!
Carson had a little accident of his own. Picture this. My mom, London and Carson waiting 30 minutes in line for the Finding Nemo ride. JUST as the submarine pulls up to load them on….Carson lets loose some bubbles of his own. Pee everywhere. Soaking wet. And not from the ‘ocean’ water. We did learn TWO important things from this ‘accident’. #1: The First Aid center at the front of the park has hair dryers. We went there and told them what had happened. They were incredibly nice. They gave us our very own room and Carson was able to take off his ‘wet’ clothes….and I was able to ‘dry’ them. They even gave him some Disney books to read while he was ‘waiting’ for me to finish. Very handy. I’m sure he wasn’t the first kid to get so excited in the park that he just couldn’t hold it any longer. Disneyland has ALL PROBLEMS covered, I swear. Lesson #2 learned: Go straight back to the ride and tell the ‘cast member’ working at the line what has happened and they will get you straight to the front of the line again. Phew!
I was actually able to talk Joe into FINALLY riding the SCREAMIN roller coaster with me. I think once he realized that my 65 year old dad was doing it…. he couldn’t look like a wuss any longer. Enough was enough. The funniest part about this picture….was the random stranger girl who plopped down next to Joe. He had no clue that he had company until we were all buckled in and ready to ride. My dad and I died laughing the entire ride over this!!!
Other tips:
* You absolutely need TWO FULL days there. We always buy the 2 day park hopper pass. This is perfect. One day is just not enough!
* There is a Disneyland App that you can download called “Disneyland In and Out”. It is perfect. It even gives you the ‘wait’ times for all of the rides in the park. {Granted they can be slightly off 5 or 10 minutes}….it gives you the jist of which rides have the longest lines.
* There is a little Taqueria in Downtown Disney that we LOVE to eat at. When we don’t eat at the ESPN Zone…this where we eat. SUPER yummy mexican food! You order at the counter and then take it to their seated section outside. It’s perfect if you have kids that don’t do well in restaurants!
* They are re-doing quite a bit of California Adventure right now. The new CARS land will not be done until 2012 and the new Little Mermaid ride will be done this summer. Also…the new and improved Star Tours {over at DL} will be open on June 3rd. {The boys were so bummed that they just barely missed it!}
* If you need a break {which you WILL because at some point during your trip…your legs will literally feel like they are ready to fall off from all of the walking}…ride the red Main Street Train around the park. It’s a nice breather and allows time for you to rest your feet.
* And just in case you didn’t already know this…..bring in your own snacks, water and juice boxes. This saves quite a bit of money….especially with kids!
P.S. How on earth can ANYONE stand to eat one of those gigantic turkey legs? My dad and I were fascinated that so many people enjoy these. The meat is literally RED inside! GROSS!!!
The first time I went to Disneyland I was five, and I totally peed my pants as we climbed the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. My grandma left me in a bathroom stall for, I swear, three hours while she went to buy me a new outfit. Then she wadded up my nasty pee clothes and stuffed them into her purse and when she pulled them out, my souvineer lollipop that I had been saving was stuck to them. That is my most vivid memory of Disneyland.
Kaci LOVES the turkey legs. I'm with you…knawing on a big stick of meat looks gross. Good tips. For us, Andy is the one not down with the dark rides, but Minnie is fascinated. She will do anything to see Snow White!