Happiest Place on Earth!

Our long anticipated trip to southern California finally came. We had a blast! All of my fears about whiny kids, naughty Neil, and sheer madness were thankfully unseen. That's not to say that there weren't moments, but it was a huge success! I was especially grateful that Neil actually had a really great time and wanted to ride all the rides with us. At all our other fair like trips he has refused or been scared to death to ride things, so I was worried that he would hate our trip. To my great surprise he loved the rides. It was really fun to be able to go on almost every ride together as a family. Totally worth it!!
I want to start by saying it is crazy hard to get decent pictures in Disneyland. It's tough just to get out your camera while keeping track of kiddos let alone snag a shot when they aren't distracted by all the wonderful sights around them.
We arrived in Orange County at 9:30am and managed to get our rental car and head into Anaheim. We stopped for some supplies and lunch, then headed straight into the park. It was pretty hot that day, like 90's. It was great going back to shorts weather, but walking in the heat made us buy a few more ice cream treats. :) Since we knew that we had 5 days, it was nice to take a relaxed approach. We spent most of our time in Fantasyland that day. Neil's first ride was Dumbo, and he thought it was great! He very quickly learned the routine of parking the stroller, hopping out to get in line, and then jumping back in afterwards. It was just the 5 of us that day, and we were able to have tons of fun and keep everyone happy. We headed for the hotel and some dinner in the afternoon before going back to the park for some late night fun. We even stayed to watch Fantasmic and the fireworks. It was a really long day for us!

The next day we were joined by Grandma and Grandpa Phillips! It was great to have them with us! Another pair of adults to help keep eyes on the kiddos is always helpful. We headed down to San Diego to visit Sea World. I have always wanted to go there, and now I can finally check that off my list. Our favorite parts included the manta ray exhibit where you can pet the mantas, the dolphin show, and of course the shamu show. The kids really liked the rides too, and not having to wait in lines for them. 

I think I'm good now. I really enjoyed our day at Sea World, but once was enough. Thanks to Chris for putting up with my need to see Shamu. He wanted to buy me this stuffed whale, but thankfully I talked him into just taking my picture with it. 

The rest of the week was back to Disney! We hit up California and Disneyland many many times over the next few days. One highlight was getting to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater in Radiator Springs. We were able to go right up to them before a line started. It was perfect. Neil was in heaven! It was super cute. I wish I could have gotten a better picture.

We rode almost every single ride, we ate a lot of treats, and we saw all the shows. We stayed busy the entire time! I am amazed at how resilient the kids were. We got up at 7am everyday and played hard until 9 or 11 every night. There was lots of walking, and even one rainy day in the middle, but we all had a great time. One night we splurged and ate dinner at Cafe Orleans and had their famous monte cristo sandwiches and mickey shaped beignets for dessert. Mmmm!

The kids loved all the parades and getting to see all the characters, especially the princesses and Minnie Mouse. One night we stayed for the Halloween Party that they put on. Neil went to the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa and the four of us got to spend a few hours together going on all the big rides like Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and Space Mountain. We also checked out the specially decorated haunted mansion. It was fun to be able to get on most of these rides with very little waiting. It was much less crowded during the party. There was a special Halloween parade and firework show as well. We also got to see several of the villains out that night. It was nice to spend some time with just the girls and explore the park in the dark!

Our very last night was pretty special. We saw Radiator Springs all lit up just like in the movie. We rode the cars and got to stay for the World of Color show. Disney does a really good job with their shows. I was impressed. We bought all of our souvenirs and called it a day. We were exhausted, but wish we would have had more time. There is so much to see and do! I'm so glad that we made the trip. I think the kids all had a great time, and we did as well. Maybe someday we'll have to go back.