Oh boy. WARNING: There are a TON of pictures here. You might get bored.
We had a late start that morning, or so we felt. Disneyland opened at 8am and closed at midnight this week. But it still never feels like enough time. The first picture we took was of my Mom, of course. She has a little Mickey living in her heart. One of the first things she said to me this day was, "I could work here. I could be a guide or just hand out fliers." I agree 100%. She would be so happy with a job like that.
We lived in Southern California for many years when we were kids so we went to Disneyland quite often. My parents grew up around there, my Dad even worked there! So they were very familiar with the Park. Little did they know they would pass it onto their kids too. I always thought it was weird that people had only been to Disneyland once or twice in their life. As an adult, I get it...that place is freaking pricey! It's just more emotional for us, I guess. I have so many memories there and even had a very vivid flashback of my Grandpa Del (my Mom's Dad who took us frequently) near the Matterhorn. (He'd also sit out of the Haunted Mansion with me because I got too scared).
Of course we had to stop at the Disneyland Fire Department....
Of course we had to stop at the Disneyland Fire Department....
And pose like everyone else...
Our first ride was the Jungle Cruise. This is where my Dad worked. Max loved all the animals and water.
After we took him on Pirates (didn't go well) and the Haunted Mansion (went very well) we stopped to hear some music...and dance a little.
The Winnie the Pooh ride was a hit. Easy and slow...and finally a happy ride. :)
Erik went on thunder Mountain Railroad, where he ran into his friends from home (the Lingle's). That helped a lot since there were a few rides at the park Erik would have gone on solo. I actually captured the picture. Erik has both hands up in the second cart. Wearing a straw hat.
On the carousel. LOVED it!!!!
Casey Jr. He really liked any ride that he could sit on his own like a big boy.
Erik and my Mom went on Splash Mountain so Max and I got to take a break. We hung out by the water and watched the boats go by. Max talked the whole time and pointed to everything yelling, "Oh WOW!" This was the part where we realized how cold it was that day.
Then we met up with the two wild ones and saw this:
and this:
It's a little hard to tell in the picture but they were soaked. And it was cold and windy. But they had a blast. We eventually made our way over to Autopia. I drove with the old lady and we giggled the entire time. We sounded like little girls.
Behind us were these cute guys,
We took the train over to Toon Town. Max really liked that. Well, he really liked trying to lick the railing and Mommy saying, "Ewww." Either way, a little boy giggling is a good sound to hear.
It's a Small World was probably his favorite. He and I sat in the back row all to ourselves. He looked and "Wowed" and pointed through the whole ride. He didn't even realize he was in water until the end, when he tried to play in it.
When we got to Toon Town, Grandma kindly offered to head back to the hotel (we got one for the night) and get our warm clothing. We let Max go crazy in there. He loved it. It was all child friendly and he loved guiding us around. Once again, the fire truck.
the jail...
...this may have been his favorite part. He could reach the button/doorbell and he screamed when we moved him onto the next thing...
Inside Goofy's house there was a piano that he fell in love with. Every time a new face would walk inside, Max would run over to the piano, giggling and watching them, to show them what it did.
Minnie's house had a dishwasher...
After we got bundled up, Max fell asleep. We thought it would be for the night so Grandma rested with him while Erik and I went on Buzz Light Year. SO FUN! After that, I rested with Grandma and Max while Erik met up with the Lingle's and went to Space Mountain. Max woke up after we parted (it's was almost 11pm) and got his second wind. I was starting to crash for the night so Grandma followed him around. She was convinced he walked a mile, not looking back once. He had fun playing in the arcade and, I have no idea how, knew how to do Dance Dance Revolution. He got himself up and started stepping on the squares, all while looking at the screen. Funny kid.
they were hiding out inside some game. Grandma trying to figure out what it was, Max is probably explaining it all to her, "Dergle, lergle, lergele, beble, begbleh...."
And finally, at midnight, we think Max realized where he was...he snuggled and squeezed and hugged and kissed this mouse. Then threw it on the ground. Good thing, we almost bought it!
We had such a perfect time there. We hope to go again next year! Thank you to Grandma for all your help, we couldn't have done it without you!
TTFN...
