Disneyland!!!

We had SUCH a great time on our impromptu vacation to disneyland.  Darryl had a convention to attend in Anaheim the same time Karen needed to be in LA to catch her flight back to Chile.  She's been wanting to go to Disneyland since she first came here 5 years ago.  Each visit we almost get to go, then something happens that makes it impossible.  This time the stars aligned and we made it!

First, some observations: Will loves rollercoasters.  Eliana does not. She loved all the storybook rides.  Will was tall enough to go on a lot of the fun rollercoasters, but was about a millimeter too short for a few and was sorely disappointed.  We should have stuffed some toilet paper in his shoes.

Second, you really do need a lot of time to thoroughly explore the parks.  We had two days, which I thought would be plenty.  In fact, I thought we might be bored by the end of day two.  Not so.  We stayed from early morning to closing time and still didn't see everything.  The good thing about not quite getting to see all we wanted is that all of us left wanting to come back soon.

Third, Lizzie is an amazing baby.  She is such a good little traveler (all 3 are great).  She slept like a champ in the umbrella stroller, put up with us dragging her all over the place, and had a cheery attitude most of the time.

Fourth, my kids weren't wild about the characters, which was fine by me, since there are often HUGE lines to say hello.  They both wanted to see Mickey Mouse, who has apparently dropped in popularity, because it took us about 5-10 minutes to work our way through his house, watch a few shorts and get in for a picture.

Fifth, I love having a GPS in my phone!  I drove all around the LA area, not having a clue about the local layout, and arrived where I wanted without a hitch.

So now, here's a basic rundown of our trip.

Day 1: drive forever. Fall into beds at night.

Day 2: Disneyland! It was a little cold and rainy that day, so Darryl and the kids ducked out as it got dark, and Karen and I rode the scary rides (which was so much fun becuase a. we ran through the lines for every ride, and b. Karen screams sooo loud on scary rides.  It's a lot of fun).

Day 3, Darryl went to the convention and the kids and I took Karen to the airport, then went to Manhattan beach (which was lovely and low-key).  We then went back to the hotel and swam for a bit.  After Darryl got back, we headed out for a valentine's day sushi meal with the kids.  The restaurant had great food for a great price, but wasn't very kid-friendly.  They took forever serving us (several people were seated well after us, yet received their food before we were given the opportunity to order).

Day 4, the kids and I drove to Pasadena to meet up with  my cousin Erika.  We got some delicious Korean buns while we were in the area, then headed to the children's museum.  We got soaked walking from our car to our destinations, which is a unique experience for our desert-dwelling family.  That evening we met up with Maddison and Don for dinner at Bucca di Beppo.  They were good sports to hang out with us and our kids who were up way too late.

Day 5, California Adventure and Disneyland again!  Aside from the terrifying Bugs Life show, a good time was had by all.  We loved the parade that night, and had a magical experience overall.  Three-year-old Will cracked me up with his ability to see through the "magic" though.  After riding on Pirates he said, "it's not scary.  They're just robots.  Robots aren't scary."  And of Mickey and other characters he said, "so...it's just someone dressed up like Mickey pretending to wave at me?" With a tone like, "why am I supposed to think this is cool?"

Day 6, home again, home again, jiggity jig!  Eliana threw up right as we were approaching Barstow.  Yuck.  Darryl dropped us at a gas station, then went in search of someone who could clean up the mess so our car didn't smell like barf the rest of the way home.  It took F.O.R.E.V.E.R. so I finally walked with the kids to a nearby McDonalds, which thankfully had a playplace.  I hate the food, but I love the entertainment. Other than that, the drive went well.

We had a fun time, and hope to be able to make the trip again soon.