Sunday, November 30, 2008

DISNEYLAND!!!!

So we finally did it! We went to Disneyland!! I hadn't been there since 1995, and Stefan's last trip was when he was 8, so it had been awhile for us. Kaleb was super stoked to get there and was hoping to see his favorite character (for the moment) Wall-E. The kid is hooked on everything Wall-e and Eve.

We got to Disneyland on Friday around 11am and began our tour-de-force of all things Disney. Our first official Disney "ride" was the Tarzan treehouse. I think Kaleb could've played all day in that thing, but mom and dad wanted to keep moving, so here are a couple of pics from the tree...


Next up came the Haunted Mansion which was all done up for the Nightmare before Christmas. Very Cool.
From there we ran to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Always a favorite, we were lucky, or not so lucky, to be put in the front row. Kaleb was diggin the Pirates when we hit the first drop. Not bad, a little splashy, but I didn't think much of it. However when we went down the second drop, I knew I had a problem... My left butt cheek was COMPLETELY saturated, ALL the way through. I am pretty sure I have a mild form of hyperthermia on that cheek now as I cannot seem to get it completely warm, but all in all it was worth it!
Next up, the Jungle Cruise... Actually got a pic of me and Kaleb!

After the cruise we honored my brother and munched on some Chieftan Chicken stix and Tiger Tails. Yum.
After our snack we ran for the Big Thunder Train. Now to be honest, Kaleb does not like his rides to be fast and unpredictable. Although I have so far been able to get him to do just about anything if there isn't a line, and I tell him it only goes "medium." I will have to admit, I believe he was a little ticked off at me by the end of the train ride. It definately wasn't Train Town, and while he didn't cry or scream, he told me very sternly, "Mom, that train was NOT medium." Kaleb said no more rides after that one, so we headed to ToonTown to help him forget...


For any parent who has not been to Toon Town, let me warn you. The wait to see Mickey Mouse was the LONGEST wait we had all day... Over an hour! Once you got in his house, you were pretty much stuck, and committed to seeing the damn mouse in his house. You are led to a photo opp...

We finished our first day with a quick Matterhorn ride... it's Medium right? Then left the park and went out for dinner at McCormick and Schmicks (we had a gift certificate courtesy of Danika) and enjoyed a big steak!
Day two...
We started the day with Disneyland. We were determined to go to Tomorrowland to do Buzz's Astroblasters, Space Mountain, Autotopia, and Star Tours... Kaleb loved Star Tours, and couldn't stop laughing long enough to shoot much on Buzz's ride. It was after Buzz's ride that Kalebs entire trip was made... There finally in the store was a Wall-e display! Kaleb squealed and grabed an EVE stuffed toy and a little Wall-e (which he said was for me... he is so nice.) Eve has become an extension of Kaleb, and pretty much goes where he does. Now on to Space Mountain.
Now Kaleb as I have mentioned does not like to go too fast, and when he does, he generally likes to see where he was going, so I was a little worried with this ride. So, to make things easy for us, I told him that it was Wall-E's ride in space when he is chasing Eve and we will see the stars. This seemed to make him very happy and not at all worried with what was about to happen. We got a Fastpass for this ride, so we wouldn't have to wait in the long line. Unfortunately just as we got close, we were told that the ride would be closed down and we could wait or leave as they didn't know for how long. Thankfully about 8 minutes later the ride reopened and we were soon loaded in our spaceship...
Let's just say that at the end of the ride, Kaleb said, "Mom, that ride was REALLY fast, and I don't want to do that one again."
California Adventure:
We went to California Adventure on our second day. We started at Brother's Bears Tree house/thingy where again, Kaleb could've stayed all day. The rope swing being his favorite, I had to pull him off so others could have a turn.

Kaleb and I then ran around on the nets until we were both sweating a stinky. (But is was well worth it!). After a Churro and a soda, we attempted the Bug's Life show, which was cool, but kinda scared Kaleb who really didn't appreciate being spit on. Next up was Soarin over California which we all really dug. Then a little Monsters, Inc.
Suddenly, there it was in a small corner at the very edge of the park, a Wall-E. Kaleb's day was complete.

We were all pretty tired by now, and we headed over the the Pier section of California Adventure. Kaleb argued with a worker to try to let him on the ride that shoots you up, but alas he was too small for that one. I was pretty impressed that he even offered the guy that I would go on with him, but it was still a no. That pretty much put him in a mood, so we watched the Pixar Parade, then went and had a chowder bowl. We really wanted to see some of the nighttime parades at Disneyland, so we ran back over there, but after about 5 minutes, Kaleb was zonked on Stefans head and we decided to make for our hotel. At least we could see the fireworks from our room!
Of course once we got back to our room, the lil bugger was awake, so we decided to go for a soak in the spa and rest our muscles. We sat in the spa, ate some grubbin Tacquitos, and drank some root beer enjoying the night sky. Once back in the room, dry, and in our jammies, the fireworks started, so Kaleb grabbed his light sword, and we cheered the awesome firework display. Which I now believe is how every day should end!
We woke at 3:30 in the morning, and were on the road by 4 in hopes of beating holiday traffic (we did). All in all, it was a great trip, and we are all looking forward to going back soon!


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic trip! Love the pictures and stories. I wish we could've been there too..maybe we can all take a trip there next time? Glad you made it home safe and sound. Love to all-Mom #2

David Prosser said...

Just curious why there are no pictures of the Chieftain chicken skewers?
The picture of Kaleb in jail is classic! You can tell he is excited to be there!