Disneyland

Not very long ago, my parents told us they wanted to take the whole family to Disneyland for Christmas. We were ALL on board for that of course!! It was decided that we'd shoot for the first week in December as we'd heard it isn't quite as busy then. But you get the perks of seeing the park all dressed up for Christmas! Shelley and I thought we'd have a lot more fun without our sassy 2 year olds that couldn't ride most of the rides anyway and we left them at home together with our cousin Trellany. (Love, Trell!! I felt completely at ease knowing she was with her.) I know most people love taking their babies, but in my opinion if you still take naps or need a stroller, I do not want to take you to Disneyland!

Everyone left after their church meetings on Sunday. It was fast Sunday so by late afternoon I was frantically searching for restaurants in upcoming cities. We were passing through Indio when I found a highly reviewed restaurant called Pueblo Viejo Grill. It was Ah-mazzzing!!! And not just because we were starving. Yummiest beef taco I've ever had. And then the sweet corn tamale. Oh.My.Word. It had this sweet, creamy sauce over the top that was out of this world. The tortillas were homemade. The salsa was just spicy enough. The chips deep fried to perfection. Even the beans were better than normal. Best decision ever. [I know what you're thinking... we're really good at slicing the whole "keeping the Sabbath day holy thing" in half. Go to church. Fast. Travel. Eat Out. Listen, this was not our typical Sunday. ;) ] Anyway, it was so good, we convinced Shelley and Casey to stop in when they passed through as well. We pulled into Anaheim around 7 or 8pm and grabbed some Baskin Robbins ice cream before checking into the hotel. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn, just up the street from the front of the park. 

I forgot to mention one important detail! Collin and Weston had NO idea what was going on. They have never been to Disneyland and we thought it would be fun to keep it a secret as long as we could. We told them we were going to California for a work trip and tried to be as vague as possible after that. Not easy when Collin is Mr. One Million Question boy! As we pulled onto the street of our hotel we passed the entrance to Disneyland and got stalled in traffic! Desperate for the boys to not notice anything, I frantically called their attention to the other side of the street. "Boys, look!!! Do you see that building? That super cool hotel thing? Yes, that right there is what is known as classic, turn of the century Californian architecture! The tower is reminiscent of the pueblos of yesteryear.. the facade is a stucco masterpiece of grand proportions...." Hahaha. I swear they were hooked but with the most confused of expressions. Once we got into the hotel, there was Disney paraphernalia everywhere! They noticed and pointed, just thinking it was cool they decorated in Mickey Mouse ears. Our room was also adorned with pictures galore of Disney which they found delightful but remained blissfully naive. Once we woke up Monday morning, we figured it was time to let the mouse out of the bag. ;)

In December we have the Advent Christmas tree that Megan gave us and each day has a bag filled with a treat or note for something we get to do that day. I brought that day's bag with us and put this note inside... 

Here's the video of them opening it. The real squeals don't come until it sinks in, but Collin's eyes after reading it are pretty great. 

With the time change we were up pretty early and had an hour to kill before the park opened. So to I-Hop it was! All tanked on flour and sugar and ready to tackle the fun!

The crew consisted of my parents, Shelley's family minus Lindi, our family minus Olive, Marcie, Austin and Scarlett, and Craig. I guess 4 kids out of 7 isn't bad. Jefferson was going to join us for Wednesday. Christopher and Jael couldn't come because they were going to Switzerland. David and Abbey had just gotten home from their honeymoon in Hawaii and couldn't take more time off work.

We went on Toad's Wild Ride first. I remember this being one of my favorites from my first time at Disneyland. I went with Collin and he was at the wheel. Immediately we were screaming, laughing, leaning over at each turn and having the BEST time ever. We laughed through the entire thing and about fell out afterward in a pile of giggles. For the next 3 days, it was hard to beat the pure joy of that first ride! 

From there it was Matterhorn (aka- the car wreck ride), teacups, and It's a Small Small World!

We almost got to ride together, but then we were told the other kids couldn't ride without an adult.

Trav was STOKED to be in the little kids cup!!! I heard him. He kept saying, "Faster! Faster! Let's get nauseous!!!" Hehe.

This ride is CRAZY at Christmas time. I couldn't wrap my mind around the time it must take to transform everything for Christmas! I mean, where do they STORE all those decorations??!

Thunder Mountain was my all time favorite as a kid and it was closed 2 years ago when we went last. It didn't disappoint!

Waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion. Another cool one at Christmas, set up like The Nightmare Before Christmas! I had never seen it all decorated on the outside with the creepy pumkins and then Marcie had never seen it without! She thought that was what it looked like all the time.

I managed to get us reservations at Cafe Orleans in the French Quarter for lunch. We were all salivating waiting for our Monte Cristo sandwiches!!

Shelley and Casey told us about Pooh's Corner Bakery. Just a few of the treats. The fudge was good, but that chocolate peanut butter cookie was crack!

Peter Pan is always such a wait, but it really is fun to go flyyyying!

One of my least favorites... Buzz Lightyear. I think the kids liked it though.

My mom requested the Monorail, so we hopped on board! I don't think I've ever been on this before.

The last time Trav and I did Autotopia, we gave it two thumbs down. Broken, slow cars. Disney can do better than this! But we were outvoted by everyone and so we went. The line was short and the cars we got this time seemed slightly better. Collin was my driver and it was one long ride of slamming against the concrete guide just to turn and slam into on the other side. He actually seemed to get scared that he was wrecking the car and screamed out a few times for me to help him. Made the whole thing a tad more amusing, haha. 

This picture cracks me up. Their heads look disembodied, right?

First time for the Finding Nemo Submarine! A bit of a yawn.

Okay, story time. 24 years ago when my parents took Shelley, Christopher and I to Disney for the first time ever, we were 8. This rocketship ride was on the top of a tower that you had to take an elevator to get to. I specifically remember Shelley being TERRIFIED. She fell apart and was crying and trying to run away from my mom. I don't know why my mom was hell bent on getting her on it, but she was. Finally, they managed to corral her towards mine and dump her inside with me. Here's the part that I'm fuzzy on. At least on where my compassion took a trip to. Because I just remember thinking I wanted my own rocketship, promptly hopping out and getting into a new one. Leaving my poor sister pathetically scared and crying. Hashtag; best sister award. Well, it was time to rewrite the past! We snickered as we tried to fit our grown up legs into the narrow cavity and felt very much like little kids giggling the whole ride through! It was so fun and hopefully all is forgiven, ;)

It was about time for a ginormous, deep fried, $8 corn dog. Anddddd hot chocolate. 

The light parade was unreal! Disney really knows how to put on a show. I'll always remember the opening song by Owl City, "When Will I See You Again?" and the long semi-truck from Cars, all lit up inside. Every time we saw Elsa or Anna on this trip the boys begged me to take a picture to show Olive. They know how she loves Frozen!

We also found places on Mainstreet for the fireworks show at 9pm. Talk about a madhouse! We felt like we were on Times Square for New Year's Eve again. But oh was it worth it!! It's straight up amazing how they put that thing together. With dancing animation projected onto the castle and Main St. shop facades. Tinkerbell swooping around the castle spires and bubbles blowing out of shop windows when the Frozen song came on. Then the fireworks show to end all fireworks shows!! Absolutely breathtaking. After it was over, the park started to empty out, but it didn't close until 11pm. It was chilly but not freezing, so we raced to Splash Mountain! No line whatsoever! Collin was literally jumping up and down and fist pumping when he hopped off, he loved it so much. Weston timidly confided that he didn't like that one. So while we all took off to do it again, Trav took Weston on the neighboring Winnie the Pooh ride. We were a tad wet and ready to call it a night after that. It felt like a loooong walk to get from that corner of the park all the way home, but it was with happy satisfaction after an epic first day.

Tuesday was our only day at California Adventure, so we made sure we were at the gates before it opened.

We noticed that all three of the husbands were wearing a black or grey RVCA hat. And Shelley and I were both sporting the side braid! We must be family, haha. Marcie quickly jumped on the band wagon and the matchy matchy family was ready to roll!!

 It was time to implement our secret (not so secret) way of getting on Cars first! (Aka, plant yourself as far right as possible in front of the ropes and stay right as they guide you in.) It worked and we were some of the first to board!

This ride is just. so. much. FUN!!! Could do it over and over again. As it was, Trav took all our tickets and ran to get fast passes so we could do it at least one more time!

We dilly-dallied riding Mater's Junkyard while Trav did that, then proceeded to the long line for Toy Story. Now, if you're looking for a "shooting" game, this one schools Buzz Light-year's, in my opinion! My ego only took a small crash, when half way through, I looked over at Weston's score and he wasn't that far behind me!! What?! I was actually trying!! 

I think California Screamin' is the only ride that neither of the boys could do. Lucky us to have Grandma willing to watch them. This roller coaster is one of my favorites. I'm smiling the whole time and screaming the happiest of screams. I just had to tell myself to forget about Marcie's harrowing experience last time. When they checked to make sure everyone's harnesses were locked, hers was down really tight. As the rollercoaster started to move forward though, hers suddenly unlocked and rose up!!! WORST NIGHTMARE, amiright?!! I get shudders when she tells the story. She screamed to Austin and they quickly grabbed it and shoved it down but as the coaster took off she had no idea if it would hold. Well, obviously it did, but it's lucky she didn't have to change her pants after that. I think I would have had to!!

The second time around we were gettin' loopy. ;)

The carousel next door came in handy! 

My McDonald's breakfast parfait had worn off, so it was time for some Disney food! Shelley had turned us onto the marvel that was "the cozy cone"! Ahh-AHH! That would be luscious mac' n cheese topped with crumbly yumbly bacon, wrapped in a breaded cone of wonder! Washed down with a pomegranate limeade. Lunch of champions.

After that we went to Soarin' Over California. Can I just say, that was INCREDIBLE!!! It was our first time ever and it did NOT disappoint!! I had no idea it would be that cool. I promise you, I was leaning forward with huge ol' eyes and a slappy grin on my face, arms out and legs stretched forward. Biggest goon ever. And I didn't even care!! I completely reverted to a childlike state and enjoyed every second. It didn't last long enough! The complexity of that contraption wowed me. Some human beings are freakin' geniuses. 

Next, we broke off from the main group to use our fast passes at Cars. They were ready for a sit down lunch, but we were full on cones. ;)

A girl in front of us in line noticed Collin and kept trying to talk to him the entire time. I swear, wherever Collin goes, the ladies seem to follow. When it's time for him to actually like girls, I'm going to struggle!!

Back to the Cozy Cone for ice cream this time! Weston thought it was all sorts of fun to curl up in these windows. A cat at heart. Meow.

We fit in a showing of Aladdin in the afternoon. A quiet, dark room in the afternoon is not conducive for Grandpa staying awake, but the rest of us liked it. This was one of my favorite things a couple of years ago. Practically Broadway quality and for "free"! ;)

It was finally time. 

Duh duh DUHHHH. 

I completely and utterly HATE this ride, and yet, my FOMA (fear of missing out) compelled me to go. This whole trip I was amazed that the boys never once showed fear or apprehension about ANY ride. Props to them. I was not as brave at their age. I'm not as brave now! Here are our "before" faces.

And "during" faces.

There is NO way I couldn't have ridden it without Trav. I HAD to have someone to hold onto. Free falls are death to me. As I started to squirm and squeal, before the ride even started, Trav mumbled in my ear, "OK, hold it together for at least your son". Nope. Sorry Weston. Mommy is petrified. You better believe I was thrashing and screaming as though my arms were being amputated. Marcie feels my pain. Collin thought it was the shizz. Rusty's face just wins, hands down. My mom says she could ride this all day long. I always knew she was crazy.

Why we chose to do the water ride when it was chilly and dark, is beyond me! But at least there was no line and Grandma had ponchos! 

After that, we split up again because I really wanted to do Soarin' one more time! We were put on the bottom level which wasn't quite as awesome, but still fun. We caught the end of the parade, tried out Ariel's Grotto ride, then met up with the family for dinner. We just got the boys something because we wanted food from the Warf later. 

Goofy's Sky School was right next to the restaurant so you know we had to give THAT a spin! I went first with Weston and I think my heart skipped a few beats on those whippy turns. I love this one because it even made Trav a little wary last time we were here. Now I remember why! I don't have to tell you that Collin was all over it! I'm thinking we have an adrenaline junky on our hands. 

After that, we rushed down to the Warf to get our food. I was fixed on a bread bowl of clam chowder soup and Trav got Chinese food. Couldn't pass up a sundae from Ghiradelli's and we were cruisin' to the area where our family was waiting for the World of Color show. 
We weren't the only ones who thought of Ghiradelli before the show!

It was the 60th Anniversary edition. At the same time, Jefferson got there! His plane had landed in time for him to join us for the water show. It was pretty and my soup was yummy. The ice cream even better. My shoulders were the only thing complaining from having Weston perched there for a better view. It was all over by 10pm, which meant one extra hour of sleep than last night! 

It looks like Grandma is all tuckered out, but she was actually doing leg raises here. I think there's something under her head so she's not straight laying on the nasty ground. Let's just hope.

The view from our hotel room.

The maids decided to have a little fun with Bananas.

Our 3rd and last day!! We misunderstood when it opened and got there an hour later than we should have. THEN, right as we were getting close to going inside Space Mountain, it closed! Grandpa suggested we stay put and he was right! They reopened 15 min. later and we piled in! I love Space Mountain, but was a little nervous going on it with Weston. It's like my brain knows he can't possible fall out, but my heart fears his tiny body will somehow fatalistically be thrown from the car. I kept a tight arm across him just to be safe.

Shelley and Casey's family didn't get out of their hotel room fast enough so they missed it and were in line when we were done. So we decided to go ride Storybook Canal while we waited for them. 

Seeing Cinderella on our walk over to Fantasyland! Even my 32 year old self swooned. Cinderella was always my favorite. 

Grandma, Grandpa and Marcie joined us for this one. I don't remember being super fascinated by this two years ago, but I sure was this time! It's the weirdest feeling, really, but I was swept away by the fantasy of it. Besides Soarin', it was the closest I got to feeling childlike. As though the idea that fairy-tales and nursery rhymes could actually be possible in this fun, simpler version of life. Nostalgia was thick as I half pined for a world where Aladdin finds a genie and Elsa commands a frozen castle.

The Frozen castle is new by the way! Very cool! No pun intended. ;)

Tea cups, again?! The kids insisted.

Then Collin pretended he was... dead?? You never can tell with this one.

Walking back to Tomorrowland, we passed "The Queen" as she called herself (don't tell her I thought it was The Wicked Witch) She was funny, staying very solemn, noble and "evil-like". There was a short line, so we hopped in. She told the boys to pose with their best "Queen" pose. Weston just looks like he's miserable, haha!

Fast passes to Star Tours! Jefferson was the traitor spy, or whatever they call it. I got picked last time we came. We heard they "fixed" the animation so we didn't get as nauseous this go around.

We HAD to do Thunder Mountain again! 

Then, with the stroller pass, Austin and Jefferson took all the nephews even one more go around. Oh BOY!!!!

This is when time stood still and I got my turkey leg. Guys, I still dream about this leg. It was salty and tender and loved me the way every girl should be loved. 

And I really only shared a little bit, so here is evidence that I know how to put it down! 

The Jungle Cruise!!

My large, corny joke quota is filled generously thanks to the Jungle Cruise. Now if only my ears worked and I could hear them all! Next time I'm sitting right next to the guide, I tell ya!

OK, life isn't even fair. Why do I have to be blogging about Dole Whips right now instead of eating one?!!!!! I didn't even mention that they RAN OUT of Dole Whips on Monday and this was my only day to get them!! I would like to know which employee needs to be flogged for such a malicious oversight. Juuust kidding. He could just lose his job. 

;) ;) ;) 

We did the Tikki Room.

 It was our first time.

 This pretty much sums up how we felt about it.

                  Unless it's pouring rain and you need a refuge or it's bloody hot and you need air conditioning, do not bother stepping foot in this weird excuse for Disney space. 

 Mom was excited to stop into the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. They had seen a show there once that was great. THIS particular show probably fell a little shy of "great". Perhaps if reserved Casey had been called up to the stage it would have tipped the scales. ;)

We also got some "meh" food there.. salads, fish and chips, etc. I heard Shelley say the Mint Chocolate Chip sundae sounded good, so I nudged Travis up to the counter to get us one to share. He brought back mint chocolate chip ice cream in a little waffle bowl with whipped cream on top. What the heeeeckkk? As if FUDGE isn't the essence of a sundae?! Who are these people?? I politely went up to the counter to ask what it would cost to get a little fudge on the side. He was nice enough to hand me a cup of fudge on the house, but I think he paid too much attention to the "little" part. Let it be known that if I ever open up an ice cream parlor there will be plenty of FUDGE FOR ALL!!!! (Say it like a king making a declaration.)

Nice little performance going on as we left. We might've done a jig or two. I think the tuba player appreciated the liveliness in the otherwise statuesque crowd. 

There is never enough baby time for Mr. Weston!

Besides the Tikki Room, another part of this day that could have taken a flying leap was the train ride. We waited at least 30 minutes for it. Then it slowly choo choo'd us around the park, wasting more precious Disney time. Perhaps the geriatric appreciate it? Or I'm just really impatient. That's probably it. I really think it must be used more as a means of actual transportation than a memorable train ride. Alas, check it off the list!

It was T I M E!!!

The notion of dancing in front of the castle had been talked about since we got there and it was finally time to get down! The girl who agreed to take the video, admitted afterward that she thought there was going to be a proposal or baby announcement or something. HA! Nope, just us crazy Lindbloms getting groovy!

I'd been eyeing these Minnie ears since we got there. I guess Marcie was too! Maybe if I was a bigger Disney fanatic I would have gotten the 60th Anniversary, $28 ones. My word. 

Dumbo scarred me as a child. That's all.

If the shoe fits!!

When Trav and I came two years ago, I had the best steak of my life at the Blue Bayou. Melt in your mouth, life changing!!! Welp, this was the complete opposite. Biggest let down of the trip for me. I even sent it back!!! I HATE sending things back. But for $45, I was not eating that piece of rubber. The second one was fine. It didn't melt. But it was fine. It served as a reminder that while Disney is magical, its steaks are not. 

The rest of the family ate at a Mexican joint then hit up Toon Town. 

We hustled over and rode the 2 second roller-coaster. 

Roger Rabbit is a fun one, so we got in line with Marcie and Austin. Half way through, it broke down. After a few minutes the lights went on and workers came to rescue us! It was weird walking through the ride, being able to see all the chips in paint and scratched woodwork as we walked. Cool and not cool at all. 

The kids ran amok for a while in the rubber buildings before we all gathered to meet Mickey. There was basically no line which prompted my mom's memory of us waiting 2 hours to see him as kids. Nooo thank you! This is why parents are amazing.

So, the goal became getting Mickey to dance with us. And why not make it Whip and Nae Nae?! He was a little embarrassed, haha. 

Even though we had seen it on Monday, the enticement of the light parade was too much! We had to see it again! Only this time we had to run through half of Disneyland just to get past the barriers and make it to Main Street. We carried the boys, who were exhausted, limp good for nothings, most of the way. I wanted to collapse! While it had been getting cold. we were now soaked in a decent amount of sweat. A nice family let us squeeze into non-existent space inside a barrier and my shoulders got another bum massage by Weston. Still worth it. We were able to find the rest of the family and scrunch together for the fireworks show. Just as amazing as the first time! So glad Jeffers was there with us to enjoy it. 

The interesting thing about this night was the intense fog. The air was really heavy for some reason and all the smoke from the fireworks seemed to get trapped around the park. It seemed to smudge all the lines and turn the ambiance mystical and dark. 

It's a Small Small World won the most impressive light display for sure.

Just like Monday, the consensus was to run to Splash Mountain while everyone was leaving and it was too cold to have a line. It was chilly, but I NEEDED a Dole Whip. So I got one. :) Travis went on the ride by himself though, because both boys had surrendered. Collin was crying that he was tired (not the first time on this trip!) and Weston had remembered he wanted nothing to do with that drop. 

After Tower of Terror, I think this is my favorite ride photo! What a bunch of characters!

The place didn't close til midnight though and we still had one hour left! Travis heroically offered to take the boys back to the hotel with him so I could stay with the others. My dad loves Space Mountain so we decided to run over there and finish the night with that. 

We must have crossed that ride in the pre-existence though, because as we ran up, they were announcing it had to be shut down indefinitely. Boooo! Like the captain to his ship, we decided to stay and see if it opened up back up. I kid you not, at 11:55pm, the workers came back and let us on!! Woooohoooo!!!!!

It was a slow stroll down Main St. and out of the park. So hard to believe it was over! Gone in a flash of churros, roller-coasters, selfies and dancing. We had had pure, undulated FUN for 3 days! I felt so lucky and so grateful. What awesome parents to take their whole family on a trip of dreams! Being able to afford something like this reminds me of a lifetime of seeing my dad always working. My mom always serving us. Both of them always exhausted. And when I think about that, it traces these fun memories with a touch of guilt. But I think that's OK. I never want to take their generosity for granted. We are grateful recipients, indeed. And this was a vacation for the record books!!  

Sleep was sweet peace for all of us except Marcie and Austin, who either had food poisoning or just caught a bad stomach bug that night. Poor guys! We were the first to check out in the morning because if we didn't hit the road soon, we'd miss Collin's school Christmas concert that evening. We didn't stop until we were driving through Phoenix and I had the brilliant idea to call in an order to Carolinas. Sweet Caroline!! Oh! Oh! Oh! 

That burrito was HEAVEN. So was the beef taco.

From there it was speedy gonzales to Carrie's house to pick up Olive. She had her for Wednesday and Thursday. I was SO excited to see that sweet girl! I couldn't wait to scoop her up and kiss her all over. While it was definitely the right decision to leave her, I had missed her like crazy! After smooching her face off she promptly fell asleep in her car seat after missing two days of naps. Super grateful to Carrie for having her for us. Welp, we were all together again!! Back to normal life. ;)