Vacation Day One

I know, I know, it's been a while. I have been back from California for a week and you haven't heard from me. Long story. Ready.

So Me, Matt, the Kids, and my Mom pack up (crammed more like it) Tuesday night and headed south, way south. After a night sleeping on boards at Whiskey Pete's we get up early and are in Disneyland by opening (9 am). I love Disneyland. Friends and certain family members just can't grasp why I have this deep love for a vacation destination. I have thought about that during this trip and I have come to a conclusion. Unlike other theme parks (Lagoon, Six Flags, Knotts Berry Farm) everyone is just plain "happy" at Disneyland. Everyone is all smiles and just LOVE their jobs. They go out of their way to wish you Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, or even give you pins and stickers if they find out that this is your first trip to Disneyland. Another reason: just like the Church, Disney doesn't do anything halfway. Everything is perfect, elaborate, and immaculate. The park is clean. Even with mutant band students all over the place, the park is clean. No gum, wrappers, even fallen leaves, dirt, NOTHING. That is my kind of vacation. Also, the themeing is incredible. You don't even feel like you are waiting in line because there is so much other stuff going on. They even go the extra mile just for a bench. I love it.

Some people may think that Disneyland = long lines. Not if you visit with me. We never waited more than 15 minutes for any ride, and we went on every single ride that Disneyland and California Adventure offer. OK, side note over, bottom line: I love Disneyland.
Ok, so we get to Disneyland at park opening and both me and Matt are in Heaven. Matt was one of the family members who just didn't get why I loved it so much. Now, however, he is just as bad, if not worse than me when it comes to Disneyland. He loves the park, the food, the rides, the people, and most of all - smells. So we walk under the bridge with the plaque and Matt and I turn into little kids. We are giggling and laughing, smiling and taking in the atmosphere of old town Main Street USA.

Our very first ride everytime we go to Disneyland is Pirates of the Caribbean. We don't know how it started, so we head to pirates and float down the bayou before we get dropped down into the Pirate's world. We see Davy Jones, the cursed aztec gold, Barbosa demanding the manilanders to produce Jack Sparrow, the red head getting auctioned off, Jack hiding from all the pirates, the dog holding the keys to the jail and then we return to the bayou. I love pirates. Disney does such a great job with the animatronics on their rides. Jeremy and Bailee were both convinced that it was the real Jack Sparrow. It was awesome.

Afterward we hit Splash. Bailee was still too short to ride, so we did baby swap with my mom. I LOVE baby swap. The cast member gives you a slip of paper. One person waits with the baby while the others go on the ride. After the ride, you meet your party, give the cast member the slip of paper and they put you on the ride right away with no waiting. It's great. Anyway, since Bailee couldn't go on Splash, the only kid ride close by was Winnie the Pooh. Because we love Splash so much Bailee probably went on Winnie the Pooh over 20 times. It got to the point where she would point and gasp and tell you what was coming next. It was great.
After our time in Critter Country we headed over to New Orleans Square. Matt's favorite ride is in New Orleans Square - The Haunted Mansion. Jeremy loved it, Bailee was terrified, and Matt acted just like a little kid scaring Bailee and telling Jeremy there was a ghost sitting right next to him. It was hilarious.
After the Haunted Mansion, Matt finally got to fulfill his dream of sailing on a real pirate ship. We boarded the sailing ship Columbia for a tour around Pirates Lair. Every other time we have gone to Disneyland, the Pirate Ship wasn't sailing, but since the Steamboat was down for repair, Matt got to sail a Pirate Ship. Like I said, just like a little kid:

After our "cruise" we headed over to Buzz Lightyear. Jeremy and Bailee both absolutely LOVE this ride. All it is are ships with guns and you shoot the targets and get points. Simple but it does have the disney touch. After the ride you can e-mail yourself a picture they take of you with your final score. I don't know how she did, but Bailee beat Mom and Jeremy. She must be our little sharp shooter. She is space ranger 2 on this first picture. Matt blew everyone out of the water. He takes his score VERY serious. :)

So after Buzz we went back to the hotel to give the kids a break. My kids haven't napped in years, but after just a few hours a Disney, they napped for three hours. That is the good thing about a park hopper, you have time to rest and relax. After their nap, we headed over to Disneyland's second theme park: California Adventure. We started that park by heading over to the Muppet Vision 3-D.
When I was younger I loved the Muppets. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo. This show was awesome. The only thing that makes me feel bad is that Bailee was having pure terror. She put those glasses on and she thought for sure that the bugs and butterflies were headed straigt for her. I felt so bad. As we were leaving the show she was shaking because she was so afraid.

So to make it up to her we headed over to Playhouse Disney. If you have younger kids, this is the show for you. Anyone who is familar with the Playhouse line-up on the Disney channel will recognize the characters in this show. It starts with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, then Handy Manny, then Little Einsteins, then My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and then ends with Mickey Mouse again. It is so cute. You little toddlers will jump, jive, and sing. Some people think that Disney park tickets are ridculously overpriced, but when you think about all the extra stuff besides just admission to the rides, you are actually getting a deal. The show was cute and kids had a ball.

After that we sat and watched my all time favorite parade ever. The Pixar Play Parade has characters and floats from all the Pixar Movies. It was cute and clever. I was sad that this was the only we got to see it. The whole rest of the trip I kept trying to make it back to watch, but it never worked out. Big thumbs up for this parade. The colors were vibrant and floats were clever, the music was upbeat and everyone had so much fun.
So after the Pixar Play Parade, we head back to Disneyland to watch the Parade of Dreams. These floats are so pretty and you see some characters in this parade that you can't find anywhere in the park. Jimminy Cricket, Tinkerbell, Queen of Hearts. It is just a fun parade, and the music is wonderful. Any disney fan will love it.

So after the parade of dreams we headed back to the hotel. The weather was perfect. It was 70 the whole time. It got a little cold as we watched the parade of dreams and we needed blankets, but other than that, it was a perfect day. Stay tuned for Day 2.