Looks like I never did a wrapup post for Disneyland. It was lovely. It was exhausting. It was never worse than I’d imagined and often better. This was helped by the fact that I had very reasonable expectations for traveling with over stimulated toddlers.
Actually our 1st full day was amazing. Kids up at 6am, which their momma told me is typical. Breakfast at Mimi’s Cafe, which has better service and food then they’d have to have and still survive because of their great location. Covered everyone in sunscreen, myself included, as we waited for gates to open. Magic Morning was CA Adventure that day, do we picked the OTHER park. Proved a wise choice. Straight to Fantasyland, where we all road all the rides with no lines. Snow White’s witch remains too scary for little ones. H was unhappy so she and her momma did more carousel while T and I did Toads wild ride a few times.
It’s a Small World is magic for toddlers. H was vibrating with excitement and flapping all four limbs. T also quite like it. So we road the boats twice in a row. Ugh. And it’s a long, awful, and kinda racist ride, too. But they were so happy. Morally dubious.
T loved Thunder Mountain Railroad so much. And the rider switch baby swap pass program is lovely. We napped at hotel and returned for more evening fun.
Overall it was grand. There were tantrums and meltdowns and 4 yr old having to go potty right now after 20 min in line & you’re the next up, darn it. But again, this trip was for them, not us. So many moments when their faces would light up. Bubble blowing guns will turn anyone into the pied piper, with kiddos from all over following us.
The 2 yr old, H, acts like she’s getting away with something HUGE Everytime she strips off her shoes and socks while in the stroller. Big scheming smile. Happily disneyland is full of parents looking out for each other. Everyone gives a heads up when some child drops a toy/clothing from a stroller or starts to get lost. Lovely community feel.
And it’s impossible to walk through park with popped balloon. We were trying to teach about consequences, and were tired of balloon bopping us in the face as we pushed stroller. Plus H didn’t seem to care much that she’d popped hers. But everyone else cared. Many guests stopped to inform us that Disney would replace it for free. Then, we met Disneyland employee Raymond in main street. He rushes over wanting to replace the balloon. We explain reasons why we don’t want to. And he was so crestfallen, sputtering in bewilderment and hurt. So we relented and allowed him to swap the popped balloon for a fresh one. “I mean, us walking around with popped balloon is making the place look like some rink dink Knotts berry farm.” Raymond laughed and said, “your words, not mine, ma’am. But basically, yes.” *laughs*
Teresa told kiddos that the rule with the balloons at Disneyland is you give them to some other kids on your last day. They were fine with that (luckily as it’s not like we could take them on the plane). We approached a couple with 2 small boys on our way out znx offered them the balloons. They were beyond excited. It was their first day in the theme parks and they’d just arrived from Australia, so fun accents.
What else? Oh, I received a marriage proposal on our 2nd day while buying souvenirs. Cashier asked if I was annual pass holder and I admitted I was not. The man in line behind me said I was his fiance and therefore should be eligible for his annual pass holder discount. It was very fun. He was a hoot and we concocted an elaborate relationship backstory. If I hadn’t been laughing, it just might have worked, too.
The flight home was not as smooth, as these kids were wiped out, sleep deprived, and over stimulated. Plus flight was at capacity with many angry standby fliers from an earlier canceled flight. But we all survived. And it was a success.
A month later and the kids were fighting at home. Teresa told them they had to agree on an activity to do together. They both agreed that they wanted Miss Tracy to take them to Disneyland again. Smart kiddos. I mean, it’s a pretty great choice of activity. Although I did tell their momma it hardly seems fair that I get all the credit for this trip that SHE chose and paid for. I basically just tagged along. Ha.