DisneyDisneyDisney

We love Disney, and we had so much fun visiting Disneyland in August!  We spent five days in the parks the last week of August.  We chose this week on purpose, allowing most of the country to get back to school so the crowds would be lighter.  It worked - we waited in almost no lines in Disneyland.  California Adventure was another story - the recent addition of Carsland (which is really magical) drew all the crowds like a giant magnet.  So, we worked the system and got a fastpass for the premiere ride in Carsland (Radiator Springs) first thing in the morning.  Then we rode it (twice) in the evening with virtually no wait in line (compared to the 1-2 hour standby wait).


Another favorite of this trip - our first time viewing the "World of Color" show in CA Adventure.  It was so spectacular . . . we watched it on two different nights!

A mistake I made on this trip . . . I brought two small cameras, each which have a nice video camera. Because of this, I didn't bring a video camera.  But I forgot to bring the charger for one of the cameras.  By the time we got to Disneyland, that camera was almost out of battery.  I brought the charger for the other camera, but then could NOT find it in my suitcase (I found it tucked in a corner of the bag when we were home).  So, midway through our Disneyland trip we had to rely on my iphone for all our pictures, including most of our important "tradition" pictures. Not the best quality pictures, and no video from the trip!

 Waiting for the parade to start

Our only complaint about this pilgrimage to Disneyland  . . . it was unusually hot.  Hot and humid. So we hit the parks first thing in the morning and toured heavily until about 1 p.m.  At which time we dragged our sweaty selves back to the hotel (across the street) and took a 3-4 hour nap.  Then we ate dinner in the hotel room and headed back into the park, right as the sun was going doing.  Aaahh - the evenings were gorgeous!   By the way, we did eat lunch in the park each day, and we discovered that Disneyland and DCA have seriously upgraded the quality of their food!  We had some delish and unusual  food that we're still thinking about . . .

Our fourth day in the park was my 42nd birthday, so on the first day I picked up an official "Happy Birthday" pin, which I wore the entire week.  Now, that is the way to celebrate a birthday!  Disney employees have been well-trained to acknowledge any guest wearing a celebratory button.  So, at least 50 times a day I was wished a happy birthday.  It was awesome!  From now on, I'm wearing my birthday pin all week at home, and I expect everyone I see to wish me a happy birthday with equal enthusiasm!  (Ha ha)  My favorite "happy birthday" moment was when a parade performer, walking on 8-foot tall stilts in the Disneyland parade, noticed and read my birthday button, and called out, "happy birthday, Tiffany" as he passed me in the parade.  Seriously the best way to spend a birthday week.

We had some breakthroughs on this trip.  Bailey - who hates rides with "drops", willingly went on Pirates many times and Splash Mountain twice.
And Joseph, who was incredibly afraid of any rollercoaster, learned to love Thunder Mountain.  He was terrified to ride Splash Mountain, but finally rode it in the last half hour we were in the park.  He tried to get himself to go on the ride all week, but finally decided on the last afternoon that he was willing to try it.  Then he sobbed the entire time we were waiting in line - it was heartbreaking and we looked like seriously cruel parents.  Still sobbing, he sat next to Dan on the ride.  His wails increased as we reached the big drop at the end.
 As soon as we dropped, he popped up his head and said, "that's my favorite ride!"  He wanted to ride it again, but we were out of time . . . so that will need to be next time.  Aubrey, true to form, rode and loved every single ride.

A notable moment - there was an earthquake one of the days we were in the park.  Because of this, all of the rides in the park were closed for awhile.  We didn't feel the earthquake, but I guess if a tremor is detected precautions are taken.  At the time of the quake, Aubrey and I were waiting inside the Indiana Jones ride. I guess I'm glad the quake wasn't a noticeable one, because it would really ruin our vacation if we were crushed inside the Indiana waiting queue.

We had fun choreographing our poses for the pictures on the rollercoasters.  Our favorite one was acting out "Call Me Maybe" on Space Mountain.

It was hard to say goodbye . . .

 

 But we did.  Time to get back to reality and school!