About a month ago we had an impetuous moment when we decided that we just could not miss the 60th celebration of Disneyland
Because a decade ago we had visited Disneyland for the 50th celebration
Here we are in May of 2006 (the 50th celebration was extended 6 months so we just made it).
And here is 3 year old Brandon on Dan's shoulders at the 40th celebration, 20 years ago!
What a cutie. How can my little guy be married now?
Anyway . . . back to 2015.
In our longing to be at the 60th celebration, we eyed the end of October, when the kids had a few days off of school. When we found that our friends the Kartchners were thinking of going the exact same time, we were sold. Disneyland with good friends = triple the fun!
Aubrey also invited her best friend Emma, who has never gone to Disneyland.
We offered to fly the college kids down for a few days to join us, but knew that it would be really difficult for them to miss any school mid-semester. Brandon and Angela had to decline, but Bailey worked her schedule so she could join us for the last few days! Hooray!
It was a magical trip which began really early in the morning, lining up before the gates opened each day
Once we entered the park we skipped down Main Street. Of course!
Once we reached the end of Main Street we waited patiently for the "rope drop" by Fantasyland.
Dan was our fastpass retriever each of the days. He crisscrossed the park picking up fastpasses so we didn't have to wait in any lines. My fitfit recorded that we walked about 9 miles a day, but Dan surely walked at least 15 per day!
And now, random moments from our vacation . . .
I've always loved this whimsical little door near Alice and Wonderland!
October 2015 - Joseph age 10
May 2006 - Aubrey age 6, Bailey almost 9, and Breanne Yates.
Pineapple Dole whip is the BEST. Especially good since it was really hot for our trip - mid 90s on two of the days! And it's even better when enjoyed in the air conditioned comfort of the Tiki Room.
These boys, who have been best buddies since before they could talk, had the most awesome time running through Disneyland together. Having friends along made Joseph very adventurous, and he rode almost every ride.
Joseph took his driving very seriously.
Selfies with Peter Pan!
We rode every ride over and over. Bailey went on Tower of Terror for the first time! We all loved iconic Space Mountain, specially themed for Halloween. And the Haunted Mansion had such a COOL complete makeover for the holiday! It was amazing.
Joseph's favorite ride was definitely Thunder Mountain, but he also loved Indiana Jones, Soarin', and we all loved Radiator Springs Racers!
Our first time on Radiator Springs, our two cars (with our family and the Kartchners) raced each other!
We saw both parades and especially liked the nighttime lighted parade to celebrate 60 years.
And the new World of Color show is AMAZING. It even made me cry a bit. But that's nothing new. I almost always cry during Disney fireworks/shows.
Joseph had researched lots of details about Disneyland in the month leading up to the trip, and he wanted to find the horse on the carousel with a gold tooth. Check!
Joseph wasn't interested in meeting any of the characters unless his buddies were with him.
But at least he wasn't terrorized and trying to crawl away from the them, like he did when he was 1!
I got to relive the fun of taking girls to meet princesses, as Aubrey and Emma wanted to go to the Princess Fantasy Faire to meet Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle.
Here's Aubrey meeting Snow White at age 6
And age 15 (Wow - my camera did not handle the indoor lighting well at all)!
Aubrey still can't lift the dumbbells in Toon Town!
Cars Land is so awesome! It's like walking through the movie!
We got the lamest picture ever with Mickey. Bad lighting and awkward positioning by a Disney photographer who was rushing us. But we met him!
Here's the group in 2006 (with Darren Yates, Bailey almost 9, Joseph 1, Brandon 14. I guess Aubrey opted out of this picture?).
We really wanted to take a family picture in front of the famous Mickey pumpkin, but the line to take a picture was always SO long, so we settled for this sideways shot so we could get on with running to some rides!
I remembered that we had a picture of Bailey at almost 9 in front of this backdrop near It's A Small World. She wasn't very happy about life by the end of that day. Behind the kids was one of the amazing pictures displayed for the 50th. Each large image of a Disney character was made up of thousands of pictures of guests of the parks.
Much happier this year, age 18!
Joseph is a big fan of stuffed animals and spent all his money on a very special Mickey. Here we are, riding the tram to the parking area. For the first time ever we didn't stay across the street from Disneyland. Our friends were staying in Buena Park where they had free points at a Radisson. And, a convention had raised the prices of the hotels near to the parks, So, we booked the Radisson as well. But, we hated not being in walking distance! Waiting for the tram and fighting traffic both directions added unnecessary hassle to the day.
It was so fun to spend time with our college girl!
When we were checking out at one of the stores on Main Street, the cashier asked Joseph if he wanted to celebrate his birthday that day because he wouldn't be visiting in his birthday month. She gave him a special birthday badge and placed a call to Goofy! Just more of the Disney magic . . . (And I seriously haven't seen a rotary phone like that since 1985).
I'm so glad we were impetuous and ran away to Disneyland! It was a great break for all of us!
