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| On the plane ready to GO! |
Our Disney trip was a surprise for Zoë’s 5th
birthday. We wrapped up some ears for
her to unwrap which ended up being really anticlimactic (she was way more
interested in the toys she had just opened).
The next morning when we woke up to go to the airport, however, both
kids were really excited! The trip was
short and uneventful (minus a few –- expected—tantrums from Oliver) and we took
the shuttle to our home, the Paradise Pier Hotel, for the next six days.
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| In the lobby of the Paradise Pier Hotel |
The concierge delivered birthday balloons and
a birthday button for Z and the rest of us had a “we are celebrating Zoë’s
birthday” button to wear as well. From
the moment we arrived the kids were absolutely fawned over wherever we went. I’m sure it helps that they are absolutely
freaking adorable, but it warmed my heart whenever a Cast Member would interact
with them.
Chris and I discussed whether or not we would push for nap/quiet
time that afternoon and it soon became clear that the kids were NOT going to
sit still so we headed right for Disneyland!
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| Waiting for the Monorail |
Our hotel was about a 15 minute walk to the parks through
Downtown Disney but the first afternoon we hopped on the monorail just inside
the security gates in DD which took us right into Tomorrowland. We were SHOCKED at how crowded the park was
and I was, honestly, really worried about it (I HATE crowds…hate them) but once
we got off the monorail and started walking around and enjoying our kids’ faces
the people kind of melted away. We got a
FastPass right away for It’s a Small World and went on our first ride. The kids were in awe and it was perfect. <3
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| In front of It's a Small World |
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| First ride! |
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| GLEE on the teacups! |
That afternoon and evening we also rode the teacups (absolute GLEE from
both kids), Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters (so much fun and my favorite of the
day), Autopia, and Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin (which scared the *!%$ out of
both kids…good thing it was the last one of the day!). We met Elena at the Royal Hall meet and greet
and had Belle and Merida breeze past us near the castle. As Merida walked past us she looked at Zoë
and said “Happy Birthday Zoë!” in her Scottish accent which absolutely
surprised and delighted Zoë and made me tear up at the magic of the
moment.
The hardest part of the day was
that Oliver didn’t understand why we couldn’t ride [the train/the boats/the
airplanes] RIGHT NOW since we didn’t want to wait in line for more than 30
minutes for a ride. He had several
meltdowns as we tried to explain that we would ride them…just not yet. We finally trained him that Mama had the
magic tickets on her phone and that she would tell everybody when we could go
on a ride (that seemed to help a little bit).
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| Magic |
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| Princess Elena |
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| Tuckered out |
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| Sleeping babies |
We headed back to the hotel and were back by about 7pm which
was perfect for an early bedtime.
We
discovered the Princess Bedtime Stories on the TV and the kids enjoyed one of
those before they drifted (quickly) off to sleep.
Disneyland! Day 2: Zoë's Birthday
Disneyland! Day 3
Disneyland! Day 4
Disneyland! Days 5 and 6
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