Sunday, August 12, 2012

Disneyland

We went to Disneyland again today!  We knew it was going to be packed and really, really hot so we left early (6:15 am) to get there before it opened.  It was reminiscent of winter when we were able to pull right into the parking garage, not wait to pay, get to park really close to the escalator, jump onto the tram without a wait, and walk right into the part without standing in much of a line!  They open Main Street at 7:30 am, even though the park doesn't open until 8 am, so we were able to walk down Main Street calmly, put on sunscreen, finish breakfast without any crowds.  It was already 80 degrees and I'd already started sweating!
We started on Dumbo (no wait at 8:05 am!).  Andrew was in deep concentration the entire time; I'm assuming he's trying to figure out what is going on with the giant elephants, water, and movement all around him.  He did make the elephant noise and raise his arm several times before we got onto the ride.
 Next we headed over to It's a Small World for a no-wait ride (seriously, this was lovely at 8:15).  Andrew immediately loved it and started dancing to the music.  He pointed a lot during the ride, danced some, and said "woahh" over and over again. 
 We rode on Casey Jr's Circus Train around Storybook Land after Small World.  Andrew actually giggled on this one--he's getting more "adjusted" to moving and looking at cool things.  He waved bye-bye to the boats when they passed.
 No explanation needed, but please look at the lady in purple in the bottom picture (bottom left corner)--she gasped when I let go of Andrew.  If she only knew...  We went on the carousal afterwards--our big boy didn't even need me to hold on to him!  He enjoyed the horsey and actually protested when we came off. 
 We headed over to California Adventure for the Character Meet n' Greet that we get for free with our Disney Credit Card. They have a new Mad Hatter set up with these cool plastic chairs. It was in the shade, so Daddy and Andrew played while we waited our turn to meet Minnie Mouse.
Meeting Minnie Mouse in this setting was pretty neat.  Andrew had time to warm up to her and the cast member had our camera and took a bunch of photos (so nice!).  He gave her a bump, giggled, and laughed with her even though he was still kind of scared of her.
 After Minnie, we rode Monster's Inc.  I'm not sure what Andrew thought of it initially (he was very, very quiet), but in the middle of the ride, he literally climbed over the taxi rail to move from Melissa to mommy and held on for dear life--I'm assuming he didn't care for it.
 Our last main stop was the Disney Junior Live show.  Andrew ate his banana before the show started.  I had no idea how he'd do with the 35 minutes long show, but he loved it.  They did a good job breaking it up with bubbles, treasure coins, and streamers all coming from the sky, along with several "dance with me" moments.  In the picture below, Andrew (Mickey eats) being very into the Hanny Manny segment of the show. 
After the show, Andrew fell asleep in his stroller and we ate lunch. 
We picked up our free 5x7 from the Meet n' Greet and headed home.  We were in the car by 1 pm (it was 101 degrees outside) and home before 2. 

Daddy and Aunt Melissa are napping right now and
Andrew is watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I sit next to him and do this!

2 comments:

  1. A fantastic day at the "happy place in the world!" and loved the photos!! You did Disneyland right...go early and leave early :) Thanks for narrative...loved it! Love Grandma Lynette

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  2. Oh my goodness...the pics of Andrew with Minnie are adorable! Sooo cute :)

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