News from the Nest: Disneyland 2010

I posted our Disneyland Surprise Video a while back and am just now getting around to writing about our trip! While the reaction to the surprise was a bit disappointing, the trip was quite the opposite! We had such a grand time!

For spring break this year, we decided another trip to Disneyland was in order. Except this time, we brought the whole family! Amee and Papa, Amma Gramma, and Aunt J also joined the 5 of us. I was a bit uneasy about traveling with a 2 month old, but she did better than I had expected. Our trip over to California went smoothly. Prince Charming and I listened to the Atlas Shrugged audiobook while the boys watched DVDs and G cried from time to time. We did run into some major wind when we were going through the palm desert. We stopped in Palm Springs for some gas and while we were parked I was certain that the car was going to lift off of the ground. I am not joking. Children would have been blown over had they ventured out of the car. After listening to E ask “how much longer” about 500 times, we rolled into the Grand Californian in Disneyland eager to explore our home for the next few days.

Our time in the park was great. Unfortunately most of Los Angeles is also on spring break, so the park was very crowded. We really only had the mornings to get most of our rides done. So, we rode what we could. Papa and I got our bums completely soaked on Pirates of the Caribbean. Our boat took a wave to the last row and our seat was filled with at least an inch of water. My undies were wet for most of the morning. Fortunately E didn’t get as wet as we did. Since we had a baby with us, we had to take turns staying with her while everyone else rode. It worked out well as some people didn’t want to ride certain things. I got to watch as the group went down the slide on Splash Mountain. I almost peed in my pants when I saw the expression of sheer terror on E’s face. The boys loved riding on all of the great rides. They both loved the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and Toy Story Mania. The Indiana Jones ride was a favorite of B’s as well.

The afternoons were devoted to down time. While E slept like it was his job, B and Prince Charming snuck back into the parks for some more fun one of the days. We made it over to my Aunt’s house one evening for a home cooked meal and quality time. It was good to see them and they were very excited to meet G. Another day one of my great friends made the journey up from San Diego with 2 of her kiddos to have lunch with us. It was so lovely to see her and B enjoyed playing with her son.

In the evenings we (minus one or two adults to watch the sleeping children) made it back to the park to enjoy some rides at night (and watch my sister do some successful photo bombing). Big Thunder Mountain Railroad still remains one of my favorite rides. The lines didn’t let up at night, much to our dismay, so we really only got 2 or 3 rides in before we were too tired. Boy we are getting old.

I wish we would have spent more time in California Adventure. There is a lot to see and do over there and we simply did not give it enough time. We got a couple of rides in on the last day in the park, so that was good. Soarin’ over California was an amazing ride, but HOLY CRAP I thought I was going to fall out of my seat. The flying sensation was a bit much for me, so I had to close my eyes. My trouble with heights didn’t help much either. Prince Charming made it onto California Screamin’ as a single rider as none of us had the guts to join him. Maybe next time.

We made it to a character breakfast before we left. I was a bit surprised that B didn’t want anything to do with the characters. E, however, was very excited to meet them and proceeded to engage them in quite lengthy conversations. E does like to chat.

Overall this trip was great. The boys really enjoyed the park despite how overwhelming it can be. The company was great and I don’t think we got tired of being around one another. This trip wouldn’t have been as much fun without them as they were a huge help to us with the kids. There was a lot of laughing until my tummy hurts and tears are rolling down my cheeks, so that was fun.

Disneyland is such a magical place and I can’t wait until we return. Here are a few pictures from our trip!