Disneyland Day 3

Good morning, friends. Alas, we are home from Disneyland and in true form, slept in later than I can ever remember. We are soooo tired today! What an amazing trip we had. On our final day in the parks I took way less photos. But the day was still jam packed and fun filled. 

It started early. We packed up the whole room as quickly as we could and checked out leaving our luggage at the hotel for the day. We still made it to Disneyland for the last few minutes of the Magic Hour, which was nice because Main Street was packed with all of the other attendees waiting to get in when the park opened at 9. 

 We headed to Fantasy Land first because one of the only rides we hadn't been on that I really wanted to go on was Peter Pan's Flight. The line was already 40 minutes long before the park had even opened. But my sweet kiddos were patient and waited because they knew I really wanted to go on. 

 Look at these tired Disney faces! 

 Next up, we went back to the "horsies" because Taylor was begging for them. Next Up was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride followed by The Matterhorn which we had grabbed Fast Passes for. We ended our time in Fantasy Land with one more ride of It's a Small World. 

 We made our way over to Frontier Land to get Fast Passes for Thunder Mountain and decided to go on The Mark Twain for a ride around the river. It's always so neat to see that part of the park that's not accessible from walking. 

 At that time, Dustin had to officially check out of the hotel. So we made our way out of the park for a bit and stopped off at the shooting range where Donovan had been dying to try the whole time we were there. 

We had lunch outside of the park at La Brea Bakery. The food was really good and gave us some much needed down time to sit and relax before going back to the park. When we went back in, we hustled over to Thunder Mountain to use our Fast Pass before it expired. That really is our favorite ride if we had to pick one. We got one more Fast Pass to ride it again as soon as we got off. From there I took so few pictures and I am already forgetting how the rest of the afternoon went. We went to The Enchanted Tiki Room which was actually super cute. Taylor loved clapping along and was mesmerized by everything talking and singing above her head. We also went on a full loop on the Monorail because Emmerson had been asking to do that for the last few days. We made our way back to Fantasy Land where Grammie wanted to see the StoryBook Land boats. It was a longer, slower line and at that point, Taylor had finally nodded off in the stroller. 

I took Tay to a quiet rest area by Thunder Mountain while the rest of the family rode the boats. When they finished, Grammie traded off with me so that we could ride Thunder Mountain one last time. 

After Thunder Mountain, Taylor was still sleeping. Dad took the bigs to Splash Mountain while Grammie, Taylor, and I enjoyed some down time in New Orleans Square. I ordered some beignets and a hot chocolate. It cools off so quickly this time of year in the afternoon and I was chilly. 

 Little Miss woke up just in time to enjoy some beignets which I must say were nothing like the ones I remember enjoying as a kid. The tall, fried dough covered in cinnamon and sugar has evolved into a doughnut with powdered sugar. But it still hit the spot. 

 I couldn't agree more, Mr. Disney. And also the hot chocolate was perfection. 

At this point in the afternoon, it was cold and Taylor was so tired and grouchy. We pushed on because the family had one more set of Fast Passes for Star Tours at 6:00. So we ventured down Main Street to do a bit of souvenir shopping for the littlest Hein. She was so grouchy that she kept saying "NOOOOOO" to everything we showed her, but we settled for a cute Minnie Mouse stuffed animal. 

 Then we made our way over to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln because I wanted to sneak a peek at the items on display from the Mary Poppins Returns movie. 

We ended up staying for Mr. Lincoln's show and then wrapped up the night in Tomorrow Land for one last ride on Star Tours. Taylor and I left early and visited Starbucks for a hot, hot coffee and some warm treats for the kids. We all met back in the hotel lobby where we loaded up the car and ventured home. 

What a vacation! We are all so tired this morning. To be expected after 3 jam packed days of fun with late nights and early mornings. But there is truly nothing like the Disney experience with your little ones. It was so memorable and I can't wait until we can do it again someday. 

Disneyland Day 2

Holy, tired guys! Checking in on Day 2. It was another fun-filled day at the happiest place on earth. Taylor was the first to rise this morning at 6:00 and I was the one who woke up with her. Everyone else was slower to get a move on... but we still made it happen. Here's a little run down of how the day went. 

 We started off in Radiator Springs for the Magic Morning opening. We got on Radiator Springs Racers right away because it fills up quickly. We also made sure to get a fast pass so that we could return again with a friendlier wait time. This ride is SO fun! 

 Radiator Springs is, in my opinion, the best part of California Adventure. It literally looks like you're IN the Cars movie. Every little detail is amazing and a walk down this road makes you feel like you're in an entirely different place outside of the theme park. 

 We chatted with Mater. Taylor hated it... surprise, surprise. 

 Then we jumped in line for Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. I could tell how tired the kids were (especially Donovan) from the late night before. He was super whiny about not wanting to go on this ride... totally unlike himself. We were all super tired this morning, so we paced the day much slower than day 1. 

 After Mater's ride we headed back to the hotel for our breakfast reservation. Grammie treated us to a character breakfast at the Story Teller's Cafe. 

 The food was SO amazing! Such a welcomed treat after the non-stop chicken fingers and hamburgers we'd consumed in the last 36 hours. Fruit never looked so good!

 As we were stuffing our faces like only vacationers would, the characters came by to say hello. 

 Taylor's face in this picture... not a fan. 

 Emmerson was especially excited to see Minnie. Minnie pointed to Em's sweatshirt which has Minnie on it and motioned how much she liked it. Emmerson was SO excited about that. 

 The breakfast was exceptional, the food, the service, the experience. So, so fun! 

 We rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and headed back into California Adventure. Back to Radiator Springs to ride the racers with our fast pass. Then we rode Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters which had changed from last time I was at the park. It was a longer line but we danced as we waited to all of the music and were having fun together. Next up, we went on Soarin' Around the World which was also new to me since it changed from Soarin' Over California. Emmerson and Donovan loved it. 

After that ride, the kids were DONE. We opted to go back to the hotel for some down time. I put an extremely over tired Taylor down in her pack n' play and then all of the sudden she became an escape artist. She kept crawling out and then running into the adjoining room where I was with the bigs. It was hilarious at first but by the 5th or 6th time... this child needed a nap! Grammie volunteered to cozy up with her in bed while the rest of us went down to the pool for a bit. It worked like a charm. 

 I was so glad I packed our suits at the last minute. It was cooler today but the sun still felt nice and warm. The kids happily played in the pool and Dustin and I watched on while enjoying fancy hotel drinks. I love vacation!

 When the kids were done swimming and it started to get cooler, we headed back to the room where Sleeping Beauty had woken up from her (too short) nap. We all got changed and decided to get back out into the park again. 

 The first stop this time was The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. The big kids really wanted to check it out and Taylor went along for the ride. 

 It was perfect for the big. Lots to climb over, under, and through and no lines. They could have stayed here for a long time if we let them. 

 When we were ready to move on, we went to The Little Mermaid ride which I had never been on. I loved it! Then we took pictures at the pier while the sun began to set. Pixar Pier is so beautiful at this time of day. 

 We walked all around the pier. Dustin and the bigs popped in and out of rides. 

 Then we met up with our friends for dinner. After dinner, Taylor decided she was done for the day, and Grammie, once again, saved the day by taking her back to the room for bedtime. 

 The bigs and I explored the pier again while Daddy rode the incredi-coaster. Emmerson really wanted to go, but she wasn't quite tall enough and Donovan opted not to ride this one because he thought it looked a little too fast for him. 

 When Dad was done, we explored the park a bit more. 

 Another, new to me, area was the Animation Academy and Sorcerer's Workshop. The kids had fun exploring and playing with all of the interactive things they have set up. 

 The Animation Academy was so cool! It was a 15 minute class with a Disney Animator that walked us through a directed drawing. 

 It was getting late and we decided that we really wanted to get over to Disneyland again to go on Thunder Mountain. So off we went. The line was a bit long, but so worth it! We laughed so hard the entire time we were on it. Then with about 30 minutes until the park closed, we ran over to Space Mountain and rode it as the last ride of the night. Equally hilarious! It's so fun having kids that are big enough to do the bigger rides. 

 On our way out, two very tired shoppers got to use their Disney gift cards and grandparent money to pick out souvenirs. Emmerson has wanted these Minnie ears since the moment she laid eyes on them. 

 She was so proud to pay all by herself. 

 Donovan picked out a shirt and paid all by himself, too. 

Side note, the Emporium is my favorite shop. Right at the front of Main Street, it is so timeless and reminds me of everything from when I was a kid. 

 And their front windows are still as amazing as they were when I was young and would stare at them in awe. 

 One last pic on our way out. 

And back to the hotel we went. So tired and sooo happy! It was another magical day. 

Tomorrow is our last day here. We check out in the morning and then will go to the parks until the kids melt down. I honestly feel like we've gotten in so much already in these first two days. The parks have been crowded but manageable. 

Until tomorrow, friends. 

xo