Throughout my pregnancy with Emily, Damien and I were constantly amazed at how well our kids were coping. They adjusted to things so beautifully and we were so proud of them and knew that after I had Emily- we would do something big for them. For months now, Matthew has been talking about going to Disneyland. At first- his daily mantra was
I go to Mickey's House today. Um, ya Matthew. We'll go today.
Wink wink. Then Matthew started really thinking about what Disneyland was and how great it could be! Claire told him how all the characters lived there and Michael told him many many times about how he had fought Darth Vader during Jedi Training last time we visited the great House of Mouse. Soon, Matthew was telling everyone and everything about how he was going to go to Disneyland. Both Damien and knew that taking the kids to Disneyland was the least we could do since they were so amazing last year during the pregnancy. So the plan was in place. We would go to Disneyland for three full days and have the time of our lives.
Hmm. Four kids in Disneyland . . . well- at least we would do our very best to have a great time in the Happiest Place on Earth!!!
We offered the trip to both of our families but didn't have a lot of takers. Some of Damien's family had gone a few months before us so they were on Disney overload. We did manage, however, to talk two of my sisters (Gina and Laura) into meeting us down there for some good old fashioned fun! The kids got out of school early on Wednesday and I had all the bags packed and ready to load into the car the minute they got home. Soon, they came bounding out of their carpool and got changed and ready to go. We were off!!!
I was dreading the car ride down. Somehow, a six hour car ride and a three month old didn't quite mix. But low and behold- it wasn't as bad as I had thought! I had gone to the store and loaded up on snacks and lunch items. From the middle seat- I handed out snacks as if I was my own concession stand. They could have whatever they wanted to eat- just had to take it easy on the drinks because we wanted to limit the bathroom stops. Emily was tired when we started on the journey so she passed out minutes after we left. Would you know we made it all the way down to Anaheim without stopping? Yes- four kids and no stops! This vacation was shaping up to be a great idea! We ended up staying at the
Marriot Fairfield which is about a seven minute walk from the gates to both Disneyland and California Adventure. It was a great set up for us. About ten minutes after arriving a the hotel, in walk my two sisters and the kids were THRILLED to see them!! We both checked in and set out for Downtown Disney for some dinner! We were happy to meet up with Damien's sister Heavenly who lives in Los Angeles. It's always good to see her smiling face!
We got a good night sleep and woke up early for Disney Day #1. Weeks before our vacation, we had booked breakfast at
Goofy's Kitchen. It was great but truthfully, is really a lot of money for a breakfast buffet that the kids barely touch! I guess you end up paying for the one-on-one experience with the characters. Our breakfast was very eventful. I won't get into it now but let's just say that Michael and Goofy made a life lasting memory this morning. After breakfast, we ventured to the gates to Disneyland and planned to spend the whole day there enjoying the magic. Matthew could hardly believe it when we went inside. He just kept staring and blinking and looking all over the place. Because today was a Thursday, it was relatively uncrowded and we were able to get a picture with Mickey right off the bat! Woo
hoo! Check that off the list!
This was Emily's first trip to Disneyland, Matthew's third trip, and Michael and Claire's sixth. Because Emily had never been here before, I really wanted to remember that her first ride was on Pirates of the Caribbean. She did great. Matthew was completely freaked out because the ride is so realistic. He wasn't crying but was frozen stiff in fear of those blasted pirates! Needless to say, he was happy when we were done with that one! (Note that by the end of the three day trip- he said it was his favorite!) We then took the kids on Splash Mountain (at Laura's request) and it was a blast. Michael and Claire were tall enough for every ride and we planned to go on them all!
The weather was very warm and it was tough to keep Emily in the shade. Visiting Disneyland with four kids is definitely challenging. It took me a while to get a rhythm and figure out how to best manage Emily in the park. From the get-go, I messed up and left her with Gina while I went on Splash Mountain with Damien, Laura, and Michael. I completely blanked on the fact that it was time for her to eat so by the time I got off the ride, Gina was waving at me to get my buns over there to take the screaming baby from her arms! I needed to stay on top of her feeds and warm her bottles in advance so she didn't get all bent out of shape. Once I mastered this- she was a piece of cake! Because I am pumping milk for Emily- I had to bring my pump into the park and find a place to pump. Fun, huh? I had no idea that they had Baby Centers at Disneyland where you can go breastfeed/change diapers/pump in peace. It was a life saver to have this available to me!
Our first day was so much fun. We stayed in Disneyland the whole day and planned to spend the next day in California Adventure. Some notable things that happened on day one were me getting my tongue stuck to a Popsicle (don't ask), Michael being chosen to participate in Jedi Training, seeing Matthew go on Dumbo after so much anticipation, getting Laura a 'Happy Birthday' button on Main Street and seeing every cast member wish her Happy Birthday, meeting all the characters and seeing Matthew in awe of them, talking Claire into going on the Matterhorn, going on the new
Nemo ride for the first time, being the only people in
Toon Town for over an hour at closing time, and having Laura's Birthday Dinner at McDonald's (hosted by Gina). It was time for some MUCH needed sleep because we had a busy day two ahead of us!
Disney Day #2 started out so much better than Day #1. We were more rested, didn't rush to the parks, and knew how to attack the day rather than having to figure everything out. We started in California Adventure with a ride on
Monsters Inc. That ride is so cool! Afterwards, my dream came true when I got to take Michael on
Tower of Terror for the first time. Gina and I had talked this ride up for months before we got to Disneyland. He was nervous but I also knew he had no idea what to expect. The ride simulates being on an elevator that suddenly drops you down an elevator shaft. Up and down you go, free falling over and over and over. Michael was totally freaked out but afterwards was pumping his fists with excitement! It was awesome. Definitely one of my favorite moments of the trip. We met Damien and the rest of the gang afterwards to take some pictures with Cinderella, Woody, and Mickey. It was great.
The highlight of the trip with Laura was in the morning of Day #2 when we were watching a
High School the Musical 3 show. She was dancing and grooving to the music and got chosen not once, but twice to be the star of the show. Think Laura, boa around her shoulders, being whisked around by hunky high school guys, only to end up in the grand finale of the show with all the members of the
HSM 3 surrounding her. I have NEVER seen her smile so big! This was a dream come true for Laura and for a few minutes, she got to be a full fledged movie star. It was amazing.
We weaved our way through the park, stopping to rest and get the kids wet to stay cool. In the afternoon, we went to the Boardwalk section of the park and went on the Mickey Ferris Wheel called
Paradise Pier. You have a choice of picking a car that moves or one that is stationary. This Ferris Wheel is really really big and I asked the person working it if it would be too scary to get a car that moved with Matthew. He said no. So being the trusting person I am, I took Gina, Michael, Claire and Matthew on this ride . . . that moved. Seriously- this ride was the WORST ride I have ever been on. I was totally freaked out and regretted taking my little two year old on this death trap! Gina and I were laughing in pure fright but couldn't let the kids know we were scared. In order to distract them from fearing death- Gina started playing "I Spy". After one revolution, I asked to get off and took Matthew out of there as fast as possible. Bad Mommy for doing this to my poor baby!
(If you look really closely at this pic you can see Gina, Michael, and Claire hanging on for dear life!) As if things couldn't get worse, we lost Matthew in a sea of people for about a minute. It was a terrifying minute. As if taking him on the scariest ride of my life wasn't bad enough, I had to further terrify him by losing him. We found him and he was happy to see me. He said, "I found lady with your hair." He did. When he was lost, he found a cast member with dark brown hair and she held onto him until I could pick up my 'Mother of the Year Award' and come and find him. After this we went on the brand new Toy Story Ride. It was amazing! Seriously, so much fun. Later in the evening, the thrill seeking crew (myself, Gina, and Michael) went on Screamin' California three times. It is so fun to take Michael on this kind of stuff!
We ended the night in Disneyland (it stays open later than California Adventure) with a few rides and then the finale on
Small World. Laura hates fireworks so we wanted to duck in this ride while the firework show was going on to avoid her getting scared. However we were stalled in line and she had to hear about two minutes of fireworks before we went into the tunnels of the ride. We couldn't hear any of the fireworks while we were in there so that was great but unfortunately, we came out of the ride just as the grand finale of the fireworks erupted right above our heads. Um, ya. Time to go home now. We had a great time with Gina and Laura and the trip wouldn't have been so spectacular without them. They flew home the next morning just in time to attend Laura's 25
th Birthday party extravaganza!
Our last day, Disney Day #3, was wonderful. It was just our little family of six. We took the parks at our own pace and enjoyed just wandering around soaking up whatever Disney could throw our way. Highlights of the last day were watching Michael freak out on the
Jungle Cruise because he thought he animals were real, watching the stage show of
Aladdin, thrill seeking with Michael and also convincing Claire to go on
Matterhorn and
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the
Tiki Room, watching the
Pixar Parade and seeing Matthew so in disbelief of all of his Disney friends strolling by, and ending the night at 11:30 p.m. with all the kids awake and totally melting down on Main Street.
We had the BEST time this trip. Yes, it was more complicated with a new addition to our family but it was so much fun! The ride home was as good as the ride there and we never stopped just cruised right up to San Jose. I think it will be a few years until we go back to Disney but we look forward to doing it again.
Throughout my pregnancy with Emily, Damien and I were constantly amazed at how well our kids were coping. They adjusted to things so beautifully and we were so proud of them and knew that after I had Emily- we would do something big for them. For months now, Matthew has been talking about going to Disneyland. At first- his daily mantra was I go to Mickey's House today. Um, ya Matthew. We'll go today. Wink wink. Then Matthew started really thinking about what Disneyland was and how great it could be! Claire told him how all the characters lived there and Michael told him many many times about how he had fought Darth Vader during Jedi Training last time we visited the great House of Mouse. Soon, Matthew was telling everyone and everything about how he was going to go to Disneyland. Both Damien and knew that taking the kids to Disneyland was the least we could do since they were so amazing last year during the pregnancy. So the plan was in place. We would go to Disneyland for three full days and have the time of our lives. Hmm. Four kids in Disneyland . . . well- at least we would do our very best to have a great time in the Happiest Place on Earth!!!
We offered the trip to both of our families but didn't have a lot of takers. Some of Damien's family had gone a few months before us so they were on Disney overload. We did manage, however, to talk two of my sisters (Gina and Laura) into meeting us down there for some good old fashioned fun! The kids got out of school early on Wednesday and I had all the bags packed and ready to load into the car the minute they got home. Soon, they came bounding out of their carpool and got changed and ready to go. We were off!!!
I was dreading the car ride down. Somehow, a six hour car ride and a three month old didn't quite mix. But low and behold- it wasn't as bad as I had thought! I had gone to the store and loaded up on snacks and lunch items. From the middle seat- I handed out snacks as if I was my own concession stand. They could have whatever they wanted to eat- just had to take it easy on the drinks because we wanted to limit the bathroom stops. Emily was tired when we started on the journey so she passed out minutes after we left. Would you know we made it all the way down to Anaheim without stopping? Yes- four kids and no stops! This vacation was shaping up to be a great idea! We ended up staying at the Marriot Fairfield which is about a seven minute walk from the gates to both Disneyland and California Adventure. It was a great set up for us. About ten minutes after arriving a the hotel, in walk my two sisters and the kids were THRILLED to see them!! We both checked in and set out for Downtown Disney for some dinner! We were happy to meet up with Damien's sister Heavenly who lives in Los Angeles. It's always good to see her smiling face!
We got a good night sleep and woke up early for Disney Day #1. Weeks before our vacation, we had booked breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. It was great but truthfully, is really a lot of money for a breakfast buffet that the kids barely touch! I guess you end up paying for the one-on-one experience with the characters. Our breakfast was very eventful. I won't get into it now but let's just say that Michael and Goofy made a life lasting memory this morning. After breakfast, we ventured to the gates to Disneyland and planned to spend the whole day there enjoying the magic. Matthew could hardly believe it when we went inside. He just kept staring and blinking and looking all over the place. Because today was a Thursday, it was relatively uncrowded and we were able to get a picture with Mickey right off the bat! Woo hoo! Check that off the list!
This was Emily's first trip to Disneyland, Matthew's third trip, and Michael and Claire's sixth. Because Emily had never been here before, I really wanted to remember that her first ride was on Pirates of the Caribbean. She did great. Matthew was completely freaked out because the ride is so realistic. He wasn't crying but was frozen stiff in fear of those blasted pirates! Needless to say, he was happy when we were done with that one! (Note that by the end of the three day trip- he said it was his favorite!) We then took the kids on Splash Mountain (at Laura's request) and it was a blast. Michael and Claire were tall enough for every ride and we planned to go on them all!
The weather was very warm and it was tough to keep Emily in the shade. Visiting Disneyland with four kids is definitely challenging. It took me a while to get a rhythm and figure out how to best manage Emily in the park. From the get-go, I messed up and left her with Gina while I went on Splash Mountain with Damien, Laura, and Michael. I completely blanked on the fact that it was time for her to eat so by the time I got off the ride, Gina was waving at me to get my buns over there to take the screaming baby from her arms! I needed to stay on top of her feeds and warm her bottles in advance so she didn't get all bent out of shape. Once I mastered this- she was a piece of cake! Because I am pumping milk for Emily- I had to bring my pump into the park and find a place to pump. Fun, huh? I had no idea that they had Baby Centers at Disneyland where you can go breastfeed/change diapers/pump in peace. It was a life saver to have this available to me!
Our first day was so much fun. We stayed in Disneyland the whole day and planned to spend the next day in California Adventure. Some notable things that happened on day one were me getting my tongue stuck to a Popsicle (don't ask), Michael being chosen to participate in Jedi Training, seeing Matthew go on Dumbo after so much anticipation, getting Laura a 'Happy Birthday' button on Main Street and seeing every cast member wish her Happy Birthday, meeting all the characters and seeing Matthew in awe of them, talking Claire into going on the Matterhorn, going on the new Nemo ride for the first time, being the only people in Toon Town for over an hour at closing time, and having Laura's Birthday Dinner at McDonald's (hosted by Gina). It was time for some MUCH needed sleep because we had a busy day two ahead of us!
Disney Day #2 started out so much better than Day #1. We were more rested, didn't rush to the parks, and knew how to attack the day rather than having to figure everything out. We started in California Adventure with a ride on Monsters Inc. That ride is so cool! Afterwards, my dream came true when I got to take Michael on Tower of Terror for the first time. Gina and I had talked this ride up for months before we got to Disneyland. He was nervous but I also knew he had no idea what to expect. The ride simulates being on an elevator that suddenly drops you down an elevator shaft. Up and down you go, free falling over and over and over. Michael was totally freaked out but afterwards was pumping his fists with excitement! It was awesome. Definitely one of my favorite moments of the trip. We met Damien and the rest of the gang afterwards to take some pictures with Cinderella, Woody, and Mickey. It was great.
The highlight of the trip with Laura was in the morning of Day #2 when we were watching a High School the Musical 3 show. She was dancing and grooving to the music and got chosen not once, but twice to be the star of the show. Think Laura, boa around her shoulders, being whisked around by hunky high school guys, only to end up in the grand finale of the show with all the members of the HSM 3 surrounding her. I have NEVER seen her smile so big! This was a dream come true for Laura and for a few minutes, she got to be a full fledged movie star. It was amazing.
We weaved our way through the park, stopping to rest and get the kids wet to stay cool. In the afternoon, we went to the Boardwalk section of the park and went on the Mickey Ferris Wheel called Paradise Pier. You have a choice of picking a car that moves or one that is stationary. This Ferris Wheel is really really big and I asked the person working it if it would be too scary to get a car that moved with Matthew. He said no. So being the trusting person I am, I took Gina, Michael, Claire and Matthew on this ride . . . that moved. Seriously- this ride was the WORST ride I have ever been on. I was totally freaked out and regretted taking my little two year old on this death trap! Gina and I were laughing in pure fright but couldn't let the kids know we were scared. In order to distract them from fearing death- Gina started playing "I Spy". After one revolution, I asked to get off and took Matthew out of there as fast as possible. Bad Mommy for doing this to my poor baby! (If you look really closely at this pic you can see Gina, Michael, and Claire hanging on for dear life!) As if things couldn't get worse, we lost Matthew in a sea of people for about a minute. It was a terrifying minute. As if taking him on the scariest ride of my life wasn't bad enough, I had to further terrify him by losing him. We found him and he was happy to see me. He said, "I found lady with your hair." He did. When he was lost, he found a cast member with dark brown hair and she held onto him until I could pick up my 'Mother of the Year Award' and come and find him. After this we went on the brand new Toy Story Ride. It was amazing! Seriously, so much fun. Later in the evening, the thrill seeking crew (myself, Gina, and Michael) went on Screamin' California three times. It is so fun to take Michael on this kind of stuff!
We ended the night in Disneyland (it stays open later than California Adventure) with a few rides and then the finale on Small World. Laura hates fireworks so we wanted to duck in this ride while the firework show was going on to avoid her getting scared. However we were stalled in line and she had to hear about two minutes of fireworks before we went into the tunnels of the ride. We couldn't hear any of the fireworks while we were in there so that was great but unfortunately, we came out of the ride just as the grand finale of the fireworks erupted right above our heads. Um, ya. Time to go home now. We had a great time with Gina and Laura and the trip wouldn't have been so spectacular without them. They flew home the next morning just in time to attend Laura's 25th Birthday party extravaganza!
Our last day, Disney Day #3, was wonderful. It was just our little family of six. We took the parks at our own pace and enjoyed just wandering around soaking up whatever Disney could throw our way. Highlights of the last day were watching Michael freak out on the Jungle Cruise because he thought he animals were real, watching the stage show of Aladdin, thrill seeking with Michael and also convincing Claire to go on Matterhorn and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Tiki Room, watching the Pixar Parade and seeing Matthew so in disbelief of all of his Disney friends strolling by, and ending the night at 11:30 p.m. with all the kids awake and totally melting down on Main Street.
We had the BEST time this trip. Yes, it was more complicated with a new addition to our family but it was so much fun! The ride home was as good as the ride there and we never stopped just cruised right up to San Jose. I think it will be a few years until we go back to Disney but we look forward to doing it again.
2 comments:
I love this post! It brought soo many of my own Disney memories back. What a great mommy you are to take all the kids down with the little one. I love the picure of Emily, what a great smile! Maybe someday we can meet you there with the Baker Bunch!
Wow! NO stops on the way there or the way home?!?! Amazing!
And you now have to write a whole post about Michael and Goofy at breakfast because you have me totally intrigued!
Sounds like a great adventure! I too was skeptical about taking young kids to Disneyland, but LOVED it so much! It's worth it all to see their happy little faces and glowing eyes.
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