Disneyland 2012: Days 4-5!

Day four was Sunday which put us back in Disneyland. Mom, Dad, Braden, and I had a family devotional to begin the Sabbath about the healing of Jarius' daughter. We were in the park by mid morning and rode some Fantasyland rides. When we met up with Dayton and Annie we went on the Haunted Mansion, which frightened Elise--she spent the whole ride with her head buried between Braden and my shoulder. Then we spent the day in Adventureland, eating lunch at the Blue Bayou. After lunch we headed to Pirate Island and spent some time over there and around the Rivers of America. At the end of the day we headed back to Fantasyland to wait for the fireworks and I rode the Carousel twice in a row! The fireworks were great and afterwards we all stayed in the park until it closed at midnight.

Day five everyone got to pick what they wanted to ride for their last day and we ended up spending the whole time in Disneyland again. I think its my favorite because of the magic feeling and the nostalgia that I don't get in California Adventure. So this day was a conglomeration of everyone's favorite until we had to leave to catch our flights. Dayton and Annie left around 2 and the rest of us left at 5. We flew back home without a hitch and all remember it as a wonderful family vacation!

Disneyland 2012:Days 1-3!

We went on our "as annual as possible" Disneyland trip this year, our first trip with the whole family present! Annie and Dayton flew to LA from Utah and the rest of us met them in the airport from Seattle. We arrived late Wednesday night and stayed at a hotel about half a mile from the park.
Day 1 we woke up early and hit the magic morning in Fantasyland, which gets you an hour early into the park ahead of the normal crowds. Elise's very first ride was Peter Pan, which she seemed to enjoy but also was unsure about. We did all the Fantasyland rides and then when the park opened to the rest of the public headed over to California Adventure to check out the new Carsland before it got too busy. Since my last visit they had totally redone most of the park and modeled it to look like LA in the 1920s when Walt arrived.   Carsland looked just like the movie, although it was full of people! We didn't spend much time there because it was almost not worth hanging around where all the people were when the rest of the park was empty. So we headed to the pier and did our other favorite rides! We also went on the new Little Mermaid ride which was really fun! The day was quite hot so by the afternoon we ended up inside at the Aladdin show which was ok--I have always loved it but I don't think the cast has ever changed and I think it showed that they were tired of it. They really need to replace everyone and give it some new life. I was disappointed that the Muppets and the animation studio were closed, but we managed to have fun in the heat the rest of the day. We ended up back in Carsland in the evening when the heat and the crowds had died down and ended the day with the fantastic World of Color show!

Day 2 was another magic morning only this time it was early into Toon Town! On our way in Annie spotted Belle in a photo location that was totally empty so we ran over and I got a picture with my favorite princess! Then we headed on into Toon Town and got some pictures with the characters and watched the Town Meeting which is a fun show of dancing and music--Elise loved it and kept laughing so loud that Donald Duck who was dancing by us heard her and later told us he had seen her. We headed back into Disneyland and I got my face painted, as usual, and we spent the morning in Adventureland and New Orleans Square. The weather started to get hot so everyone (except Elise, Mom, and I) got on splash mountain to cool off. Poor Braden, he was so hot and he got the least wet out of everyone! For lunch we went out into Downtown Disney and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. The only time we have ever gone is in Disneyland, even though there is one here in Seattle. Then we walked through the shops and had fun looking at all the cool stuff. In the evening we caught the Soundsational Parade which Elise loved. It was one of my favorite parades I have seen there. We ended the day in Tommorowland and then watched Fantasmic on the Rivers of America, which is probably my favorite show!

Day three we were in California Adventure once again and lost no time riding Toy Story Midway Mania. We spent some time riding things down by the boardwalk and then it started to get warm so Braden wanted to ride Grizzly River Run. Once again, he got the least wet out of all of us! We caught Soarin' over California on our way to the Animation Studios where we watched Turtle Talk with Crush. Elise actually seemed a little frightened at first but then she grew accustomed. Then we walked through the Wizards Workshop and had fun finding out which characters we all were. Everything in this area of the park was dedicated to Frankenweenie which is coming out soon, so I was kind of disappointed because usually I love going to the animation studios and to the Muppets, which were also closed for the film. After we left and had lunch, we all rode our favorite rides again and ended up in Carsland at the end of the day. After California closed we headed over to Disneyland again which stays open later and rode a few things. Everyone ended up going back and Braden and I stayed out and went on the Haunted Mansion together (which was my choice) and Dumbo (which was Braden's choice) before heading back.

And now, like my wise friend who inspired me to record my own vacation, I am going to put the last two days on the next post so this is not too long!