We arrived in California on Veteran's Day - November 11. It was quite the effort to get everyone and everything packed and there. We were traveling with 11 adults and 2 kids. My mom and dad, 3 brothers, my brother's girlfriend, my sister, her friend, the girl who is living with my parents and myself and Dallin and the kids. I think we ended up with 4 checked bags, 2 car seats, 2 carry ons and a diaper bag (and that was just for the 4 of us!). I was dreading getting through security, especially with baby formula, etc. We made it through and it wasn't too terrible but then Connor was hungry so it was a mad dash to get him fed and changed before boarding the plane. We made it though! And the kids were awesome during the flight; Connor slept most of it and Zoey sat and held her daddy's hand and pretended it was a ride like Lagoon.
We got to WARM Orange County and took a shuttle to our hotel, the Marriott Suites in Garden Grove. It was a nice place. I tried to get Zoey some lunch from the Red Robin nearby and it was an hour wait for a table of 11 so I just ordered it to-go and we ate it in the hotel then she took a little nap. We had reservations at the Rainforest Cafe that night so we headed to Downtown Disney after naptime. Dinner was pretty good and we spent the rest of the evening perusing the shops and buyings little things here and there.
Zoey had been so disappointed that we got to California and it wasn't Disneyland day since we'd been counting down and telling her all about it for months. Finally, it was time! So woke up at 5:45 a.m. (and did most of the trip) she was so excited. We stated at California Adventure Park. I had been reading a blog, dlrprepschool.com about strategies on how to maximize your time and where to go first and what fast passes to pull. My plan was quickly derailed when they weren't giving out Elsa and Ana return tickets and I found my family wandering around Buena Vista Blvd. instead of going to meet Olaf like they were supposed to. (So glad I found them as I had left my cell phone with them while I went to pull Radiator Springs fast passes!) So we waited in line for Ana and Elsa and Zoey was so excited and nervous. They were so cute with her. I was so glad we brought an autograph book because Zoey really loved it. Next we headed to Olaf and they had their soft opening for his "house" area where he is staged. We rode Monsters, Inc. while others waited in line for us and then we went over to his "house." They had real snow and Zoey plopped down to make a snow angel until she realized that wasn't a good idea to do in shorts and a t-shirt. She met Olaf then we headed pull Tower of Terror fast passes. We played around in Bugs World for a bit because they had some fun little kid rides as we made our way over to Corndog Castle for lunch.
During lunch they had a Feliz Navidad parade and my brothers took Zoey and she blew Mickey a kiss and he caught it and put it in his pocket! Talk about melt my heart! We also rode some rides around the area and took her on Ariel's Under the Sea ride and she was in heaven! My brothers took the kids and headed to Disneyland for our dinner reservation at Big Thunder BBQ while we rode Tower of Terror. I actually wasn't nervous this time! I forgot how many times that thing dropped though and was laughing so hard I could barely breathe.
We had dinner and it started to get a little chilly. Zoey wanted to drive the cars so we were trying to make our way to Autopia and got caught by a parade. Somehow my dad and Dallin got through but my mom and I and the kids got stuck so we let Zoey watch a little. By then Zoey was super tired and only wanted to be held so it was so hard to navigate a screaming baby and push a stroller and carry a toddler. Yikes! We finally made it and I let Zoey drive the car. Bad idea! We were all over the track jerking so much that she said she didn't really like it. I told her I'd help her and then she said it was so fun! We called it a night after that. Dallin's app said we'd walked 12 miles that day and our feet were dead (especially after carrying a toddler). We went back to the hotel and crashed but the kids were still up bright and early the next day! Groan.
We arrived in California on Veteran's Day - November 11. It was quite the effort to get everyone and everything packed and there. We were traveling with 11 adults and 2 kids. My mom and dad, 3 brothers, my brother's girlfriend, my sister, her friend, the girl who is living with my parents and myself and Dallin and the kids. I think we ended up with 4 checked bags, 2 car seats, 2 carry ons and a diaper bag (and that was just for the 4 of us!). I was dreading getting through security, especially with baby formula, etc. We made it through and it wasn't too terrible but then Connor was hungry so it was a mad dash to get him fed and changed before boarding the plane. We made it though! And the kids were awesome during the flight; Connor slept most of it and Zoey sat and held her daddy's hand and pretended it was a ride like Lagoon.
We got to WARM Orange County and took a shuttle to our hotel, the Marriott Suites in Garden Grove. It was a nice place. I tried to get Zoey some lunch from the Red Robin nearby and it was an hour wait for a table of 11 so I just ordered it to-go and we ate it in the hotel then she took a little nap. We had reservations at the Rainforest Cafe that night so we headed to Downtown Disney after naptime. Dinner was pretty good and we spent the rest of the evening perusing the shops and buyings little things here and there.
During lunch they had a Feliz Navidad parade and my brothers took Zoey and she blew Mickey a kiss and he caught it and put it in his pocket! Talk about melt my heart! We also rode some rides around the area and took her on Ariel's Under the Sea ride and she was in heaven! My brothers took the kids and headed to Disneyland for our dinner reservation at Big Thunder BBQ while we rode Tower of Terror. I actually wasn't nervous this time! I forgot how many times that thing dropped though and was laughing so hard I could barely breathe.
We had dinner and it started to get a little chilly. Zoey wanted to drive the cars so we were trying to make our way to Autopia and got caught by a parade. Somehow my dad and Dallin got through but my mom and I and the kids got stuck so we let Zoey watch a little. By then Zoey was super tired and only wanted to be held so it was so hard to navigate a screaming baby and push a stroller and carry a toddler. Yikes! We finally made it and I let Zoey drive the car. Bad idea! We were all over the track jerking so much that she said she didn't really like it. I told her I'd help her and then she said it was so fun! We called it a night after that. Dallin's app said we'd walked 12 miles that day and our feet were dead (especially after carrying a toddler). We went back to the hotel and crashed but the kids were still up bright and early the next day! Groan.
1 comment:
The picture of Connor on the plane is so precious. It sounds like Disneyland has completely changes since I was there last.
Post a Comment