Traveling Family {part 2}

On to day 2 and while we're at it, 3 & 4. On our second day we went to Disneyland. This is my 2nd time to go with the family to Disney, though the first was Disney World. I really loved these parks in California, at least for this stage of our lives, because it's smaller and well, we just seemed to get through much more. Yes it was really busy and the later it got in the afternoon/evening, the busier (for the evening shows I expect)! Apparently a massive load of Californians have annual passes which really don't seem to cost much more than a gym membership, so I'm all about that. There was a mom who brought her two little ones for the day instead of her usual, "Beach Monday". Isn't that lovely? Beach Monday ... wow! 

We hit all of our favorite spots first, namely Pirates of the Caribbean and ... no, just Pirates of the Caribbean. After 3 times through (only 5 minute waits at the end there so not all rides were horrible waits) we stopped for lunch at, yeah, the Pirates of the Caribbean restaurant which overlooks the boats as they come through the ride. 

Here are a couple of photos. 

The boys did several other rides in that area of the park and then we were off to Fantasy Land where, while we stood in line for It's a Small World (my absolute favorite ride), the giant doors opened in front of us and a parade came through. It was awesome, as they always are! 

And there was plenty of standing around, hiding in the shade, waiting for potty breaks, diaper changes, snacks and the like. A lot of hurry up and wait. :)

Day 3 was spent at the resort pool. We don't have any pictures from that day, except on instagram, but it was just perfect. Beautiful, relaxing, and just what we needed after the long day before. That evening we went shopping and out for dinner.

On day 4 we went to Disney California Adventure. This was our best day yet as everything went pretty smoothly and the boys had a blast. It's feels a little like Disney's MGM (the movie backdrops and Tower Hotel being familiar to me) but with an old fashioned amusement park feel. There was a time where the boys stood in lines for ages and ages and little E and I had a stroll around the park. We went on a Little Mermaid, Monster's Inc and Bug's Life ride, all of which were absolutely perfect for him. Then we stopped for a $5 Starbucks drink for myself (yikes!) and I sat and watched him soak himself in the splash pad. And after all of that we even managed to squeeze in some dancing at the Mad Hatter's club and finally met up with the fam again. Our day ended with the most stunning show that I've ever seen, held around the big pond in the center of the park, with lights and images that projected up into the water as it shot into the air. It was incredible watching the Disney characters come to life inside the water and all of our glowing Mickey hats sink up with the rest in the crowd. We got home at 11pm that night. Little E struggled a bit with the long days without naps but this day went particularly well.

 I forgot to mention this ferris wheel. I didn't allow myself to dwell on the details of this one too much, as we waited in line to board. But boy when it got going I was scared to death! I had to keep my head down the entire time for fear of completely losing it. Those little cars are all set on their own rail and as the wheel turns so does your car travel along it's railing (and not timidly). Not only that, it also sways back and forth, swinging wildly with every move you make. So flipping scary. E's face says it all!

And that's it!