January 18th - My Birthday - 39 Years Old!!!

Stan, Gregory, and George waiting for the park to open.

 Disneyland 2013

The Happiest Place on Earth!

A week full of imagination, thrills, and family fun.

Taking a break and enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

 Here we are at the gates. We actually were the FIRST people in this line waiting for the park to open up. We were ALL very excited to enter Disneyland. It was indeed a magical morning, as soon as they let us in, we dashed straight for Splash Mountain. There was no one there, we could have gone on that ride literally over and over again if we wanted to. I was so proud of Gregory. Splash Mountain was his first ride at Disneyland this trip. As Stan and Gregory rode Splash Mountain, George and I went on Winnie-the-Pooh. It was a lovely ride, one of my favorites. Then I went on Splash Mountain while the three boys did Winnie-the-Pooh again. From there we did all the rides in that area, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Indiana Jones, and so forth. After we did all of that we headed into Tomorrow Land.

First in line at the gates of the Magic Kingdom.

As you can see, there was no one in the park that morning. It was awesome to have the place to ourselves.

 The next morning, was our MAGIC MORNING. We were let into the park one hour before the general public. This was nice because Fantasy Land usually is packed full of kids and parents, so having significantly less people made this very enjoyable. We lucked out too, because on Thursday it rained all morning, so everyone left the park... So again we went to Fantasy Land and enjoyed it again without the crowds. I love it when it rains. It scares everyone away!

Snow White

Toad's Wild Ride

Fantasy Land. Photo taken while riding Dumbo.

Casey Jr. Train Ride

Alice in Wonderland, Tea Cups.

Gregory was chosen to participate! He did an amazing job and defeated the dark side!

Look at Gregory's moves, he even battled Darth Vader!!!!

 I LOVE this photo of my family. They ALL LOVE Star Wars, and it was a fun morning to be so immersed with the Star Wars characters.

 I loved watching this parade! It was very well done. I also loved watching WORLD OF COLOR. It was a light, water, and fire show. We had the best seats possible. We were on the bridge at California Adventure at the Pier. It was fantastic and well worth the wait. The kids fell asleep, so Stan and I just sat and talked as we waited for the show to begin. After the show was over, George threw his shoe over the bridge and into the water. I wasn't thrilled that he did that, but it's kind of funny watching George's show float in the middle of the large lake. It eventually went under the bridge, and we notified a cast member what had happened. I wouldn't be surprised if that shoe is still there floating under the bridge :)

Overall Disneyland was a perfect vacation and a magical experience for us. We felt very lucky that we were able to go, and that we missed the crowds, and that Gregory was such a brave boy. He went on every ride he could including the Tower of Terror. Stan was happy to have his son with him as he went on all the rides. It will be fun when we all can ride together as a family on every ride, but I was surprised that we were able to ride so many together! Disneyland is a great place for all ages. 

 I was so happy we found Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I never see them together, so this morning as we entered the park and saw them there together we had to take a photo!

This was the morning when it was raining. We are just outside our hotel getting ready for the mile and a half walk to the park's gates. It was really nice not having to take a bus. We had that option, but decided to walk to and from the park each day. I am not a morning person, but when I am at Disneyland, I automatically wake up way before my alarm, get the lunches packed, and we are all ready to go way before we need to leave. It was nice not feeling rushed trying to get out the door each morning.

Disneyland 2013... A great success! Hope to come back very soon :D