The kids were pretty tired after all the cousin craziness.
It was really hard to get them out of bed.
They didn't have any trouble sleeping at all at the hotel we were in.
Even if the beds were made to fit Smurfs.
Damn double beds.
We drove to the airport and waited patiently for our flight back to Seattle.
"Huh? What?
Um. Why did the guy just say LAX?
We must be on the wrong flight...."
Nope. Not the wrong flight.
She almost had a fit while we were in line to board the airplane.
The announcement came over the speaker saying that our flight was, "bound for Los Angeles International Airport" and Katie panicked.
"But Mom! This airplane isn't going to Seattle!!!"
It was hilarious.
We didn't tell her right then.
She followed us onto the flight thinking that I had made a mistake booking the flight.
Mikey was all over that.
He thought it was funny that I had mistakenly sent us to Los Angeles and didn't stop talking about it.
Then, we set them straight.
Sigh. It was fantastic.
You know what was even more fantastic???
Arriving at the self- proclaimed "Happiest Place On Earth".
We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and arrived JUST as the evening fireworks began.
Double sigh.
They had tea-cups in the lobby and, of course, old slapstick Disney cartoons playing.
Mikey just about rolled on the floor laughing while watching them.
Up to our room we went.
Fireworks were still on.
Triple sigh.
There were chocolates on our pillows.
An autographed black and white picture of the Fab Five.
"My First Visit" buttons for all of us.
And this wall length headboard on which the fireworks lit up and played "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes." And just one time so it didn't get annoying (although Huzbend might disagree with that).
We paid a visit to the E-Ticket lounge (we're high rollers) for some snacks.
It was mostly desserts out at this time.
And with just a simple inquiry, they had gluten free/ nut free cookies and brownies for the kids.
The kids were UBER happy.
Katie, looked at me with chocolate brownie crumbs all over her face and exclaimed, "Disney is the BEST PLACE EVER!"
And, really, only the best places have life sized Lego Hulks.
HULK, SMASH!
The kids participated in a Lego car build-off and race and then it was time to head back to get to sleep.
Last time I saw this giant Sorcerer Mickey hat, I was just-pregnant with Katie. Like only a couple of weeks pregnant. It was also Disneyland's 50th Anniversary that year.
Ha.
Funny.
This time it was their 60th.
I don't think we got up too early.
Although Huzbend likes to point out that we WERE in the park before the official opening time.
We raced the crowds to Radiator Springs Racers.
It was the first ride of our trip.
Mikey was excited.
Don't mind the tooth sticking out.
We ended up in two different cars and Mikey and my car didn't race anyone.
I won't even mention that some parts of the ride weren't working....grrrrr.
But, I can look past that (maybe). We still had a great time.
Radiator Springs proper was super impressive.
The kids had a fun time pointing out all the little details from the movies that now actually exist in real life.
One of the best parts was Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. There were a whole lot of props from the Mater's Tall Tales series.
"If I'm lyin', I'm cryin!"
This ride was reeeeaaalllll fun.
Everyone thought the tractors were cute.
Next up, 'A Bug's Land'.
Selfie gone bad.
There ain't nothin' better after a hot dog lunch than a Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar.
This face says LOVE.
This face does not.
Here we are waiting to ride 'Ariel's Undersea Adventure'.
We could tell that Mikey was slowing down after we watched the Aladdin show at the Hyperion Theatre. We decided to head back to the hotel for a little swim.
BUT, we saw the short line for Ariel AND it was air conditioned so we hit that ride.
He was not happy.
After Ariel, we split up.
Katie and Huzbend went to ride the California Screamin' coaster and followed that up with Grizzly River Run.
Meanwhile........
This is where Mikey and I were.
He was happy.
It was ludicrous hot in California.
It was somewhere between 95 and 100 each day we were there.
The other two eventually made their way to the pool.
After our leisurely swim it was time to head to "Walt's Park" for dinner, a parade and fireworks.
We ate dinner at Cafe Orleans where we learned that Mikey will not eat french fries but LOVES pommes frites.
Who knew?
I picked this restaurant because they serve a kick-ass monte cristo sandwich.
Huzbend has, in the past, mentioned that he likes these sandwiches.
Did he order it?
No. He ordered a salad, I think.
So, I ordered it.
OMG.
LOOK AT THIS THING!!!!!!
It was huge.
It was delicious.
It came with two berry dipping sauces.
I did not eat the fruit cup.
Just one of the things that I most love Disney for......
Empty plates.
Katie ate SO good on this trip.
Speaking of good......
DOLE WHIP TIME!!!!!
Is there a more perfect place to polish off a Dole Whip than sitting on the sidewalk on Main Street, USA waiting for the night time parade to start?
No.
I didn't think so.
Face that I should see prior to Disney's Paint the Night parade.....
No.
That is not the face.
Parade Hater.
PHHHHHBBBTTTTT at you.
Anyway.
You should go to Disneyland to see this parade.
Right now.
Main Street Electrical Parade.
Yeah, it's good.
This parade, however, blows it away.
Seriously.
Check out some pics.
Whoa.
"Did you like it?"
"YEAH!
What's next?"
Fireworks, of course!
I don't have a picture of Huzbend's disapproving face, because I was in Disney euphoria.
He dislikes fireworks shows almost as much as parades.
I think parades takes top dislike prize for him.
Next up was the icing on the cake, Disneyland's Disneyland Forever fireworks show.
Okay. Wishes makes me cry.
Every time I see it.
This fireworks show didn't make me cry.
It made me not able to breath.
Words just don't do it justice.
Here is a short video sample of both; parade and fireworks.
After watching, you may find yourself on a plane to Anaheim.
You have been warned.
The next day, Mikey woke up with a sniffly nose and a cough.
No fever that I could tell. I didn't have a thermometer.
We'd have to take it easy that day.
We hopped on the monorail to Disneyland.
Less walking that way.
The first ride of the day was Star Tours. Last time we were in a Disney park, Mikey was too small to go on it.
Next up, Space Mountain.
Disneyland's version is SO MUCH BETTER than Disney Worlds.
Wow.
Darker, faster (probably because it's darker) and there's a soundtrack.
Astro-Blasters time!!!
Huzbend totally beat me again.
Blew me away.
I'll never beat him.
Before we left Tomorrowland, we stopped by the Star Tours gift shop.
Mikey ended up with this fantastically loud Boba Fett blaster.
Good thing I took this picture.
Lunch at Pinnochio's.
Dee-lish.
After lunch, we did some more rides.
Big Thunder Mountain - which became Mikey's favorite - and then Pirates.
While we were in line for Pirates, Mikey asked if I could carry him.
He told me that he was really tired.
He still had cold symptoms and the excessive heat wasn't helping.
We exited the ride and ended up in the Pirates gift shop. It's connected to the Haunted Mansion shop by a little alleyway with a staircase.
I sat on the stairs with Mikey on my lap talking to him about going back to the hotel so he could relax and get better for that night.
Huzbend volunteered to take him back to the room and I stayed in the park with Katie for a few more hours.
The alley way was a very pretty space.
When I look at it, I get really sad.
Huzbend trucked Mikey back to the hotel.
Katie and I toured the park hitting a few more rides while we waited for her parasol souvenir to be ready.
Pooh's Hunny Hunt.
Small World.
A visit to some fairies.
I think Katie IS a fairy.
And, last, but not least, Indiana Jones.
Katie wasn't impressed.
As I was to find out, she likes her thrill rides much faster, higher, less bumpy and not in a jeep.
I realized then that I did not get a shot of Katie in front of the castle.
Ugh.
We didn't even get a family picture in front of the castle.
Maybe the next day?
We chose to ride the monorail back to the hotel.
It was waaaayyyy too hot to walk the 10 minutes.
We even waited 15 minutes for the monorail just to stay in the shade.
This is what we found when we got back.
It was cool and dark in the room.
Mikey was watching movies.
He seemed to be doing okay, minus the sniffles.
We headed out to dinner at Ariel's Grotto for some pre-World of Color dining.
I took Mikey on my back and we began our walk to the secret Grand Californian entrance to Cali Adventure.
Mikey and I were out front on our walk to dinner. Katie and Huzbend were falling behind.
So, I pulled over to the side of the walkway to watch some bakers make candy apples and wait for them to catch up.
Huzbend didn't see us and kept walking.....with my phone in the backpack on his back.
The next 15 minutes were a ridiculous disaster.
I had no phone to call him AND he had our admission cards too.
I ran all over looking for him with Mikey on my back. I didn't want to miss our dinner reservation as we had to pick up our tickets to reserved seating for World of Color.
I ran to the secret Grand Cali. entrance, back to where we lost them, then all the way to the main entrance where I was lucky to spot them looking for us.
By the time we got to dinner, I was sweating and just couldn't stop.
It was like I jumped in a pool completely clothed.
Totally embarrassing.
I wonder what the CM's thought.....
When we finally settled into dinner, Mikey ate this.
Ursula's Octodog.
Katie had a huge gf/nf brownie for dessert and Mikey chose Raspberry sorbet (so fancy!).
Huzbend and I had this for dessert.
Huzbend nearly fainted after taking a bite of the smore in the middle.
It was THAT good.
All through dinner, I kept checking Mikey for fever.
We decided that Mikey would return to the hotel with Huzbend after dinner.
Katie and I would stay and watch World of Color.
That was a total bummer.
We said goodbye to Mikey and Huzbend and Katie grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her favorite ride.
Remember what I was saying about Katie and thrill rides?
Well, these are the kind she likes.
Roller coasters.
Super fast ones that have loops and stuff.
She let me use Goofy's Sky School for a warm up.
And then it was on to her favorite......
California Screamin'.
It was hilarious.
She talked me through the whole ride.
"And now, Mommy? This is my favorite part! It's coming up....right. at. the. top. of. the. hillllllllllllll. WHHHHHEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
We ran over to Soarin' and squeezed it in before we sat down to hold our spots for World of Color.
We were right against the rail. Ever the planner, I whipped out the ponchos to protect from the water spray.
Alas, much to Katie's disappointment, the cotton candy was not gluten free.
So, we sat and shared a frozen lemonade in a souvenir cup.
The show was excellent and we couldn't have gotten a better spot.
The only thing that could've made it better was if Huzbend and Mikey were there.
When we got back to the hotel room, Mikey was still awake watching movies.
I recorded some parts of World of Color that I thought he would really like (I had watched the show online before going - yes, I'm that kind of nerd).
Here's World of Color - Mikey Style
Friday dawned and Mikey seemed to be in good spirits.
We headed out to spend some time at Disneyland with plans to rent a stroller to give our backs and shoulders a Sick Mikey-break.
We didn't make it that far.
Huzbend went in to the Disney Vacation Club office to get some info on the program and disappeared for a while.
While he was in there, Mikey dissolved into tears and told me that he wanted to go back to the hotel room.
Insert Big Frowny Face here.
Huzbend took him back to the hotel.
He's the best.
I took Katie to Disneyland and we promised that we would be back for lunch.
Talk about conflicting emotions.
I was happy to be spending time with Katie and having fun on the rides with her, but at the same time feeling sad that Mikey was not feeling well and that they were stuck in the hotel room. What kind of vacation was this? We were both also worrying that Mikey was getting worse, instead of better, despite all the rest he was taking.
Katie and I hit a good chunk of the Fantasyland rides.
I almost totally forgot to mention that while walking around Fantasyland, I got a call from the Dog Ranch Ralph was staying at.
He had a few hot spots that he had chewed up.
They were taking him to the vet to get cleaned up and get medicine.
Sigh.
RALPH!
We used our fastpasses for Splash and then headed out.
Despair was getting the best of me, so I snapped this shot of Katie's umbrella with Walt's light on in the window of the firehouse.
I didn't cry when we left.
Mikey was watching more movies.
He was okay. Not really improved at all.
My mom sent him some "Feel Better Soon!" balloons and a Mickey stuffie 'cause I had called her from in between Snow White's Scary Adventure and Pinnochio's Daring Journey to let her know that Mikey was sick.
That pepped him up and we all went out to get lunch in the resort.
After lunch, Huzbend and Katie decided to hit the pool and I hung out in the room with Mikey.
We were going to have dinner at the Blue Bayou and watch Fantasmic that night.
