Day 5
our fifth and final day in Disneyland
Our last morning got off to a rocky start...as we waited for our shuttle, something we'd done a dozen times the days before, they kept passing by full. Finally, after waiting nearly 45 minutes, Kyle went to the front desk and complained. Within a few minutes we had our own private taxi shuttling us to the park. It ended up not really being a big deal, but we did get to the park a few minutes later than we would have liked. I did my best not to worry about it and it was quickly forgotten. There was too much fun to be had!
It was our morning to get into Toontown early. It typically doesn't open until 11:00 (or an hour after the park itself opens), but we had special passes that allowed us to enter at 10:00. It was great! There was a cute little show with Mickey and the gang and then a ceremony where the kids were made honorary citizens of Toontown.
being sworn in by the mayor of ToonTown.
And then we were greeted by the big mouse himself as we set off to tour his house.
The kids loved it!
They loved his house and looking at all of the fun things in it.
They weren't thrilled with the rides in ToonTown, but they still had a lot of fun exploring. And it was great to do it without any crowds at all.
They were kind of rushing us through the picture line, so sadly Nana didn't get her picture with us, too.
Pluto's bed
They were entranced watching Mickey's gloves go around and around in the washer machine.
It was cute to see them so excited about every detail
Making a movie
Driving Mickey's car
(again that pesky sun made for challenging pictures!)
I ordered the kids' shirts off the internet and was thrilled with how they turned out. They both really liked them, too. Now we just need to plan a second trip so they can wear them again :)
Finally a good picture with Nana!
She so graciously snapped our family photo at all of the important places, and then the kids would be done and she'd miss out on her chance to get in the photos too. Thank you, Nana, for being our personal photographer during our trip!
Daddy and Kennedy waiting for the go-coaster...after all the other roller coasters from the previous four days, they were pretty disappointed with this one. I will admit that it was a tad tame for our dare devilish family.
my girl
Resting in Goofy's house
We convinced Daddy to give the Small World ride a try again (he had vowed never to ride it again!). The kids enjoyed it and Kyle said it wasn't so bad this time around - it was fun to see the kids' excitement as they spied different things.
Carter had seen this shooting game on our first day, so while the three of us were waiting for Nana and Kennedy (they were riding Alice in Wonderland again), we gave it a try. One of the few cheap things in the park, I thought $.50 was a bargain! The gun was very heavy, so it was hard for Carter to maneuver.
Thunder Mountain Railroad...again!
Wednesday, our last day, was by far the best day for crowds. The place felt empty in comparison with the previous days. We ended up riding Thunder Mountain six or seven times in the hour or so before the parade. Nana left us this day, so we said goodbye in between our rides. It was sad to see her go, as we knew we wouldn't be seeing her again until Christmas time. It was so fun having her there with us and she was such a help. We love you, Nana!
No lines + a super fun ride = a great way to spend the afternoon!
Waiting for the parade with some special treats...cotton candy and frozen strawberry lemonade.
It was another hot day, so we were fortunate to find good seats in the shade!
such sweetness between these two as they shared their treats
Enjoying every minute of our last day
The Disneyland folks have photographers around the parks snapping your picture. They got such a great one of the kids holding on to these balloons with the castle in the background...but they want $15 for one picture and I just can't bring myself to pay that. Even if they are cute. My picture of the balloons will help me remember :)
Mickey's Soundsational Parade was great! Lots and lots of characters, great music and just general entertainment. The kids were in heaven!
The genie was a favorite from the Aladdin show the day before...Carter thought he was hilarious!
Kennedy's favorite, Ariel
The princess float was a big hit
Tiana was the only princess that we weren't able to meet, so we were happy to see her during the parade
We decided to end our day at California Adventure. Carter wanted to ride California Screamin' a few more times, I wanted to explore Radiator Springs a bit more, Kyle wanted to ride Tower of Terror again and we all wanted to ride Soarin' over California one last time.
Again, there were no crowds, so we all got to do what we wanted before we had to leave.
And we saw Minnie!
(her house in Toontown was undergoing renovations while we were there, so this was a chance to get our picture taken with her)
This might be on our Christmas card, although poor Kyle had to duck in order to fit under the airplane's wing!
and Carter-Man finally got his churro...he'd been asking for one for days! Kennedy didn't love hers, so I enjoyed one, too.
Our longest wait was for the new Toy Story ride - it was an arcade game type competition ride, and we had a lot of fun. Kyle didn't think it was worth the wait, but I'm really glad we tried everything.
Saying goodbye...
we ended our stay with such a wonderful day. I could have easily stayed a few more!
I think the kids were the perfect ages for their first trip to Disneyland and they really did such a fabulous job. They didn't complain about the heat or all the walking, they loved the rides, enjoyed the parades and shows and had fun meeting the characters. I think we went on nearly every ride in both parks and saw everything that we had hoped to see. It was as close to perfect as I could have dared to hope.
And I can't wait to go back!
