Our final destination was very exciting, we were taking the kids to Disneyland for the first time. I won't count this as Thatcher's first time as he slept his way through most of it but at almost 3, Samantha was definitely ready to experience the happiest place on earth!
We pulled up to the parking kiosk at Disneyland and Samantha spotted a gigantic topiary Mickey Mouse and FREAKED out with excitement. This was a good sign that the day was going to be special. If a mouse made out of leaves garnered such a positive reaction, I knew she would be thrilled beyond belief when she saw the "real" thing.
The token Disneyland family shot at the entrance
Hmmmmm, where should we go first?
First stop, Fantasyland where we decided to go on Snow White. Big mistake. I didn't pay attention that it was called, Snow White's Scary Adventures. Thankfully it was short because the entire ride scared the heck out of Samantha. I am not sure if we even saw Snow White on any part of the ride. It was dark and at every turn you were faced with the Witch. Sam got off the ride in tears and seemed so disappointed that this was what Disneyland was about.
Then we spotted the Teacups. She liked them as long as they were not spinning too fast.
Thatcher was excited because he knew the next ride he would be able to go on.
It's A Small World
You can tell Samantha still hadn't gotten over the scary Snow White ride by her face but it only lasted a few seconds.
Next stop, Space Mountain, while Papa took Samantha on Dumbo, the Carousel and a repeat ride of It's a Small World. Thatcher hung out with Grandma and took a nap.
We had lunch (Lollipops) and watched the Star Wars show
Thatcher woke up and was ready for Buzz LightYear
And
asleep again....
We broke up with the group, one half to the big kid rides and the other half to meet the characters. This was by far the most magical part of the day for Samantha. She was beside herself meeting Minnie, Mickey, Goofy and the Princesses.
It looks like Goofy swallowed Sam
Oh, there she is!
Thatcher woke up just in time to meet the Princesses, obviously he is a Ladies Man.
We waited in line to see the princesses for 45 minutes which was the longest line we waited in all day. It was worth it though. Samantha was in awe of each of them. I must admit, they were pretty impressive.
Take a look at this video. It shows you how "real" they were. Not only did they look exactly like the characters but they had the exact mannerisms of a princess. They never broke out of character.
I have never seen Samantha listen so well to someone. Maybe I should dress up like Cinderella?!?! I can't make out exactly what she was saying to her but I know Samantha told her that her favorite ride was Dumbo and Cinderella asked if she flew to Disneyland and Sam said she drove. Other than that, I think it was secret princess talk.
Next stop, The Matterhorn. Even though we warned Samantha that it was fast, dark and scary, she was very serious about wanting to go on it. I think Cinderella really boosted her confidence because nothing was going to stop her from going on this ride. Hello?! Is this the same girl that was hesitant on the Teacups?!
I actually felt really guilty once we were belted in and the ride took off because let's face it, the Matterhorn really isn't for 2 year olds. It was FAST, bumpy, dark and around every turn there was a scary monster howling. I could hear Samantha behind me screaming that she wanted to go home and to get her off the ride.
When she got off she received high fives and hugs from all of us and huge accolades from the Disney workers and other people in line, so she soon forgot about the traumatic experience.
After that we did a lot of walking around looking in the shops, eating ridiculously expensive junk food and people watching.
Before the park closed we made it on a few more rides. We split off and some of us went on Winnie the Pooh and some rode Splash Mountain. There was absolutely no line at Splash Mountain because A. it was cold and rainy and B. who wants to get wet when it is cold and rainy?
Apparently Todd does ;)
We couldn't leave the park without getting Samantha some Minnie Mouse ears with her name embroidered on them.
We tried our best to stay for the parade but without a nap and all the excitement, Samantha was OUT, looks like Grandma was too.
A weekend to remember for sure!
