To all who come to this happy place, Welcome!

Disneyland's theme this year is "Let the Memories Begin!" And so they have. Our three day excursion to the original Magic Kingdom proved to be a success, and we have made many memories that we will cherish and cling to until our next adventure. 

 We went to bed super early Sunday evening after a busy day. Before it could be bright and early we left for Anaheim... at 2am. We figured the kids would travel better if they were asleep. So with minimal stops and only one scary incident (Vash unbuckled himself to try and lie down), we made it to Anaheim and our hotel around 10am on Monday morning. The kids had been awake a while so we all took a nap. 

 Going stir crazy in the car!

 Around noon, our friends that were coming along made it into town and we met them at Downtown Disney for lunch and shopping.

 We told the kids to look at everything before selecting a souvenir.(The entire trip Vash wanted a green pirate pistol and Rhyla wanted a balloon.) 

 Vash was so happy to see Sam he almost knocked her over!

We all walked over and played in the fountains outside the Parks gates.

Then we actually looked into the gates and the kids were trying to climb through the bars to get in. LOL

Vash saw that train and started crying to be let in. Rhyla even tried to sneak through a turnstile. We promised them we'd be spending all of the next three days inside those gates and they reluctantly agreed to leave. After dinner at the Cheesecake factory, it was off to bed. We had a big day ahead of us!

 We decided to use our Magic morning the first day. We left so early the sun wasn't even quite up yet!

Vash  and Sam couldn't believe the castle was real and that we were really there. Rhyla looked so confused but interested in everything. They were playing music from "UP!" when we got in, which is my favorite movie. It made our special moment even more memorable.

"We go in?" Vash asked in amazement as we passed through the castle to ride all that Fantasyland had to offer.

The tea cups made Rhyla dizzy, but Vash loved them.

After hitting up, Nemo and Buzz, it was off to a much awaited attraction. Pirates! Vash sang along and Rhyla did her "Wee!" arms on the drops.

We stopped by to see a real life fire engine on our way to Disney's California Adventure. Vash was thrilled about that. After grabbing Fastpasses for World of Color, I took Vash on Toy Story midway mania, while Craig watched a sleeping Rhyla and had a phone interview. (On vacation, I know....)

This is a horrible picture, but we saw a great show called Disney Jr. Vash gasped when Mickey Mouse (A puppet) popped out and started talking. He seemed really impressed with all the puppets actually.  Rhyla danced to all the music and happily clapped when all the big kids did. 

After a ride on the train, the kids passed out and we did a little shopping. But Rhyla, who is a cat napper, woke up first. So we took her to the petting zoo while Vash slept in the stroller.

We had to tell her to be very soft with the goat. She kept trying to poke him and grab his ears.

Apparently goats like climbing. We even saw one taking a nap on a big rock. 

That evening we watched Mickey's Soundsational Parade. The kids loved it! Rhyla seemed to like the dancing chimney sweeps best, while Vash fell in love with Tinkerbell because she blew him a kiss.

 Next we used our World of Color fastpasses and got great seats to the show. It was truly EPIC and our new favorite. While Vash got startled by all the loud noises and changes throughout this incredible water show, Rhyla loved them! Every burst of flame or shotgun like sound made her giggle and clap. And while some older kids cried because the pirate mermaids are scary, Rhyla just pointed and said "Ohhhhhhh!"

On our way out, we got to meet Lighting McQueen. (Mater was there too, but Vash kept trying to pick at his teeth.)

The kids took a bath to calm down before bed, but Rhyla, who was already in her PJ's decided she wasn't done and hopped back in.

We got started again super early the next morning. The kids who had been a little awed and shocked the day before were now just thrilled because we were back and they knew what to expect.

We had a little trouble in the morning. Autopia wasn't running when we got there and Pooh had just broke down, so we instead started our day with Haunted Mansion, or as Sam called it "Spooky house." Rhyla was too little to be afraid but Vash was. He told us that it wasn't Vash who was afraid, but rather his blanket Tuku, so Mommy had to hold "Tuku" very tight. 

We visited a few other attractions in Adventurland before heading to Toon Town. (Vash is picking the Tiki Masks nose here, btw.)

The kids seemed to love everything about Toon Town.Vash rode Gadget's Go Coaster! We explored all the houses and rode Roger Rabbit's cartoon spin. Everything was big and round and looked straight out of a cartoon. I remember it being much cooler when I was little because there was a lot more to do. Ex: They took the ball pit out of Chip N Dale's tree house, Goofy's bounce house doesn't bounce anymore... it's just a house. The scents on Minnie's perfume table are gone, and the Jolly Trolley had been decommissioned and is actually for sale on Ebay. But the kids loved it just the same and I think we'll spend more time there next trip. 

This is in the line to meet Mickey. It's a weird mix of instruments combined together.

We decided the line was a little too long and promised to come back and meet Mickey the next day. So Vash consoled himself by pretending to drive a car. Rhyla was happy to be along for the ride. 

(Darn blurry Picture!) Well, we met Donald. Rhyla tried to feed him a cracker. Her favorite part of any attraction was just going up and down the stairs. 

The aforementioned Jolly Trolley. I think people probably stopped riding it because it tottered all over the place. I thought it was fun when I was little but I could imagine it would make me feel more drunk than anything if I could ride it now. LOL.

We got to meet Phineas and Ferb at their Dance Party. Vash didn't want to dance so much as he wanted to get on the car where Perry the Platypus was hanging out. Rhyla rocked out in the stroller though.

Next up was a Bug's land. The kids got soaked in Dot's Puddle Park and Rhyla fell asleep shortly after. Craig watched her while I took Vash on the other rides. He got to drive a bumper car (He's actually pretty good behind the wheel), ride an even crazier version of the teacups called Frances ladybug boogey (Those things SPIN!), ride a train and fly in Flik's Flyers. After that , we traded and I watched Rhyla while Craig took Vash to watch It's Tough to Be a Bug. Apparently they've toned it down a lot so Vash wasn't scared at all. 

Loving the water. 

Rhyla took a good, long, nap. So while she slept, I showed Vash around Brother Bear's play area. We did the rope bridge climb and went down a few slides. Vash did some unauthorized rock climbing and I almost had a heart attack trying to get him down. 

He's like a monkey!

While we were finishing up a show over at a Small World, our friends got great places for Fantasmic!  Once we met up,  I sat with Kelly and Josh, while Rhyla slept in my lap, and Craig took Vash to ride pirates again. It was Craig's first time seeing the show, and my first time seeing the new fire breathing dragon animatronic. It was amazing! That night was Kelly and Mike's date night, so we took their two little ones home with us and watched them for a few hours. Everyone but Rhyla was asleep within 10 minutes of getting to the hotel. She konked out eventually though and so did I. (Poor Craig. He waited awake by himself for our friends to come.)

Our final day, (Sniff) we decided to revisit favorites and hit up the few things we had somehow missed. First on our list was to meet Vash's girlfriend. This is Fawn. Vash didn't hesitate to tell her he was there for Tinkerbell. She didn't mind though and still smiled for a picture. 

While Rhyla was more excited about the scenery in Pixie Hollow than the actually Pixies, Vash was thrilled to get to hug Tinkerbell and meet her face to face. She even remembered blowing him the kiss! He tried his best to answer her questions but I ended up having to translate most of what he said because apparently pixies don't speak Vashese. Lol. (He was trying to impress her with his knowledge of animal sounds.)

Vash isn't glaring. He's got his game face on. But yes, Rhyla IS trying to escape. 

We also kept our promised and got to meet the mouse that started it all. Vash hugged him and Rhyla tried to stick her hands in his mouth. 

To repay them for our great seats the night before, we somehow got bench seats right in front of the castle, for the fireworks display that night. We ate treats from the Jolly Holiday bakery and had a terrific view. That night our friends watched our kids while Craig and I had our date night in Disneyland! We had saved fastpasses all day and because of that, were able to ride 7 E-ticket attractions in just 2 hours. (The New Star Tours twice, Indiana Jones twice, Thunder mountain, Space Mountain, and Pirates. Although riding it without Vash felt like cheating.)

Other favorite memories:

1) Rhyla picking up leaves and giving them to me while we waited outside the Tiki Room. 

2) Vash and Rhyla's faces when they first saw the castle. 

3) Getting to ride the Little Mermaid for the first time and seeing a SUPER realistic Arial Animatronic.

4)Vash saying WOW!loudly and excitedly every time a firework went off. 

5) Rhyla getting a spray of water right in the face at the puddle park and laughing instead of crying.

6) Vash and me laughing like idiots on the lady bug boogy. 

7) Rhyla sleeping through the entire fireworks show because she was bundled up and happy.

8) Craig being shocked when he realized that Thunder Mountain was a roller coaster and not a kiddie ride.

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts, that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." -Walt Disney