Disneyland

We started off the first of our two days at Disneyland bright and early, as our ticket package included one day of "early admission" and hour before the regular opening.  It was a bit of a rush to get everyone up and on the shuttle by 8:30, but we managed and at 9:00 were streaming with hundreds of other people into the Happiest Place on Earth.

Trying to take full advantage of the extra hour, we headed directly for Tomorrowland, figuring Space Mountain would be the hardest of the rides to get on during regular hours.  We made a quick pitstop at the Buzz Lightyear ride on the way as that was one all the kids could enjoy, before heading off with Nick for the roller coaster.  We followed that up with a few rides on the Matterhorn, eventually canvincing Sam to give it a try as well, and by the time 10am rolled around, we had already been on 5 rides (which under nornal circumstances would be considered a pretty successful afternoon).  While in Tommorowland we also rode the Submarine Adventure (Nick’s favorite surprisingly enough) and the Autopia.

The weekend before we arrived Disney put up all their Christmas decorations, so the Small World ride was all decked out for the holidays (which made Granny all excited) so we made a stop there on the way to Toontown.  Joey hit his stride in Toontown and after one ride of the Go Gadget coaster was hooked.  We left him there with Ang, Sam and Granny, going over and over again, laughing like a madman and waving his arms in the air.

With just Nick, we knocked off a few more of the older rides like Thunder Mountain and Indiana Jones before meeting back up (apparently 5 passes through Go Gadget later).  Sam wanted to try Indiana Jones, and while we though it might be a little scary for him, he loved it and had to take Mom on it with him. Standing in line, it was funny to hear him tell her all the tips he had for riding it.

We finished the day watching the parade and with dinner at one of the restaurants on site. The plan was to stay for the fireworks, but by then Joey had reached his limit, so Ang and Grandpa took him back to the hotel, while the rest of us took a quick walk over the Small World to see it all lit up, and then back to Main Street to watch the fireworks show.  We had seen them the previous night from the hotel, but it was nothing like being there with music playing and light flashing on the castle.  When they finished, they also have fake snow that comes down (its actually little bubbles, but they clump together and look like snow). Nick and Sam lit up when they saw it and ran around laughing, trying to catch it in their hands.

The second day at the park we were a bit short handed as Sammy came down with the flu and Grandpa was quick to volunteer to stay back at the hotel with him.  Otherwise it was a lot like the first. We spent a bunch of time with the boys on Tom Sawyer Island and then let the kids go back and do all the rides they wanted to do over. Joey of course headed back to Toontown for the Go Gadget coaster and Nick wanted to spend more time in Tomorrowland on the submarine ride and Buzz Lightyear.  We took things a bit slower which was nice for a change, but had a great day nonetheless.  Since Joey missed the fireworks the night before, we staked out a place early right in front of the castle where we would have the best view. With the music, the lights and the snow, it was a again a great show and a magical finish to our time here.

Tomorrow we leave early for our next stop, which is also a surprise.