Disneyland Vacation - Day Three

Finally! The long-awaited day had arrived and we were going to Disneyland! The park didn't open until 10 AM, so we had plenty of time. The hotel we stayed at provided a full breakfast, which we took full advantage of.

I'd made matching shirts for the kids, in hopes of easily spotting them in large crowds. They got a lot of attention in those shirts, starting at breakfast.

After waiting for the shuttle to Disneyland for at least 15 minutes (more like 20+), we learned that we were in the wrong place. So we went to the right place and waited a little more. We had a 10 minute ride to the park, and eventually made it in!

Here we are approaching the gates.

And here we are inside Disneyland.


Our first stop was "It's a Small World." We walked right on and soaked in our first real Disneyland memory in the making.


I think I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures in the ride. I never saw a sign, and no one ever said anything, so I took lots...all 3 days. It was afterward that I got the impression I wasn't supposed to. So if these pictures are illegal, I apologize.







It's kind of hard to take decent pictures in the dark in a moving boat.

After that, we headed to Toontown. It wasn't quite open so we stood outside the gates, in the hot sun, with a bunch of other people, facing a guy that did not embody the "Happiest Place on Earth" persona. Maybe he'd be better at the doors of Walmart two minutes before the Black Friday sales begin. Anyway, we finally made it in and went straight to Mickey Mouse's house.

We also met Minnie Mouse.


She has a lot of cheese in her fridge!




There was a voice down in the well and the littlest in our group were very interested!


We threw all the kids in jail...where they belong.


Notice anything wrong in this picture?


We spent a lot of time in Toontown. Enough that we didn't need to go back again! From there, we found ourselves in line for the Storybook Land ride. Wow. That sun was hot for 8 folks from Eastern Idaho! Considering it was the last week of September, I was a little surprised at the heat. Sarah looks hot in this picture.


Rebekah is anticipating going into the whale's mouth. :)

Our day was passing quickly and there was so much we hadn't done! We bought a meager lunch for the whole family for $60. I made the kids eat every fry. After a bathroom break, we hit a "real" ride...the Matterhorn. The boys first, then the girls, then Joseph and me. Chad stayed on firm ground with Sarah, who was catching a nap.


This was an energetic ride! From this ride, I learned that Rebekah is a roller coaster person and Leah is not. In fact, Leah only experienced this ride with two senses: sound and touch. She shut her eyes when it got dark (at the beginning). So I also learned that Leah is easily frightened. She had her eyes shut a lot during the three days we rode rides.

We went to Tomorrowland next. It was at Star Tours that we learned of a pass they give to families with little kids that can't ride, but parents who want to. Chad stood in line with Daniel, Nathan and Rebekah and got a pass for me. I took Leah when they were done. That was the only ride that made me sick and it took me a little while to recover! The kids really loved the Buzz Lightyear ride and we went twice because there was no line. This was a ride where they shoot at targets and earn a score (displayed on the gondola). We probably should have used hand sanitizer after that one!


We rode the monorail for an excuse to sit for a bit. It was too short of a ride.

We spent some time walking around the Innovations building. It's a building of futuristic ideas and such. They had a house design set up with high-tech gadgets and such, but we weren't much impressed. Most of the stuff wasn't working.

One last ride before we left the park for the day was this rocket ride. Chad sat this one out, too. I don't think he's much of a ride person. Or maybe he was just filling his memory banks with images of his family having fun. I captured some memories of my own. :)


We got ourselves to the shuttle pick-up/drop-off spot and waited. And waited. Those shuttles were not running as often as they said they were! We had a light dinner that the hotel provided and the kids went swimming with Chad. Joseph and Sarah stayed with me in the room and then we all ate sugary cereal and went to bed. Oh, how well we slept!