Disneyland

So I was a bit disappointed with my kids for our big DISNEYLAND SURPRISE TRIP. I think they are broken or something. They weren't excited at all!

I kept the whole trip a secret for almost two weeks. I had them all packed and when they woke up Wednesday morning we asked them what they wanted to do today. Stephen started suggesting things we could do and then got around to, "do you want to go see Mickey Mouse?" They were like, "Mickey Mouse is at Disneyland." Stephen said, "yes he is, should we go visit him today?" They both got a slight smile on their faces and said, "ok." AND THAT WAS IT. There was no screaming or yelling. No sudden outbursts of excitement (except from me and Stephen). They acted like any other day. I think the problem is that they really have no idea what Disneyland is. They've no memory to connect the surprise to. Besides the disappointing beginning, the trip turned out fun.

It wasn't the BEST trip ever, but it was fun. In fact it was a whole lot of work for something Macy and Asher probably won't remember. The first day we arrived in California to 80 degree weather. It was Fabulous! It was almost too hot coming from cold Utah to sunny California. We picked up the rental car and headed onto the freeway. By the way there are around 20 different freeways and of course we got lost. Being lost with Stephen driving isn't the funnest. (We will never be on the Amazing Race for that reason) But we stayed civil to one another as we stopped for directions a couple of times. We finally made it to the Travelodge. Yippee! (just a place to lay our heads) and hopped on the shuttle and headed to Disneyland. We had fun on the rides and were really impressed with them. They were the same we remembered as kids but greatly improved. Its a Small World was just remodeled a couple of months ago and it was great.

The next day we had tickets to get into the park an hour early so we headed right for the Buzz Lightyear and Finding Nemo ride. We got right on Buzz lightyear and had a great time.

You get to shoot a laser gun at targets and score points. Then we waited in line at Nemo for 45 minutes. It was an awesome submarine ride. Technology is amazing! Most of the rides were 40 minute waits. Stephen and I are not that into crowds so it was tough to handle all the people. At least there was a lot of people watching to be done. It's just amazing at how different everyone is.

So I have this theory that Disneyland tries to trick people. They have a great way of convincing you into going on their rides. Sure they post a time at the beginning that says how long it will take to get on the ride, but when you actually look at the line you think they are estimating high. They have this great way of winding you around and around, In and outside of buildings so that you can't actually see all the people in line. The worst was this one Roger Rabbit ride in Toon town. The line kept snaking back and forth. We waited 40 minutes and then the ride broke down. We had to backtrack our way. I would have never suggested waiting that long, trapped in a huge line, had I been able to see all the people waiting. So kudos to Disneyland for tricking the eye! So having each ride take almost an hour fills most of the day without much going on. It really did take us two and a half days to try and ride most of the kid size things once.

After day two, I was a bit grumpy and tired and not at all pleased with my idea to take the kids here. Stephen was also pretty quiet. He hates to spend any extra money on trips and I could tell buying food at Disneyland was bothering him. He did try to find a grocery store so he could buy sandwich stuff, but of course there are none around. (Another trick to get you to buy their food) He wouldn't even order himself food because he didn't want to spend the money. He said he was happy to eat the leftovers the kids didn't eat. I don't know why this annoyed me so much, but it did and put me in even a worse mood.

Luckily day three was MUCH better. We took a break from the crowds and headed to Newport Beach. Stephen's cousin, Florian, who's from Germany was also in L.A. for the weekend so he met up with us. The weather was a lot cooler and even a bit chilly but the kids didn't mind. They played in the sand all day. Later we drove to Stephen's Grandma's house and met up with family for a wonderful evening.

Our last day was spent mostly at the California Adventure Amuzement Park. It was definalty less crowded and we had an enjoyable day, watching shows and riding rides. We even got to see the pixar parade which was so colorful and fun.

So our vacation is over and now we need another vacation just to relax from this one. I will say, although we had a fun trip we will not be doing that again for a very long time! Next time we'll just go to the beach.