Day 4: Disneyland!!

Day 4 of our trip was one of the best... Disneyland!! And in case you can't tell by the above picture, it was a success!! 15 hours in the "Happiest Place on Earth" - 9am to midnight - with a not-quite 2 year old and it was a great day. No major melt-downs, tantrums or fits. I was amazed. We truly have a wonderful little boy and it was a blast to spend the day with him in one of our favorite places. Sean's sister, Cassie went with us and we got up bright and early to make the hour plus drive from Sean's parents' house to Disneyland. Sean's other sister, Alysha, was also supposed to come but was really not feeling well and decided not to go. We sure missed her, though!

Once inside the park, with Ethan in the stroller rental, we headed down Main Street and saw... a celebrity!! Well, maybe not a huge celebrity... Ok, so you'll only recognize him if you watch Food Network, but still!












It was Guy Fieri from the show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" - Sean and I occasionally catch this show and it always makes us hungry for "diner food"! We saw him a couple more times throughout the day. He was on the boat in front of us for Jungle Cruise and at one point the camera crew even turned their cameras on us - we smiled and waved right back!

After our brief brush with fame, our first stop was Indiana Jones for the "big people" and it was our first opportunity to take advantage of the Stroller Swap passes. Since there was just the three of us non-toddlers, two people would wait in line and enjoy the ride while the 3rd person kept Ethan entertained. After the ride, we would use the pass and it would put the person who didn't get to go almost at the front of the line. The pass was good for two people, though, so we took turns on who got to go twice.
Ethan and Mommy enjoying the view and the corny and very punny jokes on the Jungle Cruise.
Jungle Cruise was Ethan's first official Disneyland ride - not counting the tram, which he thought was pretty cool. He definitely liked being on the boat and looking at all of the jungle animals - there was so much to look at, I don't think he could decide!

Even with a toddler in tow, we still managed to get to do everything we wanted to do - including all major rides - and then some. We thought we did a pretty good mix of rides for Ethan and the rollercoasters for the 40-inches and over crowd. In the end, Ethan rode:
- Jungle Cruise
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (twice - first time with Auntie Cassie)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (twice - he loved this one!)
- Haunted Mansion
- Pinocchio's Daring Journey
- King Arthur Carrousel
- Mad Tea Party (aka Teacups)
- It's a Small World
- Astro Orbitor
In addition to Ethan's list, the rest of us also rode on:
- Indiana Jones Adventure (a must for every D-land visit)
- Splash Mountain (we each got to ride it twice the lines were so short)
- Star Tours
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Matterhorn Bobsleds (I screamed extra loud for you, Mom!)
- Space Mountain

We were also able to enjoy nearly front-row seats for the early showing of FANTASMIC! It's one of Sean's favorite things to do at Disneyland and Ethan loved the show too. Shortly after the show ended, we were able to stay where we were and had great seats for the "Believe... In Holiday Magic" Fireworks Spectacular complete with a 'magical snowfall' at the end. Ethan thought this was pretty cool, too.

Here's some pictures from the rest of the day...
Haunted Mansion all decked out "Nightmare Before Christmas" mode. Notice the 'ghostly' presence to the left of the picture? Creepy, huh?! Big grins on the Carrousel.
Took this picture just for my friend Sara's little boy - he LOVES Toy Story! REALLY big grins on the Teacups. Sadly, this was the only picture we got of Cassie during the day while riding the teacups. She was gracious enough to be our family photographer and we weren't able to get any group shots! But... we were SO HAPPY to have her with us!! She was a BIG help with Ethan and made the day go by much, much smoother. Ethan loves his Auntie Cassie! Posing with Tigger in Critter Country.
Aww... and even some kisses for Tigger. Too bad they don't have any Jungle Book characters roaming around! The hippo on Small World - per Sean, "it's a hippie hippo" and probably belongs back in Eugene! Going through the bubbles on Small World - other than this, Ethan was a little bored with this ride. I don't blame him - it's really only cute for a little while... Sitting on Daddy's shoulders, watching the parade. Riding the Astro Orbitor with Daddy - Ethan was not afraid of heights. Mommy was in the rocket in front of them and she was!
Pretty much the grand finale of our day - FANTASMIC!Our happy little family after a GREAT day in Disneyland!! Can't wait until next time. :)