The final day of our trip was spent at California Adventure.
When we first started planning the trip, we initially thought we’d only be
going to Disneyland itself. Then we decided to do the Princess Breakfast (more
below), which, of course, only takes place at Ariel’s Grotto in California
Adventure. Well played Disney, well played. Nelson and I were at the parks in
2005 and I didn’t remember a lot of activities for young kids in CA Adventure,
but, of course, we were 2 adults without kids, so we didn’t really pay
attention. As I researched more about the park, I realized there were a lot of
fun things to do for them (I should have known Disney wouldn’t disappoint) and
decided to go after all.
I should back track. Before going on this trip, Kalaya had
no idea whatsoever Disneyland actually was. It came up last fall when we saw a
stage production of The Little Mermaid at my high school, after which Kalaya
got to meet Ariel. Every time we drove by the school after that Kalaya would
say, “That’s where Ariel lives on the stage!!” and I had to explain that, no,
in fact Ariel had left and gone back home. We started to say she lived in the
ocean (of course) but then we started getting asked about Cinderella and the
other princesses and eventually started talking about this magical place called
Disneyland where all the princesses live, as well as Mickey and his friends and
every other character from Disney movies. (it took awhile to convince her that
not EVERYONE on TV lived there. “Will we see Thomas Mommy? And Elmo?” For
several months as the trip was being planned, ALL she talked about was going to
see Cinderella’s castle and see Mickey’s house and Ariel and Cinderella.
Oh, by the way Kalaya, Disneyland has RIDES!!!
This didn’t even come up until a few weeks before the trip.
And, she had no idea what we really meant. Our family has never ridden rides at
the fair and we’ve never been to another amusement park. The only thing she’s
ever done is the zoo train and a couple of Merry Go Rounds. So, naturally, she
had it all planned out that she would ride the Merry Go Round and Jakiah would
ride the choo choo as soon as we got to Disneyland.
Day 1 at Disneyland, big sign outside the entrance listing
the rides closed for the day, including King Arthur’s Carousel.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Have I mentioned my child does not handle disappointment
well? Especially when we had been planning and talking about that exact ride for
WEEKS?!
I seriously debated turning around and walking back to the
hotel.
(and, YES, I am an informed, smart Disney mama. I had
checked the website and learned which rides were going to be closed while we
were there. Only the teacups and Big Thunder Moutain were listed. NOT THE MERRY
GO ROUND!! DISNEY FAIL)
THANK GOODNESS we had planned on CA Adventure, because they
do have a merry go round, though with sea creatures instead of horses. So,
every time she got sad about the horses, we reminded her that on FRIDAY, we
would ride the fish merry go round as many times as she wanted.
You would think the 50 other rides we went on would comfort
the child.
It’s a rough life.
(she’s only a little spoiled, I SWEAR. Someone with a 4 year
old will understand)
SO, Friday morning, off to California Adventure we went,
this time with 3 adults other, all friends from college. Which meant Nelson and
I got time with friends, got time without kids, got to ride thrill rides and
even got to ride a ride BY OURSELVES! It was so fun and the kids seeing Auntie
Beth, Uncle Nan and Mr Curt.
Of course, the very first ride we rode was the Merry Go
Round. Twice. Then The Little Mermaid ride, which I think ended up being one of
Kalaya’s favorite rides of the whole trip. (No, that is not a creeper. Or my husband. But, don't we make a nice family with our friend Curt??)
Then, it was time for breakfast with the princesses!!!
I will just tell you, incase you happen to look online after
reading this, Ariel’s Grotto is too expensive. I’m just being honest. It was
great and the food was delicious, but when you see the price and judge (I know
I would), you are correct, it was ridiculous.
But, that’s Disney. Take it or leave it. If you don’t want
to pay their prices, don’t do it.
It was really fun! We got to meet 5 princesses, including Ariel,
Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Snow White. The whole experience was so well
done and the food really was good.
I almost died when Kalaya’s meal came out. She chose a
chocolate chip waffle, which apparently wasn’t enough sugar, so they made it
into a boat with a bacon sail and put it on a bed of blue frosting AND included
a huge cup of syrup, which she dumped over everything before we realized it.
Oh, and coco krispies on the side. WOW. At one point she was swirling syrup and
frosting together and eating it with a spoon.
ONLY AT DISNEYLAND PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!
(I should mention that the beautiful princess dresses were
never exposed to the stickiness. They came out before the food was served.
Smart.)
Needless to say, she had plenty of energy at this point and
off we went to Cars Land. On the way we FINALLY met Donald Duck, which Jakiah
had been waiting for the whole time. You can’t tell in the pics how excited he
was, because he was eating crackers at the same time, so his mouth was full.
But, he LOVES Donald and can actually say, “Donald Duck” VERY distinctly and
clearly.
Cars Land is SO COOL. It is just like you are walking down
town in Radiator Springs! All of us adults were in awe. And, the kids loved it,
especially when Lightning McQueen himself drove by AND we got to meet him!! He
really is super cool. Jakiah cried for 3 reasons. 1) it was nap time 2) he
wanted to actually get in and ride inside Lightning (sorry dude) and 3) he had
to leave Lightning and let someone else have a turn. But, still VERY COOL!
The rest of the day included thrill rides for the adults, including
California Screamin’, Tower of Terror, Grizzly Mountain, Soarin’ Over California
(which Kalaya was tall enough for and loved!) and we visited Bug’s Land which
had lots of simple, small rides that the kids loved. We also caught the Pixar parade.
We also went to the Disney Junior stage show, which honestly
was one of the highlights of the whole trip. It was just SO perfect for our
kids ages! I will talk more in another blog about how we prepped the kids for everything
Disney, but this show was one thing I had heard about. It was SO CUTE!! Every
time a new show was introduced, it was like a celebrity had entered the room.
Even Jakiah was saying, “Oh TOOOOODLES!!!” (if you don’t get it, you don’t have
young kids) It was so sweet! It was super interactive and full of preschoolers
and toddlers who were so into it singing and clapping and squealing at
everything, adorable!
We finished off the day with a last ride on Ariel and the
Merry Go Round. We didn’t stay for the World of Color show because 1) we were
all exhausted and 2) the park got CRAZY crowded, because Disneyland had closed
early for Mickey’s Halloween Party and a lot of the crowd found their way over.
We finished with ice cream cones for everyone, which may have been the best
part for Jakaih, since it was his first one ever!
The trip was an amazing blessing and I’m so happy we went. I
can’t look back at pics, videos and even reading these blog enteries without
getting choked up. It was that wonderful and magical and I will never ever EVER
forget it.
See you real soon!
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