DISNEYLAND!!!

Disneyland, the happiest place on Earth. I have very fond memories of going to Disneyland as a child. Basically anytime a relative came to visit California, we would go to Disneyland. It consisted of big roller coaster rides, long lines, being on our feet from first thing in the morning to late at night, lots of candy and sunburns. We always had the best time. I always knew I would want to take Ben someday, but figured we'd wait until he was about 4 or 5 to really enjoy the park (and get our money's worth!). That was until Jim was lucky enough to win 4 FREE 2-day park-hopper tickets, including one night FREE hotel stay at the Grand Californian. Can you believe that? What a great prize. We asked my parents if they would join us - as a thank you for everything they do for us and also to enjoy the park through Ben's eyes.

We had a wonderful 2 days at Disneyland. It was so nice to be able to go on some rides, go back to the hotel for Ben to nap, and then make our way back in the afternoon for some more fun. Ben did so great - way better than I thought he would do - waiting in line was a little rough, but he went on lots of rides and especially loved riding the train around the park and watching the parade.

On Friday, we rode the train over to Toon Town, went on It's a Small World, met Minnie in Toon Town, rode a pretty big roller coaster (not Ben's favorite!), went on the Roger Rabbit ride, and then rode the huge carousel before checking into our hotel and letting Ben nap (my Mom stayed with him so Jim and I could grab food and a beer at ESPN zone!). In the afternoon, we headed back to the park and after riding the train around the entire park again, we found a good spot to watch the parade. We had Ben propped up onto a trashcan so several characters/people in the parade stopped at him to give him high-five or smile, etc - it was so great. Ben loved it. We rode the Dumbo ride before calling it a day. We grabbed some pizza by the slice for dinner, my Mom headed home and Jim and I sat on our balcony enjoying the view and drinking wine while Ben fell asleep inside. We had a great view of the pool area and some of California Adventure's World of Color water show from our room.

Saturday morning we grabbed some breakfast along downtown Disney, then road the train around the whole park once again (yes, Ben's favorite ride by far) and met Pluto near the entrance of the park before making our way to the Jungle Cruise. Next we went on the Tea Cup ride (Ben insisted it was the coffee cups!), and then Autopia. Ben couldn't even see over the car, but he had fun turning the wheel while Jim pushed on the gas! My Mom took Ben home for his nap so Jim and I could go on a few of the big rides and check out California Adventure. We went on Big Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn and then decided that was enough. To be honest, the rides aren't as great as I remember - at least not enough to warrant standing in line for 45 minutes to ride them. Hahaha! So we walked over to California Adventure and we were both done with amusement parks - none of the rides sounded that exciting and we just wanted to relax (and put our feet up!). We grabbed an ice cream sandwich before heading back to our hotel to sit by the pool for a bit.

We had a great time and it was so fun to see everything through Ben's eyes - sometimes we wondered what he thought of all of this - must have been a lot to take in. But he had fun and that's all that really matters. We'll be back in a few years, unless we win some more free tickets before then! :)

Making our way to the entrance Disneyland decorated for Halloween
Right inside the entrance (Ben did not want to take pictures at this point)
View into Disneyland
Outside the train station
Ben waiting to board the train
On the train - Ben would watch the workers so closely and wait to hear "All Aboard!"
About to go on It's a Small World (still not wanting to take pics!)
On the boat, going into It's a Small World
Pointing out stuff in It's a Small World (talk about sensory overload!)
Going into Toon Town
Getting Minnie's autograph
Ben loved getting autographs, but didn't really want to take pictures with them
Time to ride the giant carousel
All of us on the carousel
The view from our room Closer shot of the pool with the big slide
Riding the train again
Waiting for the Parade to start
Thumbs up!
Ben watching the parade
Here comes Mickey and Minnie
Ben showing Donald his new Donald toy - so cute!
There goes Donald
Lion King float and dancers
Waiting in line to ride Dumbo
Grandma and Ben waiting to start the Dumbo ride
Jim and I in our Dumbo :)
I had to put all 3 of these - check out how excited Grandma was! Too cute.


The view from our room at night
Enjoying some wine on the balcony Gorgeous doors into the hotel - Ben loved watching them open and close
Walking down Downtown Disney for day #2
Here we go again
What did we do first? Yep - ride the train!
Meeting Pluto - love how he signs the book!
Picture with Pluto
On The Jungle Cruise
Checking out the elephants
Ben showing us which way to go
In line for the Tea Cups (coffee cups!)
Spinning fast! Ben had a big smile the whole time on this one.
Getting ready to ride the cars at Autopia
Grandma watching from the side
Jim and Ben (I think he's in there somewhere)
That's better!
Cool view leaving Autopia
Family pic in front of the Mickey in flowers
Ben would finally pose for a picture :)
Having fun on the walk back to the hotel
Jim and I in front of the big Mickey pumpkin (why wait in line when you can do this?)
In front of the main street in Disneyland
Making our way over to California Adventure
Inside California Adventure