This had to be the quickest trip to Disneyland we've had as a family. We only spent 2 days in the park but we filled them full. To see what we did on Day 1 go here.
Right in the morning we made sure to see as many characters as we could. As usual Ellie was 100% on board and loves them all so very much. Finnley on the other hand was not impressed and really didn't want much to do with them at all...including the Princesses.
My favorite thing about this picture below is that Finnley is just a complete mess, it cracks me up because we took Halloween pictures at JCPenney back in October 2016 and she was dressed up as Snow White and hated it then too...Poor Snow!! And then get a peek at Ellie in the background, she is so embarrassed.
After our character meet and greets, the weather was on our side and not painfully hot so we waited in line to go on the Storybook Land Canal Boats and both girls were so excited. I love this ride because you get to catch a glimpse of various Disney Film lands and it totally makes me want to re-do our yard so that we can have mini Disney lands in our yard!!
We couldn't get enough boats so we made our way to "it's a small world". This is one of Thomas' favorite rides (it was the only one he would ride on his first trip when he was 5) and truth be told, I don't miss it if I don't go on it...but when you have small children it's generally a good bet.
Over to Critter Country and we got to meet up with Winnie the Pooh and friends. We just missed Tigger, so Ellie got to give him a high-5, and then we accidentally pushed our way through to meet Eeyore and Pooh (they were supposed to be done with the group in front of us...oops) As long as Finnley was attached to one of us she seemed to be okay with meeting the characters.
We also got to watch Belle on Stage!! If you remember from our previous trip back in December we got all settled and they started the intro and then....they had to cancel the show. Ellie was devastated and she didn't understand why we didn't get to see Belle. Well on this trip the Beast let her out of her room and we were very entertained by her story. The two gentlemen that helped her tell her story are comedic and the show is great for all ages. Ellie was captivated for most of the show and Finnley needed snacks the whole time.
We knew that we wanted to meet Moana and get a stellar picture with her for use for Ellie's Moana birthday party, so we stopped by the Disney Store to get a costume for Ellie and we could not have scored a better Moana!! We managed to get chosen for first in line, Finnley fell asleep in the stroller, and Ellie was just completely start struck - she was most concerned of the whereabouts of Heihei and Maui though!! haha
We made our way back to the park entrance after a few rides and Ellie got to walk around the Square with Minnie Mouse and another girl...so sweet.
Meanwhile Thomas and Finnley were in line for Mickey Mouse so we met up with them just in time to get a few moments with the Mouse who started it all.
Over to DCA for our fastpass to Toy Story Mania, this ride consistently has at least a 60 minute wait. It's an interactive ride and so much easier to play than Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters over in Tomorrowland.
The benefit of the Park Hoppers is going from one park to the other to avoid the crowds and maximize your time in the parks. We had plans to go and do some more rides after I ran into Starbucks for an afternoon pick me up, but then I found the best spot for the Electrical Light Parade that I parked the stroller and hung out with Finnley while Thomas and Ellie were hitting up the bathroom. You know you've fallen into the Disneyland Rabbit Hole when a self proclaimed "I don't like Parades" parks it on the curb 2 hours before the start of a parade...yep that was me and Thomas was so impressed. I sat with the girls on the curb while he did his fastpass for Indiana Jones and then he came back to take Ellie on the roller coaster and a few more rides in Fantasyland. There were two super nice girls sitting next to me on the curb and they offered to keep our spot for us so that I could join my family and go on a few more rides before the parade started.
Finnley and I made our way to Fantasyland for Snow White and to shake our heads at the ridiculously long line for Peter Pan...and then we had to book it back to our seats for the Parade.
We barely made it in time. The Disney Cast members were telling the girls who were saving our seats that they couldn't do that and we were 3 minutes away from them taking our stroller and giving up our spot!! They are serious about their parades in Disneyland! The parade was everything we hoped and remembered it to be. Ellie adored the entire thing and Finnley was mesmerized by the whole thing. Check back soon for some more photos of the parade!
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love reading your comments! They make my day! Make sure that your email is linked to your profile so I can email you back!
♥ Ashley