Wednesday, February 24, 2010

We're Back and We Had a Blast!



I always have "vacation let down" when I get home from a vacation, so I had to wait a few days to post or else it could have been kind of gloomy. I always hate getting back into "real life." Maybe I'll just have to work on making every day a vacation! :)


So we headed out on Wednesday and we were going to stop in St. George for the night as we didn't leave until about 6:30/7:00. By the time we got to St. George, the boys were both asleep so we decided to keep on driving. We made it all the way to Primm, Nevada and got a room for $25. We woke up the next morning, grabbed some quick breakfast, and headed to Anaheim. Matt got a little sidetracked and started heading towards San Diego, so we ended up going about 45 minutes out of our way. We got back on track and arrived at the Disneyland Hotel. We checked in and our room wasn't ready so we browsed the gift shop, checked out the pools, drove the motorized boats, and ran into Goofy. Jaxon was not happy about this and was deathly afraid of him (and all of the characters for that matter). We got some pictures with Goofy and they texted us that our room was ready. (What did we ever do without cell phones?)


We dropped off our luggage in the room, grabbed the strollers and some waterbottles, and started our Disneyland Adventure. I loved seeing the boys eyes light up when they walked into the park. It really is magical there. We got to ride the Monorail over and the boys were ecstatic to ride on the "fast train." We went on the Finding Nemo ride first and only waited in line for about 15 minutes. It was great and was pretty much like that the entire rest of the day. We pretty much walked on Small World (Grandma Jo's favorite ride and I think Jaxon's too). We took Carter on Space Mountain and he wasn't a huge fan. After he said, "I don't like that fast, dark ride." Needless to say we didn't take him on that ride again, but he was a trooper and very trusting of us to go on pretty much any ride we took him on. Jaxon loved riding the train around the park and I think he would have rode that all day if he could.

The next morning we woke up and headed to California Adventure. The lines once again weren't very long and our first ride was The Grizzly Adventure. There was NO line for this ride and after we hopped off the ride soaking wet we realized why! :) California Screaming was one of Matt and my favorites. Carter was just a hair too short to go on it and was bummed. Carter, Jaxon, and Grandma were at the start of it counting down and that was fun to see them before we took off. The Toy Story Ride was a hit where you get shoot "virtual" balls at targets, even though that was the longest wait at a whopping 45 minutes! It seemed like FOREVER as the other lines were so short. We were truly spoiled. Carter really liked Soarin' over California and the Tower of Terror (surprisingly). We got to see and take pictures with Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Chip and Dale, and Goofy. We ate yummy sour dough bread bowls. One of the highlights for me was the Pixar Parade. We saw, Lightning, Mater, Monsters, Nemo, After all our fun, we headed back to the hotel to watch the fireworks. What a great idea that was, as it started to rain. The boys were beat and feel asleep quickly that night.

The next morning we had Magic Morning from 7 to 8 a.m. (crazy what we wake up early for). This was a great time to take advantage of NO lines, especially in Fantasy Land where most of the kid rides are. We did teacups, carousel, Dumbo, Toad's Wild Ride (the boys did not like that one), Dumbo again, and the Blasters in Tomorrowland. Carter, Matt, and I went on Indiana Jones, Spalsh Mountain, and Big Thunder Railroad all in a few hours. On Splash Mountain we got done and there were no lines so the attendant asked if we wanted to go again. Carter looks at him and says "NO" really loudly. Guess he didn't like that one too much. We ate at Rainforest Cafe which was a fun experience and then we headed home.

It was a quick trip and went by way too fast, but we had such a blast. I think I'm already planning a trip back for next year!

4 comments:

Rachel said...

I'm glad you had so much fun! What a good time of year to go. Sounds like the crowds weren't bad at all. We are leaving Friday to head down to the Magical Kingdom also. I hope we have as good of luck as you guys did getting onto the rides in a timely fashion.

Mindi said...

Reading your post makes me want to go tomorrow.... maybe we should!! :)

Kim said...

Sounds like you guys had so much fun! I'm so glad mom went with you guys so you and Matt (and Carter) could enjoy some rides. I have been 3 times and still have not gone on any big kid rides--except for tower of terror with Caleb. It really is a magical place!

Breanne said...

I am so glad you had such a wonderful trip, and I am incredibly jealous! I totally know what you mean a out the let down when you come home after a vacation!