Day 1- April 25, 2015
Met up with the Hews and took the red eye flight from HNL to LAX. Both girls were excited for the new adventure and were up WAY past their bedtimes :) After settling down on the flight Callie managed to sleep about 4 hours, Sadie slept about 2 hours, Vail about 30 minutes, and I got about 5 minutes :( One of the funniest moments of the trip happened right before landing in LA....we told the girls to buckle up tight because the plane was going to land....right then, Sadie yelled out "Ahhhhhhhhhh.....we're gonna CRAAASH!" - more of in a joking manner...she wasn't REALLY scared about it, but she probably freaked out a few nervous passengers and gave us a good laugh---AFTER we landed safely! ;)
It was kind of chilly when we landed in Los Angeles...6:30 AM. Waiting for our car (Dodge Grand Caravan). Four adults + 3 kids with carseats....we were nervous, but we fit all our stuff easily!
Luckily we were able to check into the Grand Californian at 8:00, and we got adjoining rooms with the Hews. We freshened up, settled in, then headed to Downtown Disney and checked out a few stores. The girls enjoyed making their own stuffed animals. Sadie chose "Princess Celestia" (My little pony) and Callie chose a doggie and named her "Woof Woof." They also started their collection of pressed pennies -- machines are located all around the parks and all have different characters at each machine. After lunch (Mexican food), we took a 3 hour nap, then came down for dinner at Earl of Sandwich (which was our favorite place in Disney), then the kids had Haagen Daas ice cream for dessert.
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| Elsa and Anna's Frozen Boutique |
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| Ridez |
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| Build A Bear |
Day 2 - California Adventure Park
We shared a "Fitness Breakfast" room service meal for our first meal of the day. It included steel cut oatmeal with honey and brown sugar, a bran muffin, assorted fruits, milk, coffee, and juice -- not bad for ~$20, which might have been our cheapest meal of the whole trip. After breakfast we headed down to line up for the "Early magic hour" which started at 9:00 am. Once they let the crowd in....almost everyone, including us, headed towards Cars Land. Luckily, however, the park's crowd index was less than 50%....so we were able to jump on the Cars ride pretty quickly. This was just the first of many rides that had a 40" minimum height, which meant that Callie and Benji had to sit out (Callie was fine though....she was completely content with her assortment of snacks!).
For Cars we did a rider swap, so Vail went with Sadie first, then once they were done, I got to take Sadie to the front of the line and go with her again! :) Once we were done with the Cars ride, Vail and Callie stayed with the Hews to check out some other "kiddie rides," while Sadie went to get her "Frozen makeover." Sadie LOVED every moment of the pampering.....they gave her an up-do with pink streaks, a tiara, makeup, jeweled face stickers, and even painted her nails....Oh the "magic" of Disney!
After the makeover, we joined the group and went to the "Bugs Land" show--which both girls HATED! hehe. It was a 3D show, during which the bugs jumped out at you and even sprayed water on you! They did NOT like that, especially Callie, who was happy to get the hell out of there when the show was done!
Next stop....Monsters Inc, which was not bad, but not their favorite. After that ride, we ate hot dogs and chocolate milk for lunch and then made a last minute decision to see the Aladdin show. Both girls really enjoyed this show...which featured the blue Genie, who was absolutely hilarious. Although his jokes were "adult jokes," Callie seemed to enjoy his charisma, and yelled "He funny mommy, he funny!" Sadie was also laughing out loud throughout the show. Callie was able to take a 20 minute nap during the show (couldn't fight the comfort of the AC as it was 90 degrees outside!). After Aladdin, we were planning to go take a nap, but the girls seemed to be holding up well, so we decided to stay out and make use of our Fast Pass to see Elsa and Anna at 2:55. We had about an hour to kill, so we were thrilled when we saw Chip and Dale and Doc McStuffins! The girls absolutely loved getting autographs of the characters.
Waiting for Elsa and Anna was the best decision we made, because this ended up being both girls' favorite part of the trip. After meeting the princesses, we took them back for a 2 hour nap. We then went back out for dinner (so-so Chinese food - teriyaki chicken with rice) and watched the World of Color show, which was incredible. After the show, we headed back and settled in for the night.
Day 3 - Disneyland
Started Day 3 at 9:00 for the early magic hour at Disneyland. First thing we did is take pics in front of the famous Mickey mouse lawn. We immediately ran into Minnie mouse and waited a few minutes for her autograph. We did a ton of rides in Disneyland, where the "classics" are. Some of the rides we were able to experience were: It's a small world, Buzz astroblaster, Autopia, Nemo submarine, Pirates of the Carribean, Tea cups, Dumbo, Big thunder mountain railroad, Toy story, Carousel, Grizzly river. Another highlight was the lunch at Ariel's Grotto, where we were able to meet many of the princesses.
Going home...
